GEMSTONES ADVENT CALENDAR-DAY 1: AMETHYST
I would start the Gemstone Advent Calendar with Amethyst because of its colour: we are in advent month, the weeks that precede Christmas and Christian churches railings are all purple. Bishops wear a big amethyst ring on their right hand.
In all cultures and religions since forever, symbols and colours were the language used to communicate important messages, way before written language. Purple is almost universally recognised as the colour of royalty and high priesthood. As a matter of fact, royalty and religion often overlapped throughout history.
Similarly, people having a “purple aura” have often been considered somehow “special”.
The source:
Amethyst is silicon dyoxide, it has the same physical qualities as quartz. The colour is attributed to the presence of iron or manganese and the colour varies in different shades of red, blue and violet. It is of volcanic origin.
As a gemstone it has been valued since ancient times in Egypt and Babylonia. It was used by Christians as protection during the Crusades and it has had affinities with spirituality since time immemorial. The ancient Greek to cure hangover and it was associated with the cult of Dyonisus or Baccus. Amethyst fits into the Tubercular/Sycotic miasm picture. Compare with Nux Vomica for its affinity with the liver and theme of liver toxicity due to addiction to alcohol or other liver issues.
The Sycotic miasm can be seen in the sense of “split” or extremes that co-exist within the same person.
Gemstones are about spiritual transformation. Always remember that these gems come from the bowels of the earth and need to be dug out of the earth with great effort, blood and sweat. After that, they need to be polished and cleaned before they can reveal all their light and glory. The geological process of crystal formation is fundamentally one of enormous pressure over millions of years.
Internal transformation is also the main theme of winter: nature retreats, animals go into hibernation, human beings feel instinctively like slowing down, sleeping more, eating more and we should! What is often described as “death”, the bare trees and the cold, is actually a period of preparation and transformation that will be revealed in spring.
Deborah Craydon talks about how gem elixirs can be applied topically as well as internally, using the meridian points. Amethyst corresponds to the heart meridian, therefore she advises to put a drop on the inner left and right wrist. This can open up the heart, prepare you for meditation and free flow of ideas in a calm and grounded manner.
Further reading and courses:
Gifts from the Earth my book available on Amazon
