In crystal lore today, astrophyllite is the stone for getting back in touch with who you really are. People pair it with quiet sitting, picturing themselves drifting out among the stars and coming back steadier.
Silicate (titanosilicate)
Astrophyllite
Astrofilita
- Palette
- Brown Yellow Black
- Mined in
- Russia, Norway, Greenland, Canada, United States
- Hardness
- Mohs 3.0–4.0 ?
- See-through
- opaque
- Known since
- 1854
- Named for
- Greek astron 'star' and phyllon 'leaf'
- Also sold as
- star leaf
- Intention
- Strength
- Looking for
- Confidence and self-worth Focus and clarity
- Water
- Keep it dry; wipe with a soft cloth
- Dye or finish
- No bead-trade disclosure was found, so what is done to the beads is not established. It is usually cut from the natural rock and polished.
Not in our pieces now
1956
Astrophyllite's partner mineral kupletskite was not recognized until 1956, over a century after astrophyllite was found in Norway in 1854.
3 TO 4
Astrophyllite is soft, 3 to 4 on the Mohs scale, with a greasy to pearly, almost metallic shine on its golden-brown blades.
What it is
Golden-bronze blades that fan out like little stars across a dark rock, with a greasy, pearly, slightly metallic shine. It is mostly sold as polished slabs and cabochons of the starry rock, and only occasionally as beads.
Where it comes from
Astrophyllite was first found on an island in Norway's Langesundsfjord and is also known from the Kola Peninsula in Russia, Greenland, Quebec and Colorado.
In history
Astrophyllite was first described in 1854 from Låven island in Norway's Langesund fjord, in a paper by Scheerer. It has stayed mainly a collector's and scientists' mineral, though aggregates are sometimes sliced and polished or cut as cabochons.
What's said about it
The name means star leaf, after the golden blades that fan out like tiny stars across dark rock. It is a rare collector stone from the Kola Peninsula and a few other places, and it is seldom made into beads.
It is soft and splits along its blades. People keep it as a slab or a pocket piece and wipe it with a dry cloth.
How people wear or keep it: In the hands during quiet sitting, on a desk or shelf, or in a pocket.
In crystal practice
Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: in the hands during quiet sitting, on a desk or shelf, in a pocket. People reach for it when they want confidence and self-worth, focus and clarity, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
Also calledstar leaf
Care
- It is soft, about Mohs 3 to 4, so keep it away from harder stones and rough surfaces.
- The blades split cleanly along one direction, so a hard knock can flake them. Choose gentle wear or a protected setting.
- Wipe with a soft dry cloth. Skip ultrasonic and steam cleaners.
- Keep it away from water and salt, and store it in its own soft pouch.
How to tell what you have
- Astrophyllite is a soft (Mohs 3 to 4), brittle mineral, golden brown to yellow, usually in radiating star-shaped blades set in lighter rock.
- Its look-alike kupletskite is visually the same, so a bead sold under this name may be either; handle it gently.
Questions people ask at our table
What is astrophyllite?
It is a rare titanium silicate mineral that grows as golden-bronze blades in star-like sprays. The best-known material comes from the Kola Peninsula in Russia.
Is it used in jewelry?
Only now and then. It is scarce and soft, so it is usually kept as a collector specimen or cut into polished slabs and cabochons rather than beads.
Where does it come from?
Russia's Kola Peninsula is the famous source. It also turns up in Norway, Greenland, Canada and Colorado in the United States.
Can I get it wet?
It is better not to. The stone is soft and splits along its blades, so a dry soft cloth is the safer way to clean it.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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