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Amethyst 

Amethyst stone is the purple variety of quartz.  Because it has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, amethyst is treasured for its use in jewelry. However, it is still just 1/15 as hard as diamond. Amethyst is the birthstone for February.The name "amethyst" comes from the Greek and means "not drunken." This was maybe due to a belief that amethyst would ward off the effects of alcohol, but most likely the Greeks were referring to the almost wine-like colour of some stones that they may have encountered.Amethyst purple occurs in a continuum of primary hues from a light slightly pinkish violet to a deep grape purple. Amethyst may exhibit one or both secondary hues, red and/or blue. Due to its popularity as a gemstone, several descriptive terms have been coined in the gem trade to describe the varying colors of amethyst. Amethyst lavender, known as "Rose de France" is usually a pale pinkish amethyst lavender  or lilac shade.  The most prized color is an intense violet with red flashes and is called "Siberian," although gems of this color may occur from several locations other than Siberia, notably Uruguay and Zambia. In more recent times, certain gems (usually of Bolivian origin) that have shown alternate bands of amethyst purple with citrine orange have been given the name Ametrine. Because of the patchiness of the colour distribution in the crystals, Amethyst gemstones are often cut as brilliant round cuts to maximize the colour. The colour purple is traditionally the colour of royalty and amethyst has been used since the dawn of history to adorn the rich and powerful monarchs and rulers. Today, amethyst is a lovely and affordable gemstone that is fortunately available in a wide variety of cut and uncut stones. Quartz amethyst is only one of several quartz varieties. Other varieties that form macroscopic (large enough to see) crystals are as follows:

• Citrine is a yellow to orange gemstone variety that is rare in nature but is often created by heating Amethyst quartz.
• Milky Quartz is the cloudy white variety.
• Rock crystal is the clear variety that is also used as a gemstone.
• Rose quartz is a pink to reddish pink variety.
• Smoky quartz is the brown to gray variety.

Amethyst’s magical qualities are said to help maintain equilibrium in all situations and balance polarities.Amethyst’s healing functions are that it encourages self control, calms harsh emotions and brings stability, helps practical applications of imagination and aids meditation and sleep.

Amethyst gem stone, along with other gems, has served as both a birthstone and a lucky charm to those who follow the star signs and spirit guide. It prevails as the birthstone for Sagittarius (November 22- December 21) along with sapphire. Sagittarius has always been known as a free spirit and can be, at times, wild yet always wanting to explore. Amethyst is Sagittarius' aide in the search for new unexplored territories and also helps to pacify the wild ways when they get out of hand. Amethyst has also been accredited as a birthstone for Aquarius (January 20- February 18) due to its traditional standing as February's birthstone. Those who fall under Aquarius are typically very "humanly" with a goal to always understand and amethyst guides those of this sign to opening up to that which is mystical, psychic, supernatural and beyond knowledge. By the same reason of its traditional standing as February's birthstone, amethyst gemstone is also accredited as a birthstone for Pisces (February 19- March 20), but it is more commonly recognized as Pisces' lucky charm. Pisces embraces amethyst because of their tendency to skip from one level to the next and to go from one extreme to the other without any type of transition and amethyst, being a great crystal of easing and soothing transition, is the perfect charm. 

Amethyst is related to a specific day, time and to colour. This purple stone is the official crystal or gem for Wednesday. It has also been known as the gem most representative of the 8:00 am hour. The colour amethyst represents is the colour purple, which is also the colour for February.

Amethyst is the anniversary gemstone for the 6^th year of marriage.