SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Moonstone is one variation of Orthoclase. It
owes its beautiful silvery to bluish sheen (‘adularescence’ or ‘schil-
ler’) to its composition of extremely thin plates of orthoclase and
albite. The thinner these plates are, the bluer is the sheen. There are
also moonstones consisting mainly of albite. These are less translucent,
but they can occur in a variety of colours: grey, blue, green, brown,
yellow and white. There are also moonstone cat’s-eyes. The chemical
composition is KAlSi3O8 and the hardness is 7. The streak is white.
ENVIRONMENT: The potash feldspars are important rock-forming minerals in
plutonic, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks. Adularia and sanidine are
found usually in volcanic rocks.
OCCURENCE: The main countries of origin are Ceylon, southern India (the
district near Kangayam), Tanzia and Malagasy which, together with Burma,
produces some of the finest stones with a deep blue schiller. White
adularia crystals up to 2.5 cm (1″) across have been found in gold-bear-
ing quartz veins at Bodie, Mono Co., California, and in the silver mines
of the Silver City district, Owhyee Co., Idaho.
GEMSTONE INFORMATION: Moonstone is always cut into cabochons, to display
the cat’s-eye, or schiller.
NAME: Adularia (another name for Moonstone) comes from the locality in
Switzerland, the Adula Mts.
LEGEND and LORE: This stone has always been revered because of its lunar
attraction. It was believed that the shiller in the stone would follow
the cycles of the moon. (Becoming greatest when the moon was full.) In
addition, it has always been considered a “feminine, or Goddess” stone.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: Meditation with moonstone calls into consciousness
the three-form moon phase goddesses, Diana/Selene/Hecate, the waxing,
Full and waning Moon. These are woman as goddess in her ages and
contradictions, Maiden/Mother/Crone. Cunningham favors this stone for
spells involving love. In addition he has a longish essay on using it
for a “diet” stone.
HEALING: Because of it’s feminine nature, Moonstone has long been
considered a “womans healing stone”. It is used traditionally for
healing/balancing of female organs and hormones.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I use Moonstone at the Transpersonal Point, for
connection to the Goddess and Universal Feminine Energy. This is the
connection to dreams and dreaming, feminine “intuition”, and “cycles”.
There are cycles of time, seasons, the moon, stars, etc. I also use/give
this stone for those clients who are having difficulty being in tune
with the feminine side of their nature. (Everyone has a masculine and
a feminine side.)
NOTES: In the past, this stone has also been called “Cylon Opal”.
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurence and Name are from (or paraphrased
from) “The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and
2. Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
“Gemstones” by E. H. Rutland.
3. Other Precious and semi-precious gemstone information may come from
“Gem Cutting”, sec. ed., by John Sinkankas.
4. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from “Cunningham’s En-
cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic”, by Scott Cunningham.
5. Some of the healing information may come from “Color and Crystals, A
Journey Through the Chakras” by Joy Gardner.
6. Some of the healing information may come from “A Journey Through the
Chakras” by Joy Gardner.
7. Personal Experience is from MY personal experience, journals and
notebooks, by <grin> Tandika Star.
8. Birthstone poem from “The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious
Stones” by William T. Fernie, M.D.