Lapis Lazuli

History
Lapis lazuli is one of the oldest opaque gemstones in history–more than 6,500 years! This deep blue stone includes tiny flecks of mica, like a night sky full of stars. Its most well-known source is deep in the mountains of modern Afghanistan.
This stone’s two-part name comes from two different cultures: lapis is a Latin word meaning “stone,” while lazuli comes from the Persian word lazhuward, meaning “blue.” It is not an element nor a mineral–it is a rock containing multiple minerals: lazurite, diopside, calcite, pyrite and more.
Biblical scholars believe that references in the Old Testament to “sapphire” actually indicate lapis lazuli, as the sapphire gemstone was not known in the Middle East before the Roman Empire. Beloved by the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Minoans, Chinese, Greeks and up to the Romans, this deep blue stone has been used in the finest of art through the ages. One of the most famous uses of the stone is in the death mask of King Tutankhamen, where it is inlaid with turquoise and carnelian in bright gold. One of his successors, Cleopatra, was known to use ground lapis lazuli as eyeshadow. Marco Polo wrote about the lapis lazuli mines way back in 1271!
In the middle ages, painters ground up lapis lazuli to make the deep blue paint called ultramarine–the blue used to paint the robes of Mary of Nazareth on church walls and ceilings like in the Sistine Chapel. Meanwhile, in South America, pre-Columbian cultures such as the Diguita and Inca were carving, trading and warring over lapis lazuli from mines in what is now Argentina and Chile.

Metaphysical Properties
The Sumerians believed that the spirit of their gods lived within the stone, while the ancient Egyptians saw it as a symbol of the night sky. Since the earliest of times, lapis lazuli has been associated with strength and courage, royalty and wisdom, intellect and truth.
From antiquity, lapis lazuli has been worn in the belief that it will ward off evil. In ancient Egypt, it was powdered and worn about the eyes to improve eyesight. Today, it is considered by some to be an aid to balancing the brow chakra (which influences vision and hearing). Imbalances of the brow (or blue) chakra are said to cause headaches, anxiety and disorders of the skin.