the.com/staurolite
a mineral that grows its own crucifix, then gets sold as a lucky charm
means A reddish-brown to black silicate mineral that often crystallizes in twinned, cross-shaped forms, prized as so-called 'fairy cross' or 'fairy stone' specimens.
from From the Greek 'stauros,' a stake or cross — the same word used for the crucifix in the New Testament — joined to 'lithos,' stone. So the name literally means 'cross-stone,' a nod to the natural right-angle twins that look uncannily like little crucifixes. The term was coined in the early 19th century by French mineralogists, who saw the holy geometry hiding in the rock.
- natural cross
- crystals twin into near-perfect X or + shapes
- fairy stones
- folklore calls them tears of weeping fairies
- state status
- Virginia's official state mineral and rock
- name origin
- Greek 'stauros' means cross
- tough birth
- forms under intense heat and crushing pressure
fairy stone state park — virginia park famous for naturally occurring staurolite crystals in cross formations found in the soil
patrick county virginia — region in virginia where staurolite crosses are mined and sold as 'fairy stones,' particularly around the dan river