Alabaster
There are two distinct type of Alabaster. Gypsum is said to be soft and easily scratched by a fingernail. It is considered to be the modern variety. Calcite Alabaster is the ancient variety and is hard enough that it can not be scratched by a fingernail, but by a knife. Alabaster is said to have gotten its Greek name from the city of Alabastron in Egypt.
The ancient Alabaster of the Far East was often used to make small perfume bottles and canopic jars in Egypt. When cut into thin enough sheets, it was used in medieval times for small windows. Calcite alabaster can be found in caverns deposited in several layers, giving it its banded look.
Modern Alabaster can be found in England. It is satiny and is considered to be an ornamental stone, but it does not hold up well to the elements. It is easily carved into detailed shapes because of its softness. Sometimes known as “plaster stone” Alabaster can be used to make plaster of Paris.
Alabaster is good to use during times of hardship and levels of high stress, promoting maturity and self control. This helps to cleanse, release grudges and promote forgiveness. It can aid in physical healing when sickness is brought on by such hard and stressful situations.
Hold Alabaster when meditating and it will help concentration. It is well used for cleaning other stones and increasing their powers.
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Albite
A triclinic usually white feldspar consisting of a sodium aluminum silicate
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Alexandrite
A Chrysoberyl that ranges in color from bluish green, orange red, and purple to purplish red, Alexandrite is one of the most valuable and finest to gemstone. One of the most amazing things about Alexandrite is the way the finest of the gemstones will change color from green in daylight to red in incandescent light at night. It is the only Chrysoberyl to do so.
First discovered in 1831 in the mining area of the Ural Mountains in Russia, Alexandrite made its appearance on Alexander II of Russia’s birthday. The Tsar was honored with having the new gemstone named after him, very fitting as the colors of the Russian Imperial Guard were green and red. While the finest Alexandrites are found in the Ural Mountains still to this day, smaller gemstones have been found in Brazil and Zimbabwe.
Alexandrite increases creativity making it a wonderful stone for all kinds of artists by helping with concentration and finalizing ideas. At night when red, it is good for promoting sensual and loving feelings, while its daytime green color is well used to promote success. It is said to be good for treatment of the nervous system by aiding in the regeneration of nervous tissue cells.
A great gemstone for meditation, Alexandrite helps to connect emotional and mental state during astral travel. It is used to connect the third eye, heart and base chakras.
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Almandine
Rich in iron and chromum an almandine garnet is red to brownish plum.
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Amazonite
Amazonite’s colors range from yellow-green to blue green and may have white streaks. It is a type of green Microcline and is a Feldspar mineral. Commonly found to be turquoise in color, it is also found occasionally to be pink or blue. Sometimes yellow, creamy whites or gray areas can be seen streaking through it. In it’s blue green form it is often confused with Jade. It can be found in Australia, Brazil, Namibia, Russia, the United States and Zimbabwe.
Amazonite is a wonderful worry stone as it helps to sooth and calm the nervous system by dispelling negative energy. It can encourage self confidence and is an excellent stone for women in the workplace. It is also said to help absorb calcium to help with problems with teeth or osteoporosis, as well as muscle spasms due to poor calcium absorption.
Amazonite is a great stone for communication with others, helping every one involved in conveying thoughts correctly. It is used to connect the throat and heart Chakras.
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Amber
Amber is not a crystalline form, stone or mineral. It is petrified pine tree sap millions of years old. It comes in many different shades of yellow ranging from a milkly white to a deep golden brown. Often small insects, flowers, seeds and other fossils can be found trapped in the ancient sap.
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Amethyst
Amethyst is the most popular and most valuable form of quartz and ranges from light to dark purple or bluish violet. Amethyst gets the purple color from small amounts of iron or manganese compounds in the crystal.
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Ametrine
A naturally occurring two-toned quartz crystal consisting of amethyst and citrine and is only found in Bolivia.
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Apatite
A crystal that varies from light to dark aqua in color.
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Aquamarine
A transparent gem of the beryl family is the milky blue color of sea water.
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Aventurine
Can be green, golden brown or iridescent.
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Beryl
Beryl is a mineral group that includes Aquamarine, Emerald, Goshenite, Heliodor and Morganite. These brilliant gemstones get their color variations from such minerals as iron, in the case of aquamarine being substituted for aluminum. Sri Lanka, Brazil and Siberia are a few of the places you might find a Beryl gemstone. Gemstones occasionally mistaken for Beryl gemstones are peridot, sapphire or tourmaline to name just a few.
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Bloodstone
Also known as Heliotrope, it is a dark green with red spots mineral in the quartz family.
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Carnelian
A hard tough type of chalcedony that has a reddish orange color and is used in jewelry.
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Chalcedony
Chalcedony is a variety of quartz.It can be a bluish, white, gray or yellow.
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Chrome Diopside
A brilliant gemstone of the pyroxene family, chrome diopside contains chromium which gives it a deep rich green color.
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Chrysoberyl
Chrysoberyl is usually found to be yellow, yellowish green, or brown in color.
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Chrysolite
Chrysolite is a golden yellow variety of peridot and means “golden stone” in Greek.
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Chrysoprase
A green to apple green mineral in the chalcedony family.
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Citrine
A light yellow to gold-brown crystal in the quartz family.
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Czech Glass
Czech Glass beads are made from a high quality glass and are made in the Czech Republic (formally known as Czechoslovakia). They have been making glass beads for centuries and can always be counted on for their brilliant colors and eye catching shapes.
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Diamond
A Diamond is a mineral composed exclusively of pure carbon, is the hardest natural substance and is formed at 2,000 degrees Celsius. Its Greek name is Adamas, meaning “I subdue” or “I tame”. Usually thought of as clear, a Diamond can be an intense canary yellow, pink, green, purplish, blue, red, black, brown and orange. This is due to inclusions such as nitrogen in the case of yellow or boron in the case of blue. Diamonds are the only gemstone that will vanish to form carbon dioxide when heated to a red hot.
Until the fifteenth century, Diamonds were reserved for Royalty. In the thirteenth century, only known to Kings, Louis IX of France (1422-1450) forbade women, along with Queens and Princesses to adorn themselves with Diamonds. Cutting of Diamonds became popular in the fourteenth century in Europe and India, thus becoming the gemstone that we know today.
The Koh-i-Noor Diamond has the longest traced history, it was 186 carats and begin its journey in 1304. At this time it was in possession of the rajahs of Malwa. Then in 1526 ended up in the hands of the Mogul dynasty and passed down the Moguls line until 1739 when Nadir Shah of Persia invaded India. When Nadir Shah came to possess the Diamond he is said to exclaimed “Koh-i-Noor”, meaning “Mountain of Light. At some point after this, a Persian king fled to the Sikh court with the Koh-i-Noor. The gemstone was then taken by the East India Company after the Sikh wars as part of the indemnity levied in 1849, and soon after presented to Queen Victoria. At that time she had the Koh-i-Noor cut to 108.93 carat oval brilliant. It is now on view in the Tower of London, set in the Queen Mother’s crown.
In a mid-fifteenth century Sanskrit manuscript, Diamonds are noted to protect its owner. The gemstones were believed to protect the wearer against poisons, sickness, evil spirits, thieves, ghosts, nightmares and serpents. There was a Hindu belief that a flawed and imperfect Diamond could cause lameness and jaundice. It was said to bring strength, courage and even bring victory in battle. It was a symbol for purity between a husband and wife and was thought that the Diamond would loose its magical potency because of a sin committed by its wearer. For several hundred years it was believed that a Diamond had gender and was labeled male or female based on its color, dark being male and light being female. There was even a belief in the mid-fifteen hundreds held by Francois Ruet that a male and female Diamond together could produce offspring.
When obtaining a Diamond it should be purified before being worn. The gemstone is among the most powerful absorbers of energy, including thoughts and emotions, picking up positive and negative energy from those who handle it. You should cleanse your Diamonds more often than your other gemstones. Its healing properties include stabilizing your metabolism and improvement of vision. Used in an elixir, it is said to be useful in conditions concerning the head, such as tumors and epilepsy. In the case of men, Diamonds are found to be helpful with sexual dysfunction. Healers often wear Diamonds while working to heal so as to maintain their own purity. The purity of a Diamond makes it very powerful in aiding the healing processes of most illnesses and diseases. It also promotes strong love of ones self and of others while deepening a feeling of harmony and serenity. It encourages creativity, innovation while supporting the intellect. By opening one self up to purity and fidelity it promotes trust and security within a relationship. A Diamond is among the most logical of choices for opening the Crown Chakra. Through balance, harmony and purity the Crown Chakra is linked to the powers of the Universe and to the Divine healing powers.
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Emerald
A member of the beryl family emeralds get their rich green color from chromium and vanadium.
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Fluorite
The most commonly found Fluorite is blue, green and/or purple, but it is also found to be yellow, pink, orange to name a few.
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Garnet
Garnet is a group of minerals that have closely related chemical properties. Getting color from iron or manganese Garnet is sometimes found in other colors, but red is the most well known.
Garnet is believed to be a great stone for creativity.
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Heliodore
Heliodor, found in the Beryl family of minerals can be found in yellow, yellow-green, orange, and brown colors.
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Heliotrope
Also known as bloodstone is dark green with red spots.
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Hematite
An iron oxide found in igneous rock it has a natural iridescent finish. Its color is a blackish gray with a metallic shimmer.
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Iolite
Sometimes called dichroite it is violet blue with small inclusions.
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Jade
Nephrite jade consists of amphibole crystals and is a dark olive green in color, while Jadeite is composed of proxene crystals and is a soft to medium mint green. Both types have color variations.
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Jasper
This member of the quartz family comes in all colors and is mostly striped or spotted.
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Kunzite
Getting it’s color from lithium aluminum silicate, Kunzite a member of the Spodumene mineral family, is a beautiful pink to violet color. It is often referred to as the “evening” stone as it has been known to fade in direct sunlight or high heat.
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Labradorite
Labradorite is a feldspar that has shades of blue, gray and green that reflects light with iridescent shimmers.
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Lampworked Glass
Lampworked Glass is made by heating a glass rod with a torch and wrapping it around a small metal mandrel. The mandrel is coated with a bead release to keep the glass from sticking to it.
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Lapis Lazuli
A semiprecious stone that is usually rich azure blue and is essentially a complex silicate often with spangles of iron pyrites and calcite.
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Malachite
Malachite is a copper based mineral with band of rich greens of various shades.
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Moonstone
The most popular form of feldspar moonstone is translucent with an iridescent shimmer. It is often a milky white with bluish shimmers.
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Morganite
A member of the Beryl mineral family Morganite is pink or a violet color. The pink Morganite is colored by small amounts of manganese in the crystal structure.
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Moss Agate
Moss agate is a member of the quartz family and is mostly colorless with shades of deep green inclusions.
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Onyx
This mineral from the chalcedony family is known mostly for being black, but while forming has a black base with a white upper layer.
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Opal
There are many different types of opals including the opalescent precious opals, yellow-red fire opals and the common opal. Minute spheres composed of silicon dioxide form a pyramid shaped grid interspersed with water.
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Pearl
Pearls form when an irritant finds its way into a specific type of mollusk that is much more closely related to a scallop than an oyster. Defensively the mollusk secretes a fluid to coat the irritant. Layer over layer of the coating called nacre is deposited on the irritant until a lustrous pearl is formed. Freshwater Pearls are available in a much wider color range than saltwater pearls. These colors include purple, violet, orange, blue and gray. They are much more affordable to produce as each mollusk could yield up to 30 pearls each harvest.
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Peridot
Peridot is a greenish yellow to dark lime green in the Olivine family. It is formed during volcanic eruptions. In Hawaiian folklore it is a symbol of the goddess Pele’s Tears and some beaches there are covered with tiny grains of Peridot too small to cut.
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Pyrite
Composed of iron sulfide, Pyrite is often referred to as “Fools Gold”. Coming from the Pyrite group of minerals, it is a shiny golden yellow with a metallic luster.
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Pyrope
This garnet from Arizona if found in volcanic rock and is a burgundy red.
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Quartz
Usually divided into two groups consisting of the transparent crystalline types and the translucent to opaque chalcedonies that are microcrystalline forms, Quartz is one of the most abundant and interesting minerals in the earth’s crust. Some examples are Amethyst, Rose Quartz and Citrine.
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Rhodochrosite
Rhodochrosite is a member of the calcite family of minerals and is a medium to dark rose pink often with a whitish-creme banding.
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Rhodolite
Rhodolite garnet is found in metamorphic rock and is a light reddish lavender to a medium plum.
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Rhodonite
Rhodonite is named after the Greek word for rose which is rhodon. It is most often found to be a rose-pink color with spots or strips of black. It is also found in other colors such as red, red-brown, green, yellow or black. It is sometimes confused with rhodochrosite, which is streaked with white instead of black.
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Rose Quartz
This mineral varies from pale pink to a strong vibrant pink.
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Ruby
A member of the Corundum family a Ruby is one of the worlds most valuable gems. The color varies from light to dark deep red.
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Sapphire
Sapphire is a member of the Corundum family of minerals and gets is color form titanium and iron oxides. It is usually a light to medium blue, but comes in all colors except red. The blue in the Sapphire comes from traces of iron and titanium, while a yellow fancy Sapphire get its color from ferric iron and a green fancy Sapphire is found to have ferrous and ferric iron.
We can follow the use of Sapphires by the ancient Etruscans to the seventh century B.C.E. These gemstones were found to be fashionable in Greece, Rome and Egypt as well. During Medieval times kings favored Sapphires and by the time of the Renaissance, Sapphires were popular with the wealthy.
Due to the three crossing lines, the star Sapphire is know be called “the stone of destiny” symbolizing hope, destiny and faith. It is well connected to the Power of Three and the Triple Goddess. The star Sapphire is thought to bring those wearing it to realize their own spiritual, enlightened or occupational goals. Additionally Sapphires are believed to help with the ability to perceive, learn and grasp while promoting mental clarity.
Sapphires are used to treat conditions concerning the circulatory system and to strengthen the arteries. If you have stomach, liver, spleen or gallbladder problems wearing yellow Sapphires are believed to help, while the blue Sapphire is noted to help with dyslexia.
Sapphires in general are powerful gemstones. The fact that they come in so may colors gives them many uses on the Chakras. Blue Sapphires stimulate the throat Chakra, cleansing and purifying it, a Sapphire is known to heal the throat, while a green Sapphire will stimulate the heart. An indigo Sapphire on the Third Eye will strengthen creativity and imaginations through inspiration and at the same time helping to cleanse negativity form all of the other Chakras. Purple and white Sapphires stimulate the crown Chakra, the white invokes direction and purpose, and destiny of occupation. Sapphires are suggested for use by people who’s occupation takes them in the direction of helping others in the purest and most just forms, such as religious figures, politicians or judges and are motivated by the community as a whole. Green Sapphires are said to bring prosperity and wealth, along with the yellow sapphire which is considered to be the “merchant’s stone” If you are looking for a job, I might take along a black Sapphire, or wear it if I felt uneasy or if I needed protection at work.
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Sard
A reddish brown member of the quartz family.
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Sardonyx
Sardonyx is a variety of chalcedony that is a reddish-brown with bands of white.
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Smokey Quartz
Smoky Quartz is brown to black or a smoky gray.
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Sodalite
The color of Sodalite ranges from royal blue to light blue as well as white. It is of the Sodalite family of minerals and is composed of Sodium Aluminum Silicate Chloride.
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Spinel
Spinels have a brilliant red color often mistaken for Rubies. An example of this is the 170-carat Black Prince’s Ruby on the British Imperial State Crown. Coming in many different color varieties, such as orange, vibrant pink and blue, Spinels are part of the Spinel mineral family.
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Sunstone
A member of the feldspar family sunstone orange-red in color, catches and reflects light wonderfully.
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Tanzanite
Tanzanite often shows different colors when seen from different directions and is a deep blue to violet-blue color.
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Tigers Eye
This member of the quartz family is gold-yellow to gold-brown and has stripes that give the appearance of a tiger’s eye.
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Topaz
Occuring in a wide array of colors from yellow to gold, blue, green, pink or red, peach and brown, Topaz can also be colorless. It is an aluminum silicate that contains fluorine.
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Tourmaline
Tourmaline is a Borosilicate mineral that gets its color from iron, chromium, vanadium and manganese. It is found in colors of blue, yellow, pink, red, green and black.
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Turquoise
Turquoise can be found in colors ranging from green to clean blue, to blue with Pyrite inclusions and is a Hydrated Copper Aluminum Phosphate.
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Zircon
Sometimes used as a substitute for diamonds, Zircon is a crystal that comes in many colors including red, yellowy orange, yellow, green blue, brown and clear.