Black Kyanite
kyanite (dark iron-bearing)
Iron-darkened kyanite from Brazil, growing in splayed fans that the trade decided look like a witch's besom and priced accordingly. It behaves exactly like blue kyanite, same directional hardness, same tendency to shed blades if you breathe on it. People carry it for protection, boundaries and grounding. Tradition attaches it to the element earth, the root, throat chakra, Saturn.
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Mineral facts
Hardness
4.5-7 Mohs
Formula
Al2SiO5 with Fe
Family
silicate
Where it comes from
Brazil (Bahia, Minas Gerais), USA (North Carolina), Zimbabwe, India
What it is
Iron-darkened kyanite from Brazil, growing in splayed fans that the trade decided look like a witch's besom and priced accordingly. It behaves exactly like blue kyanite, same directional hardness, same tendency to shed blades if you breathe on it. The shape did all the marketing.
What it is confused with
blue-kyanite, black-tourmaline, biotite, actinolite, hornblende
Splayed fans of flat black-to-charcoal blades radiating from a common base like a hand-tied broom or a turkey tail, the fan geometry is the whole look and is why it is sold as 'witch's broom'. Individual blades are thin, flat and striated lengthwise with a pearly sheen on the cleavage faces, and they flex slightly before snapping. Matte-to-satin luster rather than glassy. Almost always sold raw; almost never polished.
How to tell
Same directional hardness test as blue kyanite, scratches easily along the blade, resists across it. Black tourmaline is a rounded triangular rod, not a flat blade, and is harder in all directions.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Black Kyanite is a silicate, 4.5-7 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.
Black Kyanite for every sign
Aries
The shape did all the marketing.
It grows in splayed black fans and is sold as a witch's broom. The shape did all the marketing. The blades snap and shed splinters under almost no pressure, so hold it by the base or you will be holding less of it than you started with.
Taurus
The blades flex slightly and then snap.
Iron-darkened kyanite from Brazil, growing in splayed fans that the trade decided look like a besom. The blades flex slightly and then snap, and the fans shed splinters if you hold them anywhere but the base. The clearing practice attached to it dates from the 1990s.
Gemini
The shape did all of the marketing by itself.
Iron-darkened kyanite from Bahia that grows in splayed fans, which somebody decided looked like a broom, and the price followed the resemblance. Physically it is blue kyanite, with the same two hardnesses depending on direction. The blades shed if you hold it anywhere but the base.
Cancer
Handle it by the base and store it alone.
Handle it by the base. The blades shed splinters under almost no force and the fans come apart in a box with anything harder in it. It is blue kyanite with iron in it, and the broom shape is the entire reason anyone charges more.
Leo
The shape did all of the marketing.
The shape did all of the marketing. Iron-darkened kyanite splays into fans of flat blades that the trade decided resemble a besom, and the price rose accordingly. Same directional hardness as the blue, same habit of shedding splinters. Hold it by the base or it comes apart in your hand.
Virgo
The shape did all the marketing.
Same mineral as blue kyanite, iron-darkened, with the same directional hardness and the same habit of shedding blades. What differs is a splayed fan shape somebody decided resembled a besom, and that is where the price came from. Handle it by the base or you will be collecting splinters.
Libra
The shape did all the marketing.
Iron-darkened kyanite from Brazil, growing in splayed flat fans that the trade decided resembled a besom and priced accordingly. Same directional hardness as the blue, same habit of shedding blades if handled. The shape did all the marketing.
Scorpio
The shape did all the marketing.
Iron-darkened kyanite splaying into flat fans that the trade decided resembled a besom, and priced accordingly from the 1990s onward. It behaves exactly like the blue material, shedding blades under almost no pressure. The shape did all the marketing.
Sagittarius
The shape did all the marketing.
Iron-darkened kyanite from Bahia, growing in splayed fans the trade decided look like a besom. The shape did all the marketing.
Capricorn
The shape did all the marketing.
Iron-darkened kyanite growing in splayed flat fans, which the trade decided resembles a besom and priced accordingly. Same directional hardness as the blue material, same tendency to shed blades if you breathe on it. The shape did all the marketing.
Aquarius
The shape did all the marketing.
Same mineral as blue kyanite, same directional hardness, iron-darkened and splayed into fans. The trade decided the fans looked like a besom and priced them accordingly, and the sweeping attribution dates from the 1990s or later. The shape did all the marketing.
Pisces
The attribution rests entirely on the shape.
The fans shed splinters if you handle them anywhere except the base, and the blades snap with almost no force at all. Iron-darkened kyanite from Brazil, splayed into shapes the trade decided looked like a besom. The clearing attribution rests entirely on the shape.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
earth
Planet
Saturn
Chakra
root, throat
Signs
aries, capricorn, scorpio
What tradition says
In crystal lore, black kyanite is used for sweeping and clearing an aura or a space, an attribution built entirely on the broom-like form and dating to the 1990s or later.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Salt scratches it. Do not bury it in salt.
- Blades snap and flake with almost no force, and the fans shed splinters. Handle by the base, store alone in a box, rinse gently at most.
Common questions
What does black kyanite mean?
Black Kyanite is carried for protection, boundaries and grounding. Iron-darkened kyanite from Brazil, growing in splayed fans that the trade decided look like a witch's besom and priced accordingly.. Tradition links it to the root, throat chakra.
Is black kyanite real or fake?
Black Kyanite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Same directional hardness test as blue kyanite, scratches easily along the blade, resists across it. Black tourmaline is a rounded triangular rod, not a flat blade, and is harder in all directions.
Can black kyanite go in water?
A short rinse is fine for black kyanite, then dry it.
Uncommon · black, charcoal grey, blue-black, dark grey-green
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