Cupid – secretsoftheserpent

Cupid is the Rome equivalent to Eros and their names basically mean ‘desire’. Desire is the reason we humans have time. It is also said the Cupid is the god of erotic love, attraction and affection, hence we say he is the god of love. It is because of misinterpreting the myths and legends that we think the ancients were obsessed with sex. The myths are way more beautiful when they are translated correctly.

Most people know cupid as a chubby little baby with a bow and arrow. In the ancient myths he is a slender, young, handsome man. The chubby baby is a Renaissance period invention. Cupid is usually a minor character in stories except for the tale of Cupid and Psyche. This is the myth I will be explaining to you. The myth of Cupid and Psyche is the origin of Beauty and the Beast. Before we start I have to tell you the true symbolism for Cupid is lunar worship and the bow and arrow symbolize masculine and feminine. When he shoots his arrows it symbolizes creation. He is also a winged god and winged gods symbolize non-physical abstract dynamics such as intellect, spiritual, imagination and psychic.

The story of Cupid and Psyche is a beautiful story of consciousness with astrological and nature symbolism ingrained. Psyche has unearthly beauty and Venus becomes jealous of her. This has astrological symbolism because on a clear moonless night Venus is the brightest star that everyone notices, but on a moon lit night the moon out shines Venus. The planet Venus is jealous because the beauty of the Moon takes the mortals attention away from her.

The name Psyche is where we get psychology. Unless you took psychology or you like myths, you probably never heard of her. In ancient Greek psyche means ‘soul’. Now why would we get a term for the mind that means ‘soul’. To understand what is going on here, you have to be a student of Hermetic. In the Principal of Mentalism it says “The All is Mind; The Universe is Mental”. To go deeper on you still, you are not a soul in your body, you are a body in your soul. Psyche being a female is showing you that this universal energy is feminine. It is why nature is always portrayed as a female.

Venus sends her son, Cupid, to use one of his arrows on Psyche. This would make Psyche fall in love with a human monster. In this story Cupid is the masculine energy with Psyche being the feminine energy. Cupid is so astonished by Psyche’s beauty that he accidentally shoots himself. From that moment, Cupid was irrevocably in love with Psyche. Psyche and her parents now realize that her beauty has angered the gods. The go to the Temple of Apollo and find out that no mortal man can have her hand in marriage, but her future husband, that is a monster, awaits her on top of a mountain. Mountains symbolize the mountain you have to climb to reach enlightenment.

Psyche goes to the highest cliff and is swept away by he west wind, Zephyr. Wind always represents your thoughts or mastering your thoughts. She is brought to a beautiful valley that has a palace so magnificent that only the gods could have built it. Going from a high cliff to a valley is showing that this universal energy peaks and wanes. The palace is representing individuality. The palace is surrounded by luscious trees and a crystalline fountain. Here we have the water that represents her emotions. The trees represent the Tree of Life(see Tree of Life post) and the higher you go the more grounded you have to be. Psyche accepts that this is her new home, but does not know that Cupid is the stranger that lives here.

Cupid makes Psyche promise that she will not look at his face and he visits her every night to make love to her in the darkness. Despite all the love and tenderness Psyche is still bothered by the oracles claims that her husband is a monster. This is showing that the feminine and masculine is still not balanced. They are still separate so there is no enlightenment. Psyches’s sisters visit her and are jealous of her beautiful home. They insist that her husband is a monster and talk her into finding out.

Psyche decides to break her husband’s only request of allowing his face to remain secret and look upon him at night. She lights a candle to gaze at his face and all his majestic beauty. A single drop of oil falls from the candle and wakes Cupid. Cupid flees their home in distress because he had been betrayed. The flame of the candle represents intellect. So here we have 3 of the 4 elements on our way to enlightenment.

Psyche is distraught and she goes in search of her husband. She travels many days until she meets the goddess Ceres. Ceres is now the second goddess in the story and 2 goddess symbolize seen and unseen wisdom. Ceres tells Psyche to surrender herself to Venus and whatever ill will the goddess throws at her. Obeying Ceres’ advice, Psyche is giving what seems like 3 impossible tasks. First is to separate the grains of Venus’ temple into piles. Second she has to steal a wool fleece from a herd of sheep. Third she has to travel into the underworld and request some beauty from Queen Proserpina, so she can give it to Venus. In doing the last task Psyche has to keep the box in which the beauty is placed tightly closed, for fear of terrible repercussions.

Psyche starts the trials and without her knowing Cupid assists her. The first trial is alchemical symbolism. In alchemy the grains of Venus’ temple were the seven heavenly spheres in the sky. They are as follows:

Sun – Wheat
Moon – Rice
Mars – Oats
Mercury – Millet
Jupiter – Rye
Venus – Barley
Saturn – Corn

Her having to steal a fleece from sheep tells me this myth was written in the time of Aries. Finally she is given divine advice on how to surpass the dangers of Hades. Those who have read my previous work know that Hades symbolizes your body. You being in Hades or the underworld is you being here on earth in the fleshy body(See Magic). So now we have the 4 element for enlightenment.

Psyche is so upset about all the trials that she opens the forbidden box and is immediately put into a Stygian sleep. This is a sleep so strong she is considered the living dead. This is the sleep of the river Styx or Hades, in other words the sleeping masses. She had become one of the masses. By that time Cupid has had enough and he wants to be with his wife. This is the Masculine yearning for the Sacred Feminine. Cupid flies down to rescue her and lifts her in her sleeping form into the heavens. He pleads with Jupiter to talk some sense into his mother, Venus. Venus lifts the curse from Psyche and she is transformed into an immortal. Once she becomes immortal her and Cupid are wed.

This is the story of your enlightenment. The marriage of the Sacred Feminine with the Masculine.

Source: Cupid – secretsoftheserpent

Ground & Center | Witchery Wednesday

Ground & Center

groundandcenter_edit

Whether you’re practicing magic or yoga, in many spiritually aware circles you will hear the term “ground and center” thrown about a lot. Or maybe you’ve heard the phrases “live in the moment” or “be present in the now”? This practice is essential to a successful casting, and can also help us deal with stressful moments in the more mundane parts of our lives. But rarely do we talk about what that actually means, and how to get there. While the concept is simple, sometimes we struggle with how to accomplish it. Especially if the traditional methods don’t work for you. By understanding the goal of “ground and center” it’s easier to go off the beaten path when searching for a way to get there. Remember, there is no “wrong” way to do this, there is only what works for you personally and what doesn’t. Centering is all about connecting within yourself; finding that space of calmness within the chaos (as we wrote about here in our article The Importance of Keeping Balance). Grounding is about connecting with the life flow outside of yourself. By reaching for those connections, both internal and external, and strengthening them, we can reach a state of mind that makes casting easier.

Here are some of our favorite methods for grounding and centering.

Meditation: This is probably the most widely practiced method. It’s what everyone is familiar with, and as we’ve talked about before, Everything Is Meditation. Even the rest of the methods we talk about for grounding and centering are essentially forms of meditation.

Visualization: For many of us, especially those of us who are creative, visualization is a key part of any casting, and we can use it to ground and center as well. Everyone generally finds their own image that resonates with them, but I am partial to the Tree. If you’ve never tried visualization before, this is a good way to start as it’s an easy image to hold. Relax your body and your breath, and imagine you are a tree. With your first breath in, imagine you are drawing strength up from the Earth through your roots. With your next breath out, “push” your roots down, deeper into the Earth. Next breath in, reach towards the sky, drawing in sunlight through your leaves. Breath out, and release any tension you’re holding out through your leaves. Repeat this as needed until you feel calm and centered.

Chants: Sometimes a spoken element can help us focus our minds on the task at hand. Simple chants are often used in tandem with meditation for that reason. It can be a soft sound that has no real meaning, like the traditional “ohm” you may have heard, or something more akin to a positive affirmation, like repeating “I am grounded. I am centered.” Or if you want to be a bit more poetic try “Earth below, sky above, I am still, and I am one.”

Physical connection with Nature: Do you enjoy hiking, nature walks, kayaking or just being outdoors? This method might be for you. While most people find it easiest to ground and center while being still and calm, this isn’t always the right approach for everyone. Sometimes activity can also be a kind of calmness. However, we can’t always take the time to go on a 10 mile hike before a casting, so some quicker ways to achieve this would be standing barefoot in the grass, dipping your hands or feet in running water, or hugging a tree. (Yup, we went there! But it works!)

Rituals: Let me guess; you just pictured someone in a hooded robe, surrounded by candles and chalk pentagrams? (Thanks, Hollywood!) Often we already have small rituals in our every day lives and don’t realize it. For example, do you find vacuuming soothing? Maybe organizing your junk drawer brings you a sense of peace and order? Or maybe you drink your first cup of coffee on your porch every morning, listening to the sound of the neighborhood waking up and enjoying the silence before you have to wake your ~~monsters~~ … er… wonderful children for school? All of these things could be considered rituals.

Worry Stones: Worry stones, or similar devices such as stress balls or sensory toys, can serve to help you ground and center. We’re partial to using actual stones ourselves, but again, choose what works best for you.

Repetitive Tasks: We personally believe that this is one reason that knitting, and many other crafts, have such positive effects on mental health. Remember, everything is magic! (Or at least, it has the potential to be magic.) Knitting, crocheting, coloring, embroidery, macrame… all of these can be used to ground and center.

Do you have a favorite method not mentioned here? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

Source: Ground & Center | Witchery Wednesday

Bill Gates: the new Pavlov « Jon Rappoport’s Blog

“Under the surface of this global civilization, a great and secret war is taking place. The two opponents hold different conceptions of Reality. On one side, those who claim that humans operate purely on the basis of stimulus-response, like machines; on the other side, those who believe there is a gigantic thing called freedom. Phase One of the war is already over. The stimulus-response people have won. In Phase Two, people are waking up to the far-reaching and devastating consequences of the Pavlovian program.” (The Underground, Jon Rappoport)

“From the moment the first leader of the first clan in human history took charge, he busied himself with this question: ‘What can I say and do that will make my people react the way I want them to.’ He was the first Pavlov. He was the first psychologist, the first propagandist, the first mind-control boss. His was the first little empire. Since then, only the means and methods have changed.” (The Underground, Jon Rappoport)

A thought-form is a picture-plus concept in the mind that tends to guide behavior.

A dominant thought-form in Earth civilization today is: universal rule through gigantic, highly organized structures; e.g., mega-corporations that owe no allegiance to any nation.

Imagine a few thousand such corporations with interlocking boards and directorates; colluding with super-regional governments and their honeycombed bureaucracies; combined with regional armies, intelligence agencies and technological elites; hooked to a global surveillance operation; in control of media; cooperating with the largest organized religions on Earth.

Imagine all this as essentially one organization—and you see the thought-form in its wide-screen version.

Top-down as top-down has never been before.

Functions and compartments defined and specialized at every level, and coordinated in order to carry out policy decisions.

As to why such a thought-form should come to dominate human affairs, the simplest explanation is: because it works.

But beneath that answer, for those who can see, there is much, much more.

Individuals come to think that “effective” and “instrumental” and “efficient” are more important than any other issues.

Keep building, keep expanding, keep consolidating gains—and above all else, keep organizing.

Such notions and thought-forms replace life itself.

The Machine has come to the fore. All questions are now about how the individual sees himself fitting into the structure and function of The Machine.

Are human beings becoming social constructs?

Populations are undergoing a quiet revolution. We can cite some of the reasons: television; education; job training and employment requirements; the Surveillance State; government organizations who follow a “zero tolerance” policy; inundation with advertising.

Yes, it’s all geared to produce people who are artificial constructs.

And this is just the beginning. There are a number of companies (see, for example, affectiva.com) who are dedicated to measuring “audience response” to ads and other public messages. I’m talking about electronic measuring. The use of bracelets, for instance, that record students’ emotional responses to teachers in classrooms, in real time. (Bill Gates shoveled grant money into several of these studies.)

Then there is facial recognition geared to the task of revealing how people are reacting when they sit at their computers and view websites.

Push-pull, ring the bell, watch the dog drool for his food. Stimulus-response.

It’s not much of a stretch to envision, up the road a few years, whole populations more than willing to volunteer for this kind of mass experimentation. But further than that, we could see society itself embrace, culturally, the ongoing measurement of stimuli and responses.

“Yes, I want to live like this. I want to be inside the system. I want to be analyzed. I want to be evaluated. I want to accept the results. I want to be part of the new culture. Put bracelets on me. Measure my eye movements, my throat twitches that indicate what I’m thinking, and my brain waves. Going to a movie should include the experience of wearing electrodes that record my second-to-second reactions to what’s happening on the screen. I like that. I look forward to it…”

In such a culture, “Surveillance State” would take on a whole new dimension.

“Sir, I want to report a malfunction in my television set. I notice the monitoring equipment that tracks my responses to programs has gone on the blink. I want it reattached as soon as possible. Can you fix it remotely, or do you need to send a repair person out to the house? I’ll be here all day…”

People will take pride in their ongoing role as social constructs, just as they now take pride in owning a quality brand of car.

The thought process behind this, in so far as any thought at all takes place, goes something like: “If I’m really a bundle of responses to stimuli and nothing more, then I want to be inside a system that champions that fact and records it…I don’t want to be left out in the cold.”

Here is a sample school situation of the near future: for six months, Mr. Jones, the teacher, has been videotaped, moment by moment, as he instructs his class in English. All the students have been wearing electronic bracelets, and their real time emotional responses (interest, boredom, aversion) have also been recorded. A team of specialists has analyzed the six months of video, matching it up, second by second, to the students’ responses. The teacher is called in for a conference.

“Mr. Jones, we now know what you’re doing that works and what you’re doing that doesn’t work. We know exactly what students are positively reacting to, and what bores them. Therefore, we’re going to put you into a re-ed seminar, where you’ll learn precisely how to teach your classes from now on, to maximize your effectiveness. We’ll show you how to move your hands, what tone of voice to use, how to stand, when to make eye contact, and so on…”

Mr. Jones is now a quacking duck. He will be trained how to quack “for the greater good.” He is now a machine toy. Whatever is left of his passion, his intelligence, his free will, his spontaneous insights, his drive to make students actually understand what they’re learning…all subordinated for the sake of supposed efficiency.

Think this is an extreme fantasy? See the Chicago Tribune, June 12, 2012, “Biosensors to monitor students’ attentiveness”:

“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has poured more than $4 billion into efforts to transform public education in the U.S., is pushing to develop an ‘engagement pedometer.’ Biometric devices wrapped around the wrists of students would identify which classroom moments excite and interest them — and which fall flat.”

“The foundation has given $1.4 million in grants to several university researchers to begin testing the devices in middle-school classrooms this fall.”

“The biometric bracelets, produced by a Massachusetts startup company, Affectiva Inc, send a small current across the skin and then measure subtle changes in electrical charges as the sympathetic nervous system responds to stimuli. The wireless devices have been used in pilot tests to gauge consumers’ emotional response to advertising.”

“Gates officials hope the devices, known as Q Sensors, can become a common classroom tool, enabling teachers to see, in real time, which kids are tuned in and which are zoned out.”

“Existing measures of student engagement, such as videotaping classes for expert review or simply asking kids what they liked in a lesson, ‘only get us so far,’ said Debbie Robinson, a spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation. To truly improve teaching and learning, she said, ‘we need universal, valid, reliable and practical instruments’ such as the biosensors.”

“The Gates Foundation has spent two years videotaping 20,000 classroom lessons and breaking them down, minute by minute, to analyze how each teacher presents material and how those techniques affect student test scores.”

“Clemson received about $500,000 in Gates funding. Another $620,000 will support an MIT scientist, John Gabrieli, who aims to develop a scale to measure degrees of student engagement by comparing biosensor data to functional MRI brain scans [!] (using college students as subjects).”

When you boil it down, the world-view represented here has nothing to do with “caring about students.”

It has everything to do with the Pavlovian view of humans as biological machines.

What input yields what response? How can people be shaped into predictable constructs?

As far as Gates is concerned, the underlying theme, as always, is: control.

In this new world, the process of thinking and comparing and independently judging, and the freedom to make individual choices…well, for whatever that was worth, we can’t encourage it for a whole society. It’s too unpredictable. We don’t have time for that sort of thing. No, we have to achieve reduction. We have to seek out lowest common denominators.”

This is what universal surveillance is all about. The observation of those denominators and the variances from them—the outlying and therefore dangerous departures from the norm.

“Well, we’ve tracked Mr. Jones’ classroom for a year now, and we’ve collated all the measurements of reactions from the students. It was a wonderful study. But we did notice one thing. All the students showed similar patterns of reactions over time…except two students. We couldn’t fit them into the algorithms. They seemed to be responding oppositely. It was almost as if they were intentionally defecting from the group. This signals some kind of disorder. We need a name for it. Is it Oppositional Defiance Disorder, or is it new? We recommend attaching electrodes to those two students’ skulls, so we can get a better readout of their brain activity in real time.”

You see, everything must be analyzed on the basis of stimulus response. Those two students are suffering from a brain problem. They must be. Because if they aren’t, if they have the ability to choose and decide how to respond, then they have free will, and that can’t be measured. Much deeper, that also suggests an X-factor in humans, wherein the flow of chemicals and atoms and quarks and mesons and photons don’t tell the whole story. The rest of the story would imply the existence of something that is…non-material…above and beyond push-pull cause and effect.

The gatekeepers of this world are obsessed with ruling that out. They guard Reality itself, which is to say, their conception of Reality. They are willing to spend untold amounts of money to make that Pavlovian conception universally accepted and universally loved.

Because they own that conception. They are the self-appointed title holders. They are the kings of that domain.

I feel obligated to inform them that their domain is much, much smaller than they think it is. And in the fullness of time, which is very long, the domain is going to fall and crack and collapse and disintegrate. And all their horses and all their men won’t be able to put it back together again.

Perhaps populations will have to endure a hundred years of stimulus-response society, to understand what it means. But eventually, a man like Bill Gates will be forgotten. He’ll be a small footnote on a dusty page in a crumbling book in a dark room on a remote island of one unworkable computer.

A morbid venal fool who chased, for a brief moment, fool’s gold.

There is an irreducible thing. It’s called freedom. It is native to every individual.

Sometimes it rears its head in the middle of the night, and the dreamer awakes.

And he asks himself: what is my freedom for?

And then he begins a voyage that no device can record, measure, or analyze.

If he pursues it long enough, it takes him out of the labyrinth.

Pavlov wrote: “Mankind will possess incalculable advantages and extraordinary control over human behavior when the scientific investigator will be able to subject his fellow men to the same external analysis he would employ for any natural object, and when the human mind will contemplate itself not from within but from without.”

Basically, Pavlov was promoting the idea that whatever an individual perceives and feels about his own experience is a confused mess and an obstruction.

Rather, the individual should ignore all that tripe, and instead, allow himself to be a “natural object,” see himself as a clean and simple response mechanism, as planned inputs cause him to behave in various ways. Then, he’ll be contemplating himself “not from within, but from without.”

In other words, then he will have no life.

Bill Gates and other elite planners are working toward this end.

(To read about Jon’s mega-collection, Exit From The Matrix, click here.)

When Ray Kurzweil talks about hooking brains up to super-computers, he is envisioning a process of downloading that goes beyond choice. Somehow, automatically, the brain and the individual (he apparently believes they are the same thing) will receive inputs that translate into knowledge and even talent. This is another fatuous version of Pavlov.

In Brave New World, Huxley wrote: “Hot tunnels alternated with cool tunnels. Coolness was wedded to discomfort in the form of hard X-rays. By the time they were decanted the embryos had a horror of cold. They were predestined to emigrate to the tropics, to be miner[s] and acetate silk spinners and steel workers. Later on their minds would be made to endorse the judgment of their bodies. ‘We condition them to thrive on heat’, concluded Mr. Foster. ‘Our colleagues upstairs will teach them to love it’.”

Stimulus-response.

If researchers developed this technology, who could doubt that elite planners would push it forward? It would be the culmination of their dream.

The freedom of the individual, his innate capacity to make wide-ranging choices, is the monkey wrench in the program. It is anti-stimulus-response.

This is why you would have to search far and wide to find, in one school, anywhere, on any level, a course that examines and promotes individual freedom.

It is anathema to the plan.

It is the silver bullet for the vampire.

Freedom comes from Within the individual, not from Without.

On the level of political control, freedom emerged and broke through during centuries of struggle.

Now, and in the future, every individual carries that torch.

So it is incumbent on the individual to understand the scope and meaning and power of his own freedom, and to decide for himself what his freedom is FOR.

What will he choose to launch from that great pasture?

Jon Rappoport

Source: Bill Gates: the new Pavlov « Jon Rappoport’s Blog

Amethyst ~ February Stone – Good Witches Homestead

Amethyst ~ February Stone

Meaning and Uses of Amethyst

Purple Amethyst has been highly esteemed throughout the ages for its stunning beauty and legendary powers to stimulate, and soothe, the mind and emotions. It is a semi-precious stone in today’s classifications, but to the ancients, it was a “Gem of Fire,” a Precious Stone worth, at times in history, as much as a Diamond. It has always been associated with February, the month the Romans dedicated to Neptune, their water-god, and is the traditional birthstone for that month. It is the stone of St. Valentine and faithful love and signifies ecclesiastical dignity as the Bishop’s Stone. It carries the energy of fire and passion, creativity and spirituality, yet bears the logic of temperance and sobriety.

Whether its crystals are left natural, polished as tumbled stones, or faceted into magnificent jewels, Amethyst is a gem whose beauty transcends its commonality. It is a variety of Quartz found in many locations around the world, and forms as transparent, terminated crystals of all sizes in geodes, clusters and as long single terminations. It is also found in vitreous masses and polished into wonderful specimens and personal talismans. The presence of manganese in clear Quartz produces Amethyst, while additional amounts of iron vary the purple coloration. Amethyst ranges in hue from pale red-violet to deep violet and may be transparent or opaque. It is sometimes layered with white Quartz as Chevron Amethyst, found in combination with Cacoxenite, mixed with Citrine as Ametrine, or in rare cases, “rutilated” with Goethite.

The name Amethyst derives from the Greek word ametusthos, meaning “not intoxicated,” and comes from an ancient legend. The wine god Bacchus, angry over an insult and determined to avenge himself decreed the first person he should meet would be devoured by his tigers. The unfortunate mortal happened to be a beautiful maiden named Amethyst on her way to worship at the shrine of Diana. As the ferocious beasts sprang, she sought the protection of the goddess and was saved by being turned into a clear, white crystal. Bacchus, regretting his cruelty, poured the juice of his grapes over the stone as an offering, giving the gem its lovely purple hue.

Throughout history, the special virtue of Amethyst has been that of preventing drunkenness and overindulgence. Ancient Greeks and Romans routinely studded their goblets with Amethyst believing wine drunk from an Amethyst cup was powerless to intoxicate, and a stone worn on the body, especially at the navel, had a sobering effect, not only for inebriation but in over-zealousness in passion. Catholic bishops also wore Amethyst in a ring to protect from mystical intoxication. Kissing the ring kept others from similar mystical intoxication and kept them grounded in spiritual thought.

Amethyst was also reputed to control evil thoughts, increase intelligence and render men shrewd in business matters. For travelers, it was worn as a protection from treachery and surprise attacks, kept soldiers from harm and gave them victory over their enemies. It lent assistance to hunters in the capture of wild beasts and fowl and was considered to be a powerful psychic stone of protection against witchcraft and black magic. Like other royal stones, it protected its wearer from disease and contagion.

In the spiritual world, Amethyst provided a connection to the Divine. To the Hebrews, it was Ahlamah, the ninth stone in the breastplate of the High Priest, engraved with the tribe of Dan, as well as the twelfth foundation stone for the New Jerusalem. To the Egyptians, it was Hemag, listed in the Book of the Dead to be carved into heart-shaped amulets for burial. In Eastern cultures, it was listed in descriptions of sacred “gem-cities,” “trees of life,” and used in temple offerings for worship, and to align planetary and astrological influences. It was popular in rosaries and prayer beads, credited with creating an atmosphere of pious calm, imbuing a sense of mental peace and quietude.

In today’s world, Amethyst is still a remarkable stone of spirituality and contentment, known for its metaphysical abilities to still the mind and inspire an enhanced meditative state. Its inherent high frequency purifies the aura of any negative energy or attachments, and creates a protective shield of Light around the body, allowing one to remain clear and centered while opening to spiritual direction. Amethyst stimulates the Third Eye, Crown, and Etheric Chakras enhancing cognitive perception as well as accelerating the development of intuitive and psychic ability. It initiates wisdom and greater understanding and is a stone of comfort for those grieving the loss of a loved one.

Amethyst’s ability to expand the higher mind also enhances one’s creativity and passion. It strengthens the imagination and intuition and refines the thinking processes. It helps in the assimilation of new ideas, putting thought into action, and brings projects to fruition. It is a talisman of focus and success.

In nature, Amethyst at times forms in combination with other minerals. In addition to the properties of Amethyst outlined in this article, the following varieties possess additional qualities.

Brandberg Amethyst is a unique and extraordinary blend of Amethyst, Clear and Smoky Quartz together in one exceedingly high-vibrational crystal. It is found only in Namibia, Africa, and is imbued with remarkable phantoms, enhydros, and other rare formations and inclusions. It attunes to pure consciousness and is a potent talisman of healing and perfection with the capacity to restore one back to their etheric blueprint in order to realign with the Divine Source.

Chevron Amethyst displays v-shaped chevrons of deep purple and white Quartz that “seep” into beautiful layers. It is one of the finest Third-Eye stones for stimulating vision within the self as well as the physical world, filtering the life force from the cosmos via the Crown in its white layers and opening up spiritual and psychic channels through the purple. It has a strong, focused energy for dissipating and repelling negativity, and is the perfect crystal for learning any form of spiritual healing. Hold one in each hand for powerful but safe out-of-body travel, shamanic journeying or pathworking, and between the hands while praying or reciting mantras.

Cacoxenite in Amethyst mingles dark brown to yellow tufts of Cacoxenite, a phosphate mineral and major component in the Super Seven crystal, with the host crystal Amethyst. This combination brings a high level of creativity and new ideas to humanity by fostering thoughts that have never been thought of before. It is a calming stone, good in times of upheaval, and raises spiritual awareness of the creator essence in the beauty of nature and the kindness of people. Carry on the night of the crescent and full moon to transfer healing energy to the Earth and create an ethereal connection between all of the universe.

Ametrine is a combination of Amethyst and Citrine within the same crystal, a harmonious blend of the two energies. It brings spirituality into harmony with the intellect and inspires a profound flow of creativity, new ideas and insights. It is a remarkable healing stone, removing pain and tension while bringing energy and a sense of well-being to the mind and body. It brings the greater focus in meditation, protection in astral travel and is a gateway crystal for opening angelic or spirit guide contact. Leave in natural light from noon on the day of a full moon and through the night to catch lunar rays then carry on the person to bring luck in money ventures.

“Rutilated” Amethyst is a rare form of Amethyst which appears to contain Rutile, but actually, contains brownish crystals of Goethite, an iron hydroxide mineral also found in the Super Seven crystal. Goethite is a stone for finding the link between the deep self and Earth, and together with Amethyst clears the Earth and Base Chakras, aligning the whole chakra system to the higher mind. It purifies the emotional body and is particularly helpful in grief work. It facilitates clairaudience, communion with angels, and connections with other worlds. To program as a wishing stone or with intentions, messages, and prayers, simply hold the stone with the intent in mind.

Amethyst is an exceptional crystal for wearing on the body, for use in healing rituals, and for enhancing one’s environment. It has been known to fade in direct sunlight and care should be taken. It is also good to clear its energies from time to time by holding the stone under running water for a short period while affirming that the stone be cleared. Keep unpolished Amethyst near other crystals to recharge them.

Amethyst Uses and Purposes

Amethyst is a wonderful talisman for use in the creative arts, especially in darker shades. It assists endeavors where new, original results need to be created using tools and methods of the past. It is often used as the Artist’s Stone, the Composer’s Stone, the Inventor’s, Poet’s and Painter’s Stones. Keep an Amethyst crystal or cluster in the area to focus and amplify the creative elements of the Universal Life Force.

Called the “All-healer,” Amethyst is one of the most effective crystals for healing people, plants, and animals. Natural unpolished Amethysts or geodes are particularly helpful placed where plants will not grow or animals refuse to sit. It also counteracts negative earth energies beneath buildings or anywhere that feels hostile.

Amethyst protects against psychic attack, paranormal harm or ill-wishing, and returns the energy back to the universe after being transformed into positive, loving energy. To increase this power and attract good luck, draw an image of the sun and the crescent moon over an Amethyst in lavender incense smoke.

Referred to as “nature’s tranquilizer,” Amethyst calms and soothes, assisting the transmission of neural signals through the brain. It relieves obsessive compulsive disorder and hyperactivity in children and animals. Place under the pillow or mattress, or rub the center of the forehead counter-clockwise to cure insomnia and stimulate pleasant dreams. It is especially effective for children’s recurring nightmares and fears of the dark and may help alleviate homesickness.

Amethyst is an excellent stone for diplomats, negotiators, and business people. It calms angry temperaments and gives a distinct advantage in situations where debating is required. Wear or hold Amethyst to bring in spiritual insights coupled with intellectual reasoning. As a luck and prosperity crystal, Amethyst is good for reducing the tendency to overspend, gambling addictions or unwise investments.

Amethyst is connected to the Temperance card in the tarot, representing balance. It is a stone dedicated to curbing overindulgence and bad habits and is an excellent aid to quitting smoking, drinking, and drug use, as well as unhealthy physical passion. It also provides the strength needed to obtain freedom from addictive personalities, one’s own or another’s. Placing an Amethyst on the navel is believed to protect a person from intoxication, and in conjunction with other treatments such as counseling, helps cure addictions. A naval piercing makes it possible to always keep an Amethyst in this spot.

Amethyst is the stone of St. Valentine and of faithful lovers because St. Valentine was thought to have worn an Amethyst ring engraved with the image of Cupid. It is also referred to as the “couple’s stone” and gives meaning to relationships that over time, transcends the carnal union and gives way to deeper connection and a more soulful communion. Wear as an engagement or eternity ring for fidelity, or as a locket to call back lost love.

Amethyst Healing Therapies

Amethyst has healing powers to help with physical ailments, emotional issues, and in Energy Healing and Chakra balancing. Amethyst crystal therapies are primarily associated with physical ailments of the nervous system, the curing of nightmares and insomnia, and balancing the crown chakra. The therapeutic uses of Amethyst have a long and well-documented history.

Amethyst Physical Healing Energy

Amethyst boosts the production of hormones and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and endocrine glands to optimum performance. It supports oxygenation in the blood, and aids in treatments of the digestive tract, heart, stomach, and skin. Amethyst also strengthens the immune system and reduces bruising, pain and swellings. It has been used with excellent results as an elixir in the treatment of arthritis.

Amethyst is thought to relieve the symptoms of tinnitus and other hearing disorders and is highly beneficial in treating insomnia, especially when caused by an overactive mind. It is calming and soothing to the neural impulses in the brain. Its energy ameliorates the pain of headaches and migraines and reduces stress and nervous tension. It may be used to treat psychic disturbances and to stabilize brain imbalances, but should not be used in cases of paranoia or schizophrenia.

Amethyst Emotional Healing Energy

Amethyst is especially supportive of the emotional body, bringing those who are overworked, overstressed or overwhelmed back to center. It eases the mental anxieties that lead to physical tension and headaches and is a great crystal to calm those who tend to be hot-headed and easily angered.

Amethyst helps in identifying the root causes behind one’s negative behaviors, habits and emotional patterns that create imbalance and disease. It also helps one understand the reality of cause and effect in behavior and assists in better decision making. Amethyst is a marvelous aid in overcoming addictions by counteracting the effects of drugs and alcohol on brain function while imparting its own peaceful sustaining energy.

Because Amethyst initiates wisdom and greater understanding, it is a comforting crystal for those grieving the loss of a loved one. Its presence communicates that there is no death, only transitioning and changing of forms. It encourages the release of sorrow and rejoicing in a loved one’s spirit being freed from the confinement of the physical body. Called “the soul stone,” Amethyst assists in understanding and connecting to the eternal existence of the soul and initiates one’s own deep soul experiences. It is an ideal crystal to hold or meditate upon during the death experience, of another or oneself, allowing the release of the temporal physical body with more ease, assuredness, and peace. It is a perfect stone to gift to those with terminal illnesses or to use in preparation for a conscious death experience.

Amethyst Chakra Healing and Balancing Energy

Amethyst carries a high, sweet energy, particularly stimulating to the Third Eye, Crown, and Etheric Chakras.

The Brow Chakra, also called the Third Eye, is the center of our perception and command. It directs our sight and everyday awareness of the world. Our consciousness is located here, and we relate to ourselves through this chakra. When the Brow Chakra is in balance our thoughts and internal communications within ourselves are healthy and vibrant. We are open to new ideas, dreams, and visions, and can control the flow of energy within all the chakras. The dark blue/purple crystals of indigo are used to treat imbalances of the Brow Chakra. It is a quiet color, one of mystery and wisdom and judgment.

The Crown Chakra is located at the top of the head and is our gateway to the expanded universe beyond our bodies. It controls how we think, and how we respond to the world around us. It is the fountainhead of our beliefs and the source of our spirituality. It connects us to the higher planes of existence and is the source of universal energy and truth. When the Crown is in balance, our energies are in balance. We know our place in the universe and see things as they are. We are unruffled by setbacks, knowing they are an essential part of life. Imbalances of the Crown Chakra are treated with Light Violet crystals. Their violet rays have the universal life force of magic, dreams, inspiration, and destiny.

The higher vibrational White and Lavender/White crystals are associated with the Higher Crown, Soul Star, and Stellar Gateway Chakras. They are attuned to higher, more spiritually enlightened things, and embody true humility. They provide a soul connection and the highest self-illumination, as well as a cosmic doorway to other worlds. They represent personal identification with the Infinite, and oneness with God, peace, and wisdom.

Amethyst Spiritual Energy

Amethyst carries a high spiritual vibration of humility and devotion to the Divine. It is highly conducive to stilling one’s thoughts in prayer and meditation and surrendering to that which is greater than the self. Amethyst also stimulates the higher mind to receive one’s spiritual power as a creation of the Divine being and to open to the insights, wisdom, and guidance that is offered.

Amethyst is a stone of spiritual protection and purification, cleansing one’s energy field of negative influences and attachments, and creating a resonant shield of spiritual Light around the body. It acts as a barrier against lower energies, psychic attack, geopathic stress and unhealthy environments. It is a valuable protection for those doing psychic or intuitive work and enhances personal environments with a healing and protective circle of Light.

Amethyst Color Energy

Amethyst embodies the red-violet ray that connects both time and color, of beginnings and endings, as the old year wanes and the new is about to arrive. It tempers the fiery red ray with the intuition of the violet ray, bringing passion and imagination, emotion and logic. It stimulates creativity and is particularly helpful in artistic endeavors. Light Amethyst helps us peer into our souls and see ourselves as others see us. It is the ray of self-esteem and self-knowledge. Dark Amethyst gives us the deep vision needed to see the future. It gives us powerful insight and enhances our perception of the potential effects of our decisions.

Meditation with Amethyst

Amethyst is one of the best crystals for meditation. The amethyst color stimulates the highest vibration of the Third Eye and placing an Amethyst stone directly over this area ushers in a serene meditative state that stills conscious thought and guides the mind toward deeper understanding. Amethyst energy encourages the mind to be humble and surrender to that which is greater than itself in order to gain some understanding of how the powers of the universe can direct and guide one’s life.

To relax the system and increase awareness, hold single Amethyst crystals or small clusters in the left hand (termination towards the arm) during meditation to draw Amethyst energy into the body. Large clusters of Amethyst are ideal for meditation altars or as concentration objects to train the mind to be centered and calm while awareness is focused on the objective world.

Amethyst may be used to occupy the North-East point on a crystal medicine wheel, used for healing and balancing one’s life. The north-east is the place of choices and meditating in this direction facilitates the decision-making process, bringing in spiritual guidance, common sense, and realistic goals. It encourages new ideas and relates cause with effect. It also balances out highs and lows for emotional and spiritual centering.

Amethyst Divination

The Divinatory meaning of Amethyst: I do not need to reward myself any excesses of any kind to feel good.

Dreaming of Amethyst signifies freedom from harm.

Amethyst and the Angelic Realm

The beautiful purple Light of Amethyst is particularly conducive to communion with angels. [Ahsian, 29] It ranges in color from pale red-violet (amethyst color) to deep violet. If your birthday falls in any of the following periods, an Amethyst of the color listed can be a valuable conduit to your Guardian Angel. The table also provides the name of the Guardian Angel of those born in the time period.

Date	Crystal Color	Name of Guardian Angel
January 16 – Jan 20	Dark Amethyst	Mitzrael
February 15 – February 19	Amethyst	Manake
February 25 – February 29	Amethyst	Habuhian
April 26 – April 30	Amethyst	Cahatel
July 17 – July 22	Dark Amethyst	Hahaiah
Sept 18 – Sept 23	Violet	Menadel
Oct 29 – Nov 2	Lt Amethyst	Ielahiah
Nov 23 – Nov 27	Amethyst	Vahuel

There are other Angels that are partial to Amethyst. The table below gives you the information about them.

Purpose	Crystal Color	Name of Angel
Guardian of the Twenty-Sixth Mansion of the Moon	Amethyst	Tagriel
Master of the 3rd Tarot Card “The Empress”	Dark Amethyst	Hagiel
Guardian of the Thirteenth Mansion of the Moon	Dark Amethyst	Jazeriel
Master of the 6th Tarot Card “The Lovers”	Light Amethyst	Ambriel
Guardian of the Twenty-Seventh Mansion of the Moon	Light Amethyst	Atheniel
Guardian of the Twenty-Fifth Mansion of the Moon	Light Amethyst	Aziel
Angel of Saturday and Ruler of Saturn. Cassiel is the Master of the 21st Tarot Card “The World”. Cassiel is also the Angel of Temperance, the Angel of Solitude, and the Angel of Tears	Light Amethyst	Cassiel
Master of the 20th Tarot Card “Judgment”	Light Amethyst	Nuriel
Master of the 21st Tarot Card “The World”	Light Amethyst	Phorlach
Guardian of the Twenty-Eighth Mansion of the Moon	Violet	Amnixiel
Healing Emotions	Violet	Jeremiel
Dealing with Adversity	Violet	Mastema
Michael is the Beauty Angel, Tree of Life. He is the Ruler of Sunday and the Sun. Michael is also the Master of the 19th Tarot Card “The Sun” and the 20th Tarot Card “Judgement”. He also helps you Heal Fear and Nervousness as well as being the aster of the East wind and the Angel of Sound Sleep, Repentance, and Truth	Violet	Michael
Guardian of the Seventh Mansion of the Moon	Violet	Scheliel
Master of the 8th Tarot Card “Strength”	Violet	Sheratiel
Master of the 13th Tarot Card “Death”	Light Violet	Barachiel
Master of the 12th Tarot Card “The Hanged Man”	Light Violet	Taliahad

Amethyst Goddess Crystals

Amethyst honors Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the Hunt, and Childbirth. She represents the love of the mountains and the forests where she chooses to spend her life. Her comfort is sought by women in labor.

Amethyst also honors Diana, the Roman Goddess of the Moon, and Protector of Animals.

Birthstones

There are several ways to find an appropriate birthstone. The traditional one is listed first. These are from the popular lists that most people are familiar with. The second way is to find your natural birthstone by the color wheel of life. You can click on the Natural Birthstone graphic below to learn more. Finally, many people use the traditional stones of the Zodiac.

In this section, you will find information on all three approaches.

Amethyst Traditional Birthstone

Amethyst is the traditional birthstone of those born in the month of February.

Amethyst Natural Birthstone

Amethyst is one of the natural birthstones of those born as the old year wanes and the new is about to arrive at the winter solstice (November 21 – December 20). Amethyst crystals bring you creativity, perception, self-knowledge, and insight.

Amethyst – Zodiac Stone of Pisces

Amethyst is the zodiac stone for those born under the sign of Pisces as winter makes way for spring, from February 19 to March 20. Pisces’ symbol is two fish swimming in the opposite directions of each other and illustrates the problem of dealing with conflicting emotions and goals. Pisceans love making friends and being around them, and often put their friends’ interests and needs before their own. They are very empathetic and enjoy giving gifts. They are quite resilient in life and are successful in the businesses of art, music, marketing and drama.

Amethyst Talismans and Amulets

In the ancient world, Amethyst was an amulet of protection worn around the neck of Egyptian dignitaries when they traveled outside their major cities. They believed it safeguarded them from personal treachery and ambush.

A talisman of ecclesiastical dignity and spiritual protection, Amethyst is the Bishop’s Stone, still worn on the second finger of the right hand of a Catholic bishop.

Amethyst is a talisman of focus and success, used in meditation, to enhance creativity and refine thinking skills.

Amethyst is a Seeker Transformer crystal. Seekers contain a crystal energy structure that aligns the natural energy of the crystal to the natural power of the human mind in finding the way to new horizons and new capabilities. They’re pointers, directors, and compasses; the fresh start crystals. These are talismans of the scientist, the adventurer, the hunter, wanderer, and explorer. They’re also crystals of the student and the researcher.

Transformer crystals enhance efforts to change our situations, prospects, health, outlook or relationships. By transforming ourselves we transform our lives. We learn to dance, speak a new language, grow stronger, or become a better spouse or child. Seeker crystals with the earth power of the Transformer are excellent talismans to aid our efforts to grow, develop new capabilities and change our lives.

Amethyst Feng Shui

Amethyst utilizes Fire Energy. Fire energy is the energy of enthusiasm, warmth, brightness, illumination and activity. It is Yang in nature. It is the energy of heat, action, emotion and passion – of ideas, of concepts, and sex. It is traditionally associated with the south area of a home or room, and with the fame and reputation area of your dwelling. Use its energy to give your life the boost it needs to enhance your standing in the community and within your family

Amethyst in Ancient Lore and Legend

According to Ovid, the Roman poet, Amethyst was a nymph pursued by Bacchus. Desperate to escape him, she called on the goddess Diana who rescued her by transforming her into a shiny stone of “pure, cold crystal.” Furious, Bacchus threw his glass filled with wine on the stone giving it its purple color. There are various stories and sources for this legend, sometimes with Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, sometimes with Dionysus, the Greek god of intoxication. All credit wine as the reason for the crystal’s hue.

The use of Amethyst can be traced as far back as 25,000 B.C. to the Neolithic people in Europe. It’s spiritual and legendary energies made it popular for beads and amulets in many cultures, and later as a stone of royalty, it was utilized in crowns, scepters, and jewelry. Ancient Egyptians used Amethyst as a healing stone to ease fears and guilt, and as a strong protector while traveling. Greeks and Romans used it constantly to protect themselves from excesses of overindulgence with food and drink, and its powerful healing effect upon the mind made it valuable for placement under the pillow at bedtime to cure insomnia and induce pleasant dreams. For headaches, it was warmed and placed on the forehead or temples to reduce throbbing.

Amethyst was considered a powerful psychic stone of protection against witchcraft and black magic and was said to lose its color and turn pale when placed near an angry attacker.

The Peruvians held a belief that if the names of the sun and the moon were engraved on an Amethyst and hung around one’s neck with a baboon’s hair or a swallow’s feather, it would act as a spell against witchcraft. The ancient philosopher Pliny the Elder claimed an Amethyst engraved with figures of the sun and the moon immunized people against poisons.

A bear engraved on an Amethyst had the virtue of putting demons to flight and defended and preserved the wearer from drunkenness.

In folklore, Amethyst was thought to deter animal fleas.

It was once believed a person could summon any love by speaking his or her name in an Amethyst, even if the person was committed to another.

Amethyst, listed as the twelfth foundation stone of the New Jerusalem, was considered by some to be inscribed with the name of the apostle Matthew and was emblematic of his conversion and sobriety. Andreas, bishop of Caesarea, in the tenth century believed the Amethyst, with its fiery aspect, signified Matthias, who in the gift of tongues was so filled with celestial fire and zeal to please God who had chosen him, that he was found worthy to take the place of Judas.

The Rosicrucian society, who combined pagan with Christian types and figures, saw Amethyst and its color as a symbol of the divine male sacrifice since the stone and color were typical of love, truth, passion, suffering and hope. The love of Christ led him to make the ultimate sacrifice and suffer the agony of the cross, and the crucifixion was followed by the resurrection; thus came the hope of mankind to enjoy eternal happiness in heaven.

Amethyst, the stone of February, should also be worn on Thursdays, “Thor’s Day.” It is considered a Gem of Spring, and though historically given as a gift on the seventeenth wedding anniversary, it is now listed as the official anniversary gemstone for the sixth anniversary.

Source: Amethyst ~ February Stone – Good Witches Homestead