Pyrite
pyrite
Iron sulfide that grows in perfect cubes with striated faces, and has been fooling prospectors so reliably that its nickname is older than most nation-states. Spanish miners named it from the Greek for fire because it sparks on steel. People carry it for abundance, protection and courage. Tradition attaches it to the element fire, the solar-plexus, root chakra, Mars.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
This one does not go in water. It dissolves.
Mineral facts
Hardness
6-6.5 Mohs
Formula
FeS2
Family
sulfide
Where it comes from
Spain (Navajún, the famous cubes), Peru, Italy (Elba), USA (Illinois, pyrite suns), China, Bolivia
What it is
Iron sulfide that grows in perfect cubes with striated faces, and has been fooling prospectors so reliably that its nickname is older than most nation-states. Spanish miners named it from the Greek for fire because it sparks on steel. Left in a damp room it slowly destroys itself and anything stored next to it.
What it is confused with
gold, chalcopyrite, marcasite, goldstone, brass
Bright metallic brass-yellow with a slightly greenish or pale cast, forming razor-sharp cubes with fine parallel striations on each face, and the striations on adjacent faces run at right angles to each other, which is diagnostic. Also occurs as twelve-sided pyritohedrons and as flat radiating 'sun' discs. Brittle: struck pieces shatter into angular fragments rather than deforming. Streak is greenish-black to brownish-black on unglazed tile. Old specimens may show white powdery bloom or rust from oxidation.
How to tell
Gold is soft and malleable, it dents and smears; pyrite is hard (6, 6.5) and shatters. Pyrite's streak is greenish-black, gold's is gold. Chalcopyrite is softer (3.5, 4), deeper brass-gold and often iridescent purple-blue. Pyrite will strike a spark on steel.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Pyrite is a sulfide, 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.
Pyrite for every sign
Aries
It sparks on steel.
It sparks on steel. The name comes from the Greek for fire for exactly that reason. It also has a disease: humid air oxidises the sulfide into sulfuric acid and white crust, and the crystal eats itself into powder along with whatever is stored beside it.
Taurus
It forms perfect cubes on its own.
It forms perfect cubes on its own, with striations on adjacent faces running at right angles to each other. Spanish miners named it from the Greek for fire because it sparks on steel. Left in a humid room it oxidises into sulfuric acid and powder, and takes the shelf with it.
Gemini
Gold dents under pressure and pyrite shatters instead.
Spanish miners named it from the Greek for fire because it throws a spark off steel. Gold dents under pressure and pyrite shatters instead, which has been the whole test for four centuries. Leave it in a damp room and it turns itself into sulfuric acid and powder.
Cancer
Damp air turns it into acid and white crusts.
Keep it out of the bathroom. Damp air oxidises the sulfide into sulfuric acid and white crusts, and a decaying specimen takes the labels and the box down with it. Store it dry, with a silica gel packet if you live anywhere humid.
Leo
Struck against steel it throws sparks. Hence the name.
Spanish miners took the name from the Greek for fire, because struck against steel it throws sparks. It grows in razor-sharp cubes, and the striations on adjacent faces run at right angles to each other, which is the fastest identification in the case. In a damp room it eats itself.
Virgo
Striations on adjacent faces run at right angles.
Spanish miners named it from the Greek for fire because it sparks off steel. The striations on adjacent cube faces run at right angles to one another, which reads in about a second. Keep it out of the bathroom. Damp air oxidises the sulfide and it takes its neighbours down with it.
Libra
Striations on adjacent faces run at right angles.
The striations on adjacent cube faces run at right angles to each other, which is how you separate it from gold in about three seconds. Spanish miners named it from the Greek for fire because it sparks on steel. Left in a damp room it oxidises into sulfuric acid and eats whatever is stored beside it.
Scorpio
It destroys whatever is stored beside it.
Iron sulfide that builds cubes on its own, with striations on adjacent faces running at right angles to each other. Spanish miners named it from the Greek for fire because it throws sparks off steel. Left somewhere humid it oxidises into sulfuric acid and quietly destroys whatever is stored beside it.
Sagittarius
Spanish miners named it from the Greek for fire.
Its nickname has outlasted most nation-states, and Spanish miners named the mineral itself from the Greek for fire because it sparks on steel. The sharpest cubes come from Navajun in La Rioja. Keep it dry or humidity turns it into sulphuric acid and powder.
Capricorn
Left damp, it destroys itself and its neighbours.
Perfect cubes with striations running at right angles on adjacent faces, and it throws a spark off steel, which is where the name comes from. Pyrite disease is real: damp air oxidises the sulfide into sulfuric acid and the specimen slowly eats itself and whatever sits beside it.
Aquarius
Left damp, it destroys itself and its neighbours.
Striations on adjacent cube faces run at right angles to each other, which is diagnostic and visible with a loupe. Left in a humid room the sulfide oxidises into sulfuric acid and white crusts, and it will take whatever is stored beside it along. Keep it dry and keep it apart.
Pisces
It absorbs humidity and turns on itself.
It absorbs humidity and turns on itself. Damp air oxidises the sulfide into sulfuric acid and white crusts, and pyrite disease will eat the specimens stored beside it as well. Keep it dry and keep it out of the bathroom.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
fire
Planet
Mars
Chakra
solar-plexus, root
Signs
leo, aries, taurus
What tradition says
In crystal lore, pyrite is associated with money, willpower and defending one's own interests; the modern 'abundance' attribution derives straightforwardly from the gold resemblance.
Care
- Do not put this one in water. It dissolves or spalls. Dust it dry.
- Salt scratches it. Do not bury it in salt.
- Pyrite disease is real: humid air oxidises the sulfide, producing acid, white crusts and eventual crumbling. Keep it dry, keep it out of the bathroom, never soak it and never salt it. Store with a silica gel packet if you live somewhere humid.
Iron sulfide. Not acutely toxic to handle, but oxidising pyrite produces sulfuric acid and iron sulfates. Never put it in drinking water and never make an elixir, the sulfate and acid production is a real chemical process, not a superstition. Wash hands after handling decaying specimens.
Common questions
What does pyrite mean?
Pyrite is carried for abundance, protection and courage. Iron sulfide that grows in perfect cubes with striated faces, and has been fooling prospectors so reliably that its nickname is older than most nation-states.. Tradition links it to the solar-plexus, root chakra.
Is pyrite real or fake?
Pyrite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Gold is soft and malleable, it dents and smears; pyrite is hard (6, 6. 5) and shatters.
Can pyrite go in water?
No. Pyrite dissolves or spalls in water. Dust it dry instead of soaking it, and keep it out of salt.
Common · pale brass yellow, greenish brass, iridescent tarnish
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
From the Grimoire
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works