Birthstone: N/A
Meaning: Courage, grounding
Chakras: Solar Plexus, Sacral, Root, Naval,
Zodiac: Capricorn, Leo, Aries, Pisces
Planet: Mercury, Saturn, Pluto
MOH’s Scale: 7
Element: Fire
God/Goddess: Horus, Ra, Bast/ Bastet, Sekhmet,
Anniversary Gift: N/A
Alchemical Symbol: N/A
Tiger’s eye is a chatoyant (reflective/refractive) gemstone that is usually a metamorphic rock with a golden to red-brown color and a silky luster. As members of the quartz group, tiger’s eye gains its silky, lustrous appearance from the parallel intergrowth of quartz crystals and altered amphibole fibers that have mostly turned into limonite. It is usually cut as a domed stone to bring out its stunning effect.
Tiger’s eye takes its name from the beautiful chatoyant effect caused by refraction of light from the fibers of the crystal. This means that its color or luster changes according to the light that is shining on it, exactly like the eye of the animal it is named for. Tiger’s eye was once called ‘oculus beli’ meaning ‘eye of war’.
The many varieties of tiger’s eye have inspired names referring to the eyes of other species. Cat’s eye is the name sometimes given to the grey-green varieties of the stone, which can prove confusing because there is another, different stone that is officially called cat’s eye. Hawk’s eye and falcon’s eye are both names for the blue-grey variety of the stone, as is crocidolite. Ox eye or bull’s eye are names given to the very dark yellow variety.
Despite it being a popular and widely used mineral for thousands of years concerns have recently surfaced about the presence of asbestos in tiger’s eye. Asbestos is a group of six silicate minerals; actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, crocidolite, and tremolite. With the exception of tremolite and actinolite all the other varieties were once widely used on an industrial scale. The group of minerals classed as asbestos have crystallized to form sharp needle-like fibers. The fibers can break down even further into particles so small they become airborne.
Crocidolite is considered to be the most hazardous type of asbestos. When disturbed, crocidolite fibers splinter. This characteristic is fairly unique to asbestos minerals. Crocidolite forms in iron formations that have been metamorphosed, and that’s where we find it in Tiger’s Eye. The color of Tiger’s Eye comes from the fact that the crocidolite has weathered and is now coated with iron oxides and hydroxides.
In geology when one mineral replaces another the process is known as pseudomorphism. A pseudomorph has the appearance of one mineral but is actually another. Although the shape or crystal structure of the original mineral remains the same the mineral itself has changed. A new mineral has replaced the original one. Pseudomorph literally means “false form”.
For more than 125 years geologists believed the crocidolite in tigers eye had been replaced by quartz (crystalline silicon dioxide). In 2003 an in-depth study was carried out by Peter Heaney and Donald Fisher of the Pennsylvania State University. It revealed tiger’s eye was in fact made up of crocidolite and quartz. The crocidolite however was found to be encapsulated within the quartz. As such it’s securely locked away and hence poses no immediate risk at all.
Providing it’s intact and doesn’t release dust or loose fibers it’s completely safe. Asbestos only becomes dangerous if raw dust or fibers are released into the atmosphere and inhaled. It takes a considerable amount of exposure for asbestos related conditions to develop. Most people who become ill were exposed to high levels of asbestos for many years, usually in a work related environment. Having rough or polished tigers eye as part of your mineral collection poses no risk at all.
Cutting, polishing, or grinding tiger’s eye is hazardous but that’s the same with many minerals. Dust particles from quartz, fluorite, malachite, pyrite, apatite and many other minerals can also be extremely dangerous. So to answer the original question, does tiger’s eye contain asbestos? Yes it does but with it being encapsulated within the quartz, it’s not possible for any dust or fibers to escape into the atmosphere.
A stone from ancient times, tiger’s eye has been appreciated for millennia all over the world for its protective and healing powers. Tiger’s eye is one of the most popular semi-precious stones and has been used by humans for at least 5000 years. In many ancient civilizations it was used as a talisman against bad luck and curses. This little piece of quartz used to be worth half an ounce of gold per carat in the 1870s. Abundant quantities of it were found in South Africa, and it’s been abundant ever since.
Tiger’s eye was used to decorate statues of gods in both Ancient Egypt and Assyria. With its yellow-brown shades, the solar tiger’s eye was especially sacred to the sun god, Ra. The Egyptians believed that this stone enabled the bearer to see everything, even behind closed doors. They carried these stones as protection against witchcraft and sorcery. Tiger’s eye reflects back all ill wishing and envy.
In India, tiger’s eye was thought to bring wealth and prevent the bearer from losing money. It was also said to help in childbirth if tied to the hair of an expectant mother, and to help heal sores if applied as a powder.
Tiger’s eye is a powerful stone and can thus be used to enhance your own personal power. It is a stone of grounding and protection that will block negative energy and spiritual attacks. Good for the ‘spaced out’ person by grounding the energy. It has a positive strengthening effect on the aura when worn or carried. This is probably why it has always been one of the most popular stones for jewelry such as crystal bracelets.
Witch Tip: When you need energy or physical protection, keep a piece of tiger’s eye in your pocket. Tiger’s eye is a great stone to keep with you when you travel.
Tiger’s eye is an excellent crystal for entrepreneurs and people setting out in business for the first time and for building up a skill and knowledge base for a major future career change or self-employed enterprise. It also enhances artistic, performing, and creative arts, especially if you are aiming for fame and fortune.
Combining the energies of the sun and earth, it assists in your soul’s evolution. The ‘confidence stone’ inspires brave but sensible behavior. It brings brightness and light into all situations and shines insight onto all problems.
Witch Tip: If you are feeling drawn to tiger’s eye, you have a lot of worries and fears you need grounding and to feel safe. Celestite and Tiger’s Eye are two crystals that help alleviate your worries. Work with these crystals daily if you have a lot of anxiety.
A stone of balance, it regulates emotions and brings energy. It slows down the energy flow in the body and is said to stop the over stimulation of nerves and adrenal glands. It will help to grant endurance, strength, resilience, and courage. Because of the increase in confidence, you may also experience an increase in leadership. This is a wonderful stone to carry when positioning yourself in a new situation or venture as it encourages contact with others and releases stuck or congested states, whether they are physical or mental.
Witch Tip: For an elemental blessing and protection, charge up a piece of tiger’s eye or tiger’s eye jewelry as a protective amulet by anointing it with lavender, cinnamon, jasmine, and patchouli oils to represent the four elements. As you anoint the stone with each essential oil, ask for the blessing and protection of the elements to be with you at all times that you wear the tiger’s eye amulet.
This stone brings good fortune and prosperity in many ways. It increases your confidence and willpower as well as your self-discipline. All of these things will improve your life and bring great prosperity.
Tiger’s eye is an excellent stone for clarity, insight, and perspective. It helps one see clearly without subjectivity, to focus thoughts and awareness. Golden tiger’s eye is a stone that allows you to consider the effects of your actions without getting lost in your thoughts. Tiger’s eye guides us through difficult times and also helps us keep faith in what we believe. Golden tiger’s eye’s fiery flecks portray its Solar Plexus affiliation for protecting and cleansing a mental block, directing focus onto what is at stake in the present moment.
Witch Tip: The ancient belief that tiger’s eye helps you see through things shows it has long been used for psychic work. Try meditating with a piece of tiger’s eye held to your brow chakra for five minutes before doing any visualization to help you focus on sharper mental images. This is a good habit to practice before doing any form of divination such as with tarot, runes, or scrying and may make your ritual more successful.
Witch Tip: Tiger’s eye is also thought to help give clear form to dreams, desires, and aspirations so you should use it in combination with your spells and magic to help you visualize what you really want.
As a solar stone, tiger’s eye has a long history of use to attract wealth. Added to a charm bag, the crystal becomes a good focus for attracting prosperity and it balances and enhances the ingredients that you use.
Witch Tip: For a tiger’s eye charm bag, gather a cinnamon stick, a piece of fresh gorse, and some dried chamomile flowers. At the new moon, place the ingredients with a piece of tiger’s eye in a small yellow pouch and anoint it with honeysuckle oil, saying “may I always have the prosperity I need, a happy and healthy life to lead”. Carry the pouch with you wherever you go and expect prosperity to come your way in under a month.
This stone will rebalance the body on all levels, encouraging optimism and trust in the future. It is said that wearing tiger’s eye will help reduce fatigue, removing toxins from the blood, promoting good health of the circulatory system, adrenal gland, urinary tract, and prevent children from harmful risks. It will also speed up your metabolism and sex drive, and aid the digestive system.
With its vibrant golden color, tiger’s eye is used to increase and enhance wealth and vitality. It creates order our to chaos and attracts beauty and abundance.
Tiger’s eye is a must have in any home for healing. As the name suggests, tiger’s eye is often associated with vision. It was thought to not only help improve your vision, but also heal it. For this, the hawk’s or falcon’s varieties are preferable for use in cases of eye complaints and to help give you the keenest of vision associated with those birds.
Witch Tip: Obtain a smooth, polished piece of tiger’s eye and use it to massage your eyes. Very gently, rub the stone over your eyelid in flowing strokes from the outside to the inside of the eye. As you do this, visualize healing white light coming from the stone and into your eye. Do this on both eyes for a couple of minutes each day to make your eyes as sharp as a bird of prey’s.
Generally, golden/brown tiger’s eye is what you think of but there are more colors than just that with their own very specific properties.
Red Tiger’s Eye
Red tiger’s eye is protective against the evil eye, root chakra, and connects us to our physical self, enhancing the body’s health, inner strength, courage, and vitality. Tiger’s eye is known for its grounding properties. Attracting prosperity and good luck, this stone increases confidence and leadership, improves intuition and mental clarity, and promotes boldness, new beginnings, and strength. It also speeds up your metabolism and sex drive. This is a wonderful stone to carry when positioning yourself in a new situation or venture. It brings clear thinking and insight and helps manifest ideas into reality. It is a stone of creativity, insight, confidence, strength, and brings clear thinking and insights to help manifest ideas into reality. Use red tiger’s eye for supporting the reproductive system.
Blue Tiger’s Eye
Blue tiger’s eye is protective against negative energy for healers. It will reduce stress and balance energies. This stone will activate your throat and third eye chakra. It illuminates issues that may have been difficult to see otherwise and enhances your will power, tranquility, luck, and bring fortune.
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