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The Magic of Rocks and Stones

Stones - History, Myths and Lore /  Amethyst /  Aquamarine /  Aragonite /  Aventurine /  Black Tourmaline /  Bloodstone /  Carnelian /  Celestite /  Citrine /  Fluorite /  Hematite /  Labradorite /  Lapis Lazuli /  Malachite /  Moonstone /  Pyrite /  Quartz (Rock Crystal) /  Rose Quartz /Selenite /  Seraphinite  / Smoky Quartz /  Sodalite

Moonstone

Written and compiled by - Patricia Jean Martin

Named for its resemblance to the Moon, Moonstone is actually a variety of Orthoclase Feldspar that contains a schiller (shimmering) effect or adularescent sheen.  Adularescence is described as "an effect seen on certain minerals (the most famous, Opal and Moonstone) which causes it to display a billowy, rounded, ghost-like reflection with a bluish-whitish color emanating from the surface when the mineral is cut into a cabochon.  It is caused by structural anomalies or build up of water in the mineral."  Adularescent is derived from the mineral name, Adularia, of which Moonstone is a variety of.  Polished Moonstones also commonly exhibit chatoyancy (a narrow band of reflected light that produces a "cat's eye" effect) or asterism (a six-rayed star effect produced by reflected or transmitted light). 

Found as a rock-forming mineral in igneous, plutonic, and metamorphic rocks, Moonstone breaks (or cleaves) into blocky chunks very often at 90º angles creating tabular crystals.  Most are complexly twinned, meaning they often grow as several sets of two interwoven crystals that are mirror images of each other. 

The most common Moonstone in the Feldspar family is that of the mineral Adularia, but many famous and rarer specimens are from the Plagioclase Feldspars of Albite (Sodium Aluminum Silicate), along with the Oligoclase and Labradorite varieties.  A popular semi-precious stone, Moonstone comes in a variety of colors and shades, but is most often a whitish-blue.  Other colors range anywhere from colorless to silvery-white, yellow to orange, green to gray, brown, peach, pink and a type that is multi-colored called Rainbow Moonstone. 

Other names for Moonstone are Ceylonese Opal, Water Opal, Girasol, Fish-Eye and Wolf's-Eye.  The highest and most sought after quality Moonstones come from Sri Lanka. 

General Information: 

Chemistry:  KAlSi3O8 (Potassium Aluminum Silicate) 

Class:  Silicates. 

Subclass:  Tectosilicates. 

Group:  Feldspar. 

Color:  From colorless to bluish-white; also silvery gray, green, orange, peach, yellow or multi. 

Luster:   Vitreous (glassy), pearly parallel to cleavage; transparent to translucent.

Crystal System:  Monoclinic or prismatic Crystal Habit:  Tabular to prismatic crystals.  Repeated twinning is common, showing as fine parallel lines on good cleavage faces. 

Cleavage:  Perfect in two directions at 90º 

Fracture:  Uneven - flat surfaces (not cleavage) fractured in an uneven pattern. 

Hardness:  6.0 

Specific Gravity:  2.6 

Streak: White. 

Other Characteristics:  Exhibits adularescence, chatoyancy, or asterism. 

Notable Occurrences:  Sri Lanka, Burma, Madagascar, Germany, India, Tanzania, Brazil, U.S., Mexico. 

Best Field Indicators:  Cleavage, hardness, color, crystal habit. 

Uses:  Gemstone; mineral specimens; 

Myth & Lore: 

Moonstone is associated with all goddesses, but especially the Moon goddesses.  Resembling the Moon or "moonshine", the ancient Romans believed the stone was actually formed from moonlight.  In the Orient, people believed Moonstones were actual rays of moonlight that had solidified, and that the shimmering light held within the stone was a good spirit that lived there.  People in ancient India also thought along these lines, and the stone is still considered sacred in India today. 

Amulets of Moonstone were frequently hung in fruit trees to ensure fruitful and abundant crops.  In Asia and Europe the stone was associated with love and fidelity and was often worn when trying to attract a faithful lover.  It was believed that if held in the mouth, Moonstone would help one make proper decisions.  This versatile stone was also used in ancient times to cure insomnia. 

Due to its association with water, Moonstone is said to be protective of those at sea.  It is also protective of those that travel at night and especially during New Moon phases, and was once called the "Traveler's Stone".  It was also thought to protect against insanity, epilepsy, and any adverse wanderings of the mind.  The ancient Greeks called Moonstone "Aphroselene" after the goddesses Aphrodite (love) and Selene (moon). 

Pearl, Moonstone and Alexandrite are the birthstones of the month of June.  To recharge Moonstone, place it under the light of the Full Moon. 

Metaphysical Properties: 

Astrological Sign(s): Cancer 

Element(s): Water 

Chakra(s): Third Eye (Brow) 

Lunar (feminine) energy. 

Intuition. 

Receptive. 

Reflective. 

Inner harmony. 

Balancing. 

Calming. 

Love and happiness. 

New beginnings. 

Lucid dreams. 

Enhances psychic ability. 

Protective (especially in travel). 

*Gives physical aid in treating: Menstrual cycles, hormonal imbalances, and all female related health issues. Fertility. 

Circulatory system. Emotional distress, anxiety and stress. Assists with the cycles of change.  Alleviates swellings and helps reduce excess fluids in the body.  

Regenerative for eyes, skin and hair. 

Sleeping disorders. 

*NOTE: Stone therapy should NOT take the place of medical evaluation and procedures, and should be used merely to enhance one's health and well-being. 

My own thoughts and experiences: 

A most magickal stone, I think a good specimen of Moonstone can send you reeling!  Case in point, I recently obtained an exceedingly beautiful specimen from one our wholesale dealers.  The stone had been mounted in a pendant, and the moment I laid my eyes on it I knew I had to have it.  I almost felt like Gollum...the little naked, seedy and greedy character from Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings"...as I practically grabbed the pendant out of the wholesaler's hand, with the immediate thought, "To heck with my store...this one's mine! Ha!  It's mine!  All mine!  My preciousssssss, my precioussssss."  I was not a pretty sight.  Although I can grin at myself in recollection now. 

But strangely -- after a few days of hoarding the stone, picking it up everytime I walked by it, attempting to wear it but then oddly taking it off and preferring to just have it in front of me where I could look deeply at it and into it -- I came to a slow realization that the stone was not mine.  And I fought with that stone for about a week, saying, "Yes you are!," and listening to it calmly reply, "No I'm not." 

Very shortly after that time, a dear friend and neighbor of mine called our store and asked if we had any Moonstone.  She has just recently come into her own as a witch and was looking specifically for a Moonstone pendant.  Ack!.. well we'd just sold the last remaining two we'd had at the store, and so I said, "No, I'm sorry, but I'll check with our supplier for you soon."  But as I hung up the phone, I basically knew. 

I let it go for another couple days, occasionally glancing at the pendant sitting patiently on my coffee table.  It cast off a loving and comfortable glow, and yet it's flashes of shimmering wavy blue waters would remind me I had something to do...and it had somewhere to go.  A few days later I got that opportunity when that same neighbor friend came to share a special dinner with George, OwlOak and me.  I brought the stone out and asked if she liked it.  She did.  And so with nary a gulp I gladly gave it to her, for by this point I knew for sure where the stone wanted to be. 

So... will Moonstone cause you to become introspective and yet at the same time reflect back the vision of what action to take?  Will it play with your emotions but make you understand them perfectly as it harmoniously blends the inner and outer dimensions that spark a more fertile intuition?  And will it exude a mesmerizing and enchanting force, yet pull up a loving feminine nature to your forefront?  Yes indeed it can and will.  I'm actually intermittently holding a small tumbled piece of Moonstone now in order to best be able to bare the soul of the stone and to feel its comforting motherly arms wrapped around me as I attempted here to bare my own. 

Moonstone...an insightful and loving Goddess stone.  Gaze deeply into its milky moonlit essence and hypnotic hues while meditating.  Take in the colors that shine forth.  The flashes of blue and sometimes yellow, pink and green are inspiring, but the blue will calmly take you to the core of your inspiration.  Here you can feel the joy and happiness of the yellow, the warmth and soft love of the pale pink, the new beginning and gentle life-force of the green, and the shimmer that reminds you that your spirit is Divine. 

End.

Sources: 

"Rocks and Minerals" (Peterson Field Guides) ~ Frederick H. Pough 

"Love Is In the Earth" ~ Melody 

http://webmineral.com/data/Orthoclase.shtml 

http://www.minerals.net/mineral/silicate/tecto/feldspar/variety/moonston.htm 

http://www.igmla.com/LegendofStones.html 

http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/feldspar.html 

© 2006 Patricia J. Martin 

Website:  http://www.peacefulpaths.com/