August 29th, 2016

Rhodonite

Physical Characteristics: This Manganese-containing mineral occurs in a rosy pink along with blacks and browns formed through surface oxidation.

In Nature: Rhodonite crystals are thick and tabular, but are rare. More commonly, it occurs in masses. It is found in metamorphic rocks where other Manganese-bearing minerals are common. Other varieties containing Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, and/or Zinc also exist.

Chemical Composition: (Mn⁺², Fe⁺², Mg, Ca) SiO3

Mohs Scale Hardness: 5.5 - 6.5 (middle)

Can be Found: Russia, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Sweden, Peru, England, USA

Healing Properties*: Considered an ideal crystal for healing minor injuries (cuts, insect bites, etc.), Rhodonite is also thought to heal serious illnesses like auto-immune diseases or Parkinson's. For these purposes, one might pair Rhodonite with Rhodochrosite. The stone also strengthens the internal organs and can assist the body in passing gallstones or kidney stones.

Magickal Properties: With a name that comes from the Greek "rhodos" meaning "rosy", Rhodonite is a stone of the heart and the emotions. Its primary use is for dispelling anxiety, envy, and jealousy. Nurturing love, Rhodonite increases self-assurance and provides calming energy in a strained environment. Rhodonite offers equilibrium after a major upset of any kind, and can restore energy which has been drained as the result of emotional trauma. Victims of physical or emotional abuse may find working with Rhodonite a helpful coping mechanism.
Another name for Rhodonite is "Orletz"; allegedly, the crystal was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia, where the locals had noticed eagles carrying pebbles of it up to their nests. The name Orletz translates to "Eagle Stone". Finding documentation of this is difficult, but at least one Russian mineralogy site lists Orletz as an alternate name, lending the story some credence. The story goes on to say that it became custom to put Rhodonite in the cradles of babies and the pockets of travelers for protection. It is the national stone of Russia, and incidentally also the state stone of Massachusetts in the USA.

Chakra Association: Heart (Fourth) Chakra

Element: Fire

Energy: Projective

Planetary Association: Venus

*Magickal healing should never take the place of seeing a doctor and following any recommended prescriptions, actions, or other advice. Magick works best in tandem with physical efforts, anyway, so don't skimp on those check-ups!

June 25th, 2015

It's been an exciting afternoon! My grandparents took us over to a nearby park for an afternoon of bocce ball and card games. While we were there, Nick and I climbed down a steep trail to a creek running back through the trees. He went off and explored, but I stayed near the stream bed, looking for rocks. I found a whole bunch of neat ones!

There was plenty of Quartz, of course. Making up about 12% of the earth's crust, it's an extremely abundant mineral. I've identified them as follows:

• Far left: Medium grain Quartz crystals mixed with pink Feldspar; probably some type of granite
• Left: A sedimentary rock of some kind (some sort of Jasper, I think) with Quartz growing out the top of it.
• Top right: A massive (as in, rock-like rather than crystal-point, not as in "huge") chunk of Quartz
• Bottom right: A smaller, more translucent piece of massive Quartz
• Far right: Quartzite pebble

I was also excited to find some pieces of what look to me like Unakite. Unakite is the combination of green Epidote with pink Feldspar. The distribution of the two wasn't the most balanced across all the pieces I found. In particular, I think the bottom left is Epidote and Quartz, while the bottom right looks like Epidote and Slate.

And then I found some miscellaneous stones.

• Top left: Granite; when I picked this one up, there were some neat blue flecks in it which were really pretty.
• Bottom left: Not sure yet what this is; it's probably sedimentary, although it has more rings than it seems to layers. I don't think it's an Agate, though.
• Middle: Fossils! I thought maybe it was just some rock conglomerate when I picked it up, but then I was looking at it more closely, and it does appear to have at least some fossilized bones in it.
• Top right: Red Jasper? It looked more like some when it was wet. I don't know how I could find out for sure, since I don't have the equipment for a streak test, or really to test hardness, either.
• Bottom right: This is probably more pink Feldspar, but it looked a bit like Rhodochrosite, which I know occurs in neighboring states, so I figured I'd keep it just in case.

Ultimately, I'm very much an amateur where identifying my own stones goes, so if you see anything you recognize, by all means, let me know!