Click the tartan to view its entry in The Scottish Registers of Tartans which includes registration details, restrictions, and registrant information.
Unregistered tartans may link to one of the web's online design environments for similar information.
For any questions about reproduction of designs or weaving of these tartans, please contact the registrant directly or via this website.
February's Birthstone
"And when I take them out of the cherrywood box these beads are the colour of dog-violets in shadow."
~ Amethyst Beads, Eavan Boland, 1944
Happy February Birthdays, with a tartan reminiscent of a cache of violet and purple amethysts, the traditional birthstone of February! Amethysts come in colors ranging from light lavender throughTyrian Purple to deep Indigos! Apart from its beauty, amethysts has been prized since ancient times for the belief in its magical and protective properties, particularly against drunkenness! The name "amethyst" is derived from the ancient Greek for "not intoxicated," referencing the belief that the stone protected its owner from over indulgence in wine! And because of the significance attached to the colour purple, rare in gemstones, the amethyst was once deemed more precious than diamonds, rubies, sapphires, or emeralds, and was reserved only for wearing by royalty and the clergy! The Greek god Dionysus, the god of wine, is credited as creating the amethyst! According to legend, after learning that a mortal had insulted him, Dionysus worked himself into a vengeful passion and vowed to avenge the insult by killing the next person to cross his path. Unfortunately, abeautiful maiden on her way to pay homage to Artemis, the goddess of childbirth and virginity, was the first to approach. Dionysus unleashed furious tigers upon her, but Artemis intervened, turning the maiden into a statue of pure white quartz just as the tigers leaped! Afterwards, remorseful for his actions while in a state of drunken anger, Dionysus poured his cup of grape wine over the pure white quartz statue, giving it its beautiful violet-purple hue and turning it into amethyst, thus bestowing the purple stone with the power to prevent the deleterious effects of alcohol! Cheers and Happy Birthday, February! ๐ ๐ค ๐ค ๐ค ๐ ๐ ๐
February's birthstone, the amethyst, is a violet variety of quartz.
The name comes from the Ancient Greek combination of words meaning "not intoxicated," a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness.
Medieval European soldiers wore amethyst amulets as protection in battle in the belief that amethysts heal people and keep them cool-headed. Western Christian bishops wear an episcopal ring often set with an amethyst, associated with the allusion to the description of the Apostles as "not drunk" at Pentecost in Acts 2:15.
This tartan, designed by Carol A.L. Martin, recalls the colour of amethyst ore from the designer's trip to an amethyst mine in Northern Ontario.
For a map of Scotland's natural gemstone areas, including amethyst, click the geode.