Atlas Mountains

This magnificent Orthoceras sculpture tower from Morocco 230*65mm weighs 1030g. These creatures lived in the Devonian period about 380 million years ago.

Orthoceras fossils are typically black or grey, with white or beige patterns of calcite and (blackish) mud and organic matter remnants. These fossils are found in sedimentary limestone and shale deposits around the globe. Orthoceras were Nautiloid cephalopods, ancestors to modern-day squid and octopus. Orthoceras fossils are mainly found and mined in Morocco. There, they are commonly found with round Ammonites called Goniatites. Orthoceras fossils are among the earliest recognizable animals. Although they were among the earliest forms of life, this class of Nautiloid is considered one of the more intelligent forms of ocean life.

Orthoceras had a long straight shell. They ranged in size from one centimetre to over two metres in length. They could swim as well as crawl on the ocean floor. They filled chambers in their shells with air to float through the seas, propelling themselves by squirting jets of water.

The younger examples are around 110-million-year-old, with others being much older. Their main period was from 443 million years up to 485-million-years ago. The oceans at the time in the Ordovician Period teemed with life. Their shells accumulated upon the ocean floor when they died. They were then covered by sediments.

Orthoceras activates the Root Chakra by grounding you with the ancient energy of Earth. It can push you on a path of transformation, helping you shift from who you were to becoming who you want to be.

Colour: grey, silvery white on black matrix

Transparency: opaque

Lustre: dull, pearly, sub-vitreous

Fracture: uneven

Hardness: 3

Mineral group: varies; marble

Location: Madagascar, Morocco (Atlas Mountains), Scandinavia, Sweden

Rarity: common

Chakra: Root, Solar Plexus

Mental/intellectual: new beginnings, opportunities, self-discipline, sense-of-purpose, wisdom

Spiritual: animal communication, awakening, connection with nature, grounding, growth, knowledge, past-life recall, protection, self-discovery, transformation

Astrology: Earth

Number: 8