Stone Archive

Sodalite

Provenance

Brazil

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Concept

Pumice Washed

TRACE & NARRATIVE

First described mineralogically in Greenland in 1811. Named for its high sodium content—"soda"lite.

In 1891, Princess Mary (then Duchess of York) visited Bancroft, Ontario, took a liking to the stone, and brought a large quantity back to Britain. It has been known as"Princess Blue"since. One royal's taste gave a stone a second name.

Visually close to lapis lazuli, but compositionally different. Sodalite contains no pyrite—no gold flecks. Two very similar blues, with entirely different origins.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

MOHS SCALE

MOHS 5.5 ｜ MODERATE DURABILITY

LATTICE STRUCTURE

CUBIC SYSTEM | ABSOLUTE EQUILIBRIUM

VISUAL METRICS

Rich blue threaded with white. Less formal than lapis, more direct. A blue you can wear without the outfit having to meet it halfway.

MAINTENANCE

Hardness 5.5–6 — store separately from harder stones.

SYMBOLIC INDEX

ORIENTAL PHASE

WATER PHASE

CLASSICAL ELEMENT

AER (Air)

PHYSIOLOGICAL FOCUS

Throat | Vishuddha, Third Eye | Ajna

ASTROLOGICAL PERIOD

Cancer, Sagittarius

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROJECTION

Logic — Truth — Order

Brings order to thought. When emotional turbulence threatens to sever the thread of reasoning, this holds it taut. Not a poet's stone. It belongs to the thinker and the engineer.

SELECTOR'S NOTE

In the middle of an emotional current, he doesn't lose the thread of logic. Not cold — wired differently. The analytical circuit runs parallel, uninterrupted. This stone is his instrument. Not the poet's stone. The architect's. It tends to remain in the possession of people who enjoy the act of putting thoughts in order.