Field Guide/Rocks and Minerals

Pyrite

The pyrite is great and a very appreciated mineral.

It can generate sparks if you hit it against a metal. It is called like this because pyrite in greek is fire. In the times when people wanted a lot of gold someone said that gold was found in rivers and mines so all the people that heard that went to the United States to look for gold. A lot of people paid a fortune for the pyrite. They thought that it was gold because this mineral is very shiny so sometimes it is called the (fools gold). Normally it has got a cubic shape. It is often used to decorate the house or for collections of people. Many people use it to protect wood. In la Rioja and Soria it is used to scare wolves away. It is also used in agriculture so snails don't eat their crops.

These are the main places where pyrite can be taken:

• Spain.
• Germany.
• Switzerland.
• Great Britain.
• Portugal.
• Sweden.
• Norway.
• Elba Island.
• Italy.
• Greece.
• Urals.
• Argentina.
• Chile.
• Peru.
• United States.
• South Africa.
• Australia.

It is used against the stomach ache. It can also be used for the circulatory system so your blood gets more oxygen. It expels negative energy. It is good for your mind. It makes us to be more honest and to open our hearts. It gets rid of anxiety and the frustration. It protects us from darkness. It helps us to think and clean our mind.

Calcite

The calcite is a beautiful mineral. Its colour is extremely variable such as transparent, white, yellow, pink, grey, brown, red, blue, green or black. It can be found in bubbles of volcanic rocks and in cracks. Many animals such as corals or molluscs use it to make their shells to protect them from predators. It is used to make sculptures and to collect them because there is a large variety of them with different colours and shapes. The optical industry, the glass industry and the metal industry also use them. It is also used to make cement, ceramic materials and to obtain lime. People say that they calm us down.

• White calcite: It makes more powerful our meditation.
• Green calcite: It is used to attract money to your home.
• Red calcite: It keeps us in peaceful harmony.

It is soluble because it mixes well with acid. You can find it in Spain, Italy, Africa, Iceland, Tennessee, Alston Moor, Egremont, Frizington, United States... It forms rhombohedrons. It is very weak.

Plaster

The plaster has been existing since the Neolithic Period in prehistory. Ancient cultures used this to do works with it such as the Pyramids of Egypt. It comes from calcium sulphate. It is a porous material so it controls the humidity and ventilates the house through its porous walls. It is used in houses for thermal regulation so the walls of the house don't get very cold. It is abundant in the nature, it respects the nature because it is biodegradable and non toxic. It doesn't burn, it gets rid of toxic vapours and smoke. When there is an fire it absorbs a lot of heat and it slows it down. It absorbs the sound so the volume is lower and it doesn't make echo. It is a very good material to make houses to live very comfortable. It can be white, grey, yellow, or transparent and translucent. You can find it in a lot of places in Spain such as Burgos, Palencia, La Rioja, Segovia, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Madrid, Cádiz, Cordoba, Granada, Jaén, Murcia, Valencia, Cáceres, Zaragoza, Huesca, Teruel, Gerona, Barcelona, Balearic Islands, Vizcaya, Navarra, Cantabria and Asturias.