Sunstone

Chakra

Sacral, Solar plexus

Element

Fire

Planet

Sun

Signs

Leo, Libra

Tarot

Two of Wands, The Sun

Crystal correspondences are traditional; the descriptions are original to this site.

What Sunstone means

Flat platelets, of hematite in most sunstone and of native copper in Oregon's, lie scattered through the feldspar and flash as the stone turns, an effect called aventurescence. Oregon made its copper-bearing labradorite the state gemstone in 1987.

Emotional properties

Wear sunstone when you have been asked to speak first, lead the toast or pitch the idea you have been holding back. An orange closer to a bonfire than to a candle is hard to wear quietly, and quiet is not the plan today. Borrow its brightness until your own nerve catches up.

Spiritual properties

Face east with sunstone in your hand for the first minute after you wake, before any screen gets a look at you. The practice is small on purpose: one warm colour, one direction, one breath taken toward the light. A day begun facing something bright holds its direction better than one begun facing the news.

Physical properties

Sunstone keeps pace with a body in motion: a dance class, a bike ride, the kitchen floor with the radio turned up. Put it on as a pendant or a ring, where each movement sets off a flash in step with you. Energy with somewhere to go lasts longer than energy saved up on the sofa.

Care and cleansing

A polished sunstone sphere can concentrate sunlight enough to scorch cloth, and like all feldspar it can split along cleavage planes if knocked, so keep it off sunny sills and out of crowded dishes. Soapy water cleans it, and an hour of low dawn light charges it. A padded slot in a jewellery box suits it.

A question to sit with

Whose news do you let set the direction of your morning?