Lapis Lazuli

(lap - is laz - oo - lee)
Main Origins:
Afghanistan, Russia, Chile, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Canada, Myanmar, and the USA.

What is Lapis Lazuli?

Different cuts of lapis lazuli crystals on a dark background

Lapis Lazuli is a semi-precious metamorphic rock in vibrant blue hues, commonly seen with White Calcite, Pyrite, and Lazurite. Technically, Lapis Lazuli mostly contains Lazurite mineral, which is also responsible for its iconic blue color. 

Even though there are only a few mines of Lapis Lazuli, it has been the rage for thousands of years. 

Did you know Lapis Lazuli can be found in the Holy Bible, the Epic of Gilgamesh, Egyptian pyramids, Sumerian tombs, Indus Valley Assyrian amulets, Babylonian city gates, and Roman jewelry? Surprisingly, Lapis Lazuli was also used in the Faberge eggs made for the Russian Czars. 

In the spiritual world, it is revered for balancing higher chakras. Lapis Lazuli’s benefits include truth, intuition, charisma, creativity, power, spirit contact, and luck. 

Fun Fact: Lapis Lazuli was mistaken throughout the Middle Ages for Blue Sapphires.

Lapis Lazuli Metaphysical Properties and Benefits

The metaphysical benefits and powers of Lapis Lazuli come from its ruling planet, ruling element, gods, chakras, and numerical vibration. 

Powers of luck, wisdom, karmic benefits, discipline, good fortune, and strength in Lapis Lazuli come from the ruling planet Saturn. In elements, Lapis Lazuli is ruled by Water and activated by the seed mantra of VAM.

Lapis Lazuli taps into the powers of Isis, the Egyptian God of Healing; Vishnu, the Hindu God of protection; Nuit, the Egyptian Goddess of Night; Odin, the Norse God of War; the Cosmic Buddha, Vairocana; and the Japanese God of Thunder, Raijin.

While most Lapis Lazuli stones rule the Third Eye and Throat Chakras, they’re also associated with the rest of the primary chakras – Crown, Heart, Solar Plexus, Sacral, and Root

Lapis Lazuli vibrates to the number 3, bringing creativity, career success, joy, communication skills, and hope.

Lapis Lazuli Healing Properties and Benefits

Creativity and Confidence

  • Lapis Lazuli encourages you to take action in your life. You’ll also feel fresh with ideas with an urge to express them.
  • The best way to activate Lapis Lazuli for creativity is with the Fire element energy. Hold the Lapis Lazuli before a lit candle for a minute or two to do this.

Strength

  • Did you know Lapis enhances mental and physical strength? This means more power, endurance, stamina, dedication, courage, emotional strength, and immunity.
  • The best way to charge Lapis Lazuli for physical, emotional, and spiritual strength is sunlight. You can hold the stone facing the setting or rising sun.

Charisma

  • Did you know Lapis Lazuli brightens your aura to blue and attracts people and opportunities toward you? It is a great stone for communication skills and self-expression.
  • You can increase charm and charisma by charging Lapis Lazuli with moonlight and carrying it on your dominant side. 

Truth

  • Lapis Lazuli stones help you discover how to trust yourself, nature, others, and the universe by opening the Throat and Third Eye Chakras.
  • Get a Lapis Lazuli pendant and dowse it with a crystal pendulum to find accurate answers to the meaning and purpose of life. 

Harmony

  • Most people don’t think of peace or harmony with Lapis Lazuli, yet Lapis Lazuli with white inclusions opens the Crown Chakra so you can find inner peace and radiate the same around you. 
  • It’s good to set a crystal grid with Lapis Lazuli as your focus or center stone to spread harmony around you. Here’s how to set crystal grids with multiple crystal layers.

Lapis Lazuli Spiritual Properties and Benefits

A lightbulb turned on beside on the shelves of the book

Good Luck

  • The Pyrite in Lapis Lazuli brings prosperity and success, no matter where you go. It’s a natural crystal combination with Lapis Lazuli stone to unblock the fortunes in your life.
  • Activating Lapis Lazuli with healing sounds and placing it in the feng shui direction of the northeast is good for attracting luck and fortune.

Angelic Communication

  • Did you know Lapis Lazuli can help you communicate with divine energies? Lapis Lazuli is good for mediumship because it helps you understand the meaning of psychic visions.
  • Holding the crystal in your hand and gazing into it for a few minutes will open the world of otherworldly beings to you.

Wisdom

  • Have you heard that Lapis Lazuli existed before time? In short, Lapis Lazuli crystals know everything there is about the cosmos, so bonding with it teaches cosmic awareness and wisdom to your spirit.
  • Drink a glass of water indirectly infused with Lapis Lazuli daily. Learn how to make a crystal elixir water bottle here.

Intuition

  • Lapis Lazuli stones activate many parts of the spirit, including those responsible for psychic powers, like intuition, dreamwork, clairaudience, and foresight. 
  • Activate Lapis Lazuli with moonlight energies and keep it under your pillow to wake up to harness intuition. 

Protection

  • Have you heard Lapis Lazuli crystals protect the wearer from psychic attacks? They raise your auric vibrations to repel negativity and evil aimed at you. 
  • Wear a Lapis Lazuli earring, pendant, bracelet, or ring to keep your auric vibrations raised. It’s good to activate Lapis Lazuli for protection by burying it overnight under three inches of soil.

Lapis Lazuli Side Effects

  • Spiritual weariness: The crystal might feel too draining if you’re new to Lapis Lazuli. In such a case, take a break or use an energizing crystal, like Clear Quartz, when using Lapis stone.
  • Bad Luck: If you do bad things or gain bad karma while wearing Lapis Lazuli, its ruling planet, Saturn, might send misfortune your way.

Lapis Lazuli Meaning: What Does Lapis Lazuli Symbolize?

The sun light is shining over the clouds

The meaning of Lapis Lazuli is heavenly truth.

Did you know ancient Egyptians wore Lapis Lazuli pendants in the image of Ma’at, the Goddess of Truth? While Ma’at was not directly linked as a ruling Goddess, Lapis Lazuli stands for honesty, loyalty, expression, protection, and justice. Lapis Lazuli was also worn by Cleopatra and Catherine the Great for royalty. 

Today, it stands for elegance, charisma, strength, and luck. Many celebrities, like Rihanna, Robert Downey Jr, Amy Adams, and Kate Middleton, have been seen wearing it.

A lot of people think Lapis Lazuli means blue stone, but it’s the other way around. Here’s why:

The name Lapis Lazuli comes from the Latin word lapis, meaning “stone,” and lazulum, “the sky,” or “heaven.” Lazulum is derived from the Arabic word lāzaward, borrowed from the Persian word lāžaward or lajward, meaning “sky.” 

Lapis Lazuli was called the Stone of Heaven in Sar-e-Sang, Afghanistan, where it was mined for 6500 years. It was exported to ancient Egypt, Romans, Greeks, and even Incas centuries ago.

In other words, Lapis Lazuli’s blue color made people associate the word Lazulum with blue; hence, the shade of blue was named after Lapis Lazuli. 

Interestingly, the word Azure comes from the word Lazuli, and so does the name of the crystal Azurite. 

Tip: Check for brands selling ethically mined Lapis Lazuli if you plan to buy one.

Varieties of Lapis Lazuli

  • Common Lapis Lazuli: True Lapis Lazuli is named thus for its deep blue color with white, gold, gray, and black. It’s good for strength, protection, and intuition.
  • Persian/ Afghan Lapis Lazuli: The highest quality Lapis Lazuli in the world, this crystal shows uniform shades of deep, dark, or bright blue, with flecks of gold from Pyrite. It works well for spirit communication and is also called Royal Blue Lapis Lazuli.
  • Russian Lapis Lazuli: Having a saturated blue color with off-white hues, this Lapis Lazuli variety is often called the Siberian Lapis Lazuli. It’s great for mental clarity, focus, and decision-making
  • Chilean Lapis Lazuli: This type of Lapis Lazuli bears more spotted gold (Pyrite) and white (Calcite) inclusions on its eponymous blue color. Psychics often recommend it for divine intervention, guidance, and fortune. 
  • Denim Lapis Lazuli: A unique type of Lapis Lazuli with the color of faded denim, this is a lighter variety that opens the Crown, Third Eye, and Throat Chakras. 
  • Ultramarine Ash: The powdered form of Lapis Lazuli is Ultramarine. It was used as a pigment in famous paintings, like Starry Night by Van Gogh. It’s excellent for communication, success, and self-expression.
  • Midnight Lapis Lazuli: This is the deep blue variety of Lapis Lazuli that doesn’t show white but golden inclusions. Use it to find answers and guidance in tough situations.
  • Purple Lapis Lazuli: When Lapis Lazuli exists with the variety of Sodalite, Hauyne, it gets shades of violet or purple with a pinkish tone. It’s excellent for wisdom, universal connection, and foresight. 
  • White Lapis Lazuli: Showing inclusions of a lot of white with some Lapis blue, this type is usually opaque. It’s good for decision-making, originality, and self-esteem. 
  •  Green Lapis Lazuli: Common to Chile, Lapis Lazuli in dark olive-green exists with Calcite and Pyrite in the matrix. It opens the Heart Chakra and helps to find prosperity. 
  •  Golden Mark Lapis Lazuli: When the golden flecks in Lapis Lazuli are pronounced more than blue, it’s this variety. Use it for creativity, hope, positivity, and good luck.
  •  Gray Lapis Lazuli: Also famous as Galaxy Lapis Lazuli, this is a Lapis Lazuli variety with gray inclusions from Calcite in the matrix. Use it for grounding, protection, and spiritual guidance.
  • Lapis Lazuli or Lazurstein: A variety of Lapis Lazuli with Sodalite, this is a great natural combination of Lapis. It’s perfect for mediumship, astral travel, manifestation, and luck.

How To Cleanse Lapis Lazuli?

Different kinds of crystals and a smudge stick in nature

  • Smudging: You can remove negativity stuck on Lapis Lazuli crystal by smudging the stone with sacred herbs. 
  • Moonlight: Another powerful way to remove negativity from Lapis Lazuli is by letting it soak overnight under the moon’s light. 
  • Seed Mantra: Cleansing Lapis Lazuli is easy with chanting. You can hold the crystal in your palms and chant the Seed Mantra of water (VAM) into it. Visualize a bright light washing off the negativity of the crystal.

Questions and Answers

Is Lapis Lazuli safe in water?

No, Lapis Lazuli is a porous stone and not good for soaking in water. You can sprinkle and pat it dry after cleansing quickly with water.

Can Lapis Lazuli go in the sun?

Yes, you can cleanse or charge Lapis Lazuli crystals under the sun’s natural light. Do not leave it out in the sun for a long time, however, because prolonged exposure can tarnish the color of the crystal.

How to identify fake Lapis Lazuli?

Lapis Lazuli has pyrite flecks seen with golden inclusions. It’s also cold to the touch and heavy without any uniform color. It’s seen in a unique shade of royal blue tone with white and gold inclusions. 

If you hold the crystal under sunlight, the golden Pyrite flecks will sparkle, too.

Does Lapis Lazuli glow?

Yes, some varieties of Lapis Lazuli can glow under UV light.

How do you tell the difference between Sodalite and Lapis?

Sodalite may be translucent, but Lapis Lazuli is always opaque. The color of Lapis Lazuli is brighter and more vivid when compared to Sodalite. And Sodalite doesn’t show any golden flecks of Pyrite crystals.

What does it mean if someone gifts you Lapis Lazuli?

When someone gifts you Lapis Lazuli, the reason might be any, some, or all of the below:

  • They see your spiritual side.
  • Their guardian angels or the cosmos instructed them.
  • They want to spend more time with you.
  • They wish you luck and success in your life. 
  • They’re wishing you a 9th wedding anniversary.
What crystal pairs well with Lapis Lazuli?

Malachite and Lapis Lazuli are excellent for intuition, foresight, and divine intervention. Other good crystal combinations with Lapis are Turquoise, Petrified Wood, and Pearl.

How to take care of Lapis Lazuli?

The best way to take care of Lapis Lazuli stone is by keeping it away from bumps and crashes. Lapis Lazuli isn’t a tough stone, but it’s not soft, either, so keep it wrapped and in a safe place.

What is the rarest type of Lapis?

The rarest type of Lapis Lazuli crystal is the one with dark gray clouds, but the deep blue variety from Afghanistan is the most valuable.

How expensive is real Lapis Lazuli?

On average, you can get low-quality Lapis Lazuli for $1 or $2 per carat, but high-grade gems cost upward of $150 per carat.

Interactions with Lapis Lazuli

Recent Crystal Images
All Crystal Instagram Image - 1All Crystal Instagram Image - 2All Crystal Instagram Image - 3All Crystal Instagram Image - 4All Crystal Instagram Image - 5All Crystal Instagram Image - 6All Crystal Instagram Image - 7All Crystal Instagram Image - 8