FIRE AGATE.
The Personal Coach
Fire Agate is an earthbound rainbow. Its myriad of colours unlock our creativity, allowing us to express ourselves more freely as it stimulates our life force. Need to set some boundaries and hold yourself accountable for your personal growth? Fire Agate is your new personal coach.
It has a mellow energy so it can be worn daily for protection as it rebounds negative vibes and its grounded nature helps you feel like you are on solid ground. Fire Agate is deeply empowering especially for women and encourages us to become the best version of ourselves.
Fire Agate is a semi-precious gemstone found primarily in Mexico but also in Southwest United States states such as New Mexico, Arizona and California. It is a cryptocrystalline type of Quartz known as Chalcedony or Agate. Fire Agate formed during massive volcanic activity 24-36 million years ago when mastodons, sabre-tooth cats, and giant beavers roamed the earth.
Hot water laden with silica and iron oxide found its way into cavities in the rocks and over time formed thin layers of silica (chalcedony), iron oxide, with Limonite, or goethite. This created what is known as the Schiller effect (like mother-of-pearl) where light diffracts as it passes through and gives us the internal fiery rainbow effect we now know as Fire Agate. Fire Agate is very rare in geological terms, far more so than diamonds or emeralds.
Fire Agate from Slaughter Mountain, Arizona, US
© The Smithsonian
“Fake” Fire Agate is available quite widely on the market. This type of Carnelian which has a cobblestone or snakeskin pattern is not true Fire Agate but a lot of sellers have adopted this name for it, only adding to the confusion for crystal buyers'.
‘Fake’ Fire Agate. This crystal is a form of Chalcedony/Agate called Carnelian. It is sometimes sold as Cobblestone Agate.
Buyer’s Guide to Fire Agate
Private Buyers
Fire Agate is a beautiful crystal, but usually on the small and expensive side. If you are a specimen collector then a thumbnail size will usually suffice. Some of the best are Slaughter Mountain Fire Agates from Arizona (see example above). Most of the mine is located on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and can only be mined by the tribe. You can pick a piece up on Etsy relatively easily or if you are heading to the Tuscon Gem show, there will be a big selection there. Expect to pay anything from $20-$2000 depending on the quality and the colours.
If you are buying a piece for spiritual practices or to carry with you then I would advise getting a piece set into jewellery such as a pendant. A pocket stone Fire Agate would be an expensive loss if you happened to drop it accidentally so having it set into jewellery that you can wear makes a better option.
When you are buying Fire Agate look for a good mix of colours in the “cells”, the more variety of colour the better. The polished surface should be chip and scratch-free with no pieces that look as though they may break off.
If you would like to find a piece for yourself then Rockhounds can go and mine their very own Fire Agate at a few public mining locations, mainly in Arizona, USA. Often these mining areas also have private claims so it can be difficult to know what you can and can’t do. One location which is a government-owned public site is Black Hills Rockhound Area, Arizona this is a public site where you can simply rock up and have a dig. No permits or fees are required. It is also close to another public site, Round Mountain, Arizona. (Updated May 2024)
Retail Buyers
Only buy Fire Agate if you have the right client base for it. It is often difficult to source very good quality, and quantity at a viable price for an undecerning market. If you are selling to the mineral collector market then single specimens of good quality, polish and most especially - colour, mounted on acrylic blocks work well. If you are selling to the spiritual crystal community then I would stick to Fire Agate in jewellery. As it looks brown unless angled to “flash” it won’t be as popular as other gemstones in-store.
Quick Guide | Fire Agate
Zodiac: Fire Agate is associated with the zodiac signs Aries, Cancer, and Gemini.
Ruling Planet: Fire Agate’s ruling planet is Mercury.
Chakra: Fire Agate is associated with the Root (Muladhara) and Sacral (Svadhishthana) Chakra.
Element: Fire Agate is connected to the elements Fire and Earth.
Crystal Charging: Fire Agate can be charged overnight under a full moon. It can also be placed on Selenite for gentle cleansing before you set new intentions upon it.
Crystal Elixir: Fire Agate is a variety of cryptocrystalline Quartz and so can safely be used for making crystal elixir.
Crystal Care: Fire Agate can be cleaned with warm soapy water, a soft cloth, or a soft make-up brush.
The chemical formula for Fire Agate: SiO₂