Unakite
altered granite: orthoclase + epidote + quartz
Granite that got hydrothermally cooked until its feldspar went salmon-pink and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches, named for the Unaka Range in the Great Smoky Mountains where it was described in 1874. It is a rock, not a mineral and certainly not a jasper. People carry it for grief, self-love and grounding.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Mineral facts
Hardness
6-7 Mohs
Formula
KAlSi3O8 + Ca2(Al,Fe)3(SiO4)3(OH) + SiO2
Family
rock (aggregate)
Where it comes from
USA (North Carolina, Virginia, Blue Ridge; Michigan), South Africa, Zimbabwe, Brazil, China, Ireland
What it is
Granite that got hydrothermally cooked until its feldspar went salmon-pink and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches, named for the Unaka Range in the Great Smoky Mountains where it was described in 1874. It is a rock, not a mineral and certainly not a jasper. Blue Ridge material is still the best.
What it is confused with
bloodstone, granite, rhyolite, dyed-jasper, epidote-in-quartz
Coarse mottling of salmon-pink and pistachio-green in irregular interlocking patches, with occasional grey or colourless quartz, and crucially the texture is granular and igneous: individual mineral grains are visible to the naked eye, with the pink orthoclase showing flat cleavage flashes when tilted. The green is epidote, the pink is feldspar, and the boundaries between them are crystal-grain boundaries, not swirls or bands. Never translucent, never banded.
How to tell
Look for visible individual crystal grains and pink feldspar cleavage flashes under a light, that granular igneous texture rules out any jasper or chalcedony. Scratches glass.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Unakite is a rock (aggregate), 6-7 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.
Unakite for every sign
Aries
Nothing about it was quick.
Granite that was hydrothermally cooked until its feldspar went salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches, named for the Unaka Range in 1874. It is a rock, and the individual grains are visible without a lens. Nothing about it was quick.
Taurus
It changed completely without moving anywhere.
Granite cooked by hot water until the feldspar turned salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches, described in 1874 from the Unaka Range. The grains are visible without a lens, which is how you know it is a rock. It changed completely without moving anywhere.
Gemini
You can see the individual grains without a loupe.
Granite that got hydrothermally cooked until the feldspar turned salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches. Named for the Unaka Range in the Great Smokies and described in 1874, it is a rock rather than a mineral. You can see the individual grains without a loupe.
Cancer
Every boundary in it is a grain edge.
Granite cooked by hot water until the feldspar went salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio green. The Unaka Range in the Great Smokies gave it the name in 1874. Every boundary you can see is a grain edge, which is how you know it is a rock.
Leo
You can see the individual grains without a lens.
Named for the Unaka Range in the Great Smokies, where it was described in 1874. Granite cooked by hot water until the feldspar went salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches, and the individual grains are visible without a lens. A rock, and certainly not a jasper.
Virgo
Pink feldspar flashes where it cleaves. Jasper never does.
Granite cooked by hydrothermal fluid until the feldspar turned salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches. Named for the Unaka Range and described in 1874. The grains are visible without a lens, and the pink flashes where the feldspar cleaves. No jasper has ever done that.
Libra
The pattern records which mineral got there first.
Granite cooked by hot water until its feldspar turned salmon pink and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches. The boundaries between the two colours are crystal grain boundaries, so the pattern is a record of which mineral got there first. Named for the Unaka Range in 1874.
Scorpio
The alteration is the entire aesthetic.
Granite that was hydrothermally cooked until the feldspar went salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches. Named for the Unaka Range in the Great Smokies, where it was described in 1874. A rock rather than a mineral, and the alteration is the entire aesthetic.
Sagittarius
Individual grains are visible without a lens, which no jasper allows.
Granite cooked by hot water until the feldspar went salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches. It was described in 1874 from the Unaka Range in the Great Smoky Mountains, and Blue Ridge material is still the best. Individual grains are visible without a lens, which no jasper allows.
Capricorn
A rock, not a mineral, and certainly not a jasper.
Granite that got hydrothermally cooked until its feldspar went salmon and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches. Named for the Unaka Range in the Great Smokies and described in 1874. It is a rock, not a mineral, and certainly not a jasper, and the visible grains prove it.
Aquarius
You are holding a rock rather than a mineral.
A granite that got hydrothermally cooked until its feldspar turned salmon-pink and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches. Individual grains are visible without a loupe, which is how you know you are holding a rock rather than a mineral. Named in 1874 for the Unaka Range.
Pisces
Granite that hot water got into and altered.
Granite that hot water got into and altered, turning the feldspar salmon and growing epidote through it in pistachio patches. It was described in 1874 from the Unaka Range in the Smokies. The pink and green pairing did all the symbolic work afterwards.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
earth
Planet
Earth
Chakra
heart, third-eye
Signs
scorpio, taurus, virgo
What tradition says
In crystal lore, unakite is associated with gradual recovery, with pregnancy and with reconciling heart and mind, the pink-and-green pairing read as heart-chakra work.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Hard and durable. Warm water and a soft brush.
Common questions
What does unakite mean?
Unakite is carried for grief, self-love and grounding. Granite that got hydrothermally cooked until its feldspar went salmon-pink and epidote grew through it in pistachio patches, named for the Unaka Range in the Great Smoky Mountains where it was described in 1874.. Tradition links it to the heart, third-eye chakra.
Is unakite real or fake?
Unakite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Look for visible individual crystal grains and pink feldspar cleavage flashes under a light, that granular igneous texture rules out any jasper or chalcedony. Scratches glass.
Can unakite go in water?
A short rinse is fine for unakite, then dry it.
Common · salmon pink and pistachio green mottled, brick pink with olive green
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works