In 2019, scientists studying a woman buried at a German convent around the year 1000 found bright blue flecks of lapis lazuli caught in the tartar on her teeth. The likeliest explanation is that she licked her brush to a fine point while painting with ultramarine, the precious blue ground from lapis. It made her one of the earliest known women to illuminate manuscripts.
The lapis lazuli meaning is truth and wisdom: the deep blue stone of honest words and a clear, thoughtful mind. Further on there's a quick way to tell real lapis from dyed stone and its look-alikes.
Lapis lazuli quick facts
- Chakra: Throat, third eye
- Zodiac: Sagittarius, Taurus, Libra, Virgo
- Element: Water
- Planet: Jupiter
- Color: Deep royal blue with gold pyrite flecks and white calcite streaks
- Hardness: 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale
- Commonly from: Afghanistan, Chile, Russia, Pakistan
- Pairs with: amethyst, moonstone, clear quartz
The night sky in your hand
Polished lapis looks like a clear night: deep blue, scattered with tiny gold stars. For thousands of years that look has tied it to the heavens, to kings and to hidden knowledge.
Truth. Lapis is the stone of honest speech. People wear it as a reminder to say what they mean, kindly and plainly, and to listen just as honestly.
Wisdom. Its wisdom is the slow kind, the kind that comes from thinking things through. A piece by the place you make decisions is a small cue to pause first.
Insight. Gold flecks against dark blue read like points of light in the dark. In meditation, lapis is the stone people hold when they want to trust what they already sense.
The name joins the Latin lapis, stone, with the Persian lazhward, blue, the same root that gives us the word azure. In ancient Sumer, lapis was the stone of the goddess Inanna, and many scholars think the "sapphire" of the Hebrew Bible was really lapis, since true sapphire was little known there at the time.
Throat and third eye, ruled by Jupiter
Lapis sits on two chakras, and they suit it. The throat chakra at the base of the neck is the center of speaking and being heard, and the third eye between the brows is the center of insight. Together they fit a stone of clear thought and clear words, and many people rest it on the forehead or the hollow of the throat for a few minutes of quiet.
Sagittarius is its strongest sign. Jupiter rules Sagittarius, crystal tradition gives lapis to Jupiter, and the sign's love of learning and plain truth matches the stone. Lapis was also the alternate December birthstone on the first standard American birthstone list, in 1912, and most of December falls under Sagittarius. Taurus, Libra and Virgo appear on many crystal lists too. Its element is water, for depth and intuition, though some guides add air for thought and speech.
What people use lapis for
- A reminder to speak honestly and kindly before a hard conversation
- A study stone for a classroom or a long night of reading
- A meditation stone for quiet reflection
- A token of loyalty for a friend who always tells you the truth
- A focus for journaling, when the right words are hard to find
Elephants, crescent moons and a pendulum
Wear it. A pendant sits near the throat chakra, which makes necklaces the natural way to wear lapis. Our lapis lazuli elephant necklace pairs it with the elephant, a symbol of memory, strength and good luck, a fitting partner for a stone of wisdom. The crescent moon lapis lazuli necklace sets an oval moonstone beside the lapis under a round crescent, a symbol of new beginnings, and the crescent moon pointed lapis lazuli necklace pairs it with flashing labradorite on a 24 inch satin cord. Our stretchy lapis lazuli crystal chip bracelet slips on with nothing to fasten, and no two chips are quite the same.
Ask it a question. The lapis lazuli crystal chip pendulum hangs from an 8 inch chakra chain, a good companion for questions that need a clear answer.
Say the hard thing. Before a conversation you've been dreading, hold your lapis at the base of your throat and breathe slowly for a minute. Say the most important sentence out loud once, alone, in the plainest words you can find. Then keep the stone in your pocket when you say it for real.
Real lapis, dyed stone or sodalite?
Lapis has been precious for so long that it's been copied for just as long. Here's how to tell what you're holding.
Real lapis usually shows some gold pyrite and a little white calcite, and its blue runs through the stone rather than sitting on top.
Dyed jasper or howlite, sometimes sold as "Swiss lapis," gives itself away with blue that pools in the cracks, or rubs off on a cotton swab dipped in nail polish remover.
Sodalite is a natural blue stone in its own right. It's veined with white rather than flecked with gold, and it rarely shows any pyrite.
Reconstituted lapis, powdered stone pressed together with resin, often has gold that looks suspiciously even, sprinkled like glitter.
Six thousand years of blue
| When | Where | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Before 4000 BC | Badakhshan, Afghanistan | Mining at Sar-e-Sang is under way, and the mines are still worked today |
| About 2500 BC | Ur, Mesopotamia | Lapis fills the royal tombs, in jewelry and inlay |
| About 1323 BC | Thebes, Egypt | Tutankhamun is buried in a gold mask with lapis around the eyes and brows |
| Around 1000 AD | Germany | A woman painting manuscripts leaves lapis in her own teeth |
| Around 1500 | Rome | Michelangelo leaves the kneeling Virgin's place in his Entombment unpainted. Her robe needed ultramarine, so costly that patrons often bought it separately, and one theory says it never arrived before he left to carve his David |
| 1826 | France | A cheap synthetic ultramarine is invented, and lapis paint fades from use |
Lapis with amethyst, moonstone and clear quartz
Amethyst shares the third eye and adds calm, a natural pair for evening meditation. Read its story in our amethyst guide. Moonstone brings the soft, moonlit side of intuition. On our round crescent moon necklace its pale glow sets off the deep blue, and the moonstone guide covers its own lore. Clear quartz is said to amplify the stones around it, and many people add a point to strengthen an intention set with lapis, as our clear quartz guide describes.
More stones for speaking your truth are in our throat chakra crystals.
Keeping the blue deep and the gold bright
The white calcite is the weak point: it scratches easily and dissolves in acid, so lapis needs a pouch of its own, away from harder stones. Lapis as a whole is 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale, softer than quartz.
Water is fine in small doses. A quick rinse and an immediate dry are all it needs, but long soaks and salt water can dull the polish. Keep it away from vinegar, lemon juice, perfume and household cleaners, and skip ultrasonic and steam cleaners.
Because water isn't its friend, lapis is best cleansed dry: an evening under the moon, a rest on selenite or a slow pass through sage smoke. Quick care facts for every stone we carry are in our crystal care chart. Every crystal in our shop is smudged with sage and charged in the moonlight before it ships.
Lapis lazuli FAQ
Which wrist do you wear a lapis lazuli bracelet on?
The right is a good choice for lapis when you want help speaking up, since tradition calls it the side that sends energy out.
Can lapis lazuli go in water?
Only briefly. Rinse, dry right away, and skip soaking and salt water.
Can lapis lazuli be in the sun?
Yes. Natural lapis holds its color, though dyed stones may fade, so a shaded shelf is kinder to any piece over the years.
Is lapis lazuli rare?
Everyday lapis isn't. The finest grades are, since the best deep, even blue comes mostly from one region of Afghanistan.
Is lapis lazuli toxic?
No, it's safe to wear and handle. It does contain sulfur-bearing minerals, so it isn't one to grind into powder.
Is lapis lazuli the same as sapphire?
No. Sapphire is corundum, a much harder gem. The two were often confused in ancient texts, which is why the Bible's "sapphire" may have been lapis.
Not a mineral but a mix: how lapis forms
Lapis lazuli is a rock, a natural blend of several minerals. The blue is lazurite, the gold flecks are pyrite, and the white streaks are calcite. It forms where limestone is baked into marble by heat from nearby molten rock, while sulfur-rich fluids move through it. The sulfur is locked inside the lazurite's crystal structure, and that is what makes the blue so intense.
The more lazurite and the less calcite, the deeper the color. The finest Afghan lapis is an even violet blue with only a sprinkle of gold, while lapis from Chile tends to be lighter and grayer, with more white running through it.
Each piece we sell is one of a kind, and the one pictured is the one you'll receive.