Published September 2016 • Updated March 2024 • Read Time: 5 minutes
Variscite is a sweet phosphate mineral closely related to Turquoise. It is typically mined on a small-scale, often using hand-tools. Today, many of the most beautiful specimens come from Utah, USA. But this stone was first found in the border area between Germany and the Czech Republic, a region that was historically known as Variscia. Variscite is a stone of hope and encouragement. It invites us to step into our most authentic self and let our light shine. It is a wonderful stone for clearing up emotional confusion and seeing straight to the heart. Variscite is recommended for anyone going to therapy or actively engaged in personal work.
Variscite Meaning
Spiritual Healing Properties
Variscite invites us to step into our most authentic self and to boldly show the world who we really are. It amplifies our courage and our sense of integrity, making it virtually impossible to indulge in pretense or conformity. Variscite helps us to be true to ourselves and what we love, and to enjoy the life we choose regardless of the opinions of others. It teaches us to be more conscious, and to align ourselves with whatever brings us joy and peace. Variscite also encourages us to be more interested in spiritual matters and to expand our knowledge and belief systems. It gently shifts us so that we can be more awakened and able to feel the divine frequencies of Love and Truth.
| Metaphysical Properties | Variscite |
|---|---|
| Chakra | Heart |
| Element | Water |
| Numerology | 7 |
| Zodiac | Taurus, Gemini, and Scorpio |
Emotional Healing Properties
Variscite has a calm and hopeful energy. It lifts our spirits when we are feeling down and low, and soothes us when we are feeling restless and uneasy. Variscite is gently encouraging and empowering. It opens the heart and encourages us to love ourselves and others more fully, and to practice deep compassion and radical acceptance. Variscite shows us how to release false negative judgments and to see ourselves and others through kinder eyes. It helps us to be more willing to learn, able to make mistakes and be wrong, and eager to grow. Variscite teaches us the awesome power of unconditional love and shows us that when we live from that place, great things result.
Mental Healing Properties
Variscite helps to clear our head of emotional fog or confusion, allowing us to see the world clearly and honestly. It increases our abilities for discernment, keen perception, logic, and reasoning. It helps us to better understand why other people act, talk, and think as they do, and how to best interact with them in ways that will edify and uplift both parties. Variscite helps us to appreciate simplicity and to let go of unnecessary weight, whether that be too many physical possessions or unhealthy emotional attachments. Variscite invites us to have a less-complicated life, without drama or self-destructive habits. It encourages us to make necessary changes, and slowly but surely, create a positive, sustainable, and emotionally enriching lifestyle. Variscite helps us to always have ‘enough’. It also helps us to properly express ourselves so that we can be accurately understood by others.
Physical Healing Properties
Variscite is recommended for anyone suffering from chronic pain or fatigue who is feeling emotional as a result. Variscite reminds us that the physical body and the emotional body are deeply entwined, and that when one part suffers it is normal for the other part to respond in kind. Variscite is an excellent teacher when we are working on our brain chemistry and trying to find a good life balance. It encourages us to pay attention to what we eat and how those foods affect our body and mood. It also encourages us to notice what causes stress and whether our stress responses are reasonable. Variscite reminds us that coping mechanisms are great for short-term problems, but can be negative habits if used long-term. Eventually we have to stop “coping,” and actually face the problem and start the healing process. It may not be easy or pleasant, but it is the way to peace and wellbeing. Variscite is also a lovely talisman to help with digestion, joint pain, and male infertility.
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Variscite Mineralogy
Where does Variscite come from?
Variscite deposits have been found in Austria, Australia, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Spain, the United States (Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Utah), and Venezuela.
Mining and Treatments
Variscite is a rare semi-precious gemstone. Most mining operations are small scale, worked by hand with little to no mechanization.
All Variscite may be considered fully natural, enhanced only by tumbling, cutting, and polishing.
Variscite
Mineral Family
Variscite is a phosphate mineral. These minerals all contain Phosphorus and Oxygen in a 1:4 ratio (written as PO4), which are then combined with various other elements to create unique minerals.
Variscite’s energy works well with its family – other Phosphate minerals. Try it in combination with Apatite, Lazulite, Trolleite, Turquoise and Vanadinite
Variscite Formation and Crystal Associates
Variscite typically forms in veins and cavities near the surface of the earth, when phosphorus-rich waters flow over aluminum-rich rocks.
Variscite’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Moonstone
| Mineralogy | Variscite |
|---|---|
| Chemical Formula | AlPO4 2H2O |
| Cleavage | Good, but rarely visible |
| Color | Pale to apple green |
| Crystal System | Orthohombic |
| Form/Habit | Cryptocrystalline aggregates |
| Fracture | Splintery in massive types |
| Hardness – Mohs Scale | 4.5 |
| Luminescence | Green (long wave) |
| Luster | Vitreous to waxy |
| Mineral Family | Phosphate |
| Specific Gravity | 2.6 |
| Streak | White |
| Transparency | Opaque |
History of Variscite
Variscite is a relatively new stone for the metaphysical community, and as such was not included in any of the ancient or medieval lapidaries, texts that describe gemstones and their powers. It may, however, be included in many of the newest lapidaries. Variscite was first described in 1837 from a deposit in the Vogtland region of Germany. Variscite was named after the Variscia, which is the historical term for the Vogtland – a region that encompassing the German states of Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia as well as part of the Czech Republic. The Vogtland was ruled by the Vogts, warrior-governors without noble blood who managed territories in the name of the Holy Roman Emperor. These Vogts helped to keep the balance of power with the Emperor himself, rather than allowing members of the aristocracy to grow too rich or powerful.
Sometime later, additional Variscite deposits were found in Utah, USA and, until the stones were both determined to be the same, the Utah version was called Utahlite. Today the term ‘Utahlite’ is sometimes used to describe rare transparent Variscite crystals found in southern Utah. Nearby, in Nevada, opaque Variscite was soon found. The Variscite in this deposit, however, is so similar in color and appearance to Turquoise that it is extremely easy to confuse the two. Today, Nevada Variscite is sometimes called “Variquoise” as a result.
Castle Mylau, Vogtland (Saxony, Germany)
