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Entry № 173

Crystallised Orange Calcite

Calcite (var. orange, crystalline)

Warmth held in a rhombohedral cage.

Chakra

Sacral · Solar Plexus

Element

Fire · Water

Zodiac

Cancer · Leo

Crystallised Orange Calcite

I. The Metaphysical Reading

How the stone has been held.

Crystallised orange calcite is worked with as a stone of creative return, kept in studios and kitchens as a warmth-holder for practices that have gone cool. Practitioners hold it as a reminder that pleasure and productivity are allowed to sit next to each other.

Chakra
Sacral · Solar Plexus
Element
Fire · Water
Zodiac
Cancer · Leo
Keynote
Warmth held in a rhombohedral cage.

II. The Scientific Reading

What the lattice actually does.

Crystallised orange calcite is the sharply-formed crystalline variety of calcium carbonate whose warm apricot to bright orange hue comes from trace iron and manganese incorporated into the CaCO₃ lattice, rather than from a coating or dye. The strong birefringence (~0.17) is the same double-refraction effect that makes clear Iceland spar famous, only masked here by the pigment.

Formula
CaCO₃ (with Fe / Mn trace pigments)
System
Trigonal
Hardness
3 (Mohs)
Provenance
Mexico, USA, Pakistan, China

References & Sources

Independent mineralogical references used to verify the scientific details above.

Mineral Profile

Fact Sheet

Chemical Formula
CaCO₃ (with Fe / Mn trace pigments)
Crystal System
Trigonal
Mohs Hardness
3 (Mohs)
Density
2.71 g/cm³
Refractive Index
1.486 – 1.658
Provenance
Mexico, USA, Pakistan, China
Color Origin
Warm apricot to bright orange rhombohedral and scalenohedral crystals

Related Crystals

Stones that share this lattice

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Next in the Atlas

Dali Calcite

The banded marble that named a school of Chinese painting.