Amethyst Meaning: The Calm Stone, and How to Use It

If you own one crystal, it is probably this one. Amethyst is the calm stone, the one people reach for when their head will not switch off, and it has been doing that job for about three thousand years.

What amethyst means

Calm, clarity, and a quieter mind. The name comes from the Greek word amethystos, which means not intoxicated. Greeks and Romans believed the stone kept you sober, and carved wine cups out of it to prove the point. Purple was the colour of royalty, so it ended up in crowns, and later in bishops' rings.

Three thousand years later we ask it for roughly the same thing, a clear head. Modern practice links it to the crown and third-eye chakras, and to rest.

When to reach for it

• Your mind is racing at eleven at night and you want something to hold.
• You are about to have a conversation you have been putting off.
• You want to start meditating and keep forgetting to.
• You need to think clearly about a decision instead of spinning on it.

How people use it

• On the bedside table. This is the most common use by far.
• In a pocket or bag, so your hand finds it during a hard day.
• In your hand while you meditate, as something to come back to when your attention wanders.
• On a desk, in view, as a reminder of a decision you made when you were calm.

Where it comes from

The famous amethyst geodes, the hollow purple caves you see in photos, some over five metres tall, come from northern Uruguay and just across the border in southern Brazil. They grew inside bubbles left in ancient lava flows that erupted around 134 million years ago, when South America and Africa were tearing apart. Water seeped in over an unimaginably long time, and crystals grew in the dark. That area has been mined for over 150 years. Zambia produces beautiful deep purple too.

Looking after it

• Water: fine. It is hard and does not dissolve.
• Sunlight: this is the one that matters. UV light fades the purple permanently over a few months. A sunny windowsill is the fastest way to ruin an amethyst.
• Knocks: it is hard, but the points chip. Keep it apart from your keys.

Is it real?

• Real amethyst usually has uneven colour, patches of lighter and darker purple. Perfectly even colour is a warning sign.
• It feels cold when you pick it up, and stays cold for a moment.
• It will scratch glass. Glass will not scratch it.
• Tiny round bubbles inside mean glass, not crystal.