Lapis Lazuli by Arianrhod Wolfchild

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Lapis Lazuli:

Solid, med. to dk. blue. In meditation, opens Brow Chakra: higher guidance, intuition, connection to higher self, overview, decisions for good of all. Organizes, quiets mind. Opens Throat/Thyroid Chakra: Self-expression, writing, creativity, dream insight, allows total awareness...Anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, autism, shyness, nervous system, depression, serenity, self-acceptance; MS, speech, hearing, pituitary, DNA, lymph, inflammation, pain (especially head), protection stone. Shelters the wearer like a shield. . Extraordinarily deep blue stone often flecked with Pyrite. Can also be mottled with white Calcite. Most is currently mined in the USSR and Afghanistan. Beneficial to the respiratory system, especially the throat and lungs, the cleansing organs, and the nervous system. A good stone for blood purification and for boosting the immune system. A powerful thought-amplifier and is helpful in aligning all the elements of the body and mind. Can increase psychic abilities and will open the third eye. Can guide you in the direction of mental and spiritual purity. It should be worn as close to the throat as possible or at least above the diaphragm so that the energy of the wearer is drawn upward.

I found this information online some time ago, and can't remember which site it was on, so the author is unknown by me.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

When looking the gemstone properties  up I found planetary correspondences siting Jupiter and Venus.  I am inclined to suggest Jupiter due to the alchemy chart also complimenting Jupiter as the planet but if someone else would like to impress upon us another planet please add it in the discussion, I think it would definitely be worth discussing. -Regi  

Lapis Lazuli: Courage, healing emotional wounds, compassion, courage, wisdom, strength, clarity, wisdom, fidelity, spiritual love, past life recall, divination (especially scrying, Tarot and runes), tranquility, eloquence, expressiveness, self-confidence, creativity.

Lapis Lazuli

• Receptive
• Element: Water
• Opening the third eye, enhances psychic gifts, increases visions, healing; headaches and pain.

• Lapis

  Lapis Lazuli, also called lazurite, is a silicate in the same family as blue sodalite.

  • Another blue mineral similarly named lazulite is a phosphate. Another unrelated blue mineral is azurite, a carbonate of copper.

  Originally

  • Its blue symbolized water as the primordial element of creation.
  • Egyptian
    • Used with mummies to bring about regeneration in the afterworld.
    • Sacred Stone of Truth to Maat ("truth" and "seeing eye"), Mother of the All-Seeing Eye.
  • China
    • Revered as one of the Seven Precious Things
  • Persian
    • lazuward, meaning Heaven, from witch we get the word lazurite and azure.

  Alchemically

  The alchemical symbol for lapis lazuli is similar to the sign for Jupiter.

  A term of what the alchemist is really trying to create while developing gnosis and healing for him/herself.

  He is participating in the "Great Work" of helping everything develop more quickly, i.e., a true alchemist is actually helping the process by which god/dess maintains and evolves her/his creatures.

  Just a code for something that speeds up the process, i.e. changing the lead of the undeveloped soul into the gold of the liberated soul. The Philosopher's Stone equals the Lapis and is the physical manifestation that remains of the transformation.

  Lapis Lazuli (or Lapis for short) is a rock and not a mineral because it is made up of various other minerals. It is composed of a mixture of several minerals including mostly Lazurite, Pyrite, Calcite and Diopside, along with possible inclusions of Sodalite, Huaynite, Noselite, Mica, Augite or Hornblende in small amounts. Lapis usually occurs in crystalline limestones as a result of contact metamorphism.

  The name Lapis Lazuli comes from a variety of words meaning "blue" (azure) or "heaven": the Latin "lazulum", stemming from the Arabic "lazaward", and the Persian "lazhward" constitute the Lazuli part. The first part of the name, Lapis, is of Latin origin meaning simply "stone". And this stone was named after its likeness to the heavens and of course because of its color -- a brilliant deep blue (due to the sulfur content in the Lazurite) which is usually speckled or veined with small flecks of yellow-gold color from its most common mixture with Pyrite (Fool's Gold) or white streaks from its mixture with Calcite or other minerals.

  Lapis Lazuli is a semi-precious stone valued for its deep blue color and durability. Though too many white streaks of Calcite will lower the value of the stone.

  General Information:

  Chemistry: (Na, Ca)8 Al6 Si6 (O,S)24 [(SO4),Cl2,(OH)2], Sodium

  Calcium Aluminum Silicate Sulfur Sulfate (with usual inclusions of Pyrite and Calcite).

  Class: Silicates

  Subclass: Tectosilicates

  Group: Both the Sodalite and Feldspathoid groups.

  Color: Deep brilliant blue or violet-blue with golden flecks or veins, and occasionally white streaks.

  Luster: Dull to greasy. Translucent to opaque.

  Crystal System: Isometric; bar 4 3/m

  Crystal Habit: Massive as a rock (Lapis Lazuli) forming mineral, but dodecahedral crystals have been found of Lazurite.

  Cleavage: Poor. In six directions, but rarely seen.

  Fracture: Uneven.

  Hardness: 5.0 - 5.5

  Specific Gravity: 2.3 - 2.4 (somewhat below average, but shows higher with increased Pyrite content).

  Streak: Bright Blue.

  Other Characteristics: Index of refraction is 1.5.

  Notable Occurrences: Kokcha River Valley, Afghanistan; Ovalle, Cordillera, Chile; Lake Baikal, Russia; Mt. Vesuvius, Italy; Cascade Canyon, San Bernardino Mountains and Ontario Peak, California and in the Sawatch Mountains,
  Colorado, USA.

  Best Field Indicators: Violet-blue color, Pyrite inclusions, locality and specific gravity.

  Uses: Jewelry; Ornamental; Pigment; Mineral specimens.

  Myth & Lore:

  Mines, in what is known as the Badakshan area of Afghanistan today, were being worked for Lapis at least six thousand years ago. This source of Lapis may be the oldest continually worked set of mines in the world, as the same mines operating today supplied the sought-after stone to the pharaohs. Believed to have occult powers, Lapis Lazuli was often made into amulets and talismans. In Ur, kings were known to sharpen their swords on it, believing from this they would become invulnerable. The stone was also used by the Assyrians and Persians for making seals.

  The Sumerians believed that Lapis Lazuli contained the spirits of the deities. In ancient Egypt it was often used as an inscription stone for various passages from "The Book of the Dead" wherein the 140th chapter it states that Lapis in the shape of an eye and set in gold was an amulet of great power. Egyptians regarded it as the stone of the gods, partly because it reminded them of the starry heavens, but also because, as shown in the Papyrus Ebers, it had medicinal properties that improved eyesight when worn in the form of the Eye of Horus amulet or when powdered around the eyes as many Egyptian did.

  Lapis Lazuli was one of the stones in the "Breastplate of Judgement" of Aaron, as described in the Bible. In ancient times, Lapis Lazuli was known as Sapphire (not to be confused with today's blue corundum variety Sapphire). Ancient writers such as Pliny refer to "sapphirus" as a stone speckled with flects of gold -- obviously a reference to Lapis Lazuli.

  Long ago, Lapis was used to make the pigment called Ultramarine, which literally meant "beyond the sea". It was used by medieval artists for the blue cloak of the Virgin Mary. Due to its rarity and expense, today that color pigment is usually now synthetically made.

  Metaphysical Properties:

  Astrological Sign(s): Sagittarius, Aquarius

  Chakra(s): Brow and Crown

  Opens the Third Eye.

  Awakens the intuition.

  Enhances insight and awareness.

  Brings knowledge and wisdom.

  Increases vibrational level.

  Connects to Spirit.

  Helps in meditations and dream work.

  Promote peace.

  Harmonizes and balances.

  Protective.

  Blocks psychic attack.

  *Gives physical aid in treating: Fevers. Headaches and migraines. Alleviates pain. Depression and melancholy. Anxiety. Insomnia. Vision and hearing problems. Disorders of the throat, lungs and immune system.

  *NOTE: Stone therapy should NOT take the place of medical evaluation and procedures, and should be used merely to enhance one's health and well-being.