What it is confused with
Dyed jasper sold as "Swiss lapis", dyed howlite, sodalite and reconstituted material. Sodalite is lighter blue with more white veining and little pyrite.
Deep blue with gold pyrite flecks
Lapis Lazuli crystal meaning
Lapis Lazuli is a rock of lazurite with calcite and pyrite, deep blue with gold pyrite flecks, rated 5–6 on the Mohs scale. Traditionally, it is linked to truthfulness, study and speaking with authority — attributed, not demonstrated.
- Mohs hardness
- 5–6 about as hard as window glass
- Crystal system
- Cubic (lazurite)
- Pliny, AD 77
- Book 37.39 as “sapphiros”
- Main sources today
- Afghanistan (Sar-e-Sang) also Chile, Russia
Pliny, Natural History, tr. Bostock and Riley.
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Properties
Composition
Rock of lazurite with calcite and pyrite
Hardness (Mohs)
5–6
Crystal system
Cubic (lazurite)
Color
Deep blue with gold pyrite flecks
Mined in
Afghanistan (Sar-e-Sang), Chile, Russia
Worth knowing
Ground into ultramarine, the most expensive pigment in Renaissance painting — more costly than gold, which is why it was reserved for the Virgin's robe.
History
Mined in Afghanistan for over 6000 years; traded to Egypt for Tutankhamun's burial mask.
Buying
Buying Lapis Lazuli: fakes, value and treatments
What decides the price
Even, deep blue with a scattering of golden pyrite flecks and little white calcite.
Where it is used
Ground lapis made ultramarine, the blue pigment that cost more than gold in Renaissance Europe and that Vermeer used lavishly.
A less familiar fact
Lapis inlays outline the eyes and eyebrows of Tutankhamun's gold mask.
Practical
Caring for Lapis Lazuli
How to clean it
Damp cloth only. Porous, so no soaking and no ultrasonic.
How to tell it is real
Dyed jasper sold as lapis is common. Genuine lapis carries gold pyrite flecks and white calcite veining; a uniform deep blue with neither is usually dyed.
How hard is Lapis Lazuli?
Lapis is a rock rather than one mineral — blue lazurite with white calcite and golden pyrite, each with its own hardness — and porous enough that it should never be soaked. Hematite and Turquoise share its place on our scale. Among the stones in this reference, the next softer is Obsidian (5–5.5) and the next harder Sodalite (5.5–6).
Lapis Lazuli, at 5–6, is harder than 7 of the other 42 stones here and softer than 33.
Primary source
What Pliny the Elder wrote about Lapis Lazuli
“For sapphiros, too, is refulgent with spots like gold. It is also of an azure colour, though sometimes, but rarely, it is purple; the best kind being that which comes from Media.”
Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, translated by John Bostock and H. T. Riley (London: H. G. Bohn, 1855–57), book 37, chapter 39 — read the original text.
Pliny’s sapphiros — opaque, blue and flecked with gold — is lapis lazuli; the “gold” is pyrite. The name later moved to the transparent blue corundum we call sapphire. Who Pliny was and why we quote him →
Traditional associations
Lapis Lazuli is traditionally linked to truthfulness, study and speaking with authority. Chakra in crystal practice: Third Eye, Throat. Element: Air.
Questions about Lapis Lazuli
What is Lapis Lazuli made of?
Rock of lazurite with calcite and pyrite, crystallizing in the cubic (lazurite) system.
Which month is Lapis Lazuli the birthstone for?
Only as an alternative stone, for September and December.
Where does Lapis Lazuli come from?
Afghanistan (Sar-e-Sang), Chile, Russia.
Can Lapis Lazuli be worn every day?
With care. At 5–6 on the Mohs scale it can be worn often, but watch out for soaking, because it is porous.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Lapis Lazuli Crystal Meaning: Properties and Hardness.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/crystals/gemstones/lapis-lazuli/
For Wikipedia
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