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Entry № 229

Gyrolite

Hydrated Calcium Silicate

White radial flowers of hydrated calcium silicate.

Chakra

Crown

Element

Water · Air

Zodiac

Pisces · Cancer

Gyrolite

I. The Metaphysical Reading

How the stone has been held.

Gyrolite is worked with as a stone of delicate growth, held when something needs to unfold slowly in a protected environment. It is a stone of the hothouse and the nursery, of ideas that require humidity and patience to mature.

Chakra
Crown
Element
Water · Air
Zodiac
Pisces · Cancer
Keynote
White radial flowers of hydrated calcium silicate.

II. The Scientific Reading

What the lattice actually does.

Gyrolite is a hydrated calcium silicate mineral belonging to the gyrolite group of zeolite-related minerals. It typically forms as white to pale green radial aggregates of fine fibrous crystals in the amygdules and cavities of basalt and andesite. The mineral is hydrous, containing fourteen water molecules per formula unit, and dehydrates irreversibly when heated above 200 °C. It is found in association with other low-temperature alteration minerals such as okenite, prehnite, and laumontite.

Formula
Ca₁₆Si₂₄O₆₀(OH)₈·14H₂O
System
Triclinic
Hardness
2.5 – 3 (Mohs)
Provenance
Scotland (Isle of Skye), India, Iceland, USA (New Jersey)

References & Sources

Independent mineralogical references used to verify the scientific details above.

Mineral Profile

Fact Sheet

Chemical Formula
Ca₁₆Si₂₄O₆₀(OH)₈·14H₂O
Crystal System
Triclinic
Mohs Hardness
2.5 – 3 (Mohs)
Density
2.30 – 2.40 g/cm³
Refractive Index
1.510 – 1.535
Provenance
Scotland (Isle of Skye), India, Iceland, USA (New Jersey)
Color Origin
White to pale green with pearly fibrous radial aggregates

Related Crystals

Stones that share this lattice

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Helenite

Volcanic ash, reborn as glass.