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April 18, 2025 6:42 am
Why is Amethyst Considered as February Birthstone?
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Arya
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The designation of amethyst as February birthstone goes back to ancient mythology, royal heritage, and romantic symbolism. This enchanting purple gemstone has maintained its status through centuries of cultural significance and we are going to explore more of that in this article.
But before everything, I know you know Amethyst’s connection to St. Valentine made it the birthstone for February. However, didn’t you ever wonder who exactly was St. Valentine? Or why is it that just because he wore the stone so it got regarded as the February Birthstone? If you didn’t, I’m sure you do now. And I got your answers 😉
Who was St. Valentine?
St. Valentine was a roman saint in the 3rd century. He is associated with courtly love and is celebrated for the same generally on 14th Feb in the western culture.
Now before we move ahead, what is courtly love?
💘Courtly love, also known as refined love, was basically a romantic relationship between two unmarried people in medieval times. These love relationships were based on flirting, dancing, and the chivalrous efforts of knights and other noble young men to get favor from ladies at court …. all of this, mostly minus the physical intimacy.
➡️ Per legends, it is believed that St. Valentine defied orders of the then emperor Claudius II and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from being conscripted to serve in war, which can be a reason for why he was celebrated.
Valentine’s day, also referred to as feast of Saint Valentine, originated as a Christian feast day honoring martyr (person who was killed for their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus) Valentine. The stories indicate that Valentine was put behind the bars, because he conducted marriages for soldiers who were then not allowed to marry + practiced Christianity when it was forbidden, so it’s a double crime in that era.
Later, this day became of a cultural & religious significance, further smartly getting translated into commercial celebration of love & romance around the world.
To be honest, Valentine’s day wasn’t really celebrated as a romantic day until 17th century. From then only started the culture of sending cards and gifts or for that matter, any other token of love.
During the middle ages, Feb 14 was known as the beginning of bird’s mating season, which just somehow added to the idea the Valentine’s Day, slowly making it a day of romance over simply being a day of love.
💘 Interesting how the process of culture-creation works for in today’s era, you see a lot of people going on self-dates on Valentine’s as well as now considering this day to be the epitome of showcasing love for their dear ones, hence also taking parents & friends out as a form of showing of love & appreciation.
The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Parliament of Foules” (c. 1375) established the first connection between Valentine’s Day and passionate love. This poetry which received wide recognition actually talked about birds finding a mate for themselves on 14th Feb, which may or may not have been due to onset of spring (the experts in this field can surely guide us better).
Connection between Amethyst & February
Now that we know that St. Valentine was celebrated for his commitment to love, more like letting people live who love, it’s almost understood that anything he’d do, would be associated with “love” at some point.
Amethyst happened to have it’s moment at one such point.
The image of a cupid was a legal sign of love in the Roman Empire. In order to be recognized by Roman soldiers and be sought for his marriage services, St. Valentine was said to have worn a purple amethyst stone ring with an engraved cupid. This likely explains why Valentine’s Day became such a popular day for marriage proposals, as it has its roots in the forbidden unions that Valentine arranged.
So overall we can say that St Valentine, Cupid, and this whole concept of forbidden romance, helped in getting Amethyst the status it has today. The proud status of being the “couple’s stone” .
All these legends, the culture and people only helped amethyst be recognised for it’s ability to manifest soulful and deep emotional connection between lovers. And, in case the thread of love was broken by any chance, amethyst gemstone would be helpful in performing a successful CPR, meaning, bringing back the lost love.
And while you are here, (and may or may not be experiencing some troubles in paradise) allow me to share this article with you that talks about the spiritual properties of this gorgeous beauty called amethyst.
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