Vivianite – 22

Description

Vivianite is usually found as deep blue to deep bluish green prismatic to flattened crystals. It is a soft mineral, with Mohs hardness of only 1.5 to 2

Pure Vivianite is colorless, but the mineral oxidizes very easily when exposed to light, changing the color to a deep blue or buish green.
Oxidation of Vivianite is an internal process; no oxygen or water enters or leaves the mineral from the outside. A visible light photon knocks a proton out of a water molecule leaving a hydroxide ion (OH−). In turn a divalent iron Fe2+ loses an electron to become Fe3+. This process starts when visible light falls on the Vivianite, and it can occur within a few minutes, drastically changing the color of the mineral.
This exposure is irreversible and inevitable with any Vivianite sample left in the light.

Vivianite crystals are often found inside fossil shells, such as those of bivalves and gastropods, or attached to fossil bone.

Vivianite occurs in multiple environments, especially organically-rich sedimentary deposits such as clays and sandstones. It also occurs in hydrothermal replacement deposits and in phosphate-rich granite pegmatites.

Named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1817 after John Henry Vivian (August 9, 1785 – February 10, 1855), an English (Welsh-Cornish) politician, mine owner, and mineralogist living in Truro, Cornwall and discoverer of the mineral.
(Note: Many references erroneously state that the mineral was named for J. G. Vivian, but the middle initial seems to have been a typographical error.)

Google provides a wide variety and variations of the Metaphysical Properties of Vivianite but most of the common beliefs are that Vivianite is a stone of peace, love and compassion and encourages patience and understanding of yourself and others while helping with your self-esteem.