Kunzite
Also Pink spodumene, Lithia amethyst
Transparent pink to lilac, palest at the edges. Strongly pleochroic: turn the crystal and the colour deepens along its length, then almost drains away.
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Hardness
- 6.5-7 Mohs
- Handling
- Kunzite fades in sunlight, and the fading is permanent. A few weeks on a bright windowsill will pull the pink out of it for good, and heat does the same faster, so keep it in a drawer or a box and bring it out in the evening. It also has perfect cleavage in two directions, which means a knock on the wrong angle splits it cleanly rather than chipping it. Brief contact with water is safe; dry it and put it back in the dark.
- In water
- Safe
What it is held to be for
Kunzite is a young stone. George Kunz described it in 1902 from Pala in California, and everything said about it since has been said in a hundred years, not a thousand. The tradition that grew up is consistent: a stone for a heart that has taken a blow. Venus claims it for its colour and for the gentleness of its work.
Modern lapidary tradition; described by G. F. Kunz, 1902
Correspondences
These are the tradition's ascriptions, not properties of the mineral.
- Planet
- Venus, Moon
- Element
- Water
- Signs
- Taurus, Libra, Scorpio
- Chinese phase
- Water
- Year animal
- Rabbit, Goat
- Centre
- Heart Anahata
- Sephirah
- Netzach
How it is used
Wear it against the breastbone, or keep it in a pocket where a hand can find it. Bring it out in the evening and put it away in a drawer by day. Light is what costs it.
Today
Hold it in your closed hand and name, out loud, the one person you are still angry with. Then put it in a dark drawer.
A longer working
On a Friday evening, after dark, set the stone on a folded cloth with a glass of water beside it. Say what happened, the whole of it, aloud, to the empty room. When you have finished, drink the water. Wrap the stone in the cloth and leave it wrapped for seven days. Unwrap it on the eighth and see whether you can say the same thing more shortly.
Works with
- Herb
- Rose
- Incense
- Benzoin