Amethyst

amethystos — “not drunken”

Amethyst rough specimen on dark stone
Provenance
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil · Uruguay · Zambia
Mineral family
Quartz — violet by iron and deep time
Hardness
Mohs 7 — wear-ready
Energy
Intuition — The violet-hour frequency — the mind kept clear after dark.
The Greeks drank from amethyst cups, trusting the stone to keep the head sober while the wine did its work — amethystos, “not drunken.” For most of history it ranked beside ruby and emerald, the purple of bishops and empresses, until Brazil’s great finds handed it to everyone. The color is iron and natural radiation, worked over geological time.
“Amethyst quells the wine, and keeps the mind awake.”Greek lore · amethystos
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