Selenite
gypsum
Transparent gypsum, soft enough to mark with a fingernail and soluble enough to ruin in a rainstorm, the mineral kingdom's tissue paper. Medieval builders glazed windows with it, which is where 'Maria glass' comes from. People carry it for clarity, calm and protection. Tradition attaches it to the element spirit, the crown, third-eye chakra, Moon.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
This one does not go in water. It dissolves.
Mineral facts
Hardness
2 Mohs
Formula
CaSO4·2H2O
Family
sulfate
Where it comes from
Mexico (Naica, Chihuahua), Morocco, USA (Oklahoma, Utah), Australia, Poland, Spain
What it is
Transparent gypsum, soft enough to mark with a fingernail and soluble enough to ruin in a rainstorm, the mineral kingdom's tissue paper. Medieval builders glazed windows with it, which is where 'Maria glass' comes from. Named for the moon, and behaves like something that should not survive daylight.
What it is confused with
satin-spar, clear-quartz, calcite, barite, muscovite
Transparent to translucent tabular or bladed crystals that split into flat sheets with a single perfect cleavage, peel one and you get a thin, flexible, glass-clear plate, which nothing else in the trade does. Cleavage surfaces have a bright pearly-to-vitreous sheen; broken cross-sections are fibrous or splintery. So soft a fingernail marks it. True selenite is the clear crystalline gypsum, not the milky fibrous towers sold under the name. Often shows internal 'water' clarity with stepped cleavage terraces visible inside.
How to tell
A fingernail (2.5) scratches it easily, no other clear crystal in a shop is this soft. It peels into flat flexible sheets along one cleavage. It does NOT fizz in vinegar, which separates it from calcite. Dissolves slowly in water.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Selenite is a sulfate, 2 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.
Selenite for every sign
Aries
Gypsum, Mohs 2, softer than your fingernail.
Gypsum, Mohs 2, softer than your fingernail. Water dissolves it and salt etches it, which between them are the two things you will be told to do with it. Medieval builders glazed windows with sheets of it, the last time anyone treated it as something to leave alone.
Taurus
Never wash it.
Medieval builders glazed windows with sheets of it, which is where Maria glass comes from. It is gypsum at Mohs 2, it peels into flexible clear plates, and water turns it chalky and pitted and eventually takes it apart. Never wash it. Never leave it near a bathroom.
Gemini
The recommended cleansing method is what destroys it.
Water dissolves it. Never soak it and never leave it on a bathroom shelf, and note that the trade recommends the exact cleansing methods that ruin it. Medieval builders glazed windows with sheets of this and called it Maria glass.
Cancer
Named for the Moon and destroyed by water.
Named for the Moon and destroyed by water, which is an awkward pairing for a cardinal water sign. It is gypsum, soft enough to mark with a fingernail, and it goes chalky and pitted the first time you wash it. Dry brush only, and keep it off the bathroom shelf.
Leo
Water dissolves it. That is the whole care instruction.
Water dissolves it. Not slowly and not theoretically: wash a selenite blade and it comes back cloudy, chalky and pitted, and salt does the same thing. It is gypsum, soft enough to mark with a fingernail, and medieval builders glazed windows with it under the name Maria glass.
Virgo
The clearing stone that cannot itself be washed.
Water dissolves it. Gypsum at hardness 2, soft enough to mark with a fingernail, peeling into flat flexible sheets along one perfect cleavage, which nothing else in the shop does. Medieval builders glazed windows with it and called it Maria glass. The clearing stone that cannot itself be washed.
Libra
Water ruins it.
Water ruins it. Gypsum at Mohs 2, soft enough for a fingernail, peeling into thin glass-clear plates along one perfect cleavage. Medieval builders glazed windows with those plates and called it Maria glass, which is a fair job for something that cannot survive a rainstorm.
Scorpio
Water dissolves it.
Water dissolves it. Gypsum at Mohs 2, soft enough to mark with a fingernail, and it goes cloudy, pitted and eventually to pieces if you wash it. Medieval builders glazed windows with the clear cleavage sheets and called the result Maria glass.
Sagittarius
Water dissolves it.
Water dissolves it. Transparent gypsum, soft enough to mark with a fingernail, mined at Naica in Chihuahua and once quarried for medieval window glazing under the name Maria glass. Never wash it and never leave it on a bathroom shelf.
Capricorn
Water dissolves it and salt finishes the job.
Water dissolves it. Gypsum at Mohs 2, softer than your fingernail, and it goes chalky and pitted within reach of a running tap. Medieval builders glazed windows with sheets of it, which tells you how thin it splits and how long it was expected to last.
Aquarius
It lets light through and cannot survive being washed.
Water dissolves it. Gypsum at Mohs 2, softer than a fingernail, splitting into clear flexible sheets along one perfect cleavage, which is how medieval builders came to glaze windows with it. It lets light through and cannot survive being washed.
Pisces
Everyone will tell you to cleanse this one.
Water dissolves it. Gypsum at Mohs 2, softer than a fingernail, named for the moon and behaving like something that should not have survived the trip to the shop. Everyone will tell you to cleanse this one, and doing so destroys it.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
spirit
Planet
Moon
Chakra
crown, third-eye
Signs
taurus, cancer, pisces
What tradition says
In crystal lore, selenite is associated with mental clarity and with 'clearing' other stones, a modern attribution that is ironic given the mineral cannot itself be cleansed in water or salt.
Care
- Do not put this one in water. It dissolves or spalls. Dust it dry.
- Salt scratches it. Do not bury it in salt.
- Water dissolves it — it will go cloudy, chalky and pitted, and eventually fall apart. Never soak, never wash, never leave it on a bathroom shelf. Dust with a dry soft brush. Salt will also etch it.
Common questions
What does selenite mean?
Selenite is carried for clarity, calm and protection. Transparent gypsum, soft enough to mark with a fingernail and soluble enough to ruin in a rainstorm, the mineral kingdom's tissue paper.. Tradition links it to the crown, third-eye chakra.
Is selenite real or fake?
Selenite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. A fingernail (2. 5) scratches it easily, no other clear crystal in a shop is this soft.
Can selenite go in water?
No. Selenite dissolves or spalls in water. Dust it dry instead of soaking it, and keep it out of salt.
Common · water-clear, glassy colorless, pale amber, translucent white
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works