Angelite
anhydrite
Anhydrite, calcium sulfate with the water taken out, in a soft periwinkle from Peru, given a marketing name in the 1980s and now permanently attached to angels. Put it in water and it starts turning back into gypsum, expanding as it goes. People carry it for calm, communication and grief.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
This one does not go in water. It dissolves.
Mineral facts
Hardness
3.5 Mohs
Formula
CaSO4
Family
sulfate
Where it comes from
Peru, Mexico, Germany, Poland, USA
What it is
Anhydrite, calcium sulfate with the water taken out, in a soft periwinkle from Peru, given a marketing name in the 1980s and now permanently attached to angels. Put it in water and it starts turning back into gypsum, expanding as it goes. A stone that is chemically incomplete and reacts accordingly.
What it is confused with
blue-lace-agate, howlite, dyed-howlite, larimar, sodalite, celestite
Opaque, matte, chalky pale blue-lavender with a soft porcelain or unglazed-ceramic surface even after polishing, it never takes a glassy shine. Usually mottled with white or grey patches and fine darker veining, occasionally with small reddish flecks of hematite. The colour is muted periwinkle, never vivid. Soft enough to scratch with a coin, and feels slightly warm and light in the hand compared with a quartz of the same size.
How to tell
Scratches with a copper coin. Unlike howlite it has no black web veining; unlike blue lace agate it has no banding and no translucency. Critically, a drop of water left on angelite for a long period begins converting it to gypsum, never test it that way, but never soak it either.
Natural Peruvian material is untreated. Dyed howlite is sold as angelite and can be spotted by its grey-black web veining.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Angelite is a sulfate, 3.5 on the Mohs scale, and it is the stone traditionally carried when the problem is proximity rather than intensity.
You know what this one would do for you. You just don't have it.
Angelite for every sign
Aries
Keep it dry.
Anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water taken out. Wet it and it starts taking the water back, swelling and crumbling as it converts to gypsum, which is a chemical reaction rather than wear. Keep it dry. The name and the angels both date from a 1980s marketing decision.
Taurus
Keep it dry and wipe it with a dry cloth.
Anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water removed, and putting it in water starts it converting back to gypsum, swelling as it goes. That is a chemical reaction rather than wear, and it does not stop. Keep it dry and wipe it with a dry cloth.
Gemini
Water starts a reaction that swells it apart.
Keep it dry, permanently. Anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water taken out, so moisture starts a reaction that turns it back into gypsum, swelling and crumbling as it goes. The stone is Peruvian and the name was invented in the 1980s.
Cancer
Moisture starts it turning back into what it was.
Keep it dry permanently. Anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water taken out of it, so moisture starts it converting back into gypsum, swelling and crumbling in the process. It is the one stone in the case where water damage is a chemical reaction rather than a rinse.
Leo
It is calcium sulfate that wants its water back.
Put it in water and it starts turning back into gypsum, swelling as it goes. Anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water taken out, and it wants the water back. Chalky periwinkle Peruvian material, handed an angel name by a marketer in the 1980s and stuck with it ever since.
Virgo
Water starts turning it back into gypsum.
This is the one stone where water damage is a chemical reaction. Angelite is anhydrite, calcium sulfate with the water taken out, and putting water back starts converting it to gypsum, swelling and crumbling as it goes. The name was invented by a marketer in the 1980s. Keep it dry permanently.
Libra
Chemically incomplete, and it behaves like it.
Put it in water and it starts converting back into gypsum, swelling as it goes, so keep it dry. This is anhydrite, calcium sulfate with the water taken out, renamed angelite by a marketer in the 1980s. Chemically incomplete, and it behaves like it.
Scorpio
Chemically incomplete, and it reacts accordingly.
Keep it dry. Anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water taken out, so water puts itself back in, converting the stone to gypsum and swelling and crumbling it as it goes. The name came from a marketing department in the 1980s and stuck to something chemically incomplete.
Sagittarius
Chemically incomplete and behaving accordingly.
Water starts converting it back into gypsum, swelling as it goes, so keep it dry permanently. It is anhydrite, calcium sulphate with the water taken out, mined in Peru and given a marketing name in the 1980s that stuck to angels. Chemically incomplete and behaving accordingly.
Capricorn
Calcium sulfate with the water taken out. It wants it back.
Put it in water and it begins turning back into gypsum, swelling as it goes, because anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water taken out. This is the one stone where water damage is a chemical reaction rather than simple dissolving. Peruvian, periwinkle, and named by a marketer in the 1980s.
Aquarius
Water damage here is a chemical reaction, not dissolving.
Put it in water and it starts converting back into gypsum, swelling as it goes. Anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water removed, which makes this the one stone where water damage is a chemical reaction rather than simple dissolving. The name was invented in the 1980s.
Pisces
Chemically incomplete, and it reacts to water accordingly.
Put it in water and it begins turning back into gypsum, swelling and crumbling as it goes, because anhydrite is calcium sulfate with the water taken out. The surface is chalky and never takes a shine. Chemically incomplete, and it reacts to water accordingly.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
air
Planet
Neptune
Chakra
throat, third-eye, crown
Signs
aquarius, pisces, gemini
What tradition says
In crystal lore, angelite is associated with angelic communication and with speaking hard things gently; the name and the attribution both date to the late twentieth century.
Care
- Do not put this one in water. It dissolves or spalls. Dust it dry.
- Salt scratches it. Do not bury it in salt.
- Anhydrite absorbs water and converts to gypsum, swelling and crumbling — this is the one stone where water damage is a chemical reaction rather than simple dissolution. Keep it dry, always. Dry cloth only.
Common questions
What does angelite mean?
Angelite is carried for calm, communication and grief. Anhydrite, calcium sulfate with the water taken out, in a soft periwinkle from Peru, given a marketing name in the 1980s and now permanently attached to angels.. Tradition links it to the throat, third-eye, crown chakra.
Is angelite real or fake?
Angelite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Scratches with a copper coin. Unlike howlite it has no black web veining; unlike blue lace agate it has no banding and no translucency.. Natural Peruvian material is untreated.
Can angelite go in water?
No. Angelite dissolves or spalls in water. Dust it dry instead of soaking it, and keep it out of salt.
Common · pale periwinkle blue, grey-blue, lavender-blue with white
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works