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What Is Moonstone? Meaning, Glow, Colors and Care

By Digital Towns Crystals · Last reviewed October 6, 2026

Short answer: moonstone is a feldspar mineral with a soft, floating glow called adularescence. Inside the stone, two feldspars have separated into microscopic alternating layers, and light scattering between those layers makes the sheen that seems to move under the surface. It is a birthstone for June and has long been linked with the moon.

What is moonstone?

Moonstone is a variety of orthoclase, a potassium feldspar. The feldspar group makes up more than half of the Earth's crust, but only a few feldspars show an optical effect. Moonstone is the best known of them.

It rates 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, and it has poor toughness: it can crack or split when struck. That shapes how it is cut and how it should be worn.

Why does moonstone glow?

While moonstone forms, the feldspar starts as a single mix of potassium-rich orthoclase and sodium-rich albite. As it cools, the two separate into thin alternating layers, a process called exsolution.

When light enters the stone, it scatters between those layers. The result is adularescence: a soft light that appears to billow across the stone as you move it. Thinner layers favor a blue sheen. Thicker layers give a whiter glow. The finest moonstones show a blue sheen against a nearly colorless body.

The effect is easiest to see on a smooth dome, which is why moonstone is almost always cut as a cabochon rather than faceted.

What is moonstone traditionally associated with?

Moonstone has one of the longest histories of any gem in folklore.

  • It has been associated with the Roman and Greek lunar deities.
  • Hindu mythology describes it as made of solidified moonbeams.
  • It has long been linked with love, and it is believed in many traditions to bring good luck.
  • In modern crystal traditions it is associated with intuition, calm reflection and new beginnings, and with the cycles of the moon.

Art Nouveau designers such as René Lalique and Louis Comfort Tiffany used moonstone in their jewelry, and it returned to fashion in the 1960s. These meanings are traditions and beliefs. They are why people give moonstone, not properties of the mineral.

What colors and varieties are there?

  • White and colorless moonstone with a blue or silvery sheen is the classic stone.
  • Peach moonstone has a warm peach to orange body color with the same glow.
  • Gray and black moonstone have darker bodies, which make the sheen stand out.
  • Rainbow moonstone is a trade name for nearly colorless labradorite that glows in several colors. It is a different feldspar from moonstone, but the name is used throughout the trade. The labradorite guide explains the difference.
  • Cat's-eye moonstone shows a sharp line of light across the dome when inclusions line up, an effect called chatoyancy.

How is moonstone graded?

Moonstone is judged mostly on its glow and its clarity.

  • Sheen: the finest moonstone has a glassy, nearly colorless body with a mobile, electric blue shimmer that moves across the whole dome.
  • Clarity: transparency matters. Moonstone's characteristic inclusions are tiny tension cracks called centipedes, and fewer is better.
  • Cut: cabochon is the common cut because it shows the sheen best. A well-cut stone centers the glow on the top of the dome.
  • Size: moonstone comes in a wide range of sizes, but large stones with a strong blue sheen and good clarity are scarce.

Moonstone, opal or selenite?

Three stones are often confused because all three have a soft glow.

  • Moonstone is a feldspar, 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, with a floating sheen called adularescence.
  • Opal is hydrated silica with flashes of separate spectral colors, called play-of-color, rather than a single soft glow.
  • Selenite and satin spar are gypsum, so soft a fingernail scratches them, with a silky band of light rather than a billowing glow. See the selenite guide.

Where does moonstone come from?

Today most commercial moonstone comes from Sri Lanka and India. Other sources include Madagascar, Myanmar, Tanzania and Brazil, and smaller deposits in the United States. Historically, the most valuable transparent moonstones with a strong blue sheen came from Myanmar.

Raw, tumbled and polished moonstone

Raw moonstone is a cloudy, pale crystal fragment, and the glow appears only on faces that catch the light. Tumbled pieces show a gentle sheen as they turn. Cabochons, spheres and palm stones are cut so the sheen sits across the dome. Clarity, transparency and the strength of the glow drive value more than size.

Moonstone jewelry

Moonstone is a favorite for rings, pendants and earrings, and it is a June birthstone alongside pearl and alexandrite. Because it can crack when knocked, pendants and earrings wear better than everyday rings. In a ring, a protective bezel setting helps.

How do you care for moonstone?

  • Clean it with warm, soapy water and a soft brush, then dry it.
  • Do not use ultrasonic or steam cleaners. Moonstone can crack under high heat or vibration.
  • Avoid hard knocks and sudden temperature changes.
  • Store it apart from harder stones, which can scratch it.

How can you tell real moonstone?

  • The glow should move as you tilt the stone, and it should seem to come from inside.
  • Glass imitations, including the man-made glass sold as "opalite", tend to show an even milky glow from every angle and often contain round gas bubbles.
  • Natural moonstone has small inclusions, often tiny lines or "centipede" marks under magnification. A perfectly clean, evenly glowing stone at a very low price deserves a second look.
  • Check whether "rainbow moonstone" is described accurately. It is labradorite, which is fine, but a good listing says so.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between moonstone and rainbow moonstone?

Moonstone is orthoclase feldspar with a white to blue sheen. Rainbow moonstone is a trade name for nearly colorless labradorite, a different feldspar, which glows in several colors. Both are natural; they are different minerals.

Is moonstone a June birthstone?

Yes. Moonstone is one of the June birthstones, along with pearl and alexandrite.

Can moonstone go in water?

Brief contact is fine, and warm soapy water is the recommended way to clean it. Avoid soaking it for long periods and never use steam or ultrasonic cleaners.

What does moonstone symbolize?

It has been associated with the Roman and Greek moon goddesses, with love and with good luck, and Hindu mythology describes it as solidified moonbeams. In modern crystal traditions it is linked with intuition and new beginnings.

Why is my moonstone not glowing?

The sheen only shows when light and your eye line up with the internal layers. Turn the stone slowly under a single light source, and look across the top of the dome.

Is moonstone fragile?

Somewhat. Moonstone rates 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale and has poor toughness, so it can crack or split if knocked and may crack under high heat. In rings, a protective bezel setting helps; pendants and earrings are safer choices for everyday wear.

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