"The February born shall find Sincerity and peace of mind, Freedom from passion and from care, If they, the amethyst will wear..."

Now that February is upon us, I thought I would pay homage to those born in said month by blogging upon some tidbits about the traditional February birthstone, amethyst. Amethyst is a variety of quartz that manifests itself in varying shades of purple via the iron and manganese in its crystals. The word 'amethyst' is a variant of the Greek word 'amethystos' which is loosely translated as 'not drunken' - the ancient Greeks and Romans believed that the wearing of amethyst amulets and use of amethyst drinking vessels would protect them from intoxication. The story of how the sparkly, violet, gemstone came to be be known as 'amethyst' comes from Greek mythology. According to myth, Amethyst was a beautiful nymph who worshipped at the altar of Artemis, the goddess of forest, hills, and hunt. Artemis had apparently rebuffed advances by her half-brother, Dionysus, the god of wine and intoxication, and, unfortunately, Amethyst happened to be the first creature to cross Dionysus' path in his scorned and wrathful state. The story goes that Dionysus unleashed his pet tigers upon poor Amethyst who, in her panic-stricken state, prayed to Artemis for help. Artemis answered by turning Amethyst into a clear crystal statue which instantly sobered up the drunken, and now remorseful, Dionysus. In respect and sorrow, Dionysus emptied his cup of very rare and scared wine over the crystal likeness of Amethyst in the hopes of returning her from stone to flesh. Alas. Amethyst remained a beautiful crystal statue, but became stained with the beautiful purple color of Dionysus' wine; hence the amethyst stone we know today. The ancient Greeks and Romans truly were magnificent story-tellers! It is said that Saint Valentine, whom we are to thank for the namesake February holiday, wore an amethyst ring which is why amethyst was declared the birthstone of February. Amethyst is said to impart clarity and ward off evil thoughts and is revered for spiritual and mental cleansing. Many teametsyaustin members make use of amethyst stones in their designs and I have posted a picture of a few examples of these plus a few other items that showcase the color purple. I wish everyone born in February a very happy birthday and, perhaps, if we all buy a piece of teametsyaustin amethyst we will feel the effects of positive thoughts and good karma! Take care everyone! xoxo Holly @ BowerbirdDesign & The Bowerbird's Bower
information sources: http://www.shinjyujewelry.com/id32.html; http://www.uniquejewelryguide.com/february-birthstone.html