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Petrified Wood — meaning, properties & history
Petrified Wood
Ancient timber turned to stone across deep geological time.
Physical Characteristics
Hardness
Mohs 7
Composition
SiO₂ (silicified wood)
Mineral Family
Fossilised wood (Quartz)
Lustre
Vitreous to waxy
Associations
Planet
♄ Saturn
Zodiac
♍ Virgo
Element
Earth
Chakra
Root
Healing Properties
- Grounding energy
- Patience
- Ancestral connection
- Stability
- Slowing down
- Deep-time perspective
Colour
Earth brown
Ochre
Fossil grey
About Petrified Wood
Ancient timber turned to stone across deep geological time.
History
Petrified wood forms over millions of years as silica-rich groundwater seeps through buried timber and replaces the organic tissue cell by cell — a process called permineralisation — preserving the grain, growth rings and even bark in solid stone. The most famous deposit is Arizona's Petrified Forest, where fallen trees of the Chinle Formation have lain for roughly 225 million years. Because it carries the record of a living tree across almost unimaginable spans of time, tradition associates the stone with patience, endurance, and a grounded connection to ancestors and the earth.
Care
△Earth☉Brief sun❀Smudging