Lapis Luzuli (Lazurite)
Lapis
Luzuli (Lazurite)
| Mineralogy : | |
| Tradename(s) | Lazurite, Lapis Lazuli |
| Family | |
| Description | Lapis Lazuli (Arabic & Latin for "blue stone") is composed of several minerals. The most common are Lazurite (blue color), Pyrite (gold/silver metallic color), calcite (white color). Lapis has been found in other countries including Russia, Angola, Burma, Canada, Chile, Unitied States. The most precious of Lapis comes from Afghanistan. The Arab, Istakhri, in the tenth century was the first geographer to record a visit to a Lapis mine in Afghanistan. |
| Mohs | 5 - 6 |
| Chemical Composition | Na8[Sl(AlSiO4)] |
| Refractive Index | 1.50 (mean) |
| Specific Gravity | 2.38 - 2.42 |
| Cleavage | None |
| Streak | Light blue |
| Localities | Afghanistan, Russia, Chile, California / U.S.A. |
| Metaphysical : | |
| Healing | Protection, Insight, Healing. It helps stimulate emotional, mental, and pysical purity and clarity. Treatment of disorders of the throat, bone marrow, thymus, and immune system. Stone of total awareness. Psychic power, truth, wisdom, stone of total awareness, insight into dreams, protects from psychic attacks, hearing loss and eustachian tube disorders. |
| Astrology | Sign of Sagittarius |
| Elemental | Water |
| Chakra | 6th-Third-eye Center |
| Feng Shui | Opens the third eye and acts like a thought amplifier |
| Legend / Folklore : |
| The mines of Badakshan, Afghanistan were visited by Marco Polo in 1217 C.E. It has been used as a decorative stone as far back as then. It is said that the Sumerians believed carrying the mineral was like carrying the presence of a god. For centuries lapis has been linked to divinity. The Greeks and the Romans used lapis as an award for personal bravery. The stone was being used medicinally in the late 1600's for epilepsy, dementia, spleen disorders, and to stop miscarriages. The practice of using it as a prevention of miscarriages (as an amulet worn) is still occuring today in Macedonia. In the eighteenth century, lapis lazuli cost fifteen times the cost of emeralds because of its popularity and the difficulty in obtaining it. |
| Birthstone and other Information : |