Crystal · Borrowed brilliance
Peacock ore
Also called bornite, chalcopyrite
- Chakra
- Heart, Third eye
- Element
- Fire
- Planet
- Uranus
- Signs
- Sagittarius, Pisces
- Tarot
- Three of Wands, The Fool
Crystal correspondences are traditional; the descriptions are original to this site.
What Peacock ore means
Rock shops sell peacock ore as bornite, a copper-iron sulphide that tarnishes purple and blue in air, though much of it is chalcopyrite, a close relative, dipped in acid to bring the colours up fast. Its colours are a performance more than a fixed identity.
Emotional properties
Tilt a piece under a lamp and the purples slide into blues and a flash of gold, the kind of colour children point at without embarrassment. Peacock ore gives an adult permission to be that openly delighted again, over a sunset, a new city, a friend's good news. Say the delight out loud when it comes; keeping it to yourself shrinks it.
Spiritual properties
Ovid told how Juno set the hundred eyes of her slain watchman Argus into the peacock's tail, and this stone borrows the bird's name for a very similar shimmer. Close attention and dazzlement feel the same for the first few seconds, and only time shows which one it was. Whatever caught your eye most recently is worth that second, closer look, to see if it was actually true. The stone will not answer that question for you.
Physical properties
Copper-iron ore is dense, and even a small piece of peacock ore sits noticeably heavy in the palm. Its colours catch the eye before the mind decides to look, a small jolt of alertness for the last dull stretch of a task. Set it down once your attention has sharpened, since this is a stone for a quick lift, not a long hold.
Care and cleansing
Bornite and the acid-dipped chalcopyrite sold in its place are both copper-iron sulphides, so never use peacock ore in an elixir and wash your hands after handling. Damp speeds the tarnish that makes its colours, so keep it out of water. A soft paintbrush lifts its dust, a bell's ring charges it, and a lidded tin keeps it dry.
A question to sit with
Did anything today delight you enough to say so out loud?
Stones that share a chakra
- PearlNacre's patience
- PeridotDeep-earth glow
- Picture jasperPainted horizon
- PrehniteGrape-clustered ease
- RhodochrositeRose-banded self-worth
- RhodoniteScar-veined forgiveness
- Rose quartzUnforced gentleness
- RubyHard-won red fire