What is sodalite? The sodalite stone is a rich, deep blue mineral with typical white (rather than blue) streaks. Its name comes from the Latin word “soda,” which means salt.
The sodalite stone is quite similar to lapis lazuli or lazurite, although sodalite rarely contains pyrite (a common inclusion in lapis) and its blue color is more like traditional royal blue rather than ultramarine.
Sodalite is a beautiful sodium stone found in abundance today worldwide. It has a history going back over 200 years when first discovered by Thomas Thomson, a Glasgow professor, and chemist.
Since antiquity, gem enthusiasts, holistic therapists, and spiritualists use the stones for making jewelry and for mental, physical, and spiritual healing.
Different cultures believe sodalite has a variety of benefits for promoting a healthy body and a peaceful mind.
This guide is a thorough review of its properties, history, locations, metaphysical healing properties, benefits, chakras, uses, value, and water safety.
Sodalite properties
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What does sodalite look like? Sodalite is a rich, deep blue mineral with typical white (rather than blue) streaks. Common colors of natural and synthetic sodalite stones are light to very dark blue, white, colorless, yellow, violet, pink, and grey.
We can also find pale blue sodalite, but it is usually the deep blue variety that is used as a gemstone. There are also sodalite veins with yellow ochre stripes, which are valuable too because their color is unique.
- Light to dark blue, grey, white, green, yellow, red, pink, violet, and colorless.
- Typical white veins
- 5.5 to 6 hardness on the Mohs hardness scale.
- Translucent with a glassy glow.
- Content of calcium, sodium, and potassium.
- Chemical composition of Na8-A16-Si6-O24-Cl2.
Its bluish and white streaks set the stone apart from the others similar in look. A fabulous physical property of sodalite is the glass-like to slippery textures.
In diaphaneity, it is translucent to transparent and often produces a frail fluorescence of orange under a longwave or shortwave ultraviolet light.
Sodalite is not a hard stone due to its relatively low hardness (5.5-6 on the Mohs hardness scale). This means that any heavy use will probably leave scratches on this stone. It has no cleavage, and it crumbles easily when banged.
A sodium stone is brittle with a meager cleavage and subconchoidal in tenacity. Its density measures 2.27 to 2.33 g/cm3 and has a calculation of 2.31 g/cm3.
Some sodalites have aluminosilicate cages containing Na (sodium) and Cl in appearance based on EDS scales. An EDS study suggests the photoluminescence effect in the stone may have some connection with the mixture of sulfur.
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Chemical composition
Sodalite is a sodium stone with a structure of a cubic crystal and aluminum atoms connected by bridges of oxygen. The bridged oxygen provides the frameworks that look like cages giving it its cubic build. Miners and gemologists find sodium stones in pyrogenic rocks and marbles.
Globally, there are hundreds of known natural sources of stones. It is found rarely in the form of crystals, but plentiful as granular.
Sodalite is a mineral formed in igneous rocks and is available in different colors. The stone gets its formation from magmas rich in sodium after it crystallizes. Rocks that bear the stones are phonolite, trachyte, and syenite.
A member of the feldspathoid mineral group, sodalites have lots of calcium, sodium, and potassium.
History of the sodalite stone
These stones were first discovered by Professor Thomas Thomson in 1811, in Greenland. The Glasgow chemist named the stone sodalite because of its sodium substance.
The stone received an official description after its discovery in Narsaq, Greenland at the Ilimaussaq Alkaline Complex.
The name refers to a group of minerals with comparable isometrical structure and chemistry. Other names for the stone are alumite, Canadian lapis, and bluestone.
Sodalites are mainly used as decorative beads and jewelry stones. Large masses of it were found near Bancroft, Ontario, Canada. Approximately 130 tons were shipped from Ontario to London for decorating the Marlborough House Mansion.
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Production and mining locations
Natural sodalites materialize in alkaline pegmatites, carbonatites, marble skarns or metasomatized calcareous rocks, and phonolites and volcanic ejecta.
Geological locations comprise Canada, the United States, Afghanistan, Italy, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, Korea, Vietnam, Russia, Greenland, and other countries.
Examples of miners and companies are Ontario Princess Mine, the Mont St. Hilaire, American Magnet Cove, and Ladjuar Medan.
Locations that produce sodalites in alkaline intrusive and alkaline pegmatites are in Canada. In Italy, the sodium stone occurs in the phonolites and volcanic ejecta. It forms in marble skarns or metasomatized calcareous rocks in Afghanistan.
In the US, sodalites occur in carbonatites. Over 16 American states produce sodium stones, including Texas, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Hawaii, Wisconsin, and Vermont.
Synthetic sodalite stones
Laboratories around the world synthesize sodalites and can simulate other blue gems such as lapis lazuli.
Synthetic sodalites are very low cost and manufactured to give an authentic look of the real stone. Jewelry wearers can find synthetic and authentic sodalites in retail stores globally.
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Sodalite metaphysical properties
Various cultures and spiritual communities across the globe use sodalite and its metaphysical properties for healing the body and mind.
Some people use it to reduce stress, anxiety, and inflammation, and to relieve headaches and muscle aches because of its production of calming energy.
It is useful in some spiritual communities to heal issues involving the throat, vocal cords, and larynx.
Meditation practitioners and physical therapists use stones as holistic tools to help their clients balance calcium deficiency and metabolism. Sodalite gives the immune system a boost and improves the functions of the digestive system.
Sodalites help some people control their anger and frustration temperaments.
Women often use polished stones during meditation sessions to clear their minds of negative thoughts. They hold the stone in the palms of their hands to reduce emotional behaviors triggered by PMS and hormonal imbalance of estrogen and progesterone.
It is helpful for balancing the levels of the testosterone hormone in men.
What is sodalite good for? To conclude, sodalite benefits including:
- Stimulates the absorption of water intake.
- Heals hoarseness of the vocal cords and throat.
- Supports normal blood pressure regulation.
- Enables self-calmness.
- Encourages harmony in life.
- Helps to release negative feelings of guilt and fear.
- Relieves muscle soreness and joint pain.
- Meditation tools.
- Transforms the thought process by eliminating bondage thoughts and mental confusion.
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Mental healing properties and benefits
Sodalite has mental healing properties and benefits for enlightening the mind during meditation. It helps to balance thoughts and resolve some mental issues.
Calcium, sodium, and potassium properties found in the stone are healing properties for mental health. Its calming energy is beneficial for truth expression and promoting inner peace within.
Sodalite has an energy that helps bring the mind to consciousness enabling creativity, balance, and empowerment.
Physical healing properties and benefits
Sodalites can heal the physical body by purifying vital organs, lowering high blood pressure, and boosting the immune system.
If you have issues with sleeping at nighttime or water retention, its essential properties are effective along with mind healing.
To heal the whole, the body, spirit, and mind must be addressed for complete wellness.
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Sodalite spiritual meaning
If you need balance in your life, Sodalite can improve your ability to tap into your psychic and divination. It is a good tool for increasing awareness and helping you meditate.
Tarot readers use the stone for guidance in dream works and inner traveling through meditation. Sodalite awakens the spirit to restore balance in your physical and spiritual worlds.
Sodalite chakra
Chakras refer to energy points in the human body, including the root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. People hold the stones to encourage the emotion of compassion for themselves and others.
What chakra is sodalite? The sodalite crystal is mainly used for the throat and third eye chakras in various rituals and spiritual practices to bring life balance.
It deals with impatience, low self-esteem, selfishness, and envy. People who practice spiritualism use it to connect the lower chakras with the higher chakras.
Sodalite uses: How to use sodalite?
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Wear as Jewelry
Sodalite is useful for meditation at home or in the office. When wearing stones as jewelry, you must be very careful to avoid damage, such as markings and breakage. Avoid wearing sodalite jewelry at home to reduce wear and tear.
The precious crystals are linked to the throat chakra and should be worn as a necklace or earrings to maximize powers in the upper body. They come in vibrant colors and are beautiful as jewelry and décor stones in the home or the office.
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At home
At home, we can use sodalite palm stones for meditation instead of wearing jewelry. You’ll receive calm and balanced energies to create a peaceful environment in the house. It is a way to control argumentative emotions for better understanding among family members.
The use of sodalite with feng shui engages energy in different parts of the home, including the northeastern part for wisdom release and the southwestern part for healthy relationships.
In the office
Sodalite is beneficial in the workplace for expressing truth and uniting as a team. It can prevent confrontations and making mistakes because of a lack of focus. You can concentrate better and communicate effectively in confidence. It helps to maintain calmness in the midst of conflicts among co-workers.
During meditation
Sodalite is good for self-meditation and in groups. Use it as a tool to mend broken relationships and create new ones. It is helpful for group work in acknowledging and expressing real truth and dealing with dishonesty.
What is sodalite worth?
The value of sodalite is low and the prices are extremely inexpensive and affordable. A major reason sodium stone is very cheap is its abundance international.
Its value is less than $10 per carat in natural or synthetic. Jewelry is the cheapest with prices ranging between $20 to $200 for bracelets, rings, and pendants.
What affects the prices are the size, color, and cut. Small sodalite spheres can range from $17 up to $85. Larger sizes can cost up to $400 or more for sculptures and figurines and thousands of US dollars for architecture.
Sodalite vs lapis lazuli
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People commonly mistake sodalite for lapis lazuli, but they are different. Sodalite is a darker blue color, while lapis lazuli is more of a vivacious bright blue sheen.
They both are useful with the throat chakra and as calming sodium stones for connecting to divine wisdom. Lapis lazuli is considered to have more power and mystery in comparison to sodalite. Sodium stones are gentle and bring on gradual healing in practice.
Is sodalite safe in the water?
Sodalite is a robust crystal with a hardness of up to six on the Mohs scale. Gemologists recommend not placing the stones in water. It contains aluminum that can be removed when wet. If water is consumed accidentally, it can be fatal and damage vital organs. It will also lose its shine and glasslike appearance.
Where to buy raw sodalite stones and sodalite jewelry?
If you want to buy sodalite stones or sodalite jewelry ranging from $20-$500, you can check Etsy.
You can buy sodalite beads or sodalite jewelry like a sodalite ring, a sodalite necklace, or sodalite earrings that are affordable and of high quality and have them delivered to your house fast.
Alternatively, if you want to buy high-end sodalite jewelry ranging from $100-$2000, you can check Farfetch.
They have luxury brands like Gucci, Prada, Boucheron, Cartier, Chopard, David Morris, and De Beers, and designer brands that are unique and less well-known. You can also have all the products delivered to your home.
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