Published February 2014 • Updated February 2024 • Read Time: 7 minutes
Blue Topaz is one of the most popular modern gemstones. But for most of history, the word “Topaz” was used to describe the yellow-orange variety. While the gems can be naturally blue, a vivid blue is very rare. Most of the time, the Topaz is a pale icy blue, rather than a brilliant sky-blue. The bright Blue Topaz that is commonly sold at jewelry stores has actually be heat treated and irradiated. Natural Blue Topaz is can teach us to be confident and have greater self-love. It reminds us that who we are on the inside, is more important than how we are appear on the outside. It invites us to be honest about our dreams and to work to make them a reality.
Blue Topaz Meaning
Spiritual Healing Properties
Blue Topaz encourages us to follow our own path and to obtain self-realization in our own fashion. It reminds us that we are best when we are ourselves, rather than when we are trying to mimic another being (no matter how worthy they might be of our admiration). Topaz proclaims that we are beautiful in our own right and deserve to shine brightly. Blue Topaz is also an excellent tool for manifestation, helping us to clarify our desires and speak about them with passion and integrity. It also gives us strength to survive difficult times and the wisdom to find the lesson in each experience. Blue Topaz heightens our intuitive and psychic abilities, and demands that we zealously stand up for Truth.
| Metaphysical Properties | Blue Topaz |
|---|---|
| Chakra | Throat and Third Eye |
| Element | Fire |
| Numerology | 3 and 6 |
| Zodiac | Virgo and Sagittarius |
Emotional Healing Properties
Blue Topaz helps us to see our own worth, and to have more self confidence and self love, without becoming arrogant or egotistical. It encourages us to speak up and speak out about whatever is most important to us, and to be fully honest with ourselves and others about our own needs and desires. Blue Topaz reminds us that in order to create a world and life we want to live in, we first must be able to articulate our dreams and hopes for the future. Topaz whispers to us that our dreams are worthwhile and helps to soothe us when we feel frightened or anxious. If we have suffered disappointments in the past, Blue Topaz helps us to forgive and move forward with a hopeful heart and relaxed spirit. If we are already doing well, Blue Topaz reminds us to share our abundance with others and to enjoy our good fortune to the fullest.
Mental Healing Properties
Blue Topaz is a wonderful stone for the mind, helping us to think clearly and use our knowledge wisely. It encourages lifelong learning and stimulates our curiosity. It is especially helpful for artists and writers, as well as activists and anyone else whose primary creation is composed of words. Blue Topaz can be used to help us overcome a fear of public speaking, or public performance. It helps us to share information clearly, both in the minutia and in the grander scheme.
Physical Healing Properties
Blue Topaz is a fantastic crystal for anything involving the tongue. It encourages us to enjoy food more and to pay more attention to life’s simple pleasures. For someone with an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia, Blue Topaz encourages us to trust food and to actively cultivate a healthier relationship with it. For picky eaters, Blue Topaz encourages us to try new foods and to be more curious and less definitive in our likes and dislikes. Blue Topaz is also a beautiful talisman for anyone working to overcome a speech impediment or when re-learning how to communicate after a stroke or other brain injury.
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Blue Topaz Mineralogy
Where does Blue Topaz come from?
Topaz is found in many countries. Some of the more notable deposits for Blue Topaz are in Brazil, China, Myanmar, Nigeria, Russia, United States and Zimbabwe.
Mining and Treatments
Topaz is typically found in its primary deposit inside cavities in Rhyolite, Granite, and other igneous rocks. On occasion, Topaz may also be found in secondary alluvial deposits, as water tumbled pebbles.
Topaz is regularly heat-treated to bring out a different or more brilliant color. Most Topaz is blue, yellow, or colorless. The more rare colors, such as pink, are usually heat-treated yellow Topaz. Similarly, vivid bright blue Topaz is often heat-treated colorless Topaz. Pale hues of Topaz are reliably natural, enhanced only by cutting and polishing.
Blue Topaz
Mineral Family
Topaz is a nesosilicate 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. Topaz belongs to the nesosilicates group, in which the Silicate tetrahedra are not directly attached to each other.
Blue Topaz’s energy works well with its family – other nesosilicate minerals. Try it in combination with Chiastolite, Dumortierite, Garnet (Almandine, Grossular, Hessonite, Rhodolite, Uvarovite), Kyanite and Peridot
Blue Topaz Formation and Crystal Associates
Topaz is created by fluorite-bearing vapors during the final stages of the crystallization of igneous rocks, especially granite and rhyolite. It is typically a colorless gem, but trace minerals can add color. If the color is vivid enough, it is often called an Imperial Topaz. Originally that title was reserved for vivid orange-yellow Topaz, but today the title is also used for vivid pink gems. By contrast, Blue Topaz is always identified by its color.
Blue Topaz’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Amazonite, Aqumarine, Fluorite, Kunzite, Lepidolite, Morganite, Quartz, and Rhodochrosite
| Mineralogy | Blue Topaz |
|---|---|
| Chemical Formula | AL2 SiO4 (F, OH)2 |
| Cleavage | Perfect |
| Color | Blue |
| Crystal System | Orthorhombic |
| Form/Habit | Prismatic |
| Fracture | Subconchoidal to uneven |
| Hardness – Mohs Scale | 8 |
| Luminescence | Orange (long wave) / Greenish-white (short wave) |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Mineral Family | Garnet Group |
| Specific Gravity | 3.4-3.6 |
| Streak | Colorless |
| Transparency | Transparent to translucent |
History of Blue Topaz
Topaz has a complex history, and is often confused with other gemstones. Prior to the modern era, the name Topaz was used primarily to describe yellow or orange colored stones, but today we know the stone comes in a rainbow of colors, both natural and heat-enhanced. The various colors of Topaz have been explored by metaphysical healers relatively recently so there are no known myths or stories associated with them.
The name Topaz has two possible origins. It may come from an island in the Red Seas, which during the Roman era was called Topazios, but today is called Zabargad. This island was famous during the Roman Era for its Peridot mines, but did not produce any Topaz stones. The name Topazios comes from the Greek word “to guess”, likely a reference to the fact that the island is often shrouded and hidden by fog. Alternatively, it may come from the Sanskrit topas, meaning “fire.” Prior to the advent of modern mineralogy, most references to Topaz described it as a golden or orange colored stone, so the fire reference makes sense.
Though Topaz is occasionally mentioned in early lapidaries, few of these texts list any healing properties which are specifically associated with the stone. It was apparently used to ward off the evil eye, and could protect a person from curses and liver trouble. During the medieval period, the lore concerning Topaz was expanded upon. It was said to cool boiling water, become invisible when in contact with poison, and cure everything from asthma and hemorrhoids to insomnia and the plague. Its powers were seemingly linked to the moon, and thus waxed and waned according to the lunar phases. Topaz is mentioned in both the Bible and the Torah, as the second of twelve stones which decorated the breastplate of the High Priest of ancient Israel. Orange Imperial Topaz is most likely the stone that was used. Blue Topaz wasn’t identified as a unique gemstone until relatively recently, but because Blue Topaz is commonly sold in modern jewelry stores, it has become widely-known.
Heat treatments are not a modern invention, the practice is documented as far back as the Roman Empire. Color is caused by how our eyes and brain makes sense of wavelengths on the visible spectrum. Short wave lengths are blueish, while long wave lengths are reddish, and other colors fall in between. Color is not inherent in objects. The chemicals on the surface of an object will reflect some wavelengths, and absorb others. Heat can change which wave lengths are absorbed. For example, if a pale orange Topaz is heated over 500 c (932 degrees Fahrenheit) it will appear to our eyes as a vivid pink! Blue Topaz is caused by first heating a pale blue or colorless gem and then exposing it to radiation to stabilize the color.
Heat treatments do more than just change the color, they can also help dissolve trace impurities, which improves the clarity of the gem. Naturally colored gemstones each have a unique color tone which can make matching them an important skill in the jeweler’s art. Most Blue Topaz is heat-treated rather than natural, which make it easy to create a uniform-color.
