Pietersite
brecciated chatoyant quartz after amphibole fibres
Tiger's eye that was shattered by tectonics and healed back together at every angle at once, so the light in it looks like weather. Found in only two significant deposits, Namibia and Henan Province, and the Namibian one is worked out. People carry it for transformation, courage and intuition.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Mineral facts
Hardness
6.5-7 Mohs
Formula
SiO2 with crocidolite/amphibole fibre relics
Family
quartz
Where it comes from
Namibia (Outjo, largely exhausted), China (Henan Province)
What it is
Tiger's eye that was shattered by tectonics and healed back together at every angle at once, so the light in it looks like weather. Found in only two significant deposits, Namibia and Henan Province, and the Namibian one is worked out. Dealers call it the tempest stone and for once the name is descriptive.
What it is confused with
tigers-eye, hawks-eye, labradorite, dyed-tigers-eye
Chatoyant fibre bundles pointing in many different directions within one stone, separated by dark seams, the material was shattered and re-cemented, so each fragment keeps its own fibre orientation. Tilt the stone and different patches light up at different angles, producing a swirling, storm-cloud effect rather than a single sweeping band. Colours are gold, steel blue and rust brown in the same piece, with jagged breccia boundaries visible between domains.
How to tell
Multi-directional chatoyancy is the whole diagnosis. One direction equals tiger's eye; many directions with visible fracture seams equals pietersite. Scratches glass.
Genuine pietersite is untreated; dyed tiger's eye is sometimes passed off as it but lacks the brecciated seams.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Pietersite is a quartz, 6.5-7 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.
Pietersite for every sign
Aries
For once the name is descriptive.
Tiger's eye that was shattered by tectonics and healed back together at every angle at once, so each fragment kept its own direction of light. Two deposits exist and the Namibian one is worked out. Dealers call it the tempest stone. For once the name is descriptive.
Taurus
The light in it looks like weather.
Namibia's deposit is worked out and Henan is the only significant source left, which is unusual for something this well known. It is tiger's eye that was shattered and re-cemented, so the fibres point every way at once. The light in it looks like weather.
Gemini
Every fragment healed back facing a different way.
Take tiger's eye, shatter it tectonically, and cement it back together with every fragment facing a different way. Tilt it and separate patches light up at separate angles, which is the entire diagnosis. Namibia's deposit is worked out, so what is left came from Henan.
Cancer
It healed and did not go back the way it was.
Tiger's eye shattered by tectonics and cemented back together with every fragment facing a different way. Tilt it and separate patches light at separate angles, which is the entire identification. It healed, and it did not go back the way it was.
Leo
Shattered, recemented, and now the light moves like weather.
Two deposits, ever. Outjo in Namibia, now effectively worked out, and Henan Province. It is tiger's eye that was shattered by tectonics and cemented back together with every fragment facing a different way, so the light in it moves like weather instead of sweeping cleanly.
Virgo
The damage is what makes it worth anything.
Tiger's eye shattered by tectonics and cemented back together with every fragment keeping its own fibre direction, so tilting it lights up different patches at different angles. Two deposits have ever produced it, Namibia and Henan, and the Namibian one is worked out. The damage is the value.
Libra
The stone never agrees with itself.
Tiger's eye shattered by tectonics and cemented back together, every fragment keeping its own fibre direction. Tilt it and different patches light up at different angles, so the stone never agrees with itself. Two deposits ever, Namibia and Henan, and Namibia is worked out.
Scorpio
Shattered, recemented, and lit from every angle at once.
Tiger eye that was shattered by tectonics and cemented back together with every fragment keeping its own fibre direction, so the light inside behaves like weather. Two deposits have ever mattered, Namibia and Henan, and the Namibian one is worked out. Dealers call it the tempest stone.
Sagittarius
Two deposits ever mattered and the Namibian one is worked out.
Tiger's eye shattered by tectonics and healed back at every angle at once, so the light in it moves like weather. Two deposits ever mattered, Outjo in Namibia and Henan Province, and the Namibian one is worked out. Dealers call it the tempest stone.
Capricorn
Two deposits have ever mattered, and one is finished.
Tiger's eye shattered by tectonics and cemented back together with every fragment facing a different way, which is why the light in it moves like weather. Two deposits have ever mattered and the Namibian one is finished. Sheen running one direction only means you are holding tiger's eye.
Aquarius
Nothing in the stone agrees with anything else in it.
Tiger's eye that was shattered and healed back together at every angle at once, so each fragment kept its own fibre direction. Tilt it and different patches light up at different moments. Nothing in the stone agrees with anything else in it.
Pisces
Nothing in it was left where it started.
Shattered tiger's eye, healed back together with every fragment facing its own way, so the light in it moves like weather rather than like a single sheen. Namibia's deposit is worked out and Henan supplies the rest. Nothing in it was left where it started.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
air
Planet
Uranus
Chakra
third-eye, solar-plexus
Signs
leo, aquarius, sagittarius
What tradition says
In crystal lore, pietersite is associated with sudden change, with the moment before a storm breaks, and with facing what one has been avoiding.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Hard-wearing. Avoid dry grinding. Warm water and a soft cloth.
Same crocidolite-origin note as tiger's eye: fully silicified in finished stones, safe to handle, hazardous only if dry-cut or ground.
Common questions
What does pietersite mean?
Pietersite is carried for transformation, courage and intuition. Tiger's eye that was shattered by tectonics and healed back together at every angle at once, so the light in it looks like weather.. Tradition links it to the third-eye, solar-plexus chakra.
Is pietersite real or fake?
Pietersite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Multi-directional chatoyancy is the whole diagnosis. One direction equals tiger's eye; many directions with visible fracture seams equals pietersite.. Genuine pietersite is untreated; dyed tiger's eye is sometimes passed off as it but lacks the brecciated seams.
Can pietersite go in water?
A short rinse is fine for pietersite, then dry it.
Rare · storm blue, gold, red-brown, grey-black, mixed
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works