Published August 2023 • Updated August 2024 • Read Time: 6 minutes
Lizardite is a member of the Serpentine family. While the name might appear fanciful, it is a formal scientific name. This pretty stone was first described in 1955 from a deposit on Lizard Point in Great Britain. It is a metamorphic rock and its vivid lime-green color is because it was previously an igneous rock studded with Peridot. Like other varieties of Serpentine, it has a wise and grounded energy. Lizardite is especially good for teaching patience and non-attachment. It is a fantastic stone for boundary work and emotional healing.
Lizardite Healing Energy
Spiritual Healing Properties
Lizardite is a wonderful stone for centering as it both grounds and uplifts the spirt. It can be used to cleanse and align the entire chakra field and to awaken kundalini energy and help it to flow strongly. Lizardite opens up psychic channels and strengthens intuition, especially intuition that is based on subtle clues and sensitivities. It helps us to trust our own intuition, even when other people argue against it. It offers comfort if we feel things other people don’t feel, or see things that other people don’t see. Lizardite teaches patience and reminds us that success is not always a swift path. Sometimes we must chase our dreams, while other times we have to lie in wait. Anyone with lizard or dragon totem energy will greatly enjoy working with this stone.
| Vibrations | Serpentine |
|---|---|
| Chakra | All |
| Element | Earth |
| Numerology | 8 |
| Zodiac | Gemini |
Emotional Healing Properties
Lizardite is a powerful healing stone for making sense of old emotional traumas and for detaching from unhealthy habits and beliefs. It reminds us that sometimes we have to let go of the old in order to make way for new growth. While it can be scary to let go of old patterns or other people, Lizardite gives us the courage to put our own wellbeing first without feeling guilty. It is particularly useful for anyone who tends to be overly-responsible and feel as though we have to always make up the difference for other people. Lizardite helps us to emotionally detach and have better emotional boundaries. This is not a hardening of the heart, but rather a wise acceptance that allows things be what they actually are, rather than trying to force something to work that isn’t working.
Mental Healing Properties
Lizardite is a wisdom stone that encourage us to pay close attention, to be patient, and not to fear change. It helps us to think hopefully and pragmatically about the future and to be part of the solution, rather than complain about the problems. When thinking about larger issues that impact our community or planet, Lizardite helps us to be less self-centered and to contribute to the greater good. If we struggle to know how to balance our personal needs with the needs of our community, Lizardite can show us how to walk that balance with peace in our heart. It is also a wonderful stone for dreaming and can help us to better interpret our dreams and learn how to lucid dream.
Physical Healing Properties
Lizardite is recommended when we need to prioritize our physical health. It is a courage stone for anyone who dreads visiting the doctor and who keeps ignoring the signs, subtle or obvious, that the body needs a tune-up. Lizardite can also help us to better recognize how our physical body impacts our mood. It is particularly good for emotional mood swings related to PMS and other hormone changes. It is a lovely talisman for treating diabetes and hypoglycemia, especially if we are struggling to change our daily habits.
Geology of Lizardite
Where does Lizardite come from?
The Serpentine sub-group is so widespread that deposits are found worldwide. The variety of Lizardite is found in only a handful of locations, most notably Great Britain, Italy, Norway, and the United States
Mining and Treatments
High-quality Lizardite is bright lime green and is primarily sold to mineral collectors. Lower-quality white Lizardite is mined industrial and may be used for indoor ceramic tiles. In the United States, Lizardite is sometimes found in iron mines in the northeast.
All Lizardite is natural enhanced only by cutting and polishing.
Lizardite
Mineral Family
Lizardite is a magnesium-rich member of the Serpentine sub-group. Serpentine is a general name given to a family of 16 distinct hydrous silicate minerals. Serpentines are silicates, 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. Serpentine belongs to the phyllosilicate group, whose tetrahedra connect at three corners to form hexagonal rings.
Serpentine’s energy works well with its family – other phyllosilicate minerals. Try it in combination with Apophyllite, Cavansite, Chlorite Quartz, Chrysocolla, Fuchsite, Kammererite, Lepidolite, Muscovite, Petalite, Prehnite, and Seraphinite. Try it also with other varieties of Serpentine.
Lizardite Formation and Crystal Associates
Lizardite is a secondary mineral, meaning that it is formed by the chemical alteration of another mineral. In this case, Lizardite is a secondary mineral of Olivine, more commonly known by its gem name, Peridot. In areas with volcanic activity, hydrothermal fluid sometimes gets heated by magma mixed with groundwater or ocean water. As the fluid flows away from the magma, the heated water interacts with the surrounding rocks, triggering a metamorphic reaction. If the surrounding area has igneous rocks rich in Olivine, Lizardite is formed.
Lizardite’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Hematite and White Calcite
| Mineralogy | Lizardite |
|---|---|
| Chemical Formula | Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
| Cleavage | Perfect |
| Color | Green-yellow, white, brown |
| Crystal System | Triagonal |
| Form/Habit | Massive or pseudomorphous |
| Fracture | Irregular, uneven |
| Hardness – Mohs Scale | 2.5 |
| Luminescence | None |
| Luster | Resinous, waxy, greasy |
| Mineral Family | Phyllosilicate |
| Specific Gravity | 2.55 |
| Streak | White |
| Transparency | Semitransparent (rare), opaque (common) |
History of Lizardite
Lizardite is a member of the Serpentine sub-group of minerals. Unlike Serpentine varieties with marketing names like “Infinite” or “Healerite,” Lizardite is a name recognized by geologists. It was identified in 1955 by British mineralogists Eric William Whittaker (1921-2015) and Jack Zussman (1924 – ). It was named after its original site location at the most southernly tip of Great Britain – Lizard Point. It is a merely a charming coincidence that the peninsula is composed of serpentine rocks. There are also no lizards or notable reptiles in the area, instead it is known for its birds and marine life.
The English name for the peninsula is a corruption of the Cornish name, “Lys Ardh” which is sometimes incorrectly translated as “fortress,” but is more accurately translated as “high court,” as lys is Cornish for “court” and ardh is Cornish for “high place.” In this case, “high” is a reference to the high cliffs, rather than political importance. The nearest large town, Helston, was called the “old court” in Cornish as far back as the Domesday Book (1086). Any court in this remote area would have been a small manorial court, in which a feudal lord would have exercised jurisdiction over peasants.
Lizard point is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the English Channel, making it one of the most frequented shipping lanes in Northern Europe. It is also the most dangerous. It is the graveyard for many shipwrecks, estimated as high as 6000, with the most recent deadly wreck as recently as 2004. It is also famous for being the birthplace of the wireless radio in 1901.
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