RHODONITE
- Rhodonite was named after the Greek word for rose, rhodon. It is in fact a
Manganese Iron Magnesium Calcium Silicate - (Mn, Fe, Mg, Ca) 5 (SiO 3 ) 5 . Its
hardness is 5.5 – 6.5 Moh’s Scale, Specific Gravity approx. 3.4 – 3.7 – which means
that this material is considerably heavier than quartz. Rhodonite has beautiful pink
color, sometimes with spots and patterns of black. Lower quality material could be
yellowish or almost brown and often looks like an ordinary jasper. Rhodonite is
mined in Australia, Sweden, Brazil, USA (Massachusetts), and also in Russia , in
Ural Mountains .
- In Russia rhodonite was found in the middle of the XVIII century near the village of
Maloe Sidelnikovo which is not far from Ekaterinburg. Local people named it
“Orletz” which is "The eagle stone" in Russian. There is a legend that explains to
us the meaning of this name. It says that shortly after rhodonite was discovered
people noticed that great eagles which inhabited Ural Mountains carried small
pieces of rhodonite in their claws and put them into their nestles. People of Urals
started then to follow eagle’s example and put pieces of rhodonite into their babies’
cradles – in order to make babies grow as strong as mountain eagles.
- Sadly enough, the deposit in Maloe Sidelnikovo, which once was a rich source of the
highest – quality rhodonite, is now exhausted. What is left to us now is just some
occasional lots which were kept by people since the time the mine had worked.
- Rhodonite is believed to be a stone for activating love energies. It raises self-worth,
gives an aura of elegance, self-confidence and self-esteem. If your wear it, it
stimulates and opens the heart chakra and dispels anxiety. It also says to balances
yin and yang and soothe nightmares.
