Howlite
Also Turquenite, White buffalo stone
Opaque chalk white to grey-white, threaded with fine grey or black veins like a web; nodular and cauliflower-shaped in the rough
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Hardness
- 3.5 Mohs
- Handling
- Soft and porous, so it takes up oils, perfume and sweat and stains. Most of it on sale is dyed: blue howlite sold as turquoise is the commonest substitution in the bead trade, and the dye can run onto skin or into water. Keep it dry and wipe it with a dry cloth.
- In water
- No
What it is held to be for
Howlite came out of a Nova Scotian gypsum quarry and was described in 1868 by Henry How, a chemist. There is no ancient lore behind it and this entry will not invent any. Its tradition is modern and domestic: it is the stone people keep for a mind that will not stop working at night. The veining is why it is dyed so often, since it mimics turquoise.
Folk tradition; described 1868 by Henry How
Correspondences
These are the tradition's ascriptions, not properties of the mineral.
- Planet
- Moon, Saturn
- Element
- Air
- Signs
- Gemini, Virgo
- Chinese phase
- Metal
- Year animal
- Rooster, Ox
- Centre
- Crown Sahasrara
- Sephirah
- Yesod
How it is used
Kept under the pillow or on the bedside table. Held while the thoughts are running and put down once they are not. A bead on the wrist suits people who fidget, though sweat will stain it over time.
Today
When your thoughts will not stop, hold it and trace one grey vein with a fingertip, slowly, end to end. Then trace another. Stop when you lose interest.
A longer working
Before bed, write down every unfinished thing on your mind. The whole list, however long, and do not rank it. Set the howlite on the paper. Say out loud that the list will still be there in the morning, because it will. Leave both on the table and go to bed. In the morning cross off anything that has stopped mattering overnight, and only then begin the day.
Works with
- Herb
- Chamomile
- Incense
- Sandalwood