Selenite - Mineral and Healing Properties

Chemistry: variety of gypsum (CaSO4ú2H2O)

Class: Sulfates

Subclass:

Uses: Plaster, wall board, some cements, fertilizer, paint filler, ornamental stone.

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• Selenite Rose
• Selenite Log
• Selenite Wand
• Selenite Slab

Selenite, satin spar, desert rose, and gypsum flower are four varieties of the mineral gypsum; all four varieties show obvious crystalline structure. The four "crystalline" varieties of gypsum are sometimes grouped together and called selenite.

Gypsum is a common, rock-forming mineral, with thick, extensive beds formed by the evaporation of extremely saline waters. It is often associated with other minerals, such as halite and sulfur. It is deposited from lakes, seawater, hot springs, volcanic vapors, and sulfate solutions in geological veins. Hydrothermal anhydrite in veins is commonly hydrated to gypsum by groundwater in near-surface areas. The largest known deposits of gypsum occur in strata from the Permian age.

Origin Of The Name

Ancient Greek word for the Moon.

Interesting Facts

All natural rubies have imperfections in them, including color impurities and inclusions of rutile needles which is how to distinguish them from man made rubies.

Where Is It Found

Selenite is often found in caves, in evaporated lakes or seabed's, or salt flats.

What Do We Do With It

Gypsum is one of the most widely used minerals in the world. Most is used to make wall board, also know as sheet rock. It is estimated that the average American home contains seven metric tons of gypsum. Gypsum is also added to concrete to strengthen the material, so it can be used in concrete for roads, bridges and sidewalks just to name a few. Gypsum can also be used as a fertilizer by adding it directly to the soil. This increases the productivity of the land. It can be added to paint as a filler. Used in these ways, gypsum must first be ground up into a powder and dried.

It is thought that the first uses of gypsum were for sculptures. Alabaster is a soft solid form of gypsum that takes carvings well thus it was able to be carved into many different shaped objects. 5,000 years ago the Egyptians learned to turn the gypsum into what we now call Plaster of Paris, and they used it to line the walls of their living quarters. They discovered that if the gypsum was ground up into a fine powder and dried, that they could later add water, mix and use as cement. Gypsum contains a large amount of water, and this gives it fire protection qualities. This is important because it will give some protection from house fires. It is also important because it can be used as molds, allowing melted metals to be poured and formed within. Tiles found in the bathroom are more often than not attached to the wall with a form of gypsum mortar. Plates, cups and saucers from our kitchen were most likely poured into a gypsum formed mold. The uses of gypsum are, as we can see nearly endless.

Metaphysical Uses

Selenite is a strong activator of the Third Eye, allowing access to the hidden senses and intuitive gifts of clairvoyance and clear knowing. It does this by opening pathways between the Third-Eye and the Crown Energy Center.Z

It is the activation of these centers that are directly associated with the functions of the brain that makes it so potent. It allows you to blend your intuition and sensory perceptions with the wisdom you have gained from education, study, passions, pursuits and life experiences. One way you may experience this is by feeling like your mind is clear, and you are not distracted by random thoughts.

Yet, If you allow yourself to connect with your insights, you may find that you are able to envision new things that seem to pop as ah-ha moments. It is easier to see metaphors that allow you to follow a situation much further than before. You are able to envision possible obstacles and outcomes with new clarity.

In addition, Desert Rose physically represents the many layers of any situation and offers a new way to look at them. It is as if you now see each aspect for its own unique feature and can deal with them one at a time or appreciate them as a whole. It is through the ability to see the micro and the macro that alternatives present themselves.

Desert Rose may also be used to support more active dream states, astral travel or astral projection. By keeping it near where you sleep, it can help create a healthy balance between drifting to far away destinations, while feeling tethered to your physical body. This may help you remember aspects or the details of your dreams.

Desert Rose is a reminder of how complex, yet delicate life can be. Each experience is a part of how you have evolved into the person you are today. To often we emphasize or highlight the people or events that either diminish or exaggerate certain parts of our journey. We label them as good or bad, or perhaps replay them over and over until they have taken on a disproportionate weight in our evaluation of our success or happiness. Desert Rose Barite can assist you in looking at who you are today and finding the inner beauty of all the interconnected aspects that make you who you are today.

Physical Characteristics

Color: White, colorless or gray, but can also be shades of red, brown and yellow

Luster: Vitreous to pearly especially on cleavage surfaces

Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent

Crystal System: Monoclinic; 2/m

Crystal Habits: Tabular, bladed or blocky crystals with a slanted parallelogram outline. The pinacoid faces dominate with jutting prism faces on the edges of the tabular crystals. Long thin crystals show bends and some specimens bend into spirals called "Ram's Horn Selenite" Two types of twinning are common and one produces a "spear head twin" or "swallowtail twin" while the other type produces a "fishtail twin". Also massive, crusty, granular, earthy and fiberous.

Cleavage: Good in one direction and distinct in two others

Fracture: Uneven but rarely seen

Hardness: 2

Specific Gravity: 2.3

Streak: White

Associated Minerals: halite, calcite, sulfur, pyrite, borax and many others.

Best Field Indicators: Crystal habit, flexible crystals, cleavage and hardness