Amethyst - February Birthstone
For those who were born in the month of February the Amethyst is the traditional birthstone. The February birthstone poem reflects some of the properties with which the Amethyst is associated - stability, peace, balance, courage, inner strength, sincerity and a calm disposition. The healing properties of the February birthstone are reputed to be effective for health problems relating to the withdrawal symptoms of any sort of addiction, headaches, insomnia, arthritis, pain relief, circulatory system issues and general healing. The Amethyst is also referred to as the the "sobriety stone" as it was once believed to prevent drunkenness and used to treat alcoholism and other types of addictions.
The traditional colors associated with the Amethyst is a pale lilac to violet to red-violet color through to a deep rich purple color. A popular gem used in jewelry. The meaning of colors through the ages represented many aspects of life. Social, religious, biblical and Christian symbolism were all reflected in the color purple. The original symbolic meaning of the color purple was for penitence and mourning. However, it became symbolic with wealth and power and strongly associated with Royalty as the dyes used for purple materials were extremely expensive to produce.