There are loads of beautiful rocky riverbeds in the west of Scotland, although one or two are protected, or have nesting areas for rare wildlife. As usual, always double check if you plan to have a visit yourself.
Onto the rocks!
Finding Pink Pectolite
I first came across pink pectolite when I was out on the trail for jasper. Some of the best red/yellow jasper in Scotland comes from Ayrshire. I spent a lot of time hunting it down, as regular readers will know.
So in between trawling rivers and doing a load of reading, hanging out in the Campsies and checking the River Clyde for some lovely yellow/black lined jasper - I stumbled across this weird pink rock that looked a bit like salmon. A bit of research led me to realise I had been in the right location for pink larimar pectolite - which I had found completely by accident.
Just to be clear: I went on a hunt for the most common rock in Scotland and found one of the rarest types of rock in the world. It's only known in a few places... not unlike the original brightly coloured blue/green of pure Larimar - which is only found in one single place in the entire globe.
What is Larimar?
Larimar is the trading name assigned to blue pectolite, specifically found in the Dominican Republic. Pectolite is a fibrous stone with a hardness of between 4.5 and 6... making it easy to shape for us hand polishers. It has a perfect cleavage with crystals all facing the same direction, and it is opaque. If light comes through your larimar, it is probably a fake (sorry).
What the relationship between pink pectolite and larimar is, is that one is blue, and one is pink. They are of the same mineral family. The name "larimar" is just used to describe that specific, blue-coloured pectolite. It was discovered in 1974 and has grown in popularity every year since.
What is Pink Pectolite?
On the other hand, pink pectolite looks very much like salmon. It is a pinky-peachy colour normally, but I have come across pieces ranging from white through to a yellowish, almost agatized colour. Other locations that contain pectolite report it can be purplish, greenish, or even grey in colour. In the rivers of Scotland, the pectolite is pink.
Larimar and pink pectolite have the same crystal structure. They are found in different places, and larimar may be dark blue, light blue, or aqua green. Larimar is also pectolite and belongs to this group of minerals. I hope I am explaining this clearly enough.
Interestingly enough, some of the pieces we come across have a black face or black sides to it. We thought this was bedrock but Minerals.net have this as tarnishing due to air exposure. The pieces we found have come from the water, so we are assuming air exposure isn't a factor. They record the hardness as 4.5-5, although admit that when tightly packed, the fibres of this crystal can make it denser. Single crystals are rare because they would be so soft that they would erode on touch.
The crystal structure looks exactly like you had cut into a salmon fish finger on these stones. The pink is lined, all usually radiating out from a single point. This means you sometimes come across sort of star-like formations in the grain of the rock. We have found a few pieces of stone with the ghost-shape of a missing pectolite crystal formation imprinted in it; the pectolite having been so soft it was worn away.
Where does it come from? We were recently in Angus and brought back some suspiciously pectolite-looking specimens to cut with the new saw and get a good look at. It just might be we found an unknown source right here in Scotland.
From now
until I give up on the idea, Fox and I will be collecting, shaping, and
hand-polishing pieces of pectolite. Some will stay as specimens; others will go
out as jewellery. To date we only have a few pieces, but we are working on it.
They will be listed as they are ready, on the Stone Circle site.
The Meaning of Pectolite?
Before we wrap up for the day, and as always, I wanted to cover the spiritual meanings associated with the pink pectolite stone. This gem is a sweet replacement for rose quartz, said to imbibe the wearer with a deeper sense of peace and relaxation. If you are suffering from anxiety, wearing some around your neck should help you maintain a calm composure.
Some sources say that pectolite is incredibly useful for those overcoming addiction, behavioural, or emotional problems. Those going through grief or experiencing trauma will benefit from wearing a piece of pectolite, since it helps to balance out extremes of emotion.
The colour of the pectolite that you wear will also affect its impact on your life. Pink pectolite is extremely rare, only being found in two or three locations worldwide. It is thought to reward the divine feminine in you, honour your emotions, and embrace realisations of the self. It is a wisdom stone. If enlightenment is what you seek, then add some to your collection and meditate with it.
Larimar is said to be excellent for clearing blockages to the throat chakra. If we had to guess on the pink pectolite, we would say it affects the same chakra, since the makeup of the stones is almost identical.
A Note on Thomsonite
Let's just clear this up once and for all... Thomsonite and pink pectolite are two different minerals. Thomsonite does not always have perfect cleavage, and has orthorhombic crystal structures, as opposed to the specific triclinic crystal structure found in pectolite. They look a little like each other, but they are very different minerals. Beware of sellers marketing Thomsonite as pink pectolite to you. Ask where the crystals came from, if it isn't the west of Scotland, then the pink pectolite they are trying to sell you is likely to be pink thomsonite, instead. You can always read the Wikipedia pages on the two minerals to clarify. You will find both Pectolite and Thomsonite on there. Be aware that you get either mineral in different colour variations, too.
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| Thomsonite in basalt (source) |
And that just about wraps it up on pink pectolite. If you have managed to buy a piece from us - congratulations! If you buy it in late 2020/early 2021, you will be one of our first pectolite customers, which is something to celebrate. It will have been picked, brought home for a clean, polished by hand, and wound up at your door. If that's not an ethically sourced mineral, we don't know what is. Enjoy your new piece of pectolite and be sure to tell us if it does what it is supposed to. It's the last few days of 2020. We could all use less stress in our lives.
(With @rockhounding_fox, @katrionamacmillan)
