Saturday, August 1, 2009

Lapis: Is considered as a stone of Complete Awareness.

Lapis, the pretty blue rock, is known as the rock of ultimate consciousness.

Lapis is a perfect blue gemstone to compliment your outfit or blue eyes. Lapis Lazuli has been a highly valued stone for many thousands of years. Lapis Lazuli is known for its blue colour. The first part of the name is the Latin Lapis, meaning stone. The word "lazuli" comes from the Persian/Arabic lazhward or blue (as in "azure"). Together the name means "blue stone" or stone of azure.

Lapis Lazuli is a polymineral rock composed mainly of the blue silicate mineral lazurite along with gold colored pyrite (fool's gold) and whitish calcite. Lapis Lazuli is formed through contact metamorphism of particular forms of limestone, mainly the blue lazurite. The beautiful blue of the lazurite occurs due a charge transfer between sulfer atoms contained in the rock. But be careful when you go to buy a lapis stone since many are actually fakes made of paste from ground up, lower grade lapis and dyes used to deepen the blue color. Genuine lapis has veins of pyrite. (aka fool's gold) streaked throughout and are considered the best and most expensive specimens out there.

The stone also imrpoves one's creative and awareness abilities. It is also a sought after aid in healing depression, recurring fevers, and disorders of the throat, immune system, and lungs. It is believed to maintain the skeleton tough and healthy for people who wear the stone for a long period of time.

Lapis was first mined in Afhganistan over 6000 years ago. The birthstone for Libra is the same as the planetary stone for Capricorn. Being an old stone, lapis is seen as a holy stone that got the blue sky and the light of God to the Earth. Lapis is also known to be found in the breast plate of Aaron, the High Priest.

Lapis is a soft stone, rating mere 5.The Egyptians could sculpture and carve it being 5 on the Mohs scale, to bring out vases and figurines. Ground lapis dust in milk was utilized by ancient Egyptians to help treat ulcers and boils. The Egyptians were known to use lapis dust for cosmetic purposes. The color of the eyes really is striking when paired with the stone's brilliant blue color.

Additional Resources
Bead Jewelry-Today's Fashion Must-Have
Gemstone Jewelry is much more than a fad in terms of fashion.

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