laborite

Lore of the Inuit people claims Labradorite fell from the frozen fire of the Aurora Borealis, an ordinary stone that transforms to the extraordinary, shimmering in a mystical light that separates the waking world from unseen realms. It is, in every sense, a Stone of Magic, a crystal of shamans, diviners, healers, and all who travel and embrace the universe seeking knowledge and guidance. For self-discovery, it is excellent for awakening one’s own awareness of inner spirit, intuition, and psychic abilities.

Labradorite is also the most powerful protector of the mineral kingdom, creating a shielding force throughout the aura and strengthening natural energies from within. It protects against the negativity and misfortunes of this world and provides safe exploration into alternate levels of consciousness and facilitating visionary experiences from the past or the future.

Labradorite is a member of the Feldspar family and is treasured for its remarkable play of color, known as labradorescence. The stone, usually gray-green, dark gray, black, or grayish-white, is composed of aggregate layers that refract light as iridescent flashes of peacock blue, gold, pale green, or coppery red. The predominant blue varies within the light, displaying hues from deepest blue to various shades of pale, almost blue-green.

This crystal was first discovered in Labrador, Canada, by Moravian missionaries in 1770 who named it for the area. It is, however, referenced in legends by older Inuit tribes, and was known to be in use by the Red Paint People of Maine for over a thousand years. It became a popular gem in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Rarer varieties of Labradorite include Golden Labradorite, a transparent gold or champagne color, and Spectrolite, an intense variety displaying the entire color spectrum, discovered in Finland in the 1940s.