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Entry № 201

Garnet in Staurolite

Almandine with Staurolite Schist

Two crystal habits that only share a schist.

Chakra

Root · Heart

Element

Earth · Fire

Zodiac

Cancer · Capricorn

Garnet in Staurolite

I. The Metaphysical Reading

How the stone has been held.

Garnet in staurolite is worked with as a stone of anchored crossings, tied to the folk name 'fairy cross' given to staurolite's twinned crystals. Practitioners keep it close during rites of passage and hold that the garnet warms what the staurolite marks.

Chakra
Root · Heart
Element
Earth · Fire
Zodiac
Cancer · Capricorn
Keynote
Two crystal habits that only share a schist.

II. The Scientific Reading

What the lattice actually does.

Garnet-staurolite schist forms at medium-grade metamorphic conditions (roughly 550 – 700 °C) in aluminous pelites. Both minerals crystallise as porphyroblasts within a mica-quartz matrix; staurolite is famous for its twinned crystals that intersect at 60° or 90°, forming natural crosses. Their coexistence brackets a specific facies of Barrovian metamorphism.

Formula
Almandine Fe₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃ with staurolite (Fe,Mg)₂Al₉(Si,Al)₄O₂₃(OH)
System
Aggregate (isometric garnet + monoclinic staurolite in schist)
Hardness
7 – 7.5 (Mohs)
Provenance
USA (Georgia, New Mexico), Switzerland (Alps), Russia (Kola)

References & Sources

Independent mineralogical references used to verify the scientific details above.

Mineral Profile

Fact Sheet

Chemical Formula
Almandine Fe₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃ with staurolite (Fe,Mg)₂Al₉(Si,Al)₄O₂₃(OH)
Crystal System
Aggregate (isometric garnet + monoclinic staurolite in schist)
Mohs Hardness
7 – 7.5 (Mohs)
Density
3.20 – 3.80 g/cm³
Refractive Index
1.73 – 1.83 (bulk)
Provenance
USA (Georgia, New Mexico), Switzerland (Alps), Russia (Kola)
Color Origin
Brown staurolite-rich matrix with red almandine crystals

Related Crystals

Stones that share this lattice

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Garnet in Wollastonite

Contact-zone stone where limestone met granite.