The Mohs Hardness Scale: A bit of Geology every Witch who uses crystals should know.
Hi all!Â
As a Geology nerd who is also a witch, I was inspired to make this post by all the crystal-related confusion that pops up throughout the witchy internet! Hopefully, this will help someone out there on their journey!
What is the Mohs Hardness scale, and why should a metaphysical fan of crystals care about it?Â
The Mohs Hardness scale is a scale of 10 minerals that are used to determine the hardness of other minerals that geologists find in the field. It is super useful for the crystal witch to know and use, because:Â
It will help you to identify your unknown rocks and minerals. (It is not the only way to do so, but it is the most accessible. The Mohs number for every mineral is just a google away! It is also 100x more reliable than color, which is almost useless for accurate identification, as even minute chemical impurities can radically influence color, and many many minerals produce both multiple colors and identical colors to other minerals.)
It will help you care for your crystals. (Ever open a bag to find one of your stones has broken another, or destroy a mineral by getting it wet? The Mohs hardness scale will prevent those mishaps.)Â
It will help you make safe choices about your crystal waters/elixirs. (Crystals that are too soft will become absorbed by the water.)
The Mohs Hardness Scale
(The scale has 10 minerals, with 10 being the hardest, and 1 being the softest. In between the main minerals I have put a few household items that can also be used in lieu of a stone.)Â
10. Diamond
9. Corundum
8. Topaz
7. Quartz
6. Feldspar
5.5 - A piece of glassÂ
5. Apatite << Anything past this point is questionable in water! (See below)
4.5 : An Iron NailÂ
4. FluoriteÂ
3.5 : Copper
3. Calcite
2.5 : Your Fingernail
2. Gypsum (aka Selenite)Â
1. Talc
What if I donât have all of these?
No problem! Just start looking up the hardnesses of what you do have, and build your own set! (The Mohs number is on each stoneâs wikipedia page! :) ) Donât worry if you donât have anything harder than quartz (7) or softer than your fingernail (2.5); you wonât be testing diamonds too often, and youâll always have your fingernails! (Hopefully!)Â
How to Use the Scale:Â
Identification:
Say youâve got a lovely new stone, but you have no idea what it is! Youâve googled a few possibilities that seem right, but youâre not sure. Hereâs where the Mohs scale comes in!Â
Google the Mohs numbers for the stones you think it might be, and write them down. For example, youâve got a lovely new blue-green stone, but youâre not sure if itâs Fluorite or Aquamarine. You write down the number 4 for Fluorite and the number range 7.5-8 for Aquamarine.Â
Next, youâll gather items that are harder and softer than your possible minerals. For our example, Iâll have you start by grabbing the easily accessed Quartz at a hardness of 7.
Now, attempt to scratch the crystal with your Quartz. If it can scratch the crystal, your mystery stone is softer than Quartz. If it canât, your stone is harder than Quartz. For example, if it canât scratch your blue stone, you can rest assured that it is not Fluorite (4), and that it is more likely to be Aquamarine (7.5-8).Â
Repeat step number 3 with items of different hardness until you have narrowed down your Mohs Number. Letâs say that the quartz does scratch our mystery stone.This means the hardness is <7. Keep repeating scratch tests until you can confirm that a 5-hardness item can scratch your stone, while a 3-hardness one cannot. Once youâve done that, you can identify it as having a hardness of 4, and that it is likely a Fluorite! (Or, if it does not meet those requirements, youâve gotta start googling new possibilities!)
Note: this is not a FOOL- PROOF way to identify stones, as minerals of the same hardness can also have the same color. It is a very useful way to narrow down the possibilities, however. Try to consider as many attributes of the stone as possible when identifying.
Safe Storage:
When deciding whether to box or bag crystals together, try only to combine those of similar hardness. Your carnelian will smash your fluorite, and your selenite wonât long survive a rowdy citrine, and it will be very sad for all involved! :(Â
Checking for Water Damage and Elixir Safety:Â
While I also highly recommend that a crystal witch familiarizes themselves with one of the many crystal toxicity lists online, (please be aware: some minerals are POISONOUS!), another one of the things that can make an elixir dangerous is particles of minerals being absorbed into the water. This occurs with many soft minerals; anything less than or equal to 5 on the Mohs scale is risky. A good rule of thumb is to stick with those 6+ on the Mohs Scale if you want to put it in or clean it with water. To clean your softer crystals, buy a cheap toothbrush and dry brush them â itâs been super useful for me!Â
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Hopefully this wasnât too boring, and will be of use to someone!Â
I also have an idea for an in-depth post about identifying crystals. Let me know if anyone would be interested in reading that!Â
Either way, blessed be!Â
(Note: I am NOT a scientist! This is just some hobby geology knowledge for you all! If any actual geologists out there see any mistakes in my post, please know I want you to point them out!)Â
