Published April 2015  •  Updated March 2024  •  Read Time: 7 minutes
Larimar is a rare Caribbean-blue Pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic.  The mines are found alongside the Bahorocu River, a pristine water as vividly-blue as the gems.  During the first half of the 20th century, one of the founders of the New Age movement, said that a blue gem would be found in the Caribbean and bring about a new age of light.  When Larimar came on the market in the 1970s, it was immediately claimed as the prophesized stone.  Energetically it is an excellent match, resonate with goddess energy, love and compassion.  It can help us to leave the past behind and to move forward without shame, guilt or other negative programming.

Larimar larimar

Larimar Meaning

Spiritual Healing Properties

Larimar evokes the Goddess and is a powerful symbol of the Divine Feminine. It teaches us to love, honor, and nurture ourselves. Larimar helps us to create a strong internal foundation, a platform from which we can serve the wider world. Larimar gently shows that we do not have to play the part of a martyrs in our own lives. No sacrifice is necessary or desired! Instead, we are simply given opportunities to help others and to help ourselves. When we choose to help, Larimar invites us to do so with a joyful heart.

Metaphysical Properties Larimar
Chakra Heart and Throat
Element Wind and Fire
Numerology 6 and 55
Zodiac Leo

Emotional Healing Properties

Larimar’s energy is one of deep compassion and love, and can help to inspire true self-confidence and deep emotional healing. Its calm and soothing energy can help reduce stress, anxiety, and phobias, as well as feelings related to shame or guilt. Larimar’s empowering energy can be turned inward to increase our capacity for self-love and our ability to handle change. It can also be turned outward, helping us to be less judgmental towards others or inclined to take things personally. Larimar encourages us to step into our Personal Power and live our Highest Purpose. It teaches us to let go of the people and beliefs that limit us and instead focus on surrounding ourselves with whatever nurtures our heart and soul. Larimar can be used to attract soulmates, both romantic and platonic, and can help us move past emotional trauma and love again.

Mental Healing Properties

Larimar is a wonderful stone for working on our communication skills. In particular, Larimar can help us to consciously explore our emotions and find words to describe how we are feeling and what we need in order to be happy and at peace. It encourages creativity, constructive thinking, and positive problem-solving. It also teaches us when to just “let things be,” and to allow events to unfold without meddling. Larimar is a particularly fine talisman for teachers, writers, singers, and sound therapists. It is a very relaxing stone, useful for meditation purposes as well as finding work-life balance.

Physical Healing Properties

Larimar is recommended for pregnant women and for new mothers.  If we are having a pleasant pregnancy and enjoy our new baby, Larimar celebrates with us.  But, if we are struggling, Larimar is a very kind comfort.  It reminds us that pregnancy and motherhood don’t always match the dreamy glow in movies and stories.  Unfortunately pain, discomfort, sleeplessness, confusion, disappointment and fear are normal experiences that mothers have endured since time immortal.  Larimar is especially good talisman for relieving postpartum depression and to encourage mother-child bonding.  It is also excellent talisman for mothers of babies and toddlers.  It remind mamas that while our little ones are a busy blessing, that we also need to prioritize our own self care so that we can be our happiest and healthiest self.

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Larimar Mineralogy

Where does Larimar come from?

Larimar is found exclusively in the Dominican Republic.

Mining and Treatments

Mined at both the primary deposit and secondary alluvial deposits. The primary deposit is the Los Chupaderos Mine, upstream of the Bahorocu River. However, some Larimar is mined directly from the river, which naturally tumbles and polishes the stones, making the bright blue Larimar stand out in start contrast to the rest of dark gravel in the riverbed.

Because Larimar is in high demand and rare, it is no surprise that synthetic or fake Larimar is on the market. Real Larimar is expensive and so “cheap” Larimar should always be suspect.

Dominican Republic Placeholder
Dominican Republic

The Environmental & Social Impact of Crystals

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

Mineral Family

Larimar is the blue variety of the mineral Pectolite, which is a 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. One way the tetrahedra can connect is in long single chains, and it is to this group that Larimar belongs.

Larimar’s energy works well with its family – other silicate minerals.  Try it in combination with Cat’s Eye Quartz, Charoite, Diopside, Hawk’s Eye, Hiddenite, Jadite, Kunzite, Rhodonite, and Shattuckite

Larimar Formation and Crystal Associates

Larimar is a type of Blue Pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic. It was formed when volcanic igneous rocks erupted within the limestone on the southern coast of the island. The resulting disruption left cavities in the stones which were later filled by a variety of minerals, including Pectolite. Larimar grows in clumps of needle-like crystals which meld together into a solid mass. The blue color comes from the addition of Cobalt. Larimar often has inclusions of red-brown Hematite.

Larimar’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment.  Try it in combination with Copper

Mineralogy Larimar
Chemical Formula NaCa2Si3O8(OH)
Cleavage Perfect
Color Blue
Crystal System Triclinic
Form/Habit Acicular
Fracture Uneven
Hardness – Mohs Scale 4.5-5
Luminescence Yellowish-orange (short wave)
Luster Silky
Mineral Family Single-Chain Inosilicates
Specific Gravity 2.84-2.90
Streak White
Transparency Translucent, opaque

History of Larimar

Larimar is a relatively new healing stone whose healing properties have only recently begun to be explored. As such, it was not including in any ancient or medieval lapidary, texts which describe gemstones and their powers. It was discovered in the 20th century and thus far has only been found in the Dominican Republic. It has two histories, one official and one legendary.

Larimar was first documented in 1916 when Father Miguel Domingo Fuertes Loren, asked permission to explore and mine a blue stone he had found in his Barahona Parish, in the southern part of the country. The Dominican Republican Ministry of Mining rejected his request, and the matter was all but forgotten.

Sixty years later, the blue stone was rediscovered by local resident, Miguel Mendez, and Peace Corps volunteer, Norman Rilling, while they were walking along the beach. The beach stones had been deposited by the Bahoruco River, and by following it upstream they found the primary source, which is today the Los Chupaderos Mine. Miguel Mendez decided to name the pretty blue stone Larimar, a fusion of his daughter Larissa’s name and mar, the Spanish word for sea. Today, Larimar is one of the most expensive and desirable semi-precious gemstones.

Dominican Republic, Larimar

Dominican Republic

Where the “official” history of Larimar ends, legend takes over. For many people, Larimar is a stone intimately connected to the Lost Civilization of Atlantis, as the fabled “blue stone” described by Edger Cayce (1877-1945), one of the Fathers of the New Age Movement. The famous psychic and clairvoyant wrote many books on the history of Atlantis and its spiritual reemergence. He believed that the souls of Atlanteans were being reincarnated and would bring about a New Age of Light. Cayce was nicknamed the “Sleeping Prophet” because he gave his readings while in a trance state.

In his books, Cayce described many crystals associated with Atlantis, including Amethyst, Bloodstone, Jade, Moonstone, Lapis Lazuli, Opal, Pearl, Rose Quartz, Ruby, and Topaz. Cayce believed that some of the Caribbean islands had once belonged to the Atlantis Continent. In one of his trances, he spoke of a “blue stone” with extraordinary healing powers that would be found in the Caribbean. After its rediscovery in 1970s, Larimar was quickly linked to Cayce’s prophecy and unsurprisingly has sometimes been sold under the name “Atlantis Stone.” As a result, Larimar has become one of the most sought-after stones of the New Age and many skilled crystal intuitives have had a chance to work with it and explore its beautiful powers.

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