Fairy Stone State Park, VA - Fairy stone crosses

. . and you thought this was a food blog!!

When I was a kid, I remember having a Fairy Stone cross necklace. Fairy stones are the nickname for Staurolite, which naturally twins its crystals under great heat and pressure, like the forming of the Appalachian mountains. There is also a theory that they came on an ancient meteor. Fairy stones come in one of three kinds of crosses: St. Andrew's cross in the shape of an "X"; the Maltese cross shaped like a plus sign "+"; and the Roman cross, shaped more like a "t".

I don't remember how I came by it, or where it is now, but I remember mine seemed to be polished smooth, and a brown color Maltese cross. Fairy crosses must have been more popular when I was growing up, because you hardly hear about them anymore. Maybe that's because I haven't lived in Virginny for many a year.

At the park, you're allowed to pick up any that you see loose on the ground, but you can't dig for them or bring any digging tools.

The various legends are a little to syrupy for my blog, but you can read them at one of these websites. I had a Pocahontas tear, too, which is different, even though tears are mentioned in the various Fairy Stone cross legends. What is interesting, though, is that the location is also called the old Cherokee meeting place.

Fairy Stone State Park
Roadside Geology
Staurolite Crystals of Patrick County, VA (probably the better photos are at this site)