Geology/History
The Mica group has 37 different variations of Mica these are phyllosilicate minerals that are physically & chemically similar, all monoclinic & all sharing a nearly perfect basal cleavage. The most prominent & important Micas are Biotite, Lepidolite, Phlogopite & Muscovite. Mica is found world wide it occurs at the cooling point of magma & is found in almost all types of rocks, primarily igneous, metamorphic & sedimentary rocks. The larger Mica crystals are typically found in granitic pegmatite’s. The term Mica has derived originally from the word “smicka" & the Latin “micare” meaning to flash, shine or glisten as Micas are highly refractive they do in fact glisten like glitter.
Due to several of its unique physical properties Mica is commercially highly valued. The atomic alignment creates a hexagonal sheet like structure forming layers that can be split or delaminated into very thin sheets. The Mica sheets are chemically inert, insulating, lightweight, dielectric, elastic, flexible, hydrophilic, reflective, refractive, resilient & often exhibit complete transparency. These characteristics mean Mica is stable when exposed to electricity, light, moisture & extreme temperatures. Mica can even support an electrostatic field while dissipating minimal energy in the form of heat it is highly thermally stable with stability ranging from up to 500 °C for Muscovite & 900°C upward for Phlogopite.
Mica can be found utilised in thousands of industries its uses are incredibly vast, some of those uses include its presence in toothpaste as a mild abrasive, as capacitors for high frequency or radio frequency, in paint or plaster as suspension & anti shrinkage agent, in cosmetics such as blushes, eye liner, eye shadow, foundation, lipstick, lip gloss, mascara & nail polish to provide colour & shine, in automotive brake linings & clutch plates to reduce noise & vibration, in heat shields & temperature insulation; oxygen-breathing equipment, marker dials for navigation compasses, optical filters & thermal regulators. Also found in aerospace components for launched missile systems, laser devices & radar systems. Micas ability to block radiation such as alpha particles is extremely useful & the reason it is used as a window on Geiger-Müller tubes of radiation detectors.
Human utilisation of Mica can be traced back to prehistoric times where the earliest known use of Mica has been found in cave paintings of the Chauvet cave in southern France the paintings where created during the Paleolithic period roughly 35,000 years ago. Mica was known of & used by ancient Indian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman & Chinese, Aztec & Native American civilizations. In Mexico the ancient site of Teotihuacan holds the towering Pyramid of the Sun. Considered to be one of the most impressive & large scale ancient uses of Mica the pyramid contained considerable amounts in layers up to 30cm thick. Mica was historically used to make windows, pottery, to adorn clothing, ornamental objects, in Ayurvedic medicine, sword blades, hair pins, in printmaking & paint. Mica was also used as a spiritual talisman to ward of evil.
Metaphysical Properties
The Shield Stone, excellent for blocking radiation & EMF frequencies such as radio waves, microwaves, Gamma rays & Cosmic rays. Mica is highly protective its impenetrable shield wards of evil & deflects negative energy it has been used for centuries to keep ghosts, entities & malevolent intruders out of ones house or abode.
Excellent for channeling energy or information it brings great insight & helps to decode different frequency transmitions. Also good to use to transmit energy signals & broadcast a specific frequency particularly good for long distance transmitions. Place on chakras to cleanse & align the body’s energy fields it releases stored negative energy casting out any attachments & repairing the auric field. Mica shines light into darkness acting as a beacon for attracting good fortune & prosperity. It opens a solid Earth & Star link connecting one to above & below energies this greatly increases energy fluidity & opens the stellar conduit, giving rise to high levels of connection & conscious awareness. Connections & communications with Gods, deities & higher beings become stronger & more unified. Opening the stellar conduit brings with it a large amount of spark/life energy allowing for greater ability to affect physical realm manifestation & provides a continual supply of clean light infused energy.
Mica teaches flexibility & resilience, how to shape shift through life’s transitions, how to become an inconceivable concept, how to break down boundaries of illusion, how to cast out inner demons & find limitless freedom. Mica helps us achieve this freedom through discovering individuality & understanding the power of unity. Through unity there is great strength, however true unity can only be achieved when the individual self is brought forth & set free into the light. Magically Mica can be used as a scrying mirror to the past or future, opening or closing energy portals & for creating an energetic invisibility shield allowing one to stay unseen & operate covertly between worlds. A powerful shape shifting tool Mica can be used to create illusion & divert energies.
Crystal Healing
All ailments particularly good for eyes, skin issues, scars, cellular damage, DNA reparation, lymphatic function.
Mineralogy
Group: Silicate - Phyllosilicate
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Composition: General formula X2Y4–6Z8O20(OH, F)4
Lepidolite: K(Li,Al)3(Al,Si,Rb)4O10(F,OH)2; Biotite: K(Mg,Fe)3(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2; Phlogopite: KMg3(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2; Muscovite: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2
Form/Habit: Hexagonal – pseudo hexagonal tablet to prismatic crystals often in platy or scaly aggregates or massive
Hardness: 2-4
Cleavage: Almost perfect - Perfect basal
Fracture: Uneven, flaky
Lustre: Pearly to vitreous
Streak: White, colourless
Specific Gravity: 2.8-3
Transparency: Transparent, translucent, opaque
Colour: Purple, rosy, silver, grey, dark green, brown, black, yellowish-brown, green-white, colourless, yellow.
Other Characteristics: Lepidolite can exhibit triboluminescence
Pleochroism: Muscovite-weak when coloured, Biotite-strong
Fluorescence: Phlogopite
Birefringence: Muscovite - δ = 0.035 – 0.042, Biotite- δ = 0.03–0.07, Lepidolite- 0.0290–0.0380, Phlogopite- δ =0.0280-0.0450