NORTHERN LIGHTS
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Labradorite is truly a fascinatingly beautiful mineral, discovered in 1770 on St. Paul Island, Labrador, Canada. Its a mineral whose charm is not fully noticed and may be overlooked if not viewed from the proper position. Typically gray to black in color, Labradorite often reveals its iridescent display in either violet, blue, green, gold, orange, yellow or red color, or a combination of these. Like its sister the Moonstone, the iridescence, or labradoresence, of Labradorite is caused by thin parallel layers (called lamellae) within the stone.
Labradorite is thought to have fallen from the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights) and has been connected to ancient magickal practices by many from that region. Eskimos believed that the Northern Lights were once trapped in the rocks off the coast of Labrador, but were set free into the air by one of their ancestors who broke one of the rocks with his spear - some of the lights, however, remained trapped in the stone which we now call Labradorite. The Finnish often buried pieces of Labradorite in their fields as an offering to the spirits of the land. Artifacts found in Maine, and dating to around the year 1000, show the use of Labradorite by the Algonquin tribe of that time. One black iridescent variety of the stone, called Spectrolite and which hails from Finland, has been nicknamed "The Shaman's Stone". Labradorite has also been called "Black Moonstone".
Labradorite is truly a fascinatingly beautiful mineral, discovered in 1770 on St. Paul Island, Labrador, Canada. Its a mineral whose charm is not fully noticed and may be overlooked if not viewed from the proper position. Typically gray to black in color, Labradorite often reveals its iridescent display in either violet, blue, green, gold, orange, yellow or red color, or a combination of these. Like its sister the Moonstone, the iridescence, or labradoresence, of Labradorite is caused by thin parallel layers (called lamellae) within the stone.
Labradorite is thought to have fallen from the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights) and has been connected to ancient magickal practices by many from that region. Eskimos believed that the Northern Lights were once trapped in the rocks off the coast of Labrador, but were set free into the air by one of their ancestors who broke one of the rocks with his spear - some of the lights, however, remained trapped in the stone which we now call Labradorite. The Finnish often buried pieces of Labradorite in their fields as an offering to the spirits of the land. Artifacts found in Maine, and dating to around the year 1000, show the use of Labradorite by the Algonquin tribe of that time. One black iridescent variety of the stone, called Spectrolite and which hails from Finland, has been nicknamed "The Shaman's Stone". Labradorite has also been called "Black Moonstone".
