Black Moonstone Tumbles

Moonstone is a variety of Feldspar minerals with a white, silver or rainbow iridescence. Feldspars, a type of silicate minerals, includes various minerals that make up Moonstones, Sunstones, & other shimmery stones like Amazonite & Labradorite. It is known for its iridescence. This shimmer is called the “schiller effect” & is caused by tiny layers of Feldspar mineral (mostly Albite) inclusions created during crystallization.

The oldest historical reference to Moonstone comes from Pliny the Elder (CE 23-79), who wrote that Moonstone, “contain[s] the image of the moon, which daily waxes & wanes according to the state of the luminary.” The idea that Moonstones would change in size & luster according to the phases of the moon was repeated in other ancient & medieval texts. In the 16th century, Antoine Mizuald, an Italian scientist, studied a Moonstone owned by Pope Leo X (1475-1521). Mizuald claimed he recorded the changing size & position of the shimmer, comparing them to the moon in the sky. He concluded there was a direct correspondence between the gemstone & the lunar orb.

Spiritually, Black Moonstone is associated with the dark moon. Moonstone is a stone of new beginnings, & the black ones invite us to explore our shadow side & the darker aspects of our life & psyche. Black Moonstone encourages us to sit with ourselves in non-judgement and accept “what is,” whether that be in the past or present, while simultaneously showing us the way forward, out of Darkness & into the Light.