Astrologers Notes

Day:  Wednesday

Planet: Mercury

Keywords: Communication, Expression, Analysis, Connection

 Qualities:

A stone linked clarity and insight, Green Tourmaline is associated with the planet Mercury. It stimulates mental processes and encourages wisdom. 

 Green Tourmaline, (also called verdelite) is very useful for making a connection between head and heart. It’s mineral content works with the body’s subtle electrical system as it processes information and decides how to react.

Spiritually green tourmaline aids in the correct processing of information, a balance between intuition and intellect, so that better choices are made. It encourages the development of a state of consciousness that embodies Love/Wisdom.  

As the stone relates to the processes of analysis and reason, it stimulates mental function. Yet as its colour is associated with the heart chakra, it draws logical conclusions through the heart to increase wisdom and perception.

It works to increase a sense of joie de vivre through an openness to life, and encourages connections with other people. As a stone which relates to communication, Green Tourmaline assists to see a number of possibilities in any situation and choose the best option based on heart-felt wisdom. 

 Tourmaline is one of only a few substances that will develop an electrical charge. The charge is enhanced when carried in a silk pouch or warmed gently by the body. As the translation of electrical energy through the body has always been attributed to the planet Mercury, so tourmaline assists to harmonize these currents, and helps to balance electrical stimulation and the processing of information, especially through the mind and/or brain.  

Myth and Legend:

 Tourmaline has been known since antiquity, but has often been equated with other coloured stones. Yet Tourmaline is unique in that its many mineral forming elements combine in different ways to produce a great variety of colours.

 In antiquity, tourmaline was probably associated with other stones. But in 1703 the Dutch imported these gems from Sri Lanka, and gave them a Sinhalese name, Turamali, which is though to mean stone with mixed colours.

Called by Bernardus Caesius “the stone of wisdom”, tourmaline was considered to be an excellent stone for cutting through illusion to see things clearly. In the Arab tradition it was said to protect from nightmares. Native Americans have used pink and green tourmalines as funeral gifts for centuries.

The Dutch also recognized the stones peculiar piezo-electrical properties. Tourmaline carries an electrical charge when rubbed with silk or slightly warmed. For this reason, tourmalines were used as a tool for collecting ash. An “aschentrekker” was an implement with a tourmaline head that was used to clean tobacco pipes because they attracted the ash to themselves.

Gemologer’s Notes:

 Tourmalines are well known within the mineral kingdom for their multi-coloured capacity. Like the rainbow, they have the ability to carry combine complex colour-carrying agents to form polychrome stones. This range of colour makes them amongst the most spectacular mineral species

They also exhibit a strong pleochroism, allowing them to change in appearance from dark to light depending upon the angle at which they are viewed. They tend to form in rectangular structures, so are best cut and viewed in either square or emerald-cut shape. 

Composition:

• Crystal System: Trigonal
• Manner of Formation: Primary
• Mineral Class: ring silicate (+ oxide)
• Colour: Green
• DR (doubly refractive)
• RI: 1.61-1.66
• Na(Li,Al)3(Al,Cr,V)6[(OH,F)4(BO3)2Si6O18]
• SG: 3.02-3.32
• Moh’s Hardness: 7-7.5

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