Iolite Necklace by earthegy

The History and Spiritual Uses of Iolite

Iolite has a property known as pleochroism, meaning when it is viewed from different directions it displays different colors. A cube cut from iolite will look a violet blue from one side, clear from the other, and honey yellow from the top. This property led some people to call iolite “water sapphire.” Iolite was named after the Greek word “ios,” meaning violet, which is the primary color that is comes in.

The Vikings, including Leif Eriksson, used iolite to help navigate their ships. Once ships are no longer in view of the coast, courses were plotted by calculating the degree of the sun. Looking straight into the sun was not practical, so Viking sailors used iolite as polarizing filters for the first sunglasses to stare directly into the sun. Looking through an iolite lens, they could determine the exact position of the sun and navigate safely to the new world and back.

Iolite is a shamanic stone reputed to stimulate visions as it is a very powerful aid for clearing the mind of thoughts and tuning the intuition. The positive energy helps guide you during meditation and allow you to connect with your soul so you can get a better understanding of who you are and what your purpose is in life on earth. Iolite enhances curiosity and helps in building relationships. Ancients believed that it could unlock creativity in an artist. Because iolite is pleochroic it resonates to both Archangel’s Michael and Gabrielle, the Archangel of vision and prophecy.

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Want to know more about the mythology and legends behind gemstones?  Grab my ebook Stories of the Stones here