Published September 2016 • Updated August 2024 • Read Time: 9 minutes
Brandberg Amethyst is a gorgeous variety of Amethyst that is mixed with Smoky Quartz. Brandberg is a very famous mountain in Namibia. It is a Holy Mountain that has been considered sacred by the indigenous San people for thousands of years. The mountain is covered with over 45,000 rock paintings. Because of these paintings, the mountain is protected and the Amethyst mining actually occurs 20 miles away in the Goboboseb mountains. Brandberg Amethyst has a perfectly balanced energy that brings us back to our most essential self. It helps us to be grounded and wise, regardless of what is happening around us.
Amethyst Healing Energy
Spiritual Healing Properties
Brandberg Amethyst combines the exceptionally high vibration of Amethyst with the amplifying power of Clear Quartz and the grounding strength of Smoky Quartz. It’s energy invites us to to become our Highest Self and to live with dignity and respect for ourselves and all other beings. Brandberg Amethyst encourages us to act with integrity, courage, discernment and conviction. It also teaches us to be compassionate, yet also just; wise as well as clever. Brandberg Amethyst quiets the mind during meditation and helps us to stay grounded regardless of what is happening around us. It is a wonderful stone for shamanic work, allowing us to better control powerful energies safely and to use them effectively. It enhances our psychic gifts, and help us to tap into both our own powers as well as the infinity of the Divine. Brandberg Amethyst is particularly good for anyone interested in exploring or enhancing energy work such as Reiki.
Vibrations | Amethyst |
---|---|
Chakra | All |
Element | Wind, Earth |
Numerology | 2, 3, 8 |
Zodiac | All |
Emotional Healing Properties
Brandberg Amethyst gently breaks up any negative energy which has become caught in our aura or other energy fields. It helps us to stay balanced, steady and serene. Like other Amethysts, Brandberg encourages us to avoid overindulgence in all forms, this includes wallowing in self-pity or a tendency towards martyrdom. Brandberg Amethyst helps us to identify the true root cause behind our emotions, and subsequent thoughts and actions. From there, it gives us the courage to either make necessary changes or to come to peaceful terms with what cannot be changed. It is an excellent stone to work with during times of sorrow or depression, especially if caused by the ending of a relationships, as it helps us to stay focused on solutions and/or moving forward rather than dwelling on problems or the past. Brandberg Amethyst helps us to stay centered and relaxed within our own Personal Power and to cultivate inner peace and true contentment by living in the Now.
Mental Healing Properties
Brandberg Amethyst provides us with an exquisite sense of clarity. It helps us to look at the world realistically and pragmatically, and to focus our attention on solving problems rather than obsessing over their existence. Brandberg Amethyst stimulates both our intuitive gifts as well as our skills for logical and constructive thinking. By activating both our right and left brains, Brandberg Amethyst helps us to utilize our entire mind and use it to make the world a better place. It helps us to accept “good enough” and to not make perfect the energy of the good. It encouraging us to follow the rule of 80/20 and other similar sensible philosophies, which focus on getting things done in an effective manner.
Physical Healing Properties
Brandberg Amethyst is an excellent choice when we need to make big changes or face big challenges. It reminds us that simply wishing for something to be better isn’t enough, we have to give our wishes a helping hand. If we are scared of the future or feel overwhelmed in the present, Brandberg Amethyst helps us to keep things in perspective by repeating the serenity prayer, “Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” It is a fantastic talisman for sobriety and for insomnia. It is also a great talisman for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Geology of Brandberg Amethyst
Where does Brandberg Amethyst come from?
Brandberg Amethyst is found only in Nambia. The Amethyst mines are actually located 21 miles (35 kilometers) west of Brandberg Mountain, in the nearby Goboboseb mountains. The name Brandberg is used because it is known worldwide, but the actual mountain is protected and mining is forbidden.
Mining and Treatments
The small scale mines are primarily focused on extracting Amethyst. The gems are found in their primary location still associated with the basalt matrix.
Namibia
Mineral Family
Amethyst is a type of Quartz and a Silicate mineral. Silicate minerals are the largest family of minerals, including more than 25% of all known minerals and 40% of all common minerals. In addition to being a major part of the Earth’s crust, silicate minerals have also been found on the moon and in meteorites. Silicates are minerals which contain the elements silicon (a light gray shiny metal) and oxygen (a colorless gas). Together, these two elements form a tetrahedra – a shape similar to a pyramid – with a silicon atom in the center and oxygen atoms at each of the three corners. These tetrahedra connect with other chemical structures, in six different ways, to form a wide variety of minerals and rocks. There are six main groups of silicate minerals, and these main groups are further subdivided into secondary subdivisions, such as Quartz and Feldspar. The Quartz family has two main main groups, macr0-crystalline and micro-crystalline. The macro-crystalline minerals form large well-shaped crystals that are often transparent, while the micro-crystalline only form microscopic crystals and are always opaque. Brandberg Amethyst combines purple Amethyst with gray Smoky Quartz, and colorless Clear Quartz.
Brandberg Amethyst’s energy works well with its family – other macrocrystalline Quartz minerals. Try it in combination with Ametrine, Citrine, Prasiolite, and Rose Quartz.
Brandberg Amethyst Formation and Crystal Associates
Quartz crystals are created when liquid magma from a volcanic eruption cools down and transforms into igneous rocks. During this cooling down period, silica acid bubbles shift from being a gas/liquid into a solid compound. The bubble becomes a hollow space in the igneous rock and the silica acid becomes Quartz crystals. Once the Quartz has formed, a large hollow is often called a “druze,” while a smaller hollow is a “geode.” These druze and geodes can be removed from the host rock and then split open to revel the crystals inside.
If no trace elements are present to change its color, the silica acid becomes Clear Quartz. If no trace elements are present to change its color, the silic acid becomes Clear Quartz. If trace minerals are present, then the color changes. Amethyst get its color from trace particles of iron, while Smoky Quartz gets its color from being exposed to radiation. Brandberg Amethyst contains iron and has been naturally irradiated.
Brandberg Amethyst’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Apophyllite, Chrysocolla, and Prehnite.
Mineralogy | Brandberg Amethyst |
---|---|
Chemical Formula | SiO2 |
Cleavage | None |
Color | Purple and gray |
Crystal System | Hexagonal/trigonal |
Form/Habit | Prismatic |
Fracture | Conchoidal |
Hardness – Mohs Scale | 7 |
Luminescence | Pale yellow, white, or blue (short and long wave) |
Luster | Vitreous |
Mineral Family | Tectosilicate |
Specific Gravity | 2.7 |
Streak | White |
Transparency | Translucent to opaque |
History of Brandberg Amethyst
Amethyst has one of the oldest and most detailed historical traditions of any healing stone. It is included in virtually every known lapidary, texts which describe gemstones and their powers. Some of the most ancient traditions concerning Amethyst date back to the very dawn of human civilization and probably originated long before that! For centuries, gem dealers in the Old World considered Amethyst to be one of only five “cardinal gemstones,” comparable with Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. These cardinal gemstones were considered so rare that only the very highest echelons of society could hope to own one. However, in the 18th century, large Amethyst mines were discovered in Brazil and soon flooded the market, thus transforming Amethyst from a “precious” to a “semi-precious” stone.
Today, there are many types of Amethyst that are used as healing crystals. Some are pure purple Amethyst, but others are mixed with other minerals. Banded or Chevron Amethyst mixes the purple gem with white Snow Quartz. Super Seven and Auralite 23 are mainly purple Amethysts, but have a variety of mineral inclusions. Brandberg Amethyst mixes Amethyst with Smoky Quartz. That particular combination is non-uncommon and is found in many other Amethyst locations. But the combination is special because it occurs near Brandberg Mountain.
Brandberg is the highest mountain in Namibia. It stands alone, towering 8442 feet (2573 m) above the gravel plains of the Namib Desert, and so can be seen from a far distance. It is both an important geographical landmark for the area, as well as a place of great spiritual significance. The indigenous Damara people call it Daures, meaning “burning mountain” for the way the mountain glows in the setting sun. This term was translated into Africaans, which is rooted in the Germand and Dutch languages. The word brand means “fire” and berg is “mountain.” It is also called Omukuruvaro, which means “Mountain of the Gods.”
The San are the indigenous first peoples of the area and hold the Brandberg in high spiritual esteem. They are hunter-gatherer tribes whose territory spans all of southern Africa. Their culture is among the very oldest on earth, and was continuous until the late 20th century. Over the course of thousands of years, more than 45,000 rock paintings were made on the Brandberg, some pictorial and others abstract. One of the most famous is the White Lady, which is 2000 years old. It is thought that the she might be a shaman-healer, perhaps painted white ritually or perhaps symbolically white because she is filled with !kia (a state of heightened consciousness). This painting may show a trance in which the White Lady is hunting spirit animals in order to access their power.
The San believe there are two kinds of sickness: normal physical illnesses & “star sickness.” The latter is a negative energy that causes fights and makes people act jealous or stingy. The cure for star sickness is to participate in the healing trance dance. For this dance, the entire community gathers together at night. The woman sit around the fire and sing the healing chants, while clapping a steady beat. The men dance in single file pounding the earth with their feet, dancing around the women and the fire. Eventually, the men and women who are trained as healers enter the !kia trance where they are able to sense everything that is troubling people. The healers wash their hands in the fire, and then lay their hands on the affected person and draw the star sickness out of them. The dance continues until dawn.
Some sources claim that Brandberg Amethyst is actually mined on the Brandberg. From a metaphysical perspective, an Amethyst from this mountain would be a rare treat indeed! But in fact, the mountain is so well respected in the region, that it is illegal to mine there. Brandberg Amethysts and other varieties of Quartz are actually mined in the Goboboseb mountains, located approximately 35 km away from the Brandberg. The Gobobseb Mountains and the Brandberg are part of the same mountain range, composed mainly of granite and basalt. They formed approximately 132-135 million years ago, around the same time that the massive super-continent Pangea broke up.
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