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Larimar - Healing Properties and Geology
LARIMAR
THE STONE OF SPIRITUAL EQUANIMITY
I’m starting my blog about individual stones and their properties with one of my personal favourites, Larimar.
Here at Pretty Little Healing Crystals, we import directly from the miner, who tell me we are the biggest importer of Larimar from the Larimar Mine in the Dominican Republic. This maybe because its a crystal I’m very drawn too. Everyone has a certain few crystals that they collect more than one piece of and Larimar is one of mine.
Whilst refreshing my mind about Larimar to write this blog, it has become obvious to me why I am so drawn to this particular stone.
Anyone who knows me in life knows I have a lot of fire signs in my chart, I’m not an angry or fiery person but I am someone who is impulsive, even with my illnesses and to the detriment of the illnesses. Too impulsive sometimes. My head never stops even when my body has to. My brain seems to spin on its axis like crazy waltzer. What I’m short of in my birth chart is water signs. When it comes to the art of relaxation, connecting to the right type of energy is important. Water energy is what I need.
Larimar is the best connector between fire and water. This is owing to its oceanic colour and volcanic birth (read on for geological content) this is why it resonates so much for me. There is no other stone that invokes such peace and can transport me to a world of deep blue seas with waves crashing against cliffs and me sat there serene and at peace with the world.
The Healing Energies of Larimar
Larimar is the best stone for unwinding tension and settling an overactive or worried mind. Larimar reminds us that all situations eventually change, just like the ebb and flow of the tides and to get overwrought about them is only detrimental to ourselves. Rather than getting worked up it teaches us to allow life to flow. It brings peace, the type of peace that envelopes us when we sit near an ocean and watch the waves crashing on the shore.
Larimar connects us to the Goddess energies of the Sea and Sky. Larimar helps women who wear it or use it awaken to the Divine Feminine within. It emanates vivaciousness and good humour accompanied by confidence and a sense of one’s innate power. It helps women call upon the Goddess within, in order to fully manifest their highest purpose in life.
Larimar teaches men to connect to their feminine side and to accept healing, and to listen to the subtle energies that exist within them. Larimar’s gentle healing energies connects with the Mother energies of the Ocean. It also calms and enables us not to sweat the small stuff but accept the whole.
Collecting Larimar
Larimar is one of the most tactile crystals. It’s cool, blue tones become so smooth when it’s polished.
Larimar’s value is in the depth of its blue colour. It’s most valuable in deep, sea blue tones.
Large pieces of Larimar are rare and are valuable because of their size, the bluer the piece is, the more valuable. Here we are lucky enough to have the first pick on the best pieces of Larimar and I’ve been able to select some rare pieces for our shop. There is a finite supply of Larimar, it’s found only in one place in the world, and in a very small area. If you are lucky enough to own a piece, it’s only going to appreciate in value. If you’re just finding your passion for the crystal world and Larimar, at the moment there are still some good opportunities for quality Larimar on the market.
Although the deep blue Larimar is the most priced in collectors eyes, as a seller I get most requests for the ones that look like a turtle shell pattern or water pattern, the pattern that reminds me of looking into a rough sea or looking into the depth of a swimming pool.
Larimar Jewellery
The jewellery we have for sale is crafted by the artisans of the Dominican Republic. The rules on who can craft Larimar are strict in the Dominican Republic, the government wanting to protect its own artisans, so the best Larimar is kept on the island and made into jewellery there.
You can but Larimar Jewellery made in India or China or elsewhere but it will either be made from poorer grade or stones altered to look like Larimar.
The Discovery of Larimar
Miguel Méndez and Peace Corps volunteer Norman Rilling rediscovered Larimar in 1974 on a beach at the foot of the Bahoruco Mountain Range, the coastal province of Barahona.
Natives believed that the stone was a gift from the sea, for this reason it has a long standing connection to the archetype of the Mother Ocean. The native called it the Blue Stone.. Méndez took his young daughter's name Larissa and the Spanish word for sea (mar) and formed Larimar, to suggest the colors of the Caribbean Sea where it was found.
Larimar is a type of pectolite or a rock composed largely of pectolite, meaning ‘compact stone’ an acid silicate hydrate of calcium and sodium. Pectolite is found in many locations, but larimar has a unique volcanic blue coloration, which is the result of copper substitution for calcium
These rocks contained cavities or vugs which were later filled with a variety of minerals, including the blue pectolite. These pectolite cavity fillings are a secondary occurrence within the volcanic flows, dikes, and plugs. When these rocks erode, the pectolite fillings are carried down the slope to end up in the alluvium and the beach gravels. The Bahoruco River carried the pectolite-bearing sediments to the sea.The tumbling action along the streambed provided the natural polishing to the blue larimar, which makes them stand out in contrast to the dark gravels of the streambed.
Quality grading is according to coloration and the typical mineral crystal configuration in the stone. Larimar also comes in green and can have red spots, brown strikes, etc., due to the presence of other minerals or oxidation. The more intense the blue colour and the contrast in the stone, the higher and rarer is the quality. The blue colour is photosensitive and fades with time if exposed to too much light and heat.
Mining Larimar is a risky business, this year 2022, 2 people have been killed whilst mining Larimar. This has been a national tragedy. The mine was closed and has now reopened. The industry works with the government to maintain safety standards. The miner I buy from cares a great deal about his workforce who are like brothers to him. During the mining season they all occupy a camp and the road to them isn’t the easiest one to navigate. It’s a labour of love to bring this precious stone and the Dominican Republic’s national stone you the surface. They are quite rightly very proud of this national resource.
Choosing and Caring for Larimar
The rarity of Larimar and the difficulty in mining it does not place it at the cheaper end of the crystal market. It’s not a stone collectors would normally start with. We sell Larimar in all sizes. The smallest piece is all you need for healing. I’m pretty confident given what I know of the market that should you buy a larger piece, it will hold its value whilst looking amazing and attracting comments from all your visitors. As always, but the piece that gives you butterflies or whatever buying signal you get when you feel a crystal is right for you.
Larimar is ok to be cleansed quickly in water, but not left in water for any length of time. Don’t leave Larimar in sunlight as it fades and will devalue your piece.
Vibrational Sacred Numbers, Planets, Signs CHAKRA // THROAT
ZODIAC // LEO
PLANET // MERCURY, NEPTUNE
ELEMENT // WATER, FIRE
SACRED NUMBER // 6, 55
VIBRATION // EXTREMELY HIGH
TRANQUILITY * SOOTHING * NURTURING * ANCIENT WISDOM * DOLPHIN STONE * CALMS FEARS * RELIEVES STRESS * POWERFUL MEDITATION AID * HARMONIZING * LOVE * PEACE * SERENITY * COMMUNICATION
Hope you’ve enjoyed my first piece on the stones themselves
Alison
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