Iolite
(eye - oh - lite)What is Iolite?
Did you know Iolites helped Vikings discover the New World? It reduced solar glare and polarized the sunlight while they navigated the ancient seas. Iolite is often called the Viking’s Compass.
Then, Why is Iolite Called Water Sapphire?
Iolite is pleochroic, meaning it changes color (blue to violet or yellow to clear) when rotated or seen from different angles. This pleochroism also makes it look like a blue or clear Sapphire.
Iolite forms in unique varieties with another crystal (Sunstone). Iolite is also seen in the cat eye variant, in blue, red, brown, and clear shades. Cat Eye Iolites are best for focus, brain skills, and manifestation.
All of these add to Iolite’s healing properties and attract divination, memory, and wisdom to the user.
Iolite Healing Properties and Benefits
Memory, Focus, and Alertness
- Iolite crystal helps wearers with laser focus, sans any distractions because it’s a Crown Chakra stone. Long-term use of Iolite also boosts memory and brain skills.
- The best way to use Iolite for concentration and brain power is by lying down, placing the stone between your brows, and meditating with your eyes shut.
Creativity and Leadership
- If you’re searching for ways to hone your leadership skills, Iolite crystals can help. It sharpens decision-making, communication, and critical thinking skills.
- The best way to charge Iolite for leadership skills is with positive affirmations. Hold the Iolite in your palm and chant your affirmations into the crystal before carrying it with you.
Studying, Learning, and Exams
- Did you know Iolite clears mind chatter quickly? It’s a great crystal for studying and preparing for exams or interviews.
- Light incense and waft the smoke onto the crystal with your hands while chanting your intentions. Explore more ways to use Iolite crystals for test-taking and exams.
Good Fortune and Success
- Because Iolite enhances your creativity, soft skills, and knowledge, it clears the way to attract successful opportunities.
- Iolite attracts success when placed in the northeast or southeast feng shui direction. Before setting it, charge the crystal with the natural light of the sun or the moon.
Detox and Energy
- If stress, fatigue, and anxiety threaten your peace or harmony, Red Bloodshot Iolite may help. It’s the best way to eject physical toxins from the inside.
- Drinking Iolite gem elixir with sunlight energy is a good way to make this infusion. Also, consume the elixir within 2 days of making it. Read more about how to make crystal elixir here.
Iolite Spiritual Properties and Benefits
Wisdom and Knowledge
- When you bond with Iolite, it opens up the knowledge of the whole world. You connect deeper with people, nature, and the cosmos. Read how to use Iolite crystals for wisdom.
- You can use Iolite for universal wisdom and access the Akashic Records with grids. Set a crystal grid using three Iolite focus stones, activated by positive affirmations.
Karmic Therapy
- Endless strings of bad fortune are a rebound effect of your bad Karma. With Iolite, you’ll learn how to do penance in this life for your Karmic debts.
- You can use Iolite for Karmic therapy by fire charging with a candle. Hold Iolite 5 inches from the candle for a minute or two while visualizing your Karmic therapy.
Divination and Psychic Vision
- If you aren’t a beginner but a crystal pro, you need crystals like Iolite by your side. They raise your vibrations and activate psychic abilities, like clairvoyance, intuition, and clairvision.
- You can stimulate the Third Eye and Crown Chakras with Iolite for divination by keeping it next to a singing bowl while playing the bowl. Read how to use Iolite crystals for Divination.
Astral Travel and Dream Work
- Interdimensional travel, or going through parallel dimensions, is one of the Iolite benefits for experienced crystal users. Iolite helps you voyage the cosmos with dream work.
- You can sleep with an Iolite under your pillow to open the higher realms via dream work. Make sure to charge the Iolite crystal by letting it soak overnight in full/new moon energy.
Spiritual Destiny and Guidance
- Iolite crystal guides you to Karmic therapy by revealing your spiritual destiny. That’s why it’s a powerful crystal for finding help and guidance from Gods, angels, and spirits.
- The best way to use Iolite to reveal the future and destiny is with natural light. For this, soak Iolite jewelry in sunlight from dawn to dusk and moonlight at night.
Iolite Side Effects
- Overwhelming feelings: As Iolite is a high-vibration stone, some people may feel too excited or sweaty when they first touch it. If this is you, consult your astrologist before wearing it.
- Disturbed Sleep: Sleeping with an Iolite under your pillow may disturb sleep. As a high-vibration crystal, Iolite may also lead to nightmares or psychic visions when you don’t want it.
Iolite Meaning: What Does Iolite Symbolize?
The meaning of Iolite is Inner Vision.
Iolite also represents rebirth, purification, wisdom, and psychic vision, owing to its higher-chakra connections. In ancient times, shamans used Iolite for psychic visions, healing, and purification.
The name Iolite comes from the Greek Word Ios, meaning “violet.” Iolite was initially known as the Violet Stone. The Viking’s Compass may look transparent or translucent with indigo blue, purple, violet, and gray colors.
Iolite helps you communicate through different dimensions, find your destiny, and cultivate wisdom. Iolite also stands for the 21st Wedding Anniversary Stone.
Varieties of Iolite
- Purple Iolite: Commonly available Iolite is purple and awakens the Crown Chakra. It activates intuition and psychic awareness.
- Blue Iolite: Seen in indigo shades of blue, this type of Iolite awakens the Third Eye and clairvision. In polished Iolites, this variety resembles a Blue Sapphire.
- Steinheilite: A pale violet Iolite that resembles Amethyst, this type of Iolite is great for overcoming physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges. It does so by raising the Crown Chakra.
- Prasiolite: A manifestation variety of Iolite in green color, this Iolite variety may also show clear, gray, or light blue shades. It’s great for finding your spiritual destiny and cultivating leadership skills.
- Bloodshot Iolite: Resembling Thunder Bay Amethyst, this type of Iolite crystal has dots, blotches, and inclusions of multiple colors, apart from bright red. It’s famous for detox, healing, and recovery.
- Black Iolite: Mixing indigo, gray, purple, white, and black shades, this variety of Iolite produces high vibrations. It’s good for psychic abilities, knowledge, and Karmic therapy.
- Grey Iolite: A predominantly white crystal, this type of Iolite often has zones of purple or brown colors. It’s excellent for purification and divination.
- Sunstone Iolite: When Iolite forms in a matrix of Sunstone, you get a white crystal with indigo, violet, orange, peach, black, gray, and red splotches. They’re great for balancing higher and lower chakras simultaneously.
How To Cleanse Iolite?
- Smudging – As the element of Air rules Iolite, it’s good to cleanse it with incense or smudge sticks. Use sacred herbs like Palo Santo, Lavender, or Sage when smudging to tap into Iolite’s metaphysical healing properties.
- Chants – Mantras and positive affirmations are another way to cleanse the negativity attached to Iolite. You should hold the stone in front of your lips and chant mantras like OM into the crystal to cleanse it this way.
- Meditation – Iolite is best cleansed and charged with visualization meditation, as it’s a higher chakra crystal. Sit down and cup Iolite in your palms. Close your eyes or gaze into the crystal while visualizing the crystal getting cleansed.
Questions and Answers
Meditation is the best way to activate Iolite, as it’s a higher chakra crystal. You can sit down on a yoga mat while holding Iolite in your right palm and meditate. You can also use mantras and incense to activate Iolite with the Air element.
Yes and no. While you can give Iolite a super-quick rinse with water, it may crack or break when soaked for over five minutes. Remember to pat dry your crystals when using water for cleansing or charging.
Read other ways to charge crystals.
Yes, Iolite is safe to cleanse or charge with sunlight. Prolonged exposure to heat can damage the stone, however, so set a timer for 10 to 20 minutes whenever you’re using sunlight with Iolites.
The key difference to setting apart an authentic Iolite from a fake is its striking pleochroism that changes from dark indigo, purple, or violet, or yellow, brown, or clear from some angles.
As Saturn rules Iolite, it’s the enemy planet of Aries and Scorpio signs. If either is your sign, avoid wearing Iolite. If you’re keen to wear it, consult an astrologer.
No, Iolite is a widely-available semi-precious crystal. Iolite retails higher than Amethyst, though, at $60 to $150 per carat based on its size. Iolites aren’t as costly when you compare them to Sapphires.
The best Iolite color is vivid and vibrant shades of violet, indigo, or purple. When it comes to clarity, eye-clean Iolite with minimal inclusion is the holy grail.
Although Blue Sapphire is the primary birthstone of September, Iolite and Lapis Lazuli are secondary birthstones.
No, Iolite isn’t a radioactive crystal. In the early times, people may have confused its startling pleochroism with otherworldly beings and radioactivity.
As the MOHS hardness of Iolite is over 5, it’s good to wear daily. It can, however, crack from prolonged exposure to light and heat.
Crystal experts recommend rinsing Iolite quickly with water once a month to prevent tarnish, dust, and pollution. Don’t forget to pat it dry whenever your Iolite touches water.
Tip: you can store Iolite in a sachet or two silica gel desiccant packets.
Interactions with Iolite
Iolite vs. Amethyst
| Crystal | Iolite | Amethyst |
| Chakras | Crown, Third Eye, Heart, and Soma. | Crown and Third Eye. |
| Ruling Planet | Saturn | Jupiter and Saturn |
| Ruling Element | Air | Air and Water. |
| MOHS | 5 to 7 | 7 |
Iolite vs. Kyanite
| Crystal | Iolite | Blue Kyanite |
| Chakras | Crown, Third Eye, Heart, and Soma. | Throat and Third Eye. |
| Ruling Planet | Saturn | Mercury |
| Ruling Element | Air | Air and Water. |
| MOHS | 5 to 7 | 5 to 7 |
Iolite vs. Sapphire
| Crystal | Iolite | Blue Sapphire |
| Chakras | Crown, Third Eye, Heart, and Soma. | Third Eye and Throat. |
| Ruling Planet | Saturn | Saturn and Moon. |
| Ruling Element | Air | Water |
| MOHS | 5 to 7 | 5 to 6 |
Most viewed articles from Iolite Crystal
