Lepidolite Meaning & Properties [Ultimate Guide]

If you’ve never heard of lepidolite, then you’re not alone. This gem might not be as common or as commonly used as stones like quartz and selenite, but it’s just as powerful.

In fact, this gem plays an important role in mankind’s mental health. Unlike many of the other gems you’ll see on this website, that role extends beyond the scope of crystal healing into modern medicine.

A stone of transition, this gem helps us get through times of emotional turmoil and come out a better version of ourselves on the other side. It can even help us sleep.

Overall, lepidolite is a gem that rules emotion and helps stabilize our well-being. Whether you’ve heard of it before now or not, it can make an excellent addition to your crystal keep.

Read on below to learn about Lepidolite meaning, Lepidolite properties, and more!

 

History and Lore of Lepidolite

Lepidolite was discovered sometime in the 18th century by Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchoff.  Initially, the two scientists called this new discovery “lilalite” after its faint purple color. It didn’t take long for the stone to end up as lepidolite for the scale-like flakes of lithium within it. 

While it doesn’t have as long recorded history with mankind as many of the other gems on the site, it’s considered a secondary ore for lithium. That mineral makeup made lepidolite a valuable resource for making aluminum, rechargeable batteries, and mood-elevating drugs.

In fact, this stone is one of the few gems whose healing influence reaches both the energetic and pharmaceutical communities. With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that this gem helps ease, elevate, and balance our mood. 

Lepidolite Mineral Makeup

A combination of potassium and lithium aluminosilicate, lepidolite is actually a rarer form of mica. As such, it tends to be quite soft as far gemstones go. In fact, it’s so soft that you could scratch it with your fingernail.

It comes in lilac, pink, grey, or yellow, though the color doesn’t always dictate the lithium content. Oftentimes, this gem is found embedded in other forms of mica like muscovite or other lithium-bearing rocks like tourmaline and beryl.

Much like other micas, this gem can be found in pockets all over the world. It has major deposits in Brazil, China, and the Western United States. Specifically, there are rather large deposits in San Diego, California, and Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Lepidolite Meaning & Properties

Lepidolite is, first and foremost, a powerful cleanser and balancer. It helps clear blockages from chakras and enhances our awareness. 

In many ways, this stone is a powerful protector that, rather than preventing us from experiencing certain hardships, helps us see and prepare for the bumps in the road. That is to say that, rather than preventing harm by removing the experience, lepidolite teaches us the best path to weather the storm.

An incessant force of positivity, this gem clears out the bad mojo and enhances our own personal power to fill the space. It’s no wonder that it’s become a popular tool for crystal enthusiasts as well as modern medicine.

Property #1: Cleansing

It doesn’t matter who you are, we all carry around a certain amount of emotional baggage. Maybe the chip on your shoulder comes from the betrayal of a partner? Maybe it has something to do with insecurity? 

The things in life that get us down often leave traces of negativity as they pass through. Sometimes these traces take root and grow into full-blown tangles of thorny emotion. Sometimes the gunk just builds over time until they start to color our consciousness.

Whatever the reason we end up not feeling our best, lepidolite can help. Much like the medicine, it’s sometimes made into, this gem cleanses negativity. That includes negativity in our chakras.

Essentially, our chakras are points on a line of lifeforce energy that runs up and down our bodies. If one or more of them ends up blocked, that can seriously slow your flow. The good news is that lepidolite is great for busting through those blockages that might be holding our energy back. 

Property #2: Cosmic Awareness

A secondary side effect of this stone’s chakra clearing prowess is an increase in cosmic awareness. Other names for this heightened sense of our surroundings include psychic awakening and an increase in intuition. Of course, the terminology isn’t what’s important.

The point is that lepidolite helps us see the world for what it is and what our place in it truly could be. Not only does this have the potential to help us pick a path to take, but it could even open up ones we never realized could be an option before. 

This increased awareness helps us realize our own worth and the worth of other things. If you’ve ever foolishly let go of a friend or partner and regretted it later, then you know how important the ability to have hindsight before something is behind you can be.

To put it simply, there’s nothing like the confidence and relief that comes from knowing. Lepidolite connects us to the cosmos and fills us with positivity.

Property #3: Protection

When we talk about crystals and protection, we often mention things like energy shields, but that’s not the way lepidolite works. Instead, this stone offers its keeper protection is by pumping up positivity and intuition.

Rather than deflecting the blows of bad luck through pure strength, it fills the space with positive mojo. In essence, lepidolite cleanses the space by pumping up the good energy so the bad has no room to grow.

Furthermore, knowing what’s coming next is a great way for us to be able to avoid the things we don’t want to come next. However, this knowledge doesn’t always extend to everything we’d like.

If we want to increase our finances so we can be richer than so and so, or to buy something that would be a mistake, lepidolite isn’t going to help. This gem simply refuses to be used for any purpose that isn’t positive.

While it can help prevent an attack, it can’t be used for greed. If you’re looking for something that will help you grow as a person, however, this could be the stone for you.

If you’d like to learn more about crystals for protection, check out our article on the subject.

Lepidolite Emotional Properties

When you think of lithium, does your mind go to batteries or medicine? In a way, lepidolite is both. Not only does this mineral serve as the building block for some revolutionary rechargeable power sources, it’s also been made into depression battling medicine.

These things are amazing in their own right, but lepidolite doesn’t stop there. No, it’s not just a pill or a battery. This gem helps cleanse and power our emotional centers. 

It clears up our energy and relieves us of emotional burdens. If we’re going through a tough time, lepidolite might just be the stone to get us through.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t get outside help. It’s important to remember that we can tell you about the uses of all the stones we like, but no crystal can replace a trained mental health professional. If you’re feeling down in the dumps, it doesn’t hurt to seek outside help in addition to crystal medicine. 

Emotional Quality #1: Settle Turbulent Emotions

Considering the fact that this gem can be made into a mood-elevating drug, it comes as no surprise that lepidolite helps us handle our emotions. Much like the lithium content, it’s famous for, lepidolite helps soothe our more anxious and frustrated feelings.

To put it simply, this gem helps promote calm and happiness. It’s a positive stone that evens out our fear and sorrow. By clearing out the emotional gunk and settling the rougher waves, this gem helps us feel good.

Think about it. When you’re down in the dumps you’re probably tired. If you’re under a lot of stress you might feel nauseous or achy. By evening out the potential root cause of our ailments, lepidolite helps us reconnect with our emotional health. You can read more about crystals for anxiety in this article.

Emotional Quality #2: Boosts Mood

Of course, lepidolite doesn’t just even out the negative. It also boosts the positive. That is to say that this stone helps brighten our mood and increase energy.

Having a positive outlook on life tends to be a domino effect. The less sad or anxious you feel, the happier you get. The happier you get, the better your mood and energy is overall.

Simply put, once you get going with the positive vibes, it’s a lot easier to keep going. When you also count the fact that lepidolite can’t be used for anything negative, falling back on old ways seems far less likely.

Much like sweetgrass, this stone fills the spaces and people around it with so much positive energy that there’s no room for anything else. This, in turn, helps boost physical energy and determination. It’s no secret that when we’re happy we don’t mind the harder tasks as much.

Emotional Quality #3: Frees Us of Toxic Emotional Bonds

All of us make mistakes. We go after hobbies that aren’t right for us. We keep things we shouldn’t. We hold onto relationships—romantic or otherwise—that have gone far past helpful into harmful.

Humans can be emotional creatures who just don’t want to let go. Change can be a scary thing, but lepidolite helps us get through it. 

That’s because this stone doesn’t just pump us full of the positive or soothe over the negative. It helps us let go of whatever no longer serves us.

Sometimes called a stone of transition, this gem gives us the strength to get through times of change. That might mean leaving behind something that has begun to harm us or it might look like rising from grief. 

Remember, this isn’t a stone that keeps bad things from happening to us. After all, every new event in our lives is a lesson. Instead, lepidolite helps us through tough times by reminding us we can do it.

How to Use Lepidolite

Lepidolite is a chill stone that doesn’t require any specific tools or methods to use. How you work with it will be up to your style and experience, what tools you have on hand, your personal preference, and even the stone you’re working with.

If you prefer a more ritualized approach to your time with crystals, then you can sit or lay with your stone over your crown chakra or third eye. White, silver, or indigo candles are an option as is some sort of incense. Sage, sweetgrass, or Palo Santo smoke may add something as well.

You could choose to add in sigils. You might use other stones at the same time. Honestly, rituals are often highly personalized to different individuals and practices.

Of course, if the ritual isn’t your thing, that’s okay too. You can still work with your chosen lepidolite specimen without all the bells and whistles. In fact, you don’t need any tools at all. You can simply sit with your stone or take the less labor-intensive route by wearing lepidolite jewelry. 

Just be careful about where you wear lepidolite. This stone is incredibly soft as far as gems go. Bumping into a wall or an unfortunate incident with a fingernail can cause significant damage.

Guidelines for Using Lepidolite

Lepidolite is a stone of unrelenting positive energy. It should never be used for something that is in any way bad. 

This isn’t the stone that will help you squash the competition for that new position at work. It won’t help you beat someone else to the finish line or buy something that will end up hurting you in the long run.

What you should be using lepidolite for is happiness. That’s it. This is a stone for people who want to be and stay happy.

You can use this stone to help you weather emotional storms and cut ties with people, things, and places that might be harming more than they’re helping. It’s also a good way to even out anxious or angry emotions.

Basically, lepidolite is the stone for people who want to feel better and do better. If that’s you, then this gem might just help you along your way.

Best Lepidolite Cleansing Method

With all the work lepidolite does helping everyone else, it definitely needs a little cleaning from time to time. The trouble is that this is a brittle stone that can’t get wet without disintegrating. 

Of course, that automatically rules out methods with earth or water. They would simply be too dangerous even if it’s only a quick little scrub. 

However, that’s not to say that there’s nothing you can do. In fact, there are several cleaning methods that work well with this stone.

Rice

Rice is great at sucking water from electronics, but did you know that it can pull the negativity right out of a stone? Any rice will work, but brown or black rice tends to work best as they’re more natural.

To use this method, simply put your crystal in a container of dry rice. You’ll want to leave your stone overnight, though some leave it for more or less time.

Once you’re done, a gentle wipe with a cloth should get rid of any dust left from the rice. Just take extra care to not damage any of the delicate lithium scales.

Incense

One way to cleanse nearly any stone that’s safe for lepidolite is with incense. To use this method, simply light your chosen incense and pass the smoke over your stone.

The scent you choose is going to be entirely up to you. Common herbs for cleansing include sweetgrass, sage, cedar, and lavender. 

Of course, you’re not limited to these herbs. If there’s a smell you really like, you can go with that one instead. Ingredients have importance in ritual, but it’s really the intention that counts.

Breath and Visualization

At the end of the day, crystal healing is something that doesn’t need you to use any tools at all. All you need is your stone and yourself.

Maybe the above methods aren’t available to you or maybe all that fuss isn’t your style. The reality is that all you really need to cleanse your stone is your mind.

While it isn’t necessary, some people find physical contact helpful with this method. To start, simply picture the negative energy in your stone being pushed out or transformed into a positive light. 

If you want to get fancy, you might choose to add intentional breathing to this method. All you have to do is breathe in the good and breathe out the bad until only the good is left. 

Sound

One of the coolest ways to pump up the positive vibes is through sound. Music is a powerful force and the vibration it causes is more than capable of cleansing negative energy from anything you need it to. That includes your stones.

If you’ve got a Tibetan singing bowl, then that makes an excellent tool to chase away the bad and welcome the good. Alternatively, you could use binaural beats or some other sort of meditation music. 

You might choose a song just because you like it. You could hum the bad mojo away. 

Maybe the sound of rain is something you find relaxing? Whatever sound you choose will be personal to you and your stone.

Similar Stones to Lepidolite

Now we’re down to the harsh reality. Lepidolite is an amazing stone with some, quite frankly, miraculous abilities, but it’s not going to be the right stone for everyone.

Not being able to vibe with this gem doesn’t mean there’s a single thing wrong with you or your stone. You may not be a place to receive this gem’s message or you might have the wrong piece. Your stone might even just need a cleanse.

Yet, it might just not be the right kind of gem for you. That’s perfectly normal and no one stone works the same for everyone. Thankfully, if lepidolite proves to not be your thing, there are other gems you can try that have similar energetic niches.

Similar Stone #1: Selenite

Selenite is a powerful stone of gentle peace and positivity. White and easily scratched like lepidolite, this gypsum gem offers its keeper a powerful connection to the angelic realms. 

It helps soothe negative emotions and pumps up positivity. Selenite protects us with an incredible surge of good energy that helps to keep any bad mojo from taking root in us.

In essence, this stone is a quiet force of happiness, creativity, and transformation. It lifts our spirits and helps set us on the path we were meant to take.

Similar Stone #2: Kyanite

Usually blue or black, kyanite is an iridescent gemstone that forms in fanned sheets. It can also be pink, yellow, and even white, though these colors are less common. Each color has a slightly different energy, but they’re all excellent at helping us purge our emotions. 

Much like lepidolite, kyanite helps soothe our emotions and evens out our mood. This stone has such a reputation for alleviating sadness that it’s sometimes used to help with anxiety and depression. Of course, it’s important to remember that no gem alone is going to be a quick fix for mental or emotional issues.

It’s also a good protection stone, but not in the way you think. Rather than shielding us from ever experiencing negativity, kyanite stabilizes and strengthens us. Black kyanite in particular is good at this job.

At the end of the day, this stone is an excellent relaxer, protector, and motivational gem. Unfortunately, also like selenite, kyanite melts in water and is easily scratched. 

Similar Stone #3: Angelite

Much like Lepidolite, Angelite is a stone that helps connect its keeper to the angelic realm. Primarily made of calcium sulfate, this gem offers peace and protection. It soothes emotions and helps us find our happiness.

Basically, this gem is all about good vibes and relaxation. It evens out our mood and can even help us with sleep.

Overall, Angelite is another excellent stone to add to our crystal keeps. It can negate negativity and leave us feeling settled in life.