Howlite
howlite
A calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia that would be an obscure collector's mineral if it were not the perfect blank canvas, porous, white, and threaded with grey veins that mimic turquoise matrix. More of it is sold under other stones' names than under its own. People carry it for calm, sleep and communication.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
The most-dyed stone in the entire trade. Its porosity and grey veining make it the default fake for turquoise, lapis, sugilite, charoite, red coral and black onyx. Dyed howlite is honest when labelled and fraud when not; assume any vivid uniformly-coloured stone with fine dark webbing is dyed howlite until proven otherwise.
This one does not go in water. It dissolves.
Mineral facts
Hardness
3.5 Mohs
Formula
Ca2B5SiO9(OH)5
Family
silicate
Where it comes from
Canada (Nova Scotia, type locality; New Brunswick), USA (California), Mexico, Turkey, Russia
What it is
A calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia that would be an obscure collector's mineral if it were not the perfect blank canvas, porous, white, and threaded with grey veins that mimic turquoise matrix. More of it is sold under other stones' names than under its own. Learn its veining and half the fakes in the shop become obvious.
What it is confused with
turquoise, magnesite, dyed-howlite, marble, satin-spar, angelite
Opaque chalky white with an irregular, spidery web of fine grey-to-black veins that branch and thread across the surface with no directional pattern. The veins are thin, sharp and dark against a porcelain-white matte body that never takes a high gloss. Raw material forms lumpy cauliflower-like nodules. Very soft: a steel pin or even a fingernail on some pieces will mark it. When dyed, the colour saturates the porous white body and concentrates strongly in the veins, producing a much darker vein than natural turquoise ever shows.
Commonly faked · check before you buy
How to tell
Scratch it with a knife or pin, it cuts like chalk (3.5), while turquoise (5, 6) does not. Rub a hidden area with an acetone-dampened cotton bud: dye lifts, natural colour does not. A scratched drill hole on 'blue howlite' reveals white underneath. Unlike magnesite, howlite does not fizz in acid.
The most-dyed stone in the entire trade. Its porosity and grey veining make it the default fake for turquoise, lapis, sugilite, charoite, red coral and black onyx. Dyed howlite is honest when labelled and fraud when not; assume any vivid uniformly-coloured stone with fine dark webbing is dyed howlite until proven otherwise.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Howlite is a silicate, 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.
Howlite for every sign
Aries
Learn the veining and half the shop goes transparent.
If you own a vivid, evenly coloured stone threaded with fine dark webbing, you own howlite. It is a chalky borosilicate from Nova Scotia, porous enough to take any dye. More of it sells under other stones' names than its own. Learn the veining and half the shop goes transparent.
Taurus
Dyed howlite is honest when it is labelled.
A calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia that would be an obscure collector's mineral if it were not the perfect blank canvas. Porous and white, threaded with grey veins that mimic turquoise matrix, it sells under more names than its own. Dyed howlite is honest when it is labelled.
Gemini
More of it sells under other names than its own.
Calcium borosilicate out of Nova Scotia, porous, chalk-soft, threaded with grey veins that happen to look exactly like turquoise matrix. More of it sells under other stones' names than under its own. Learn the webbing and half the shop collapses.
Cancer
It does all the work and none of the labels say so.
Nova Scotia calcium borosilicate, porcelain white, chalk soft, webbed with fine grey veins. It spends its life dyed and sold under better-known names, and a scratch at the drill hole shows white underneath every time. It does all the work and none of the labels say so.
Leo
It is sold under other stones' names more than its own.
More of it is sold under other stones' names than under its own. Chalky white, porous, threaded with fine black webbing, and soft enough to take dye all the way through, which makes it the trade's default understudy. Learn its veining and half the fakes in the shop become obvious.
Virgo
Learn the grey webbing and half the shop becomes transparent.
Calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia, and more of it sells under other stones' names than under its own. It cuts like chalk at 3.5, and an acetone bud lifts dye off it while natural colour stays put. Learn the grey webbing and half the shop becomes transparent to you.
Libra
More of it sells under other names than its own.
Porous, chalk white, threaded with fine grey veins that happen to look exactly like turquoise matrix. It is a calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia, and more of it sells under other stones' names than under its own. Learn the webbing and half the case gives itself up.
Scorpio
Learn the veining and half the shop goes transparent.
A calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia that would be an obscure collector mineral if it were not porous, white and threaded with grey veins. More of it is sold under other stones names than its own: turquoise, lapis, sugilite, charoite, coral, onyx. Learn the veining and half the shop goes transparent.
Sagittarius
Learn the webbing and half the shop becomes obvious.
A calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia that would be an obscure collector's mineral if it were not the perfect blank. Porous, white and threaded with grey veins that mimic turquoise matrix, it gets sold under more other names than its own. Learn the webbing and half the shop becomes obvious.
Capricorn
Learn the veining and half the shop becomes obvious.
A calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia that would be an obscure collector's mineral if it were not porous, white and threaded with grey veins. More of it sells under other stones' names than its own: turquoise, lapis, sugilite, coral, onyx. Learn the veining and half the shop becomes obvious.
Aquarius
Learn the veining and half the shop becomes obvious.
Learn the veining and half the shop becomes obvious. Howlite is a chalky white borosilicate from Nova Scotia threaded with fine black spidery veins, porous enough to take dye all the way through, which is why it gets sold as turquoise and lapis far more often than as itself.
Pisces
More often sold as something else than as itself.
Porous enough that dye goes all the way through, which is why a chip will not reveal white and why it is the trade's default substitute for turquoise and lapis. Undyed, it is chalky white with a fine black spidery web. It is more often sold as something else than as itself.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
air
Planet
Moon
Chakra
crown, third-eye
Signs
gemini, virgo, aquarius
What tradition says
In crystal lore, undyed howlite is associated with calming an overactive mind and with sleep; its bigger cultural role, undeniably, is as the substrate of the trade's most common substitutions.
Care
- Do not put this one in water. It dissolves or spalls. Dust it dry.
- Keep it out of direct sun. The colour goes and does not come back.
- Salt scratches it. Do not bury it in salt.
- Porous and soft: water leaches dye out of treated pieces and stains untreated ones, sunlight fades the dye, and salt abrades the surface. Dry cloth only.
Common questions
What does howlite mean?
Howlite is carried for calm, sleep and communication. A calcium borosilicate from Nova Scotia that would be an obscure collector's mineral if it were not the perfect blank canvas, porous, white, and threaded with grey veins that mimic turquoise matrix.. Tradition links it to the crown, third-eye chakra.
Is howlite real or fake?
The most-dyed stone in the entire trade. Its porosity and grey veining make it the default fake for turquoise, lapis, sugilite, charoite, red coral and black onyx.. Scratch it with a knife or pin, it cuts like chalk (3. 5), while turquoise (5, 6) does not.. The most-dyed stone in the entire trade.
Can howlite go in water?
No. Howlite dissolves or spalls in water. Dust it dry instead of soaking it, and keep it out of salt.
- Read: the crystals you cannot put in water →
- Read: the crystals that fade in sunlight →
- Read: fake crystals and the four tests that settle it →
Common · chalk white, cream, grey-white, dyed blue/green/purple/black
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works