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Grossular:
Neosilicates (Calcium aluminum silicate) Ca3Al2Si3O12 AKA: Garnet, Grossularite, Hessonite, Tsavorite |
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System: Isometric; crystals very common as dodecahedrons and trapezohedrons; also granular, lamellar, compact, disseminated. Appearance: Colorless, white, yellow, pink, green, brown; vitreous; streak, colorless. Physical properties: Hardness: (6.5 - 7.5); Specific gravity; (3.56 - 4.32) varies with composition; Cleavage: None; parting sometimes distinct in six directions; fracture, conchoidal, uneven; brittle; usually opaque but sometimes transparent with adamantine luster. Colorless streak. Similar species: Apatite is softer than any of the garnets; zircon has a higher gravity and often fluoresces; tourmaline has lower gravity. Occurrence: Some garnets are of igneous origin, but most of them are products of metamorphism. Grossular occurs with wollastonite, calcite and vesuvianite in hornfels of contact metamorphic rock; Grossular is perhaps the most common of all garnets. Fine colorless crystals up to 6 mm (1/4") across occur in Quebec Canada; pale brown crystals are found in Maine; white and pink crystals have been found in Mexico. Superb, clear hessonite crystals found in the gem-bearing sands of Sri Lanka, in the rodingite bodies of California (Ramona), the western Alps, in Asbestos (Canada) and Maharita (Malagasy Republic). Miscellaneous: Grossular is colorless, pale green or milky when pure, cinnamon-brown to orange when containing iron (hessonite variety) and magnificent emerald-green with chromium (known commercially as tsavorite). Grossular is from the New Latin grossularia, "gooseberry", because some grossular crystals are pale green like the fruit. The different garnets are used industrially as abrasive materials. Common Wisdom: This mineral strengthens stability in lawsuits and challenges. It transforms the lower forms of response and reaction to loving forms of reply. It also inspires the ideal of service, providing cooperative effort and ingenuity in maintaining the effort. Grossular enhances fertility when the consciousness is specifically directed toward that goal during meditation with this mineral. Belongs to the Astrological Sign of Cancer. |