Published May 2018 • Updated August 2024 • Read Time: 7 minutes
Red is considered the standard color for Aragonite, but it’s actually quite rare. Most Aragonite is white or grey, but the red variety was the first to be described scientifically and metaphysically. Red Aragonite stars are greatly appreciated in the healing crystal community for their shape, color, and wonderful energy. In the western world, the stars are sometimes called urchins or flowers. In the former Soviet Union they are called Sputnik Crystals because their shape mimics that of satellites. Energetically, it is a stone of growth and transformation. It gives us the patience and the power to make real change happen and to go after our biggest dreams.
Red Aragonite Healing Energy
Spiritual Healing Properties
Red Aragonite gently moves us into balance and shows us how to find and keep our center. It radiates good energy in all directions, cleaning and activating all the chakras, meridians, and our auric field. Red Aragonite makes us feel spiritually healthy and empowered. It helps us release any blocks that have gotten stuck inside us, keeping us small and struggling. Red Aragonite helps us to expand our consciousness and shines Light into the Darkness. It shows us what is real and good, and helps us to let go of any ugly lies we’ve been taught to believe. During meditation and prayer, Red Aragonite helps us to feel safely grounded in the earth while easily communicating with higher spiritual planes.
Vibrations | Red Aragonite |
---|---|
Chakra | All |
Element | Earth and Storm |
Numerology | 9 |
Zodiac | Capricorn |
Emotional Healing Properties
Red Aragonite is a powerful crystal ally for emotional growth. It gives us courage and patience to ‘do the work’ and to make whatever changes are necessary for our own peace and happiness. It teaches us to live from that calm center within our own heart and to navigate through life using love as our compass. Red Aragonite assists us in releasing attachment to the drama, anger, and sorrow of our past. It helps us recognize that, yes we experienced that, but no we don’t need to carry it with us anymore. Red Aragonite whispers confidently to us that it’s time to let go and allow ourselves to flourish as we stand in our true power.
Mental Healing Properties
Red Aragonite teaches us to live with serenity, regardless of the struggles of the past, the challenges of the present, or the fears of the future. Red Aragonite reminds us that we are quite capable of rising to the occasion and doing whatever needs to be done, so there’s no need to stress or worry. It encourages us to let go of perfectionism, relentless criticism, and habitual negativity. Red Aragonite helps us to be more mentally flexible and realistic. It invites us to celebrate more and to honor our many successes. It inspires us to teach others by our own good example. Red Aragonite is a wonderful talisman for anyone who is going after a big dream and are actively working to become the person they always hoped they could be.
Physical Healing Properties
Red Aragonite is recommended when our life has gotten too busy and healthy habits have gotten lost. Red Aragonite reminds to re-prioritize our physical wellbeing as a way of staying in balance despite all the demands on our time. Red Aragonite specifically encourages us to exercise regularly and to stretch before and after. It trains us to view exercise as a healing activity, rather than a punishing activity. It is a fantastic stone for yogis who want to stretch even deeper and gradually increase strength and flexibility. Red Aragonite is also a lovely talisman for soothing general aches and pains, particularly along our spine or in our extremities.
Geology of Red Aragonite
Where does Red Aragonite come from?
Aragonite is found in small deposits around the world. The Red Aragonite that forms in star shapes comes from Morocco and Spain. There is also a deposit of Re Aragonite that forms in stripes in Peru.
Mining and Treatments
Miners find Aragonite in the oxidized zone of ore deposits, in caves as stalactites, and near hot springs. It is most often colorless, white, grey or yellowish. Industrial mines dig up most Aragonite. The mineral gets grounded into gravel or powder and then used to make cement and soil neutralizers. The mineral also helps maintain the pH balance in salt-water aquariums. By contrast, artisanal miners are responsible for bring Red Aragonite to the collector’s market. The only enhancement for these pretty minerals is cutting and polishing.
Red Aragonite
Mineral Family
Aragonite is a relative rare member of the Carbonite mineral family. These minerals are an important part of the Earth’s crust and are located in sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. Carbonates are minerals which contain the carbonate group CO3 as their basic structural unit. They form in a trigonal system with one Carbon atom centrally located between 3 Oxygen atoms. Aragonite is chemically identical to Calcite, the former being slightly harder and heavier than the latter. On the microscopic level, Aragonite is orthorhombic while Calcite is hexagonal.
Aragonite’s energy works well with its family – other Carbonite minerals. Try it in combination with Azurite, Calcite, Magnesite, Malachite, Rhodochrosite, and Stichtite. Or try it with different colors: Blue, Brown, Pink, and Yellow.
Red Aragonite Formation and Crystal Associates
Aragonite is chemically identical to Calcite and forms in a very similar way. In fact, Aragonite naturally alters into Calcite under the right geological conditions. Unsurprisingly, Aragonite and Calcite often grown intertwined. Aragonite forms at low temperatures near the surface of the earth. Mollusks and corals also produce Aragonite by biological processes that scientists don’t yet fully understand. Aragonite is a necessary ingredient for oysters and mussels to produce pearls.
Red Aragonite’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Hematite Quartz, Selenite, White Calcite.
Mineralogy | Red Aragonite |
---|---|
Chemical Formula | Ca[CO3] |
Cleavage | Distinct |
Color | Red |
Crystal System | Orthorhombic |
Form/Habit | Prismatic, acicular |
Fracture | Subconchoidal, brittle |
Hardness – Mohs Scale | 3.5-4 |
Luminescence | Yellowish-white (long wave) / Blueish-white (short wave) |
Luster | Vitreous |
Mineral Family | Carbonites |
Specific Gravity | 2.94 |
Streak | White |
Transparency | Transparent to opaque |
History of Red Aragonite
The German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817) first described Aragonite in 1797, after the small town of Molina de Aragón, in Guadalajara, Spain. Werner was one of the first scientists to recognize the chronological succession of sedimentary rocks, namely that newer rocks will be on top of older rocks. Werner suffered from poor health for most of his life and rarely traveled. However, he was an avid mineral and crystal collector and a famous geology lecturer, so unusual specimens were sometimes sent to him. In addition to Aragonite, Werner also described and named Zoisite. The original type specimen was a reddish-brown Aragonite star and miners still produce beautiful specimens in that region.
Today we know that most Aragonite is colorless or grey, and doesn’t always produce large distinct crystals. It can appear in a massive form and demonstrate a wide range of colors. Nevertheless, most metaphysical healers still consider reddish-brown to be the standard color of Aragonite. Much like Green Aventurine is the standard color for Aventurine or Blue Sapphire is the standard color for Sapphire. In recent years, Blue Aragonite become popular in it’s own right, which in turn has encouraged crystal intuitive to discern the unique properties of each color.
Red Aragonite crystals are particularly prized by metaphysical collectors for their beautiful color and shape as well as their energy. These crystals are often called “Star Clusters,” “Aragonite Flowers,” or “Urchins” due to their unusual shapes. In Russia, and other areas formerly associated with the Soviet Union, Red Aragonite crystals may be called “Sputnik Crystals,” after the first man-made satellite to successful orbit the earth.
Sputnik 1 was launched into space in October, 1957. It broadcast a radio signal for 3 weeks before its batteries ran out, then orbited the Earth for an additional three months before it fell back into the atmosphere. Sputnik could be seen circling the Earth at night, like a fast moving star, just like modern satellites. In the Soviet Union, Sputnik was initially a low-key event barely mentioned in any of the Soviet newspapers. In contrast, it sparked a panic in the United States and was seen as proof that Americans were falling behind technologically. This fear triggered the Space Race, a key element of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. It was directly responsible for a sudden emphasis on science and technology in American schools. Fears of falling behind were heightened in 1961 when the Soviets launched the first man, Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968) into space. This led to a massive increase in funding for NASA, eventually allowing the US to put a man on the moon. This victory reassured Americans of their supremacy, and so funding for education and NASA has steadily dropped as a result.
Additional References:
- Encyclopedia Britannica, “Aragonite.” https://www.britannica.com/science/aragonite
- Encylopedia.com, “Werner, Abraham Gottlob.” https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/geology-and-oceanography-biographies/abraham-gottlob-werner
- Mindat.org, “Aragonite.” https://www.mindat.org/min-307.html
- Office of the Historian: Milestones in the History of US Foreign Relations, “Sputnik, 1957.” https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/sputnik
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