As big as the Quartz family of crystals is, the Feldspar family outnumbers them by more than a little. Feldspar’s make up more than half of the Earths crust. Chances are you have picked up and held a member of this family on several occasions and didn’t know it. It is said that there are approximately 20 different varieties of feldspar but very few of these are widely known and used.
This family of minerals was named in 1747 by Swedish chemist and mineralogist John Gottschalk Wallerius. He named his find Feldspar because of where he found his first sample and for what it was not. It breaks down like this. Feld = Field and Spar = Non Metallic Mineral. Beyond the fact that he called his first sample, Feldspar, I don’t know what member of the family it was.
Most members of this family have a Mohs scale of hardness between 6 and 6.5. The colors depend on the type of Feldspar, there are two main groups, and where they are found. The groups are the Orthoclase Feldspar’s which are potassium based and the the Plagioclase Feldspar’s which are sodium based. I am not a geologist, and don’t pretend to be but I do my best to research and share interesting facts about crystals. I discovered Orthoclase minerals are the result of continent collision, volcanic type of material. And Plagioclase minerals are more sedimentary.
Industrially Feldspar’s are used in making ceramics, glass, dinner ware and tiles for the home. They are also processed as a food grade product and used as a non caking ingredient in non-dairy creamers. Now that is interesting!
Each type of Feldspar has their own specific metaphysical qualities, but as a family they help us by:
- Opening our mind to creative possibilities
- Opening your third eye to increase intuition
- Helping increase concentration
- Aligning and balancing the Chakras
- Helping one to Astral Travel
Over the years I’ve talked about several members of this very large group of minerals. If you would like to check out a few of the Feldspar family I’ve written about, the links are below.
- Labradorite
- Moonstone, Black, Peach,
- Aventurine
- Granite
- Rhyolite
- Amazonite
- Astrophyllite
Blessed Be ❤ Sharon
Element Mind Body Spirit 