Bismuth: meaning, properties and lore

The mineral

Bismuth is an uncommon mineral composed of the element of the same name, listed under elements and alloys with the formula Bi. It has atomic number 83 and an atomic mass of 209, and sits in the 5th main group of the periodic table. As a base metal that occurs in nature in elemental form, it is counted among the minerals.²³¹⁶

Native bismuth is a brittle metallic silver metal with a typical pinkish hue when fresh. Its colour varies from silvery white through grey to reddish white, and it tarnishes yellow to dark-grey. It is rather brittle, and synthetically grown bismuth forms good crystals with colourful tarnish colours.³²⁵⁶

Bismuth crystallises in the trigonal crystal system and forms filigree dendritic, net-like or feather-like crystals. Native bismuth is recorded in the hexagonal crystal system, yet it rarely forms well-developed crystals and instead occurs as flaky-granular aggregates.⁵²¹⁶

Native bismuth usually occurs as a minor accessory mineral, forming mostly microscopic or tiny grains, and well-formed natural crystals are incredibly rare. Unless well-crystallized, it requires analytical work to confirm its presence. It is rare in distribution, and in Wales it is restricted to three areas.³¹

Bismuth typically occurs in medium-temperature hydrothermal mineral veins, often with a wide variety of other sulphides, tellurides and sometimes native gold. It forms in hydrothermal veins in pegmatites and tin-tungsten quartz veins, often together with copper, nickel, tin or silver ores. Mindat lists over 580 different minerals known to contain bismuth.¹⁶

Classic European sites for native bismuth include Dolcoath in Cornwall, England, and Jáchymov, Czech Republic. Perhaps the best bismuth specimens were found in Schneeberg in the Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany. Excellent specimens have come from St. Ives, Cornwall, Dimbulah, Queensland, Australia, and Potosi, Bolivia. Significant deposits are found in China, Mexico, Laos, South Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, Canada, Bulgaria and Bolivia.³²⁶

History and lore

Bismuth was listed among the metals detected in the star Aldebaran's spectrum, along with tellurium, antimony, and mercury, according to Cooley's Cyclopædia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades, Sixth Edition, Volume I. The same Cyclopædia records bismuth as one of the metals in the tin and antimony pewter known as queen's metal.⁷

From the late 15th to the 18th century bismuth was used in painting to ground small wooden boxes, chests and cabinets, giving a metallic shiny surface decorated by artists. This bismuth painting is seldom practised today, and the craft has fallen into obscurity.⁶

In a case reported in the British and Foreign Medical Review in January 1847, bismuth had been prescribed earlier for a naval officer's stomach cramp, with good results at first. The same reported case says the officer's cramp attacks were said to lose their response to bismuth, which was continued in large doses but soon lost its effect. Half-drachm doses had never given the same relief in less than three hours, whereas a powder of ground biscuit stopped the pain after the fourth dose, as recorded in Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery.⁸

Birthstone and chakra links

Crystal practitioners link bismuth with the crown and third-eye chakras, and this chakra link is modern, not ancient. Believers also say bismuth is associated with emotional healing and helping to release emotional blockages.⁹

What crystal practitioners say

Crystal practitioners associate bismuth with the mind and regard its rainbow-like patterns as calming. Among crystal enthusiasts, the patterns are believed to create a soothing environment. Practitioners say its unique energy promotes clarity, insight, and spiritual transformation.⁹

Crystal practitioners say placing bismuth on a bed of clear quartz crystals is believed to amplify its energy. Advocates of this arrangement describe it as a way to strengthen what the stone gives, and they set the stone among quartz for the home or meditation.⁹

Crystal practitioners say bismuth can be charged by placing it under moonlight or sunlight for a few hours. Practitioners who use this method choose sunlight or moonlight rather than heat, which the mineral claims show can fade the stone.⁹

What testing has found

Crystal healing is said to be generally harmless and without toxicity.¹⁰

A 2001 study by Christopher French challenged 80 volunteers to tell real crystals from fake ones after holding them and meditating. Both groups reported similar impressions, and the results have not been replicated in larger studies. Participants who had been primed to expect warmth, tingling or well-being reported those sensations, and they could not tell real quartz from fake glass.¹⁰¹¹¹²

Ted Kaptchuk, a Harvard Medical School professor, argues that placebo effects from unconventional medicine should not be discarded, since they may be dramatic and compelling to patients. Some researchers say crystals likely do not directly act on physical and psychological problems but may have indirect benefits explained by the placebo effect. Crystal therapy does not cure diseases and should not replace traditional healthcare.¹¹