Sugilite
sugilite
First described from Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found in gem-quality purple at the Wessels manganese mine in South Africa in 1975, that South African material is effectively the whole world supply and it is finite. Good sugilite costs more than most people expect. People carry it for protection, grief and shadow work.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Mineral facts
Hardness
5.5-6.5 Mohs
Formula
KNa2(Fe,Mn,Al)2Li3Si12O30
Family
silicate
Where it comes from
South Africa (Wessels Mine, Northern Cape), Japan (Iwagi Islet, type locality), Canada (Mont Saint-Hilaire), Italy, Australia
What it is
First described from Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found in gem-quality purple at the Wessels manganese mine in South Africa in 1975, that South African material is effectively the whole world supply and it is finite. Good sugilite costs more than most people expect. Almost every cheap purple stone claiming the name is dyed howlite.
What it is confused with
charoite, dyed-howlite, purple-jade, lepidolite, purpurite, dyed-quartzite
A dense, saturated magenta-to-royal purple, opaque and evenly coloured with a smooth waxy-to-vitreous polish, the colour is more pink-leaning and far more uniform than charoite's fibrous violet. Frequently mottled or streaked with black manganese oxide and dark grey-purple zones, and sometimes with translucent gel-like patches (the most valuable material). No fibres, no swirl, no flakes. Harder than it looks and takes a fine polish.
How to tell
Sugilite is uniformly coloured and 5.5, 6.5, so a steel knife will not cut it; dyed howlite is 3.5 and cuts like chalk with white beneath. Charoite shows fibrous whorls; sugilite does not. Real sugilite is expensive, a cheap 'sugilite' is almost certainly dyed.
Genuine sugilite is untreated. Dyed howlite, dyed jasper and dyed magnesite are the standard substitutes and are much cheaper.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Sugilite is a silicate, 5.5-6.5 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.
Sugilite for every sign
Aries
A cheap sugilite is dyed howlite, every time, without exception.
Described from Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found in gem purple at the Wessels manganese mine in 1975. That South African material is effectively the entire world supply and it is finite. A cheap sugilite is dyed howlite, every time, without exception.
Taurus
Good sugilite costs more than people expect.
Found drab yellow-brown in Japan in 1944, then gem purple at the Wessels mine in 1975, and that South African supply is the world's entire stock and it is finite. Good sugilite costs more than people expect. Anything cheap under the name is dyed howlite.
Gemini
Cheap sugilite is dyed howlite, every single time.
Described in Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral nobody wanted, then found in gem purple at the Wessels mine in South Africa in 1975. That South African material is effectively the world supply and it is finite. Cheap sugilite is dyed howlite, every single time.
Cancer
The grief attributions arrived with the 1980s marketing.
The Wessels mine in South Africa turned up the purple material in 1975 and effectively holds the world supply. Before that it was a drab yellow-brown mineral described in Japan in 1944. The 1980s American market renamed it luvulite, and the grief attributions arrived with the marketing.
Leo
One mine holds effectively the entire world supply.
Described from Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found in gem purple at the Wessels manganese mine in 1975. That South African material is effectively the entire world supply and it is finite. Any cheap purple stone claiming the name is dyed howlite.
Virgo
A cheap sugilite is dyed howlite, without exception.
Described from Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found purple at the Wessels mine in 1975, and that South African material is effectively the entire world supply. It is finite and priced like it. A cheap sugilite is dyed howlite, and a knife cuts howlite like chalk.
Libra
Ignored for thirty years, then it turned up purple.
Described from Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral and ignored, then found in gem purple at the Wessels manganese mine in South Africa in 1975. That South African material is effectively the whole world supply and it is finite. Cheap purple using the name is dyed howlite.
Scorpio
Cheap sugilite does not exist.
Described from Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found in gem-quality purple at the Wessels manganese mine in 1975. That South African material is effectively the entire world supply and it is finite. Cheap sugilite does not exist, so anything cheap is dyed howlite.
Sagittarius
That South African material is effectively the entire world supply.
First described in 1944 from Iwagi Islet in Japan as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found in gem purple at the Wessels mine in South Africa in 1975. That South African material is effectively the entire world supply and it is finite. Cheap purple wearing the name is dyed howlite.
Capricorn
The entire world supply came from one mine. It is finite.
First described in Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found in gem purple at the Wessels manganese mine in 1975. That South African pocket is effectively the whole world supply and it is finite. A cheap sugilite is dyed howlite, every time, without exception.
Aquarius
First described in 1944 as a drab mineral nobody wanted.
First described in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral nobody wanted. The purple material turned up in 1975 in one South African manganese mine and that is effectively the entire world supply, which is finite and priced accordingly. Cheap purple stones claiming the name are dyed howlite.
Pisces
That one seam is the entire world supply.
The gem-purple material comes from one manganese mine in the Northern Cape, found in 1975, and that one seam is the entire world supply. Everything cheap wearing the name is dyed howlite. The 1980s American literature sold it hard to people who describe themselves as sensitive.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
spirit
Planet
Jupiter
Chakra
third-eye, crown
Signs
virgo, sagittarius, pisces
What tradition says
In crystal lore, sugilite is associated with protection of the sensitive, with grief and with spiritual shelter; it was heavily promoted in 1980s American crystal literature under the trade names luvulite and royal azel.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Keep it out of direct sun. The colour goes and does not come back.
- Reasonably durable; brief water contact is fine. Colour can weaken with prolonged intense sunlight. Avoid ultrasonics on fractured material.
Common questions
What does sugilite mean?
Sugilite is carried for protection, grief and shadow work. First described from Japan in 1944 as a drab yellow-brown mineral, then found in gem-quality purple at the Wessels manganese mine in South Africa in 1975, that South African material is effectively the whole world supply and it is finite.. Tradition links it to the third-eye, crown chakra.
Is sugilite real or fake?
Sugilite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Sugilite is uniformly coloured and 5. 5, 6.. Genuine sugilite is untreated.
Can sugilite go in water?
A short rinse is fine for sugilite, then dry it. Keep it out of direct sun, because the colour fades and does not come back.
Rare · magenta-purple, royal violet, deep grape, pinkish purple, with black manganese
Where this leads
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works