Published August 2024 • Read Time: 8 minutes
Ancestralite is a banded iron rock with bold layers of silver Hematite and dark Red Jasper. It is primarily mined in South Africa, but has also been found in Brazil. It is a very ancient rock with a grounded and wise energy. It is a phenomenal stone for doing shadow-work and inner child healing. It helps us to understand our past and how our beliefs formed. It also helps us to emotionally grow up and become a healthy adult who take care of themselves and is able to take care of others.
Meaning of Ancestralite
Spiritual Healing Properties
Ancestralite is a powerful stone for shadow-work. It is especially good for inner child healing and for exploring limiting beliefs that feed chronic negative emotions. Limiting beliefs are most often acquired in childhood or as a result of later trauma. They can be unique to us or part of the belief system we inherited from our family or larger social group. If our family has a history of generational or ancestral trauma, it is highly likely that we will have acquired limiting beliefs as a result. Ancestralite helps us to identify and reduce these limiting beliefs and make the necessary internal changes so that our life is positively transformed. It encourages us to look pragmatically at our limiting beliefs and to see how they negatively impact our relationships, career, and other aspects of life. It reminds us that beliefs don’t need to be set in stone, they can be erased or rewritten as we grow up and become more conscious. Ancestralite encourages compassionate self-anlysis and discernment. It helps us to look at old memories with fresh and mature eyes, and perhaps see ourselves and others with more empathy and understanding.
| Vibrations | Ancestralite |
|---|---|
| Chakra | Root, Sacral |
| Element | Earth |
| Numerology | 6, 9 |
| Zodiac | Aries, Tauraus, Leo, & Aquarius. |
Emotional Healing Properties
Ancestralite has a strong and soothing energy. It is extremely comforting for our inner child, who may be wounded, lost, or discarded. It teaches us that our inner child 100% deserves unconditional love and that we have a sacred responsibility to provide that for ourselves. Our inner child also needs practical guidance so that we grow up into a mature and healthy adult. Ancestralite gently, but firmly, encourages us to prioritize our physical wellbeing, making sure we eat healthy, are active, and get enough sleep. It also reminds us that we need to develop healthy financial habits, since money is what allows us to physically provide for ourselves. Our emotional needs are equally important, but can be tricky to meet because we have to rely on other people. Unfortunately, sometimes the people we love are toxic and cannot fulfil our emotional needs, even though we wish that they could. Ancestralite encourages us to be compassionate to our inner child who is desperate to be loved. It reminds us that we cannot make other people heal, but we can do the work to heal ourselves. Ancestralite reminds us that self-care is self-repair, and that we have an adult responsibility to take care of ourselves. Ancestralite supports us to become the kind of wise and wonderful adult that is needed in this world.
Mental Healing Properties
Ancestralite gives us the confidence and courage to release self-limitations. It encourages us to explore self-sabotaging energies like judgementalism, perfectionism, people-pleasing, procrastination, victimhood, etc. It asks us to be very honest in our self-analysis, but never cruel. It gently and sensibly reminds us that being harsh with ourselves doesn’t actually serve anyone. Instead, it is enough to learn from past mistakes, shake off bad habits, and do better in the future. Ancestralite has a very practical energy that encourages us to get to work and methodically do whatever needs to be done. It reminds us that this moment, right now, is where we have the power and we can make choices that will create more happiness and joy.
Physical Healing Properties
Ancestralite is a fantastic stone for preventative care and maintenance. It reminds us that the human body ages in reliable ways and requires sensible caretaking for optimal performance. Some of our physical self-care can be done at home, but some may require medical expertise. If we tend to avoid visiting doctors, dentists, and other healthcare professionals until there’s a crisis, Ancestralite can helps us to move past our fear and avoidance. It calmly shows us that we don’t have to like going to the doctor, but we still need to get regular check-ups and take medical advice seriously. In particular, Ancestralite strongly encourages us to consider our family medical history and to take appropriate precautions and get early testing if available. Ancestralite reminds us that an ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure!
Geology of Ancestralite
Where does Ancestralite come from?
Ancestralite comes from Brazil and South Africa
Mining and Treatments
Ancestralite is found alongside other varieties of Hematite. Hematite is the most important of all Iron ores, because it contains up to 70% pure Iron. Hematite is most often mined in open pit. In large-scale mines, the Hematite is crushed for its Iron content. Ancestralite comes from a small mining operation that sets these pretty stones aside for collectors.
Ancestralite
Mineral Family
Ancestralite is a sedimentary rock, rather than a mineral. An easy way to understand the difference is that rocks are like cookies and minerals are ingredients like flour or sugar. Many different minerals are used to create a rock! In the case of Ancestralite it is a combination of silver/gray Martite (a form of Hematite) and red Chert (depending on the silica level, it may be considered a Red Jasper)
Ancestralite’s energy works well with its family – other sedimentary rocks. Try it in combination with Dragon’s Blood Jasper, Outback Jasper, Septarian Nodule, and Stromatolite
Ancestralite’s energy also works well with other Banded Iron Rocks. Try it in combination with Isua and Tiger Iron
Ancestralite Formation and Crystal Associates
Ancestralite is a trade name for an iron banded sedimentary rock. It consists of alternating bands of grey oxide minerals and red chert or shale. The oxide mineral is often described as Martite, which is an iron-rich pseudomorph mineral. Pseudomorph means “false form” because it has the shape and appearance of one mineral, but that original mineral has actually been replaced by another. Martite has the appearance of Magnetite, but was chemically replaced by Hematite underground from pressure. This particular pseudomorph process requires a notable increase in oxygen levels. Most banded iron formations were created during the Great Oxygenation Event which took place over 2 billion years ago. For more information, see the history section below.
Ancestralite’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination White Calcite
| Mineralogy | Ancestralite |
|---|---|
| Rock Type | Sedimentary – iron banded red chert |
| Major Minerals | Martite (pseudomorph of Hematite from Magnetite) |
| Minor Minerals | — |
| Color | Striped grey and red |
| Texture | Clastic |
| Transparency | Opaque |
History of Ancestralite
Ancestralite is a new healing crystal that was introduced to the market in January, 2015. Its metaphysical and scientific properties were first publicly described by Judy Hall in a Facebook post on July 8, 2015. According to Hall, “Ancestralite was created from a stromatolite structure (fossil algae colony) that oxygenated the atmosphere for a few hundred million years before other life was able to exist. But the presence of Martite ( a hematite pseudomorph of magnetite) suggests that the rock got buried at a later date and underwent other chemical processes, as the process by which martite forms happens in the earth’s core.” Many other crystal books and websites have either repeat her description verbatim or incorrectly described Ancestralite as a Stromatolite fossil.
Ancestralite is actually an iron banded sedimentary rock. While it does contain Martite, it was formed by sedimentary pressure, rather than in the earth’s liquid core. Ancestralite is not a Stromatolite, but it was formed in association with Stromatolites since living colonies of cynobacteria were indeed nearby oxygenating the area when the sedimentary rock layers were being laid down.
Most of the Ancestralite on the market comes from Sishen Mine in Northern Cape, South Africa which works one of the largest iron banded formations in the world. The industrial mine was first open in 1947 and is currently owned by Kumba Iron Ore. Ancestralite may come directly from this large-scale mine, or from artisanal miners digging along the South African banded iron formation. The rocks are Precambrian age, which is a massive era that includes 90% of the Earth’s history, from 4.6 billion years ago to 541 million years ago. Stromatolites first emerged about 3.45 billion years ago and still exist today. Some of the minerals in the banded iron formation in South Africa, predate Stromatolites, but the majority date to the Great Oxygenation Event that occurred 2.3-2.8 billion years ago. This event is directly tied to the presence of Stromatolites.
Banded Iron, like other sedimentary rocks, is formed by sediments deposited in lakes and oceans. When buried, the sediments lose water and become cemented into rocks. Banded Iron consists of alternating bands of dark grey oxide minerals such as Hematite and Magnetite, and iron-poor red shale and chert. The oxide mineral may be referred to as Martite if its a pseudomorph in between Magnetite and Hematite. Living Stromatolites are also found in lakes and oceans, but that doesn’t mean Ancestralites are formed from an actual Stromatolite structure.
South Africa is one of the few place on earth where living Stromatolites can still be found. The main colony is found on the Port Elizabeth coastline where it has been studied by researchers from Nelson Mandela University. In 2018, marine biologists found a new species of crustacean, Sinelobus stromatoliticus, that lives in a unique symbiosis with the Stromatolites. This tiny crustacean eats the seaweed that grows on the living rocks, keeping it trimmed down so that it doesn’t block the sunlight from reaching the bacteria colony. This allows the Stromatolites to photosynthesis the sunlight and keep adding new oxygen to our atmosphere, just as it has for billions of years.
Additional References:
- Judy Hall. 2015. “Ancestralite: ‘The Buck Stops Here’ stone.” July 8, 2015.
- Mindat.org, Message Board: Mineralogical Classification, “Magnetite-Hematite-Martite“
- “New species discovered in South Africa’s stromatolites,” Nelson Mandela University, February 2, 2018
- Yin, Shou et al. “Replacement of magnetite by hematite in hydrothermal systems: a refined redox-independent model” in Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Volume 577 (2022)
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