Meaning & symbolism
Howlite is an opaque, chalky white borate mineral threaded with grey and black web-like veins, which are not veins within the stone at all but the host clay pressed into the surface of the nodule as it grew. It was described near Windsor, Nova Scotia in 1868 by the chemist Henry How, who called it silicoborocalcite, and renamed howlite for him by James Dwight Dana. Almost all of the howlite in circulation came out of borax workings in southern California.
In the traditions it belongs to, howlite is the stone of stillness and awareness: reached for when the mind will not stop talking, when anger arrives faster than thought, or when sleep will not come. It is soft, common and undemanding, which is why it turns up in so many first crystal sets. Because it is porous it takes dye extremely well, and a great deal of the world's imitation turquoise is dyed howlite sold under the name turquenite.
Healing properties
Traditional energy
- Quiets an overactive mind
- Cools anger before it becomes speech
- Builds patience in slow situations
- Supports restful sleep
Mineral facts
- Borate group, monoclinic, no cleavage
- Mohs 3.5, porous, dull lustre
- Forms as nodules in evaporite borate deposits
- Type locality: Windsor, Nova Scotia (1868)
How to use it
By the bed: place a tumbled piece on the nightstand or under the pillow as a small closing ritual for the day.
In the hand: hold it when heat rises in an argument, and let the pause between feeling and speaking grow a little longer.
In meditation: rest it at the crown or hold it loosely in the palm to settle a restless mind.
At the desk: keep it where your hand falls during work that demands patience.
Cleansing & care
Howlite is soft (3.5 Mohs) and genuinely porous, so it is one of the few stones where popular cleansing advice will damage it. Do not soak it in salt water and do not bury it in damp earth: salt wicks into the pores and abrades the surface, and prolonged water dulls it and can lift dye unevenly on a coloured piece. Wipe it with a soft dry cloth, or barely damp with plain water and dry it at once. For energetic cleansing use methods that touch nothing: moonlight, smoke, sound, or a night on a selenite plate. Store it away from quartz and other harder stones, which will scratch it.
Questions & answers
No. Natural howlite is white with grey to black veining. Blue, green, red and gold-flecked howlite have all been dyed, most often to imitate turquoise, coral or lapis lazuli. Dyed howlite is a perfectly good material when it is labelled honestly.
