Published May 2014  •  Updated February 2024  •  Read Time: 7 minutes
Gold Tiger’s Eye is one of the most popular healing crystals.  Most of the stones on the market are mined in South Africa.  Most of the stones are a beautiful golden-brown, but Tiger’s Eye can also be red or blue.  While some crystals have healing traditions stretching far back into antiquity, Tiger’s Eye’s energy was first explored in the 20th and 21st centuries.  It is a wonderful stone for courage and hope, and encourages us to do more than just dream of a better world.  Gold Tiger’s Eye asks us to take real action.  It would be a fantastic choice for conservationists and environmentalists, particularly anyone who loves big cats and other apex species.

Gold Tiger's Eye gold tiger’s eye

Gold Tiger’s Eye Meaning

Spiritual Healing Properties

Gold Tiger’s Eye gives us the strength and courage necessary to survive hard times. It can help us to trust in the Divine, that all is working out according to plan. It can also help us trust ourselves – and to know we have the ability to solve our problems and make a success of ourselves! Gold Tiger’s Eye reminds us that, “God helps those, who help themselves.” This shimmering stone also whispers to us that how we live in our everyday lives is our true religion and the way we conduct the most mundane activities is an expression of our soul’s health and strength. Gold Tiger’s Eye gently but firmly dares us to live empowered and to be fully alive to the beauty of the present moment.

Metaphysical Properties Gold Tiger’s Eye
Chakra Root, Sacral and Solar Plexus
Element Fire and Earth
Numerology 4
Zodiac Capricorn

Emotional Healing Properties

Gold Tiger’s Eye brings gifts of confidence and self-awareness. It helps us to see and respectfully acknowledge our own wants and needs, as well as those of others. Gold Tiger’s Eye helps us to disassociate ourselves from negative people who sap our energy and to seek out friends who bring us joy and help us grow. It helps us balance out our own emotional highs and lows, finding instead a steady balance that feels good. Gold Tiger’s Eye can be a very helpful stone for group work and relationships, particularly when people have different viewpoints. This stone can help people to see their commonalities and to communicate more diplomatically.

Mental Healing Properties

Gold Tiger’s Eye’s energy is exceptionally practical and full of common sense, and can help to calm down emotional excesses. It encourages good business and financial sense. When placed in a cash register, it helps keep the till balanced! Gold Tiger’s Eye is an excellent stone for anyone studying finances or seeking to increase their net-worth. It helps us to budget, save, and make wise decisions that take into account both our present and future needs and desires. Gold Tiger’s Eye encourages us to be pragmatic, prepared, and ready for whatever life may bring. And, if life brings hardship, Gold Tiger’s Eye asks us to fight back and do whatever is necessary to create a good life for ourselves, our loved ones, and the world at large.

Physical Healing Properties

Gold Tiger’s Eye is used by metaphysical healers for general vitality and to reduce physical pain. It is commonly used to bring hormones and the body’s biochemistry into balance. It is often used to treat the adrenal glands and help align the spinal cord. It is believed to help mend broken bones and to treat reproductive disorders.

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Gold Tiger Eye Mineralogy

Where does Gold Tiger’s Eye come from?

The vast majority of the Tiger’s Eye on the market is mined in South Africa, regardless of whether it’s gold, red or blue (Hawk’s Eye).  Smaller deposits are also found in Brazil and India, and stones are occasionally found in other locations.  One other notable deposit is in Western Australia, but the Gold Tiger’s Eye is usually layered with Red Jasper and silver Hematite, into a colorful rock called Tiger Iron.

Mining and Treatments

Tiger’s Eye is mined from primary deposits, which are located in metamorphic rock. Tiger’s Eye is mined in an open pit setting, since Tiger’s Eye is found directly under the soil.

All Gold Tigers Eye is fully natural,  enhanced only by cutting and polishing.  Blue Tigers Eye is also natural, but Red Tigers Eye is often heat-treated.

Gold Tigers Eye Placeholder
Gold Tigers Eye

The Environmental & Social Impact of Crystals

Your crystals should have a healing energy that is clean, powerful, & makes a positive difference.

Mineral Family

Tiger’s Eye is a rare Silicate mineral. Silicates are minerals which contain the elements Silicon (a light gray shiny metal) and Oxygen (a colorless gas). Together, these two elements form a tetrahedron – a shape similar to a pyramid – with a Silicon atom in the center and Oxygen atoms at each of the four corners. These tetrahedra 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 secondary subdivisions, such as Quartz and Feldspar. Tiger’s Eye is a semi-precious variety of Quartz that exhibits chatoyancy, or a vertical luminescent band.

Gold Tiger’s Eye’s energy works well with its family – other Silicate minerals.  Try it in combination with Agate, AmethystAventurineChalcedonyCitrineClear QuartzJasper, Opal, PrasioliteRose QuartzSmoky Quartz. It also blends perfectly with Red Tiger’s Eye and grey Cat’s Eye.

Gold Tiger’s Eye Formation and Crystal Associates

 Tiger’s Eye is formed when Quartz replaces the mineral Crocidolite. As the Crocidolite decomposes, Iron is exposed and oxidized which transforms it into Limonite. Tiger’s Eye is essentially Limonite fibers embedded in Quartz. Early in the process the stone is still grey or blue and may be called Cat’s Eye, Hawk’s Eye or Blue Tiger’s Eye. As the process continues, the blue is gradually replaced by gold, and the stone is then called Gold Tiger’s Eye. If the Gold Tiger’s Eye is then heated, either by natural causes or artificially by humans, the stone’s color becomes red, at which point it is called Red Tiger’s Eye.

Gold Tiger’s Eye’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment.  Try it in combination with Hawk’s Eye, Hematite and Red Jasper.  When found entwined, these are known as Tiger Iron.

Mineralogy Gold Tiger’s Eye
Chemical Formula SiO2
Cleavage None
Color Golden-brown
Crystal System Hexagonal/Trigonal
Form/Habit Fibrous
Fracture Fibrous
Hardness – Mohs Scale 6.5-7
Luminescence None
Luster Silky
Mineral Family Tectosilicate
Specific Gravity 2.58-2.64
Streak White, yellow-brown
Transparency Opaque

History of Gold Tiger’s Eye

Tiger’s Eye was generally not included in early lapidaries, texts which describe gemstones and their powers. For most of history, Tiger’s Eye was relatively rare, since the main deposits are in South Africa and Australia.  In modern times, Tiger’s Eye’s distinctive flash, as well as its basic affordability and availability, has allowed its metaphysical properties to be widely explored.

According to some metaphysical sources, Tiger’s Eye was used by ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Romans, and Chinese artists and religious leaders.  These claims have not been verified by historical sources or artwork.  While it is possible that an occasional stone found its way to Mediterranean cultures, the distance between these empires and the deposits in South Africa makes it unlikely.  Small deposits of Tigers Eye have been found in India and trade routes did exist between ancient India and the Mediterranean, and the trade in precious stones along these routes is well established.  But only the most valuable stones, for example, Lapis Lazuli, were economically worthwhile to transport across such vast distances.  In the best case scenario, a small piece of polished Tiger’s Eye might be offered as a curiosity.  As for ancient China, the same rules of commerce apply.  During the 20th century, Pietersite, a stone closely related to Tiger’s Eye, was found in China and Korea.  It’s possible that it was known and mined in ancient times, but if so there is no direct proof.

The earliest reference to Gold Tiger’s Eye from Francois Levaillant (1753-1824) explorations into the interior of South Africa.  The French explorer and ornithologist explored the area during the 1780s and then wrote best selling books about it during the 1790s.  His main interest was birds, but he observed all of nature with great interest and described the native people sympathetically. He traveled with an indigenous man who he referred to as his brother and equal.  During the account of his second exploration, Levaillant was traveling along the Orange River, “I also saw one extraordinary stone, to which I cannot yet give a name. It is as large as a nutmeg, has a varying splendor like the opal or cat’s eye, but is of a browner hue, with a gold-coloured belt. It strikes fire with steel. Since my return to Europe, I have sought for such in vain in cabinets and among traders, but I have been able no where to meet with one. Neither the naturalist nor the jeweler knows it. This stone at present is in Holland, in the possession of one of my friends, Raye de Breukelward, and constitutes a part of his valuable collection.”

Today, Tiger’s Eye is sold worldwide and is famous for the way it reflect light when polished. This trait is known in geology as “chatoyancy.”  The term “chatoyant” is a combination of the French words for “cat” and “eye.” Tiger’s Eye’s bold gold coloring elevated it above a mere kitty, to instead honor the Tiger, the largest and most powerful member of the feline family. Tigers are the largest cat species and highly endangered.  Most wild populations live in small areas, with India home to the greatest number.  During the 20th century, there were thought to be several sub-species, but since 2015 scientists agree there are only two, those who range across mainland Asia, and subspecies found only on the islands of Java, Sumatra and Bali.

The word tiger likely comes from the Persian word tigra meaning “sharp.”  Caspian Tigers were native to the eastern Mediterranean and central Asia, including any territory that was once part of a Persian empire.  The Caspian Tiger was declared extinct in 2003.  It was genetically similar, perhaps identical, to the Siberian Tiger.  There is talk of reintroducing Siberian Tigers into the former range of the Caspian Tiger.  If this project goes through, the tigers will likely be released into Kazakhstan and Iran as a starting point.

Tiger, Gold tiger's eye

References:

  1. Tiger’s Eye, mindat.org
  2. Second voyage dans l’interieur de l’Afrique, par le Cap de Bonne-Esperance, dans les annes 1783, 84, et 85.  Paris: H.J. Jansen et Comp. 1795. p. 208

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