Jewelry by Blonde Peach Jewelry: Amethyst for February Birthdays

A popular Greek folklore story regarding amethyst is the story of Bacchus, the god of wine. Because amethyst is purple, it was associated with wine. This is the way the tale goes: A beautiful maiden was on her way to the Temple of Diana. She had the bad luck to cross paths with Bacchus. He was angry due to some slight he had suffered and vowed to take his revenge on the next person he saw. He saw the maiden and set his two guardian tigers upon her. Before the tigers reached her, Diana took pity on her and turned the maiden to a pure clear stone so that she would be spared the terrible fate of death from the creatures. Bacchus was immediately remorseful and poured his wine over the maiden now stone. The wine turned the crystal stone a deep violet hue. And so, the maiden now Amethyst lent her name to the stone.

The Greeks believed that the gemstone could guard against drunkenness. Amethystos means "not drunk" in Ancient Greek. They thought as long as you had an amethyst on your person that you could drink all night and remain sober.

Amethyst is the birthstone for February and one of the emblems of the twelve apostles. Ruled by the planet Jupiter, it's the zodiacal gem for those born under the sign of Pisces. St. Valentine is said to have worn an amethyst ring carved with Cupid's likeness. In Medieval times, chaste love was highly valued as true love. Amethyst signified this vision of love.

Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz and owes it color to irradiation, iron impurities and the presence of trace elements. The stone is produced in abundance in Brazil where it occurs in large geodes within volcanic rocks. Amethyst is found in Uraquay, South Korea, Austria, Russia, Africa, Canada and the United States.

Up until the 18th century, amethyst was considered as valuable as diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. But since the discovery of deposits in locations like Brazil, it has lost most of its value. Rather than carat weight as a determination of value, color is the biggest factor for amethyst.

Hers is a little poem by author unknown about amethyst:

The Amethyst
From passion and from care kept free
Shall Pisces' children ever be
Who wear so all the world may see
The Amethyst

Listed below are lovely examples of Amethyst and the color purple from some of my fellow artisans. I know they would be honored to have you visit their shops!

Shadow Dog Designs

https://www.shadowdogdesigns.com/product/paisley-flower-pendant-necklace-purple-amethyst-red-coral-copper-handmade-boho-jewelry-women?tid=1