Unakite Cabochon Teardrop Pendant

Unakite is for the slow, patient work of healing, the stone we reach for when something needs mending gently and in its own time rather than all at once. It is an altered granite, a soft mottled blend of pistachio-green epidote and salmon-pink feldspar, usually flecked with clear or grey quartz, so each piece looks like a little patchwork of green and peachy pink. It takes its name from the Unaka mountains in the United States, where it was first found, and it takes a smooth, handsome polish. The pairing of colours is the heart of it, the green and the pink reading together as a stone that joins the heart to the steady ground beneath it.

It is associated with the Heart Chakra, the seat of love and compassion, and with the Root Chakra, the grounding centre that ties the body to the earth.

In the modern crystal healing tradition, unakite is turned to for gentle emotional healing, patience, and gradual recovery, valued for bringing difficult feelings up slowly and kindly rather than forcing them. It is known for balancing the heart with a grounded steadiness, joining emotional release to a sense of safe footing. In the tradition it has a particular association with pregnancy, kept close for the wellbeing of mother and baby and for the patient, nurturing growth of that time, held to bring a calm, grounded steadiness through it. It is a stone for anyone healing slowly and wanting to feel held while they do.

Unakite is a friendly, easy stone to like, all soft pistachio-green and salmon-pink mottled together, every piece patterned differently. It feels smooth, cool, and solid, and takes a warm, gentle polish. We love it for anyone in the middle of slow healing work, the kind that can't be rushed, and for people drawn to its soft, comforting colours. It is one that tends to settle people a little just to hold, gentle and grounding at the same time.

A lot of people keep unakite close during times of slow emotional healing or recovery, carrying a tumble or keeping a piece where they rest. It is also kept near during pregnancy, for that gentle, grounded sense of being held through a time of patient growth. Others simply enjoy its soft green-and-pink colouring on a shelf or desk. It tends to be reached for whenever patience and steadiness are what's needed.

Unakite (Mohs 6-7) is hard and durable, an easy one to live with and generally fine with water. Cleanse with running water, sound, moonlight, or smoke. A soft cloth keeps it polished, and prolonged strong sunlight is best avoided to protect the pink.