Prehnite
prehnite
The first mineral ever named after a person, Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who brought it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green bubbles in basalt cavities and looks convincingly like something that should be edible. People carry it for calm, intuition and self-love. Tradition attaches it to the element earth, the heart, solar-plexus chakra, Venus.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Mineral facts
Hardness
6-6.5 Mohs
Formula
Ca2Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Family
silicate
Where it comes from
Australia (Wave Hill, Northern Territory), Mali, South Africa (Cape, type locality), China (Fujian), USA (New Jersey, Michigan), Scotland
What it is
The first mineral ever named after a person, Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who brought it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green bubbles in basalt cavities and looks convincingly like something that should be edible. The black epidote spears through it are the fastest identification in the case.
What it is confused with
jadeite-jade, serpentine, chrysoprase, green-opal, grossular-garnet, green-fluorite
Translucent pale yellow-green with a soft, slightly cloudy, gelatinous look, like solidified olive oil or a green grape. Grows as botryoidal (bubbled) crusts and rounded globular masses whose surfaces are covered in low domes; broken across, these show a radiating fibrous structure fanning out from the base. Very often contains dark green-to-black needles of epidote piercing through it, which is close to diagnostic. Vitreous-to-waxy luster; hard enough to resist a knife.
How to tell
Botryoidal domes with internal radiating fibres plus black epidote needles is the signature. Prehnite is 6, 6.5 so a knife will not cut it, unlike serpentine (3, 5). Its translucency is cloudy and internal rather than glassy.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Prehnite is a silicate, 6-6.5 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.
Prehnite for every sign
Aries
The first mineral ever named after a person.
The first mineral ever named after a person. Colonel Hendrik von Prehn carried it back from the Cape in the 1780s, and it grows as pale green bubbles in basalt cavities that look convincingly edible. Black epidote needles spear through it, which is the fastest identification here.
Taurus
It looks convincingly like something edible.
Pale green bubbles growing in basalt cavities, with black epidote needles spearing straight through them. It is the first mineral ever named after a person, Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who brought it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It looks convincingly like something edible.
Gemini
The first mineral ever named after a person.
The first mineral ever named after a person, for Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who carried it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green domes in basalt cavities and looks like something you could eat. The black epidote spears through it settle the identification in a second.
Cancer
Break a dome and the inside fans out from the base.
It fills cavities in basalt as pale green domes and looks like solidified olive oil. Break one across and the inside is fibres fanning out from the base. Dark epidote needles usually pierce right through it, which is the fastest identification in the case.
Leo
The first mineral ever named for a person.
The first mineral ever named after a person: Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who carried it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green botryoidal bubbles that look convincingly edible, and the black epidote needles spearing through it are the fastest identification in the case.
Virgo
The first mineral ever named after a person.
The first mineral ever named after a person, for Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who carried it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green bubbled crusts that break to show fibres fanning from the base. Black epidote needles spearing through it are the fastest identification in the case.
Libra
The first mineral ever named after a person.
The first mineral ever named after a person: Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who carried it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green bubbles in basalt cavities and looks convincingly edible. Black epidote needles spearing through it are the fastest identification in the case.
Scorpio
Black epidote needles spear straight through it.
The first mineral ever named after a person, Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who carried it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green domes in basalt cavities and looks convincingly edible. Black epidote needles spear straight through it, which is the fastest identification in the case.
Sagittarius
The first mineral ever named after a person.
The first mineral ever named after a person, for Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who carried it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green bubbles in basalt cavities and looks convincingly edible. The black epidote spears running through it are the fastest identification in the case.
Capricorn
The first mineral ever named after a person.
The first mineral ever named after a person, for a Dutch colonel who carried it home from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green domes in basalt cavities and looks convincingly edible. The black epidote spears running through it are the fastest identification in the case.
Aquarius
The first mineral ever named after a person.
The first mineral ever named after a person, for Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who brought it back from the Cape in the 1780s. It grows as pale green domes in basalt cavities and looks convincingly edible, and the black epidote spears through it are the fastest identification in the case.
Pisces
It looks set rather than grown.
Pale green botryoidal domes that look set rather than grown, with black epidote spears running through them. Broken across, the domes show fibres radiating outward from a centre. The tradition calls it a stone of prophecy, on grounds nobody has ever written down clearly.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
earth
Planet
Venus
Chakra
heart, solar-plexus
Signs
libra, virgo, pisces
What tradition says
In crystal lore, prehnite is called the stone of prophecy and is associated with dreaming, foresight and releasing held tension; it is also popularly paired with epidote as a 'stone that heals the healer'.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Reasonably hard and stable in water, but brittle — botryoidal surfaces chip along the domes. Warm water and a soft cloth; avoid ultrasonics on cracked pieces.
Common questions
What does prehnite mean?
Prehnite is carried for calm, intuition and self-love. The first mineral ever named after a person, Colonel Hendrik von Prehn, who brought it back from the Cape in the 1780s.. Tradition links it to the heart, solar-plexus chakra.
Is prehnite real or fake?
Prehnite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Botryoidal domes with internal radiating fibres plus black epidote needles is the signature. Prehnite is 6, 6.
Can prehnite go in water?
A short rinse is fine for prehnite, then dry it.
Common · pale yellow-green, mint, lime, grey-green, colourless
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
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FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works