Published May 2018  •  Updated February 2024  •  Read Time: 7 minutes
Merlinite is a tradename for a fusion of white Quartz and black Managnese oxide.  Originally, this name was only used for crystals mined in New Mexico, USA.  However, a similar deposit has since been found in Cornwall, Great Britain and in Eskişehir, Turkey.  Cornwall is closely associated with the legendary Merlin and was the birthplace of King Arthur.  Merlinite is a wonderful stone for modern day shamans, druids and other forms of Old Magic.  The combination of light and dark, black and white, helps us to explore these same dualities with courage and wisdom.  Merlinite also encourages life-long-learning and the special bond between teachers and mentors and their students.

Merlinite

Merlinite Meaning

Spiritual Healing Properties

Merlinite is a powerful tool for shamans, alchemists, wiccans and druids. It brings a sense of spiritual awareness to our everyday life. It helps us to see our place within the Divine Plan and to walk our spiritual path with joy and courage. Merlinite connects with the forces of nature and gives us insights into earth medicine and healing rituals. It encourages us to be more receptive to messages from our totem animals and from the fairy world. Merlinite invites us to face our shadow self and all our fears, and to move beyond them into wisdom. It hones our natural intellectual gifts and playful inspires our curiosity about the spiritual and physical world alike. Merlinite encourages the old to have young hearts, and the young to have wise minds.

Metaphysical Properties Merlinite
Chakra Root Chakra, Solar Plexus and Third Eye
Element Earth and Storm
Numerology 3, 7 and 11
Zodiac Gemini and Sagittarius

Emotional Healing Properties

Merlinite has a very emotionally-wise vibration. It helps us to examine ourselves honesty and unflinchingly. It teaches us how to peel away layers of shame, victimization and self-hatred that have built up over time and prevent us from seeing our true nature. Merlinite helps us to acknowledge the ways in which we are merely products of our environment and genetics. It asks us to give ourselves (and others) compassion because of that reality. But Merlinite also reminds us that we are capable of growing and learning. Mistakes are merely opportunities to know better, and then, to do better. Merlinite helps us to develop a healthy sense of our own true value and to ambitiously strive to make a positive difference in the world. During times of grief, Merlinite helps us to trust that the spirit is eternal and that love is the greatest force of all.

Mental Healing Properties

Merlinite cheerfully and loudly encourages lifelong learning. It unites logic with intuition and encourages us to marvel at the wonders of the universe. It insists that the highest power is our own clever brain and that our only real limitation is our imagination and ingenuity. It helps us to recognize the difference between what is actually true, and what we simply fear or believe to be true. Merlinite pushes us to move beyond our own preconceptions and to consider matters from a variety of different angles.

Physical Healing Properties

Merlinite is recommended for for anyone suffering from a “mystery” illness that doesn’t have a clear cause or a clear treatment. It helps us to stay calm and curious and to be open to anything that might help us feel better. Merlinite helps us to remember that medicine is still a developing science and sometimes the physical body responds in unexpected ways. This can helps us to be patient with doctors while also being our own healthcare advocate. Merlinite is an excellent talisman for people suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or endometriosis, as well as anyone dealing with multiple autoimmune disorders or frequent migraines. It is also a good talisman for anyone with general aches and pains.

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Merlinite Mineralogy

Where does Merlinite come from?

Merlinite is a combination of white opalized Chalcedony and a black Manganese Oxide.  This combination may be found in other locations, but the three most well-known deposits are in Great Britain, Turkey, and the United States (New Mexico).

Mining and Treatments

Manganese mining is typically done in open-pits.  Several industrial mining companies have also experimented with mining Manganese from the seafloor where it is abundant. Merlinite is exclusively mined by artisanal and small scale miners.  Usually the mine is focused on another Chalcedony mineral and Merlinite is a secondary mineral.

All Merlinite is natural, enhanced only by tumbling, cutting, and polishing.

Merlinite Placeholder
Merlinite

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Mineral Family

Merlinite is not a mineral, but rather a rock. As an easy way to understand the difference, think of rocks as being like cookies and minerals as being the ingredients which make up those cookies. Many different minerals are used to create a rock! Merlinite is a combination of Clear Quartz and a black Manganese Oxide.  The latter is a generic name given to a variety of Manganese oxides and hydroxides of mixed composition.  In the case of Merlinite, based on the location the Manganese Oxide is most likely a Psilomelane or Pyrolusite.

Merlinite’s energy works well with its family – other Oxides and Manganese-included minerals.  Try it in combination with Chrysoberyl, Dendritic Agate, HematiteLodestone, Rhodochrosite, Rhodonite, RubyRutile and Sapphire and Sugilite

Merlinite Formation and Crystal Associates

Merlinite forms in oxidizing conditions in hydrothermal deposits.  This is when hot water flows underground dissolving rocks and distributing elements and minerals in various cavities and veins.  New minerals grow in this environment, while older minerals, like Manganese are oxidized.  In the case of Merlinite the oxidized Manganese has become intergrown with Clear Quartz that grew out of the silica-rich hot water.

Merlinite’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment.  Try it in combination with Malachite and Vanadinite.

Mineralogy Merlinite
Rock Type Igneous – Oxide & Silicate
Major Minerals Quartz and Manganese Oxide
Minor Minerals
Color White and black
Texture Course-grained
Transparency Translucent to Opaque

History of Merlinite

Merlinite is a relatively new stone on the commercial market. It was not included in any early lapidaries, texts that describe gemstones and their powers. Scientifically speaking, it is a type of Dendritic Agate. The trade name “Merlinite” was coined in the 1990s and became popular among metaphysical collectors in the twenty-first century.  Merlinite is mainly mined in New Mexico, however it is also found in Cornwall, Great Britain. Cornwall is a region deeply associated with King Arthur and his wizard-adviser, Merlin. Most famously, Cornwall is the site of King Arthur’s conception at Tintagel Castle. It is a strange and unsettling story, which only came to pass because of Merlin’s magic.

Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) c. 1138, is an early and wildly-popular account of King Arthur. In this book, we first learn that King Arthur was born in Cornwall, and conceived in part because of the magic of Merlin the Wizard. In 490, Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon, was King of all Britain. He became enamored with Igraine, the wife of the Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, and tried to seduce her while the Duke and Duchess were visiting the royal court. Igraine was a loyal wife and already the mother of three daughters, including the witch and enchantress, Morgan le Fay. Igraine resisted Uther’s advances and told her husband what had happened. They immediately left the court, without taking proper leave. Their abrupt disappearance gave Uther an excuse to claim that Gorlois was a traitor and threat to the crown, and so declared war upon him.

The two armies met in Cornwall, near the fort of Dimilioc. Igraine and her daughters were safely hidden in Tintagel Castle. The castle was surrounded by the sea on all sides with only one narrow rocky entrance. The passageway was so thin that three warriors could defend it against an army.

Merlin, Merlinite

Merlin

But Uther called forth his wizard-adviser, Merlin, and asked for his magical aid. Merlin transformed Uther so that he looked and sounded exactly like Gorlois. Merlin and one of Uther’s servants, were swiftly disguised as two of Gorlois’ most-trusted companions. With these disguises in place, the men were allowed to peacefully enter Tintigal Castle and Uther was able to trick Igraine into thinking that he was her husband. On that night, Arthur Pendragon was conceived.

Gorlois died in battle that same night. Shortly thereafter, Uther formally claimed Igraine as his Queen and within a year Arthur was born. Fifteen years later, Uther died, and Arthur succeeded him to the throne and went on to win many battles of his own.

The myths of Merlin are long and varied. Geoffrey of Monmouth was the first to directly connected him with Arthur and later authors expanded upon this relationship. However, historians believe that Merlin was in-fact based on a real-life person, a Welsh prophet and bard Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin the Wild). Supposedly, he was at the Battle of Arfderydd c.573 and was horror-struck by the carnage and fled into the woods of Scotland to grieve and ruminate. He was said to be able to speak the language of animals and to have a gift for seeing the future.

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