Properties:
Atacamite is a minor copper ore, and shares many healing characteristics with malachite. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory, drawing off heat and relieving pain, especially in the case of joint pain from osteoarthritis, muscle strain, and period and labour pains, and sometimes seems to work a little more quickly than malachite. Atacamite generally calms and releases fear, balances emotions, hormones, and the endocrine system, and can also be used to quiet an overactive Third Eye. It aligns energetically with the Kidney Meridian in Chinese Medicine (colour-wise, it aligns with the Liver Meridian). It supports and balances kidney function and fluid homeostasis, and can be helpful in treating oedema.
Attributes:
- Chemical Formula: Cu2(OH)3Cl
- Group: Halides – oxyhalides and hydroxyhalides
- Crystal System: Orthorhombic
- Hardness: 3 – 3½
- Birthstone: No known astrological association
- Chakra: Heart and Upper Heart
- Element: Water/Wood
Mineralogy:
Atacamite is a minor copper ore, copper chloride hydroxide. It forms as a secondary (sedimentary) mineral, through the oxidation of other copper minerals under arid conditions. Formation can be crystalline, massive, granular and fibrous aggregates. Crystals are usually slender and prismatic, also tabular and pseudo-octahedral. Verdigris (the green corrosion product found on many bronze and copper alloys) is atacamite.
History and Tradition:
Named in 1802 by Dmitri de Gallitzin after the type locality, the Atacama Desert of northern Chile.
