Also called satin spar (often sold as selenite), Marienglas, Mary's glass, moon stone (Greek selenites lithos)
Selenite is clear crystalline gypsum named from the Greek for moon. People today treat it as a cleansing and calming stone that clears the energy of other crystals; that is a belief, and it is a very soft mineral that should be kept away from water.
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Take care: Gypsum slowly dissolves and pits in water and is only about 2 on the Mohs scale, so never wash selenite, put it in drinks or baths, or make elixirs with it; dust it dry. Thin wands snap and have sharp ends, so keep them away from small children.
The name comes through Latin selenites from the Greek for moon stone, and older writers believed the mineral's glow waxed and waned with the moon. The term has named the clear crystalline variety of gypsum since the 15th century.
Thin sheets of selenite split easily and are clear enough to see through, so they were used as window panes, including at the church of Santa Sabina in Rome. In medieval Germany sheets were laid over pictures of the Madonna, which gave the mineral the name Marienglas, Mary's glass.
Uses: selenite sheets
Shops sell flat selenite or satin spar plates on which people rest jewellery and other stones overnight, in the belief that selenite cleanses them without needing to be cleansed itself. There is no evidence for this, but it is now one of the most widespread modern crystal habits.
Uses: selenite plate
Selenite is the transparent crystal form of gypsum, calcium sulfate dihydrate, and it contains no selenium despite the shared root. The name comes through Latin from the Greek selenites lithos, moon stone, because people believed its pearly sheen grew and faded with the moon. It is soft enough to scratch with a fingernail, about 2 on the Mohs scale. The largest known crystals, in the Cave of Crystals at Naica in Mexico, are around 11 meters long and formed over hundreds of thousands of years.
Because it splits into clear sheets, selenite served as window glass, and medieval Germans called it Marienglas when it covered images of the Virgin Mary. Its modern reputation as a cleansing, calming stone comes from late 20th-century crystal books rather than older folklore. Crystal healing has no scientific support: in a 1999 Goldsmiths experiment by Christopher French and colleagues, volunteers holding fake crystals reported the same sensations as those holding real quartz. Much of what is sold as selenite is actually satin spar, a fibrous form of the same mineral, and pieces are sometimes dyed.
A full moon ritual is a simple monthly practice done at home on the night of the full moon to give thanks, release what is finished and charge water or tools in the moonlight. This is a complete solo version for beginners, separate from the Wiccan coven esbat.
Moon bathing is the modern practice of sitting or lying quietly in moonlight, usually near the full moon, to calm down and feel connected to the night sky. It reverses old European folk warnings that sleeping in moonlight could bring madness or blindness.
Moon water is water left out overnight under the moon, usually the full moon, and then used for cleansing, blessing tools, watering plants or adding to baths. It is a modern pagan practice, though it echoes older customs of exposing food and water to moonlight.
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