Nepheline Meaning: Healing Properties, Benefits and Uses
Table of Contents
What is Nepheline?
Nepheline is a rock-forming mineral in the feldspathoid group. It is also called ad Nephelite. Feldspathoid is an aluminosilicate of sodium and potassium. It is white, grey, and yellow with poor cleavage and a vitreous luster. It is a hexagonal mineral with a glassy crystalline found in igneous rocks.
They tend to exhibit a variety of prism and prism shapes. They form large, tabular phenocrysts in igneous rocks. It can also be found in intermediate igneous rocks with aegirine and augite and also in some volcanic and metamorphic rocks. This rock-forming mineral is found in iron and magnesium-rich igneous rocks with perovskite. It is distinguished in massive varieties by its greasy luster.
Its inferior hardness makes it easy to distinguish from quartz and by gelatinizing in acid, Nepheline can be distinguished by feldspar. Because of the high alumina content, Nepheline is used in place of feldspar in the glass industry. When produced as a by-product for apatite mining on the Kola Peninsula, Nepheline is used in fifteen different industries including ceramic, leather, textile, rubber, wood, and oil. It exhibits sub-conchoidal fracture with a brittle tenacity and has a transparent to opaque diaphaneity.
How to Identify a Nepheline?
Nepheline often gets confused with quartz which is why it is important to know how you can identify Nephphline if you plan to invest in it. Nepheline is uniaxial, lacks good, and exhibits the properties of a twinning crystal. Furthermore, it has low birefringence, is relatively softer than quartz, and differs in optic sign.
You can check for the optic sign by placing it under the microscope. If it is positive then it is quartz, but if it is negative, then it is nepheline. It easily becomes clouded when put in strong acid and it has a vitreous luster. It displays no twinning under plane-polarized light. Another distinctive feature of Nepheline is its Mohs hardness scale rating, which ranges between 5.5- 6 which means it can be easily scratched with a knife or blade. Quartz on the other hand has a Mohs hardness scale rating of 7 which means it can not be damaged easily.
– Nepheline Cuts
Despite being not a common gemstone, Nepheline is graded on a similar level to other gemstones. You may find transparent faceted nepheline, although they are relatively rare. Chatoyant elaeloite, another variety of Nepheline is cut en cabochon to display its cat’s eye which means it is cut with a convex, round surface that is polished but unfaceted. It is done so to display its natural colors and patterns. This technique is often used on gemstones that can easily be fractured and on whom faceting should not be attempted. Cut en cabochon enhances the details and makes it easy to be seen, everyone.
– Nepheline Shapes
Nepheline is available in spotty, b-stockwork-like, d-shaped lens,e-block-shaped, f-brecciated, and creticulate. They exhibit a clear structural-textural anisotropy and is often found in ingrained and reticulate shape. They are also available in common shapes like square, rectangular and conical.
Where is Nepheline Found?
Nepheline is one of the rarest forms of gemstone which is scarce and only the Great White North: Canada possesses one of the best quality Nepheline. It is mostly found in silica-poor rocks and rocks that are Nepheline Syenite in nature. You may find extensive masses of Nepheline rocks in Norway and South Africa. One of the largest masse of Nepheline is found in the Kola Peninsula, USSR.
Other than Nepheline Syenite, Nepheline is also found in Phonolite and Nepheline Basalt. It is also found in quartz in some exceptional circumstances. Nepheline in both massive and crystal form is found in association with the cancrinite in Litchfield, Maine. Pegmatites with larger masses of pure Nepheline can be found in the Bancroft region of Ontario, Canada. It can also be found near Magnet Cove, Arkansas, and Beemerville, New Jersey.
Nepheline Stone Meaning
Nepheline is a glassy feldspar mineral known for making up a significant part of the Nepheline Syenite rock, where you may find different types of gems. The word Nepheline is derived from the Greek word “nephle” which means cloud. This has both scientific as well as metaphysical meanings to it. When you put Nepeline in a strong acid, it starts to form a cloud, thus the name.
Nepheline Meaning in Ancient Lore and History
The name of this new Italian mineral was given by Rene Just Huay in 1801. The meaning of cloud basically reflects the habit of becoming cloudy or hazy when put in acid. Danish naturalist Heinrich C.F. Schumacher studies the specimen of these crystals in 1801 and named it gabbronite. German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth and mineralogist Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten also analyzed specimens from Norway in 1809.
The name of this specimen elaeolite after the Greek word elaion which means oily that symbolizes the greasy luster of the Nepheline. In the 1890s Canadian miners discovered Nepheline in the Havelock area. Canada was the first nation to industrially use Nepheline for ceramics and glass. At present, a significant amount of nepheline production goes towards manufacturing fiberglass containers and panels for windows and doors.
Nepheline Crystal properties
Nepheline is a feldspathoid mineral like afghanite, petalite, or sodalite. Feldspathoids are feldspar-like tectosilicates that have relatively less amount of silica and bear a completely different crystal structure. Unlike other crystals, Nepheline is one of the most common crystals found in the world. Nepheline is believed to contain around 3-12 percent of potassium oxide. Nepheline crystals are generally short, stubby, and large with both of them being highly prismatic. You may find Nepheline forming compact, granular masses.
Nepheline Healing Properties
It is believed that the healing properties of different Nepheline crystals vary with the vibration and colors. While white Nepheline gemstones are believed to have cleansing and amplifying properties, blue Nepheline has calming and soothing properties. Nepheline is said to:
- Minimize stress
- Promote healthy sleep
- Sooth inflammation
- Boost creativity
- Enhance self-esteem and make a person more self-aware
Nepheline Metaphysical Properties
Nepheline is derived from the Greek word, nepheline which means cloud. The metaphysical interpretation of Nepheline means it is riddled with mysteries, deities, and dreams. The properties of Nepheline vary with the vibrations and colors.
Nepheline Benefits
Nepheline has strong healing properties. It is believed to help a person heal physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Its ability to heal is tied to its vibration and colors, which changes with the colors. Take for example the white Nepheline, it has a cleansing and amplifying aura.
People struggling with low self-esteem and awareness should use Nepheline as it is believed to boost self-esteem and self-awareness. If you are struggling with nightmares, Nepheline can help you have a good night’s sleep. Alongside boosting creativity, Nepheline is said to soothe anger and minimize stress in those who feel burdened all the time.
– Nepheline Benefits Spirituality
Nepheline is a calming semi-precious stone that is believed to help people by soothing their nerves and calming them down. It is especially beneficial for people struggling with anxiety and depression, as it eases the symptoms.
Nepheline is believed to help people achieve a higher spiritual awareness when used in mediation. It is also said to help a person become more compassionate and develop the ability to accept changes and move on with their life in a graceful manner. It helps a person feel more stable, secure, and focused while staying humble and grounded.
Nepheline & Feng Shui
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese traditional practice wherein arranging objects, houses, and buildings in a particular way bring balance, harmony, and peace within oneself and the surrounding. It is considered a form of self-care wherein it is believed that once you change your perspective about your environment, you change the way you behave and react to the situations. This helps in aligning your throughs and actions in a supportive manner.
Since Nepheline is believed to help a person become more creative, we recommend keeping it in your workplace to get your creative juices flowing. It can also be placed in the area of meditation to instill a person with a sense of belonging, and compassion. Keeping it in your place where there is the highest traffic will ensure that its vibration helps the person accept changes and move on with grace.
Nepheline as a Birthstone
While there is no zodiac stone or birthstone associated with Nepheline, it is often used as an alternative for the moon and Venus as the star stone. It is said that star stones get activated when you are close to them, which means to be able to take full advantage of the benefits offered by Nepheline, you should keep it close to you.
Nepheline Chakras
Nepheline serves as a chakra stone for both grounding root chakra and creativity-boosting sacral chakra. It is believed to help open these chakras and help a person become more creative and happy. With a balanced root chakra, a person will become more focused and feel more stable and secure. Know more crystals for the Root chakra here.
It also helps in giving the person a competitive survival instinct. The root chakra, when balanced helps a person become more reliable, responsible, and dependable. It instills a sense of belonging within a person and ensures that they stay grounded and humble. A person with a balanced root chakra is able to live a life where they care more about themselves and those around them.
Sacral is the second of the most important chakras which are believed to help a person become more creative. Balancing sacral chakra helps improve creative flow, and increases the intuition power in a person. It helps a person become more flexible and adaptable. It inspires a person to accept the changes in their life and move on with grace.
A person with a healthy sacral chakra holds the energy of money, and relationship and is also able to demonstrate good qualities like compassion and brotherhood. To know the best crystals for the Sacral Chakra know here.
What are the Uses of Nepheline?
Due to the physical and chemical properties of Nepheline, the rock rich in it is used to manufacture glass and ceramic bases. It is also used as a mild polishing and grinding material. Many applications of Nepheline are found in heavy clay industries. Nepheline which contains a high amount of apatite is also used to manufacture phosphatic manure.
Nepheline is one of the most common feldspathoids in the world which is rarely found except in igneous rocks. When produced as a by-product of the apatite mining process on the Kola peninsula, it is used in more than 15 different industries including leather, textile, wood, rubber, and oil.
Caring for Nepheline
Nepheline has a Mohs hardness scale rating of 5.5-5.6 which means it can be scratched easily by a knife or blade. This is why it is important that they are kept in separate containers and not with other jewelry as they might get scratched and damaged. It is also important to note that you should not wear Nepheline when doing some extensive work as that might make it prone to damage.
– When to Cleanse Nepheline?
Cleansing, recharging, and activating your Nepheline is necessary to ensure that it has the energy to fight negativity and help the person provide holistic healing benefits- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We recommend cleansing, recharging, and activating your Nepheline before and after every healing session. This is because, during a session, the crystal absorbs all the negative energy that is affecting your overall well-being and prevents you from getting harmed due to them in the future.
You can cleanse Nepheline daily with a soft cloth. A thorough cleaning can be done by using a soft cloth, dipping it in lukewarm water, and some mild detergent. We would advise you to steer clear of the mechanical or steam cleaners as they may diminish the color of the Nephelineor and even lead to fracture.
– How to Recharge Your Nepheline?
Charging is a way to help fill the crystal with energy from the sun, moon, earth, and water.
One of the ways to charge your Nepheline is by burying it in the soil so that it can obtain energy from the earth. This easy-to-do method stimulates the connection between the gemstone with the ground and thus charges it with healing and grounding abilities.
Another natural way to recharge your Nepheline crystal is by running it through a stream of water, rainwater preferably salts water, if possible. It re-purifies the gemstone and helps it to get rid of negative energy and instills positive energy within it.
Incense sticks or herbs can also be used to recharge a Nepheline stone. All you need to do is burn the incense stick or herbs like sage and pass the Nepheline through it for a few minutes. This will help in energizing the stone.
You can also use other crystals and clusters with the ability to energize a Nepheline by absorbing and neutralizing the negative energy. One of the most popular crystals which helps in revitalizing other crystals is Selenite. Place your Nepheline in a selenite bowl for a few hours to help it get rid of negative energy and recharge it with higher vibrations.
– Nepheline Activation Process
It is important to activate Nepheline at least once a month after charging to ensure that it can regain the positive energy it needs to ward off negativity from your life. One of the highly recommended ways to activate Nepheline is by putting it in a bowl full of water and placing it under direct moonlight Lunar energy is considered to be very powerful and it will fill the crystal with abundant energy to bring positivity to your life. Make it a point to keep it in the moonlight for a few hours and then wear it.
Another wonderful way to activate Nepheline is using elemental activation. Elemental activation is the process of using the energy of elements such as fire, water, and ground to fill the Nepheline with the energy of higher vibrations. It is important to note that you have determined that the physical integrity of the gemstone is going to get altered when it comes into contact with these elements.
You can also activate Nepheline by letting it soak up the energy from other crystals in a crystal grid. A crystal grid is essentially an arrangement of crystals wherein the crystal that you want to activate is placed in the center and it is surrounded by energized and activated crystals. You can use some of the powerful crystals to activate other crystals like Selenite, Clear Quartz, or Carnelian.
Sunlight is another common way to activate your gemstone, but we would advise against doing so with Nepheline as it can lose its color, radiance, and brilliance if placed under direct sunlight.
How much is Nepheline worth?
Nepheline’s worth is determined by two important factors- the number of inclusions in it and whether or not it is transparent. One of the rarest Nepheline is the transparent faceted one with yellow coloring which cost almost around $800 per carat. If you are looking for Nepheline in combination with another mineral, that might be even costlier.
Reddish brown and white nepheline that has water inclusion in it ranges from $20-$30 per carat. If the gem has biotite inclusion, it will cost around %15-$20 per carat. You may find polished Nepheline stone mixed with aegirine and eudialyte in the range of %150-$200 per carat. Pure Nepheline crystals can be found anywhere between $12- $900 per carat.
– What determines Nepheline’s price and value?
Nepheline’s price and value are determined by the number of inclusions in it and whether or not it is transparent. A transparent and faceted Nepheline can be very pricey and may cost around $800 per carat. On the other hand, Nepheline with inclusions like watermarks, and biotite are relatively affordable. If a Nepheline is mixed with aegirine and eudialyte, then it is going to cost around $900 per carat. You may find pure, raw, and transparent Nepheline in the range of $12 to $900 per carat.
Nepheline Impact
Nepheline is believed to be a strong healing stone with its healing abilities tied to vibrations and coloring. It serves as a chakra stone for both grounding root chakra and creativity-boosting sacral chakra. It is said to help people live a better life by reducing their stress, promoting a sense of calmness, and reducing anger.
People struggling with nightmares or who are unable to sleep are recommended Nephleine as it promotes healthy sleep and does not let nightmares ruin it. Nepheline is believed to help people become more confident and take the right decision by boosting their self-esteem and self-awareness. It is believed to help people become more creative and get rid of the period of melancholy and live a healthy, happy life.
Does Nepheline make a Good Jewelry Stone?
Yes, Nepheline makes good jewelry stone. Colors like reddish brown, blue, and green with little to no inclusions are considered valuable and are used to make pieces of jewelry. While scientists have created synthetic Nepheline, they are not used in jewelry. You may find jewelry like pendants, bracelets, rings, earrings, and more made from authentic Nepheline.
Transparent Nepheline, which is relatively rare but faceted is used to make pieces of jewelry. Since this crystal is considered a spiritual tool for rejuvenation and creativity, you may find people wearing it or keeping them in their surroundings for better impact.
Nepheline Real vs Fake
Although Nepheline comes under one of the rarest Fledspathoid crystals, they sometimes get mistaken as quartz because they both share the same refractive index and have weak double-refraction. This is why it is important to ensure that the Nepheline you bought is real or something else. One of the best ways to do it is by performing a microscope test. Place the crystal under the microscope and check for the optic sign. If it’s positive, then it is a quartz, and if it’s negative, then it is Nepheline.
Another way to tell a Nepehline apart is by checking its hardness. Nepheline ranges from 5-5.5 on the Mohs scale which means it will feel like a steel file or needle. Furthermore, spodumene can easily scratch Nepheline but since Quartz has a Mohs hardness scale rating of 7, it won’t get scratched. Lately, there has been an increase in sellers marketing arganite as Nepheline. If you ever come across a hexagonal crystal cluster in red or brown color, you should know that it is not Nepheline.
Summary of Nepheline Crystal
| Name of Crystal | Nepheline |
| Precious | No |
| Semi-Precious | No |
| Other Names | Nephelite |
| Origin(s) | Great White North |
| Color(s) | yellow, reddish brown, white |
| Formation | Nepheline is an allumino-silicate of potassium and sodium which is formed in poor silica rocks. |
| Majorly Found at | Magnet Cove, Arkansas, and Beemerville, New Jersey, USSR |
| Zodiac Suited for | None |
| Chakra | sacral, root |
| Crystal Meaning | The word Nepheline is derived from the Greek word nephle which means cloud. This has both scientific as well as metaphysical meanings to it. When you put Nepeline in a strong acid, it starts to form a cloud, thus the name. |
| Types of Crystal | Feldspathoid |
| Healing Properties | People struggling with low self-esteem and awareness should use Nepheline as it is believed to boost self-esteem and self-awareness. If you are struggling with nightmares, Nepheline can help you have a good night’s sleep. Alongside boosting creativity, Nepheline is said to soothe anger and minimize stress in those who feel burdened all the time. |
| Health Benefits | Minimize stress
Promote healthy sleep Sooth inflammation Boost creativity Enhance self-esteem and make a person more self-aware |
| Uses | Due to the physical and chemical properties of Nepheline, the rock rich in it is used to manufacture glass and ceramic bases |
| Goes in Water? | Yes |
| Goes in Salt Water? | Yes |
| Goes in Rain Water? | Yes |
| Goes in Moon Water | Yes |
| Moh’s Scale | 5.5 |
| Real | Heavy with negative optic sign |
| Fake | Get scratched easily |
FAQs
What is Nepheline used for?
Nepheline’s physical and chemical properties make it useful in various industrial applications like making glass, ceramics, refrigerators, pigments, and fillers. It is extensively used in the clay industries and it also acts as a mild polishing and grinding material. While it’s difficult to find nepheline gemstones due to the fact that it does not form faceatable, gem quality crystal that often, you can find pieces of jewelry like rings made out of them.
How is Nepheline formed?
Nepheline is an allumino-silicate of potassium and sodium which is formed in poor silica rocks.
Where should I put Nepheline?
Since it serves as a chakra stone for both grounding root chakra and creativity-boosting chakra, it should either be placed in your meditation area or the place where you work.
How do you cleanse Nepheline?
Nepheline has a mid-range hardness which makes it vulnerable to damage. We recommend using mild soap, a soft toothbrush, and lukewarm water. Pat it dry with a soft, dust-free cloth.
Is Nepheline rare?
Nepheline is a Feldsathoid mineral that is rare in nature.
How strong is Nephline?
Nephline hardness rating on the Mohs scale is 5-5.5 which makes it fall under mid-range hard crystals. this means it is strong but should be handled with care.
How much is Nepheline worth?
Since they are so rare, transparent faceted Nepheline with yellow coloring can go beyond $800 per carat. White and reddish-brown Nepheline with water inclusions costs $20-$30 per carat. Raw and pure Nepehleine crystals can go anywhere between $10- $900 per carat.
How do you identify Nepheline?
It is found in white, grey, or yellow color with vitreous luster and poor cleavage.
