Published June 2021 • Updated August 2024 • Read Time: 7 minutes
Dravite Tourmaline is one of the three major types of Tourmaline, along with Schorl (black) and Elbaite (multi-colored). Dravite Tourmalines are typically brown, yellow or green, and are rich in magnesium and sodium. They are named after the Drava River in Slovenia, because the first one scientifically studied came from that riverbed. Dravite Tourmaline has a wonderful healing energy that can be tuned to an individual or used for a larger group. It is fantastic for healing families and communities that have been torn apart by trauma. It brings a compassionate and practical energy that helps resolve problems and create healthy new frameworks for the future.
Dravite Tourmaline Healing Energy
Spiritual Healing Properties
Dravite Tourmaline has a wise and kind energy that can inspire deep personal healing as well as profound community healing. Dravite Tourmaline connects us to the peace of the Earth. It gives us strength, stamina, persistence and courage so we can do great work. Dravite Tourmaline invites us to become our Higher Self and to grow up into the Light. It helps us to explore our shadows sides and to come to terms with any pain or shame we may be hiding from. As we heal our own heart, it also invites us to care more about our community and the world. Dravite Tourmaline shows us how we can be a Helper that other people can look to during times of trouble. Dravite Tourmaline is also wonderful crystal to add to gardens to help plants grow and thrive.
Vibrations | Dravite Tourmaline |
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Chakra | Root and Heart |
Element | Earth and Storm |
Numerology | 2 and 9 |
Zodiac | Aries |
Emotional Healing Properties
Dravite Tourmaline strengthens empathy and encourages us to do the hard work to solve our own problems. It is an excellent stone to work with when fighting with family or suffering during a family estrangement. Dravite Tourmaline helps us to see other people’s perspectives without compromising our own boundaries and integrity. It also helps us to face the parts of ourselves or our past which seem unlovable or unforgiveable. Dravite Tourmaline gently nurtures self-compassion and healing after trauma. If we have become emotionally numb, Dravite Tourmaline helps us to feel again. It calmly grounds us if we have the urge to deny, panic, or run away. It reminds us that healing is possible, but it requires us to accept reality, take on the correct responsibility, and do what needs to be done. Thankfully, Dravite Tourmaline energy can also help us to see the humor in terrible moments and to stay hopeful and heart-centered when all seems lost. It is an ally in the dark times that leads us back to the Light.
Mental Healing Properties
Dravite Tourmaline is a wonderful teacher for pragmaticism and compassion. It helps us to recognize negative patterns and issues and to find simple and creative solutions. Dravite Tourmaline helps us to calmly review the situation, without fear or denial. It pushes us to ask ourselves what needs to be released or resolved so that everyone can move forward and new growth can occur. Dravite Tourmaline helps us to make tough choices and do difficult things when it is necessary. It releases anxiety and helps us to feel competent and capable. It is a powerful crystal for community-minded individuals who want to improve or save the world.
Physical Healing Properties
Dravite Tourmaline is recommended for anyone who needs to release addictions or stop self-harming. It encourages us to face the emotions and situations which are driving the negative behaviors. Dravite Tourmaline encourages us to be more compassionate towards ourselves and to face our fears rather than run away or numb ourselves. Dravite Tourmaline is a wonderful talisman for problems associated with the intestines and elimination system, including Chrone’s Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It is also a good reminder that no matter the situation, laughter is good medicine.
Geology of Dravite Tourmaline
Where does Dravite Tourmaline come from?
Tourmaline is found around the world. Dravite is one of the main varieties and comes in several colors, most notably yellow, brown and green. Notable deposits for Dravite Tourmaline include Australia, Austria, Brazil, India, Italy, Nepal, Switzerland, Tanzania, and the United States.
Mining and Treatments
Tourmaline is a fairly common mineral, but gem quality crystals are relatively rare, and found almost exclusively in Pegmatite. Numerous mines exist whose primary purpose is finding gem-quality Tourmaline.
Opaque Tourmalines are natural, enhanced only by cutting and polishing. But transparent Tourmaline can be heat-treated to brighten the color. For example a dark green Tourmaline might be heat-treated to become a vivid emerald green. Such treatments primarily occur in the fine gemstone jewelry industry. Lab-created Tourmaline also exists. But it is typically used for research purposes and so is not readily available to the general public.
Dravite Tourmaline
Mineral Family
Tourmaline is a generic term which refers to 11 varieties of borosilicate minerals that can be any color of the rainbow. Silicates are minerals which contain the elements Silicon (a light gray shiny metal) and Oxygen (a colorless gas). Together, these two elements form a tetrahedra – a shape similar to a pyramid – with a Silicon atom in the center and Oxygen atoms at each of the three corners. These tetrahedras connect with other chemical structures, in six different ways, to form various minerals and rocks. There are six main groups of Silicate minerals, and these main groups are further subdivided into a variety of secondary subdivisions, such as Quartz and Feldspar. Tourmaline belongs to the cyclosilicate family. Cyclo means circle and all the minerals in this family form closed rings of tetrahedras. All Tourmalines are borosilicats, which are cyclosilicates that contain the element boron. Dravite is a type of Tourmaline that typically comes in brown, black, yellow or green.
Dravite Tourmaline’s energy works well with its family – other Cyclosilicate minerals. Try it in combination with Aquamarine, Dioptase, Emerald, Eudialyte, lolite, Morganite, and Sugilite. It also works well with other varieties of Tourmaline. Try it with Elbaite and Schorl.
Dravite Tourmaline Formation and Crystal Associates
Tourmaline is created when liquid magma from a volcanic explosion cools down and transforms into igneous rocks. During this cooling down period, borosilica acid shifts from being a gas/liquid into a solid compound, called Tourmaline. Most species of Tourmaline are found in Pegmatite, a type of igneous rock which typically develops underwater.
Dravite Tourmaline’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Muscovite and Quartz
Dravite vs Verdelite
Most Dravite Tourmaline are dark brown or yellow, but occasionally vivid green chromium dravite can be found. Green Tourmaline is sometimes called “Verdelite.” But, Green Tourmaline can be either Dravite or Elbaite Tourmaline. If the green color is mixed with red, it is Elbaite, but if it’s pure green or mixed with dark-brown or yellow, it could be either variety. If the sourcing location is known, it may help identify, but Dravite and Elbaite are often found in the same countries.
Mineralogy | Dravite Tourmaline |
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Chemical Formula | NA (Mg, Fe, Li, Mn, Al )3Al6(BO3)3Si6O18(OH,F)4 |
Cleavage | Indistinct |
Color | Brown, yellow, green |
Crystal System | Hexagonal/triagonal |
Form/Habit | Prismatic, acicular |
Fracture | Uneven, small conchoidal, brittle |
Hardness – Mohs Scale | 7-7.5 |
Luminescence | Blue (short wave) |
Luster | Vitreous |
Mineral Family | Cyclosilicates |
Specific Gravity | 2.82-3.32 |
Streak | White |
Transparency | Transparent to opaque |
History of Dravite Tourmaline
Tourmaline comes in every color making it difficult to trace in early lapidaries, texts which describe gemstones and their powers. In antiquity, it was most likely confused with other similarly-colored gemstones, such as green Emeralds, red Rubies and yellow Topaz. The name “Tourmaline” reflects this multicolored splendor. It comes from the Sri Lankan word turmali, which can be translated as “stone with mixed colors” or “gem pebbles.” Sri Lanka is known for its beautiful Elbaite Tourmalines that come in every shade of the rainbow. The Dutch East India Company first visited Sri Lanka in 1602, and then took control of the island’s coastline from 1640 until 1789. Among the many imports that the Dutch East India Company brought back to Europe were sparkly gemstones. The oldest record for Tourmaline’s healing powers is from a lapidary published in 1632 which calls Tourmaline, “the stone of wisdom, that is clear and resistant to all vagaries of fate.”
Dravite Tourmaline was first identified in 1883 by Gustav Tschermak von Seyensegg (1836-1927), a professor of mineralogy at the University of Vienna. In 1884 he described it in his book Lehrbuch der Mineralogie as an unusually magnesium and sodium-rich variety. The original type specimen was found near the village of Dobrova which sits alongside the Drava River in modern Slovania. Dravite was named in honor of the river. The river’s name is very old, pre-dating Slavic, Roman and Celtic times. It comes from the Sanskrit word dravati, meaning “to flow”. This close link to Sanskrit likely means the river was first named using a proto-Indo-European language, which may date as far back as the Neolithic period. Today, the Drava river is among the most exploited for hydropower, almost 100% of the potential is being tapped across 20 different dams. This is possible because of a combination of high water levels and steep drops in terrain. But this degree of water management severely impacts how sediment flows downstream, which in turn directly affects biodiversity. The challenge moving forward is to figure out if there is a way to take advantage of hydropower while protecting the river’s ecosystem.
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