Entry № 010
Afghanite
Sodium Calcium Potassium Alumino-Sulfate-Silicate
Lapis-country blue, gathered in miniature.
Chakra
Third Eye · Throat
Element
Air
Zodiac
Sagittarius · Aquarius

I. The Metaphysical Reading
How the stone has been held.
Practitioners describe afghanite as a stone of clear speech - one that supports the articulation of interior knowing when silence has grown heavy. It shares the traditions of its host rock, lapis lazuli, and is often placed at the throat during quiet reflection.
- Chakra
- Third Eye · Throat
- Element
- Air
- Zodiac
- Sagittarius · Aquarius
- Keynote
- Lapis-country blue, gathered in miniature.
II. The Scientific Reading
What the lattice actually does.
Afghanite is a rare feldspathoid discovered in 1968 within the Sar-e-Sang lapis-lazuli deposit of Badakhshan Province. Its blue colour arises from S₃⁻ and S₂⁻ chromophore ions trapped in the cancrinite-type framework - the same colour mechanism responsible for the blue in lazurite. The mineral is uniaxial negative and shows strong pleochroism from colourless to deep blue.
- Formula
- (Na,Ca,K)₈(Si,Al)₁₂O₂₄(SO₄,Cl,CO₃)₃·H₂O
- System
- Hexagonal (cancrinite group)
- Hardness
- 5.5 – 6 (Mohs)
- Provenance
- Afghanistan (Sar-e-Sang), Tajikistan, Italy (Vesuvius), Russia
References & Sources
Independent mineralogical references used to verify the scientific details above.
Mineral Profile
Fact Sheet
- Chemical Formula
- (Na,Ca,K)₈(Si,Al)₁₂O₂₄(SO₄,Cl,CO₃)₃·H₂O
- Crystal System
- Hexagonal (cancrinite group)
- Mohs Hardness
- 5.5 – 6 (Mohs)
- Density
- 2.55 – 2.65 g/cm³
- Refractive Index
- 1.523 – 1.529
- Provenance
- Afghanistan (Sar-e-Sang), Tajikistan, Italy (Vesuvius), Russia
- Color Origin
- Sky to indigo blue - sulfide chromophores in the framework channels
Related Crystals
Stones that share this lattice
Next in the Atlas
Agni Manitite
Pearl of the fire spirit.




