06 Feb Amethyst
This beautiful gemstone has been a favourite in varying cultures for thousands of years.
Amethyst is the traditional and modern birthstone for February and for Pisces.
Amethyst is derived from the Greek, amethystos, which can be translated as ‘not drunken’. They both wore amethyst and carved drinking vessels from it in the belief it would prevent them from becoming intoxicated. It is even said that they would sometimes drink while holding a gemstone in their mouth. They were possibly drunk when they came up with the idea.
It is a type of Quartz and ranges from a light pinkish violet to a deep warm purple. The deeper purple being considered the more valuable gem.
It was originally one of the five cardinal gems. Amethyst , diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald. This classifcation dates back to antiquity. The Gems were chosen for ther rarity and purpose usually to do with religious use and/or ceremonial purposes. Amethyst was considered rare until huge deposits of it were found in Brazil. The other four gems are considered nowadays considered the four Precious Gems. Other gems being referred to as semi-precious.
In medieval europe soldiers wore amethyst amulets believing it to have healing properties and a calming influence.
Gem quality amethyst has a hardness of 7 on the mohs scale making it a great choice for jewellery making and you dont have to be a piscean to wear it, though maybe it helps.