The gemstone Tourmaline is the Official and Traditional Birthstone for October and as the Stone for the Zodiac Sign of Leo. Known for centuries, Tourmaline first gained popularity when the Dutch began to import it in the early 17th century from Sri Lanka. Tourmaline was known by a Sinhalese name, Turamali, which is believed to mean "stone with mixed colors." Tourmaline has strong pleochroism, which means you can see different colors or depths of color when viewed at different angles.
Black Tourmaline is part of the Tourmaline family. It is also known as Schorl,which accounts for ninety-five percent of all Tourmaline in nature. It is black, or sometimes a blue so deep it appears to be black. The term Schorl was in use before the 1400s, named for a town in Saxony, Germany, where Black Tourmaline was found in nearby Tin Mines.
Needles of Black Tourmaline, or Schorl, can also be found embedded in clear Quartz, called Tourmalinated or Tourmalated Quartz. The combination of clear white and radiant black is believed to create a perfect polarity of energies, a manifestation of light and dark forces united together for a common goal. It is regarded as a Symbol of Great Fortune.
One of Tourmaline's most distinguishing properties is its ability to become electrically charged simply by heating or rubbing it. When charged, one end becomes positive and the other negative, allowing it to attract, or repel, particles of dust or bits of paper. This property of pyroelectricity (from heat) or piezoelectricity (from pressure or rubbing) was well-known to the Dutch traders of the 1700s who used Tourmaline to pull ash from their Meerschaum pipes, calling the stone Aschentrekker, or "ash puller."
Ancient Magicians relied upon Black Tourmaline, known as Schorl, to protect them from earth demons as they cast their spells. Today this stone is still revered as a premier talisman of protection, a psychic shield deflecting and dispelling negative energies, entities, or destructive forces.
