10 Things You Didn’t Know About Black Tourmaline

Black Tourmaline (otherwise known as Schorl Tourmaline) is most famous for its properties of protection against negative energies of various kinds, including negative psychic energy and electromagnetic radiation. It is known to “absorb” unwanted energies and frequencies as well as holding the power to keep you grounded. Discovered even before the 1400s under the name “shorl”, today it is mostly found in Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, and the United States, but exists on every continent. Interestingly enough, with its charcoal-like appearance, black tourmaline is also known to “absorb” toxins from the body while helping circulation and boosting metabolism. Aside from cleansing and purifying the emotional as well as the physical body, this strange black stone has a few other mysteries beneath its surface. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about Black Tourmaline. 

1. What’s in a name? 

Black tourmaline was originally called Shorl, a Sri Lankan regional terminology also known as turmali – a word that actually refers to yellow zircon. The name comes from a simple mistake in packaging wherein it was labeled as ‘turmalin’, but it nevertheless stuck with the stone. 

2. Black Tourmaline, a natural conductor 

Little known to many, this captivating black stone is actually  pyroelectric, meaning that it has the capability of yielding electricity when heated. It is also piezoelectric, meaning that it is also capable of storing said electric charge. In earlier times, Dutch traders would also use larger pieces of black tourmaline to “smoke cleanly” as the stone would attract the ashes from their cigars. 

3. Black Tourmaline, vibing high

Although it is a grounding stone, black tourmaline is believed to carry the highest positive energies. Encouraging an optimistic point of view, this stone is also believed to bring good luck in all aspects of life. Seeing as it is an energy cleanser, this makes plenty of sense.  

4. Black Tourmaline in Egypt 

Egyptian Legend speaks of how this stone came to be. In this legend it is believed that black tourmaline came from the center or core of the earth, travelling through to the surface and passing over a rainbow, snatching up all its colors along the way. This belief probably came from the fact that tourmaline exists in various colors, all of which are essentially contained within the color black. 

5. Black Tourmaline, a symbol of goddesses 

In mythology, there are three sister goddesses who are believed to rule black tourmaline and lend a little backstory to its properties and energy. The first is Aradia, Witch Goddess of Protection and Healing. Born to Lucifer and Diana, she is believed to cocoon and heal you, while bringing lessons of wisdom. The second is Hine-Nui-Te-Po, the Goddess of Night. According to Maori Myths, she is known as the Great woman of the night, the ruler of the underworld who greets souls as they enter the afterlife. The third is Manat, the Arabian Goddess of the Waning Moon, Destiny, and Death (alongside Allat and Al-Uzza to form the triple goddess). Worshipped in Arabia before it became Islam, she is the goddess of visions who manifests incantations pronounced at night, affecting fate and fortune. 

6. Black Tourmaline, a Roman tranquilizer 

Some people have medicinal sleep aids and melatonin. The Romans had black tourmaline. They believed that aside from this stone’s protective and detoxifying properties, it was also a great tranquilizer and stress reliever, using it for relaxation and sleep. The method they applied is not clearly stated, but one can imagine given the history of crystal use in medicine. 

7. Black Tourmaline in Indian divination 

Divination stones date as far back as the ancient Mayans with their use of Black Obsidian for scrying, but somehow this similarly different protective stone had the same uses on the other side of the globe. In ancient India (and in some practices today, still), black tourmaline was believed to be a teller stone. This perhaps comes from its association with Manat, the Arabian goddess of fate and time. 

8. Black Tourmaline, an ascension stone 

Well known for its protective abilities, black tourmaline has been used in amulets of protection since antiquity, especially by the Native Africans and Native Americans. However, other beliefs surround this stone concerning the spiritual evolution of mankind. Some believe that black tourmaline exists on earth for the sole purpose of aiding our passage into the Aquarian age (the beginning of a new era) through higher realms. Doubtless, it is a magical stone with roots deeper inside our existence than we could ever imagine, so it only makes sense that it would play such an important role in the future of our evolution as well.  

9. Black Tourmaline, power in its cosmic roots 

Every single healing crystal known to us today came from somewhere deep in the Universe, either by composition or as a whole. Black tourmaline is no exception as it carries the powers of Venus the Goddess of Love and of Jupiter, the King of Gods. This powerful combination of cosmic energy brings forth love, strength, power, prosperity, abundance, success, wisdom, and knowledge through a seemingly simple, yet extraordinarily powerful rock – black tourmaline. 

10. Black Tourmaline, a Shamanic stone of the earth

Along with its many and varying uses in both the physical and metaphysical realms, black tourmaline’s energy holds strong in the history of magic and man. It can be supposed that the protective properties of this stone were discovered in early years with the help of Shamans who sought protection from demons and evil entities through their work. These as well as ancient magicians relied heavily on black tourmaline to protect them against “earth demons” as they cast their spells.