Tiger's Eye
Also Tigereye, Crocidolite quartz
Opaque golden brown in bands of light and dark, with a silky sheen that slides across the face as it turns; the blue form is hawk's eye and heated material goes red.
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Hardness
- 6.5-7 Mohs
- Handling
- Polished tiger's eye is hard, stable and safe in water. Rough material is another matter: the fibres it grew through are crocidolite, a form of asbestos, so it must never be cut, ground or dry-sanded at home. Finished, sealed stones are safe to handle and to wear.
- In water
- Safe
What it is held to be for
Tiger's eye is quartz that grew through blue asbestos fibres, so a band of light travels across it as it turns. The tradition gives it to the Sun in a guarded mood: a stone for watching without being watched. Its own lore is young, because the material was only worked from the nineteenth century, and it stands in for the older eye-agates worn against the evil eye.
Folk tradition
Correspondences
These are the tradition's ascriptions, not properties of the mineral.
- Planet
- Sun, Mars
- Element
- Earth
- Signs
- Leo, Capricorn
- Chinese phase
- Earth
- Year animal
- Tiger, Dog
- Centre
- Solar plexus Manipura
- Sephirah
- Geburah
How it is used
Carried in the pocket of the hand you use least, so that you find it by accident. Taken to interviews, hearings and difficult meetings, and anywhere you need to keep your own counsel for a while.
Today
Turn the tiger's eye until the band of light crosses it. Ask yourself one plain question about a decision you are avoiding. Answer it.
A longer working
Before something you are dreading, sit with the stone in daylight and turn it four times, once towards each wall of the room. At each turn, name one thing that could go wrong and one thing you would do about it. Four fears, four answers, no more. Put the stone in your pocket, go, and do not take it out again until the thing is over.
Works with
- Herb
- Rosemary
- Incense
- Dragon's Blood