Meaning & symbolism
Charoite is an opaque, fibrous potassium calcium silicate with swirling lilac to deep violet colour and a silky sheen. Commercial material is a rock of charoite with white microcline, black aegirine needles and orange tinaksite flecks. It is known from a single commercial deposit in the Murun massif, near the Chara River in eastern Siberia, where it formed by metasomatism at the contact between alkaline magma and limestone. It was described as a new mineral by Vera Rogova in 1978.
Healing properties
Energy
- Moving through change
- Releasing outgrown fears
- Intuition and inner trust
- Calmer nights
Mineralogy
- Silicate, monoclinic, fibrous
- Mohs 5 to 6
- Colour from manganese
- Associated with microcline, aegirine and tinaksite
- Opaque, silky to chatoyant lustre
Sources
- Murun massif, Sakha Republic and Irkutsk Oblast, Russia (only commercial source)
How to use it
Keep it on a bedside table for restless nights, hold it while journaling about a change or a fear, or place it at the crown or brow during meditation. Pairs well with smoky quartz for grounding and amethyst for steadiness.
Cleansing & care
At 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale and fibrous, it scratches and can chip. Store it apart from harder stones. Avoid salt, soaking, ultrasonic cleaners, heat and harsh chemicals; a quick rinse and a soft cloth are enough. Keep resin-stabilised pieces out of strong sun. Cleanse with smoke, sound or selenite.
Questions & answers
It forms only where a potassium-rich alkaline magma met limestone in the Murun massif of eastern Siberia. No second workable deposit has been found.
