Astrophyllite Sun, Moon, Symbols Tower
Astrophyllite Sun, Moon, Symbols Tower
This is an Astrophyllite Tower with Sun, moon, serpent symbols on it . It is 8.25 inches tall and weighs 1LB 11.6 OZ. Astrophyllite is very rare. Astrophyllite is also known as the star sheet or firework stone for it's incredible inclusions of star like sparkles. The more you gaze into this crystal, the more you will see shooting fireworks in places you didn't recognize before.
Astrophyllite was originally recognized as brown mica, found in 1854. In greek, Astro means star, where phyllo means leaves or sheets. The colors of this stone range from dark black, copper, bronze, bright blue, silvery yellow and reddish brown. It is truly an amazing display of earthly colors.
Heavy, soft and fragile, astrophyllite typically forms as bladed, radiating stellate aggregates. It is this crystal habit that gives astrophyllite its name, from the Greek words astron meaning "star" and phyllon meaning "leaf". Its great submetallic gleam and darkness contrast sharply with the light (felsic) matrix the mineral is regularly found within. Astrophyllite is usually opaque to translucent, but may be transparent in thin specimens.
As the crystals themselves possess perfect cleavage, they are typically left in situ, the entire aggregate often cut into slabs and polished. Owing to its limited availability and high cost, astrophyllite is seldom seen in an ornamental capacity. It is sometimes used in jewellery where it is fashioned into cabochons.
Found in cavities and fissures in unusual felsic igneous rocks, astrophyllite is associated with feldspar, mica, titanite, zircon, nepheline, and aegirine. Common impurities include magnesium, aluminium, calcium, zirconium, niobium, and tantalum. It was first discovered in 1854 at its type locality; Laven Island, Norway. Kupletskite was not known until 1956, over a hundred years later.
Astrophyllite is found in a few scarce, remote localities: Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada; Pikes Peak, Colorado, US; Narsarsuk and Kangerdluarsuk, Greenland; Brevig, Norway; and the Kola Peninsula, Russia.