Celestite
Also Celestine
Pale blue strontium sulphate, grown in geodes the size of rooms.
- Family
- Celestite
- Formula
- SrSO₄
- Mohs
- 3 to 3.5
- System
- Orthorhombic
Drag to turn
Science
Celestite crystallises in sedimentary rocks and in cavities of limestone, lining geodes with sky-blue prisms. It is the main ore of strontium, whose salts burn crimson in fireworks and flares. The colour is from radiation defects and can fade in sunlight.
- Mineral
- Celestite
- Formula
- SrSO₄
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Mohs hardness
- 3 to 3.5
- Specific gravity
- 3.95 to 3.97
- Refractive index
- 1.619 to 1.635
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Colours
- Pale blue, Colourless, White
Composition
SrSO₄. Made of Strontium, Sulfur, Oxygen.
Origin
- MadagascarSakoany geodes
- United StatesCrystal Cave, Put-in-Bay, Ohio
- Mexico
- Poland
- ItalySicily
- United KingdomBristol, historic
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Blue geodes from Madagascar are widely available; fine transparent crystals are less common.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Celestite sits at 3 to 3.5 on the Mohs scale. A steel knife will scratch it; it suits pendants and display more than rings.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Throat
- Third Eye
- Crown
Element
- Air
Zodiac
- Gemini
- Libra
Planets
- Venus
- Neptune
Properties
- Peace
- Angelic connection
- Calm
- Dream recall
Lore
Named in 1798 from caelestis, heavenly, for the blue. The Crystal Cave beneath a winery on Put-in-Bay, Ohio, is a single celestite geode ten metres across, found while digging a well in 1897.
Modern practice treats it as the calmest of the blue stones, kept by the bed.
- StrontiumThe red in fireworks and old CRT glass came from celestite.
- FadingBlue fades in strong light; display it in shade.