Labradorite
Grey feldspar that flashes blue, green and gold from inside.
- Family
- Feldspar
- Formula
- (Ca,Na)(Al,Si)₄O₈
- Mohs
- 6 to 6.5
- System
- Triclinic
Science
Labradorite is plagioclase feldspar whose lamellae, formed by unmixing, are spaced at the wavelengths of visible light. The interference colour, labradorescence, appears only at particular angles, so a dull grey slab lights up as it turns. Oregon sunstone is a copper-bearing labradorite.
- Mineral
- Feldspar (variety)
- Formula
- (Ca,Na)(Al,Si)₄O₈
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Mohs hardness
- 6 to 6.5
- Specific gravity
- 2.70
- Refractive index
- 1.559 to 1.570
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Colours
- Grey, Blue flash, Gold flash
Composition
(Ca,Na)(Al,Si)₄O₈. Made of Calcium, Sodium, Aluminium, Silicon, Oxygen.
Origin
- CanadaPaul Island, Labrador
- Madagascar
- FinlandYlämaa, spectrolite
- Norway
- Russia
- Mexico
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Plentiful from Madagascar. Finnish spectrolite with full-spectrum flash is the scarce grade.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Labradorite sits at 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale. Glass and a knife blade are about as hard; it wears well with care.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Third Eye
- Throat
- Crown
Element
- Air
Zodiac
- Leo
- Scorpio
- Sagittarius
Planets
- Uranus
- Moon
Properties
- Transformation
- Intuition
- Protection of the aura
- Imagination
Lore
Moravian missionaries recorded it on Paul Island, Labrador in 1770. Inuit legend says the Northern Lights were once trapped in the rocks of the coast and a warrior freed most of them with his spear; what stayed became labradorite.
Its practice associations follow the optics: a stone of hidden colour and of the aurora.
- SpectroliteFinnish labradorite showing the whole spectrum, found in 1940 during wartime quarrying.
- Blue flashComes from lamellae about 100 to 200 nanometres apart.