For thousands of years throughout the world Chrysocolla has been the stone of conciliation and reassurance. The ancient Egyptians called it a wise stone because those who wore it were known to come up with clever compromises and were protected from psychological damage. It was said that violent-tempered people where turned sensitive and tolerant when they wore Chrysocolla; apparently this is why Cleopatra carried the stone with her wherever she went. Interestingly, Egyptians referred to is as the softer brother of the gemstone Turquoise.
The term Chrysocolla originates in ancient times, and was applied by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus in 315BC to various materials used in soldering gold. The name is derived from the Greek word chrysos, meaning “Gold” and kola meaning “Glue”. It is a more commonly vine grained and massive gemstone. It is frequently found inter-growing among other gemstones such as Quartz, Chalcedony, Opal, Turquoise and Malachite. Chrysocolla is formed as an opaque copper silicate, mainly in seams of copper mines where it is oxidized in water; it is also known as copper pebbles or copper malachite. Color shades run from vibrate turquoise blues to green and are found mostly in Chile, the United States, Russia, South Africa and Israel.
Chrysocolla is particularly effective when carried as a touchstone and can be cleansed once a month under warm running water then charged overnight in a bowl with tumbled hematite stones. It is associated with the Sun stars of Taurus, Cancer, Aquarius, and Libra. Traditional properties include easing heartache, stamina, wisdom, peace, love, communication, vitality, and inner strength.
Raw mineral specimen photos provided by resident Gemologist.
