Fossil
Orthoceras
Chakras: Root Chakra
Zodiac: Capricorn, Virgo
Elements: Earth
Summary
Orthoceras is the fossil of a straight shelled nautiloid, an ancient relative of today's squid, octopus and nautilus that hunted the seas some 400 million years ago, and the dark polished pieces in shops come from the Devonian limestones of the Moroccan Sahara. Its chambered shell is cut and polished to show the siphuncle running down the center. In crystal tradition it is a Root Chakra stone of transition, transformation and personal growth, a reminder of quality and excellence that has outlasted the ages.
Keywords
transition, transformation, personal growth, quality, excellence, grounding
Fun facts
The name means straight horn in Greek. Each chamber in the shell was once filled with gas to keep the animal afloat, and the fossil you hold is the stone cast of those chambers after the sea floor buried the shell.
Care and cleansing
Polished limestone fossils scratch and etch easily: wipe with a soft dry or slightly damp cloth, keep vinegar, lemon and acidic cleaners away, and do not soak. Cleanse with smoke, sound or moonlight.