Amazonite: meaning, properties and lore

The mineral

Amazonite is a potassium feldspar, the gem variety of the species microcline, and belongs to the feldspar group, which contains potassium. The examined GIA material was mainly microcline with a very minor albite component.¹⁴²³⁷

The blue-green colour of amazonite requires the potassium feldspar to contain structurally bound water in addition to lead. Lead concentration in the examined material ranged from 11.7 to 44.6 ppma, or 120 to 432 ppmw, and it was irregularly distributed, which ruled out Pb diffusion treatment. Amazonite can also display an alternating blue and white pattern when it has minor albite stripes.⁴⁶²

Amazonite is harder than glass but is scratched by rock crystal, and it has a specific gravity of 2.5 to 2.6. Older descriptions describe the stone as green in colour but rarely clean, discoloured in places and usually covered with small white spots. It is not affected by acids and melts with difficulty before the blow-pipe.⁹³

Amazonite is found in rare-element pegmatites and has been found in Virginia. Amazonite from Luc Yen, first discovered in 1999 in weathered pegmatites in the Minh Tien area, is associated with smoky quartz, albite (cleavelandite), tourmaline (elbaite), and Li-mica (lepidolite). Luc Yen material ranges from light to dark green and from opaque to transparent.⁷²

Most Luc Yen amazonite production is suitable only for cabochon cutting. Production there has fallen in recent years because the deposit lies in paddy fields that restrict mining. Facet-grade transparent green feldspar from Luc Yen, which is very rare, has been identified as green orthoclase rather than amazonite.⁷

Microcline, the feldspar species amazonite belongs to, has the formula KAlSi3O8 and a Mohs hardness of about 6. Amazonite has been recently found in Mexico, alongside jadeite, topazolite, demantoid and labradorite. Amazonite is found in the State of Maine and is listed with Pennsylvania among its United States sources.⁵⁸¹⁰⁹

History and lore

The name of amazonite is said to have been derived from the Amazon River, though no specimens have been found there. The Amazon River was named the Amazon in the 16th century by the Spanish explorer Orellana, after an encounter with women warriors on its banks. The author's correspondent, the late Comte de Glenstrae, wrote in a letter to the author in 1905 about the Amazons led by Myrina, as described by Diodorus Siculus.⁶

Rothschild's A Hand-book of Precious Stones (1889) lists the Amazon stone as a green felspar, first found on the banks of the Amazon River. Its composition is given as potash, alumina, and silica.⁹

A necklace found in an Egyptian mummy from the First century A.D. included amazon stones alongside emeralds and gold beads. A necklace of rock crystal, emeralds, hexagonal crystals, and amazon stones from Egypt is illustrated in The Curious Lore of Precious Stones.¹⁰

Birthstone, zodiac and chakra links

Amazonite is named as an alternative birthstone for those born between March 20th and April 19th, corresponding to the modern modern modern zodiac sign Aries, a link made by crystal practitioners and not part of any official birthstone list.

Amazonite is associated with the Throat chakra, according to crystal practitioners, and the link is a modern one in crystal practice.

What crystal practitioners say

Practitioners keep amazonite for calm, honest speech, and luck. Practitioners say it promotes truth, ease, heartfelt communication, and clear speech. Practitioners describe it as a throat chakra stone and a heart chakra stone at once, a view that belongs to modern crystal practice.

Practitioners believe amazonite possesses metaphysical and healing properties and is associated with balance, harmony, and calmness. Believers say it is commonly used for meditation and spiritual practices and helps quiet the mind and enhance intuition.

Believers say amazonite attracts good fortune and success and supports manifestation and abundance. Believers hold that it protects against negative energies, electromagnetic pollution, and geopathic stress. Practitioners believe it absorbs and transmutes geomagnetic stress caused by electronic devices such as phones and computers.

Believers hold that amazonite opens the third eye and crown chakras and heightens intuition. Practitioners suggest charging amazonite by placing it under moonlight or sunlight for several hours, or burying it in the earth for a day or two, after cleansing it.

The Healing Crystals First Aid Book describes amazonite as a stone said to help with severe despondency and feelings of impotence, especially when one feels a victim of overwhelming fate. Its authors say it helps one find a mental foothold and counter the challenges of life with a degree of trust. The same book says it is said to help with fear, stimulating self-determination and an overall trust in life.¹¹

The Healing Crystals First Aid Book says amazonite is said to encourage a healthy belief in life and the concept of taking one's fate in one's own hands. It is also said to be one of the most important crystals for children's inner calm and self-control. Its authors describe it as useful when one cannot express grief or distress.¹¹

What testing has found

Ernst's text states that a scientific proof of any positive effect of crystal healing beyond a placebo effect does not exist.¹²

In 2001, Chris French ran a double-blind study in which 80 participants meditated while holding either a genuine quartz crystal or an imitation glass one, to test the claimed powers of crystal healing.¹³¹²

Euronews reported that French's team found both groups were equally likely to report the sensations they had been told to expect. Researchers say the results have not been replicated in larger studies. Ted Kaptchuk, a Harvard Medical School professor, argues placebo effects from unconventional medicine should not be discarded.¹⁴