The Healing Properties of Amethyst

Seeing as how this is the very first post in my Crystal Healing series, I thought I would begin with the first crystal I ever truly studied: amethyst. It has always been my favorite not only because of its varying shades of purple (my favorite color), but also because of how versatile it is. Below, I'll try to tell you everything I know about this crystal, and how you can incorporate it into your alternative healing lifestyle.

Aside from crystals, I also have a passion for Greek myths and legends. There are several involving Amethyst, and this one is my favorite, although it is not a true Greek myth as it was written by the French poet Remy Belleau in 1576. In this abridged version of Belleau's tale, there was a young and pure maiden named Amethyst who was on her way to worship at the Temple of Diana (the Goddess of the Hunt, who also had the ability to control wild animals). She just so happened to travel past Dionysus (the god of Wine, whose Roman name is Bacchus), who was angry because he had just been betrayed by someone. Dionysus was so angry because of this betrayal, he declared to take vengeance on the next person he saw. When Dionysus saw Amethyst, he summoned his two guardian tigers, and ordered them to kill her.

Amethyst cried out for Diana to help her, and she did, by turning Amethyst into a hard, brilliant clear stone. The hardness of the stone was to deter the tigers from killing her, and the clearness was to represent her purity. When he realized that his anger had just destroyed an Innocent, Dionysus vowed to never drink again, and poured his last bit of wine over the stone in atonement. The wine stained the stone a deep purple, and ever since, purple quartz has been called 'Amethyst'.

The Healing Properties of Amethyst
Amethyst is a variety of quartz, which is held in high esteem by Crystal Healers as an all-purpose healing stone. It is used to:

• Guard against psychic attack
• Protect the wearer from harm
• Relieve stress
• Balance mood swings
• Dispel anger, fear, anxiety, and rage
• Alleviate sadness and grief
• Enhance psychic abilities, increase intuition, and activate spiritual awareness
• Encourage sobriety
• Relieve insomnia
• Boost hormone production
• Encourage spiritual wisdom
• Strengthen the immune system
• Aid in tissue regeneration
• Destroy malignant tumors
• Cleanse the blood
• Relieve emotional and physical pain
• Ease headaches
• Reduce swelling and bruising
• Heal skin conditions

This, of course, is not the entire list of uses for amethyst; however, these are the most popular uses.

To learn how to use gemstones in a healing manner, click HERE.