Several years ago, Shungite came out on the new-age stone-lovers scene (around 2013-ish) and made quite a big splash.

I’m not sure why it suddenly became so popular. Still, it’s not usually listed in the older, more popular crystal property books, so people are often left wondering and asking me many questions about it.

Numerous web articles out there make lots of unfounded claims, so I felt the need to get this blog post out there finally.

shungite

Raw Shungite Stone. By Amrith.de (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

What is this stone?

Estimated to be about 2 BILLION years old, shungite gets its name from its discovery deposit site near the Shun’ga village in Karelia, Russia, and some say it can be up to 98% pure carbon. That’s quite pure. 

Location of Shun'ga village, Karelia, Russia. Credit: Google Maps.

Location of Shun’ga village, Karelia, Russia. Credit: Google Maps.

Most geologists now agree that the shungite deposit was created by layers upon layers of ancient organic remains, however some claim that it came from a carbon-rich asteroid strike originating from our Solar System’s own asteroid belt.

Hmmm, I do like that last scenario.

A LOT.

(OUTER SPACE!)…

but there isn’t enough geologic evidence supporting that claim at this time. 🙁

shungite

These are two shungite pieces from the crystal grid surrounding my wifi router.

Then we have a more PURE form of this stone known as Noble Shungite, aka Elite shungite (shown in the photo below).

Note it has more of that silvery sheen to it.

shungite

Noble Shungite. By MOs810 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Expect the Noble variety to be more pricey than the regular kind. It’s all about supply and demand, so the more expensive price is due to its rarity. The Noble variety is my preference for putting directly into my water to create healing gem elixirs with because it’s more of a pure carbon form (anywhere from 70% – 95%), so fewer impurities of any other element, thereby getting the energetic job done more efficiently and with less interference.

So What’s the Big Deal About Shungite?

There are lots of claims. Let’s break them down.

Some say it can do EVERYTHING and cure ALL.

I’m not going to blindly jump on that bandwagon because, you know, I always like to back up my info with science or other evidence. So, I’m only going to list out what I’ve been able to find evidence for (that doesn’t mean I’m still not researching and trying out other theories).

So, here’s what I’ve got so far:

1. Water Purifier

FACT: “Shungite is an effective sorbent for removal of organic and inorganic substances, pathogenic bacteria, and heavy metals from contaminated water.” ~ as quoted from respected scientific source; Science Direct.

In other words, it purifies water and has anti-bacterial properties.

Apparently, Peter the Great first noticed shungite water’s powerful healing and antifungal + antibacterial properties in the 18th century by testing it himself and his soldiers. After getting such excellent results, he decided to set up a spa in Karelia, Russia, so others could also benefit from it. Nice guy. 😉

Spas in the area have been taking wise advantage of the area’s healing waters ever since and coming up with such luxuries, such as trips to natural shungite springs and even serving shungite vein tea with local cowberries plus wild Karelian honey. Yum! I wanna go.

Pure, well-washed shungite (not the unpure varieties that aren’t primarily carbon) is totally safe to put directly in your water glass. That’s how I get the most benefit from it (easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!)

shungite

2. Energy Conductor

FACT: Shungite has the unique property of being able to conduct energy — as I demo for you here in the video below:

Demonstrating Energy Conduction

Latest Video…

Interestingly, I realized through my own testing, shungite can conduct human-like sensory energy so that you can use it to operate touch screen devices. Try this out for yourself.

I’ve repeated this experiment with many other crystals and minerals but haven’t been able to find any others that can do this. If you know of any, please let me know!

3. EMF Shield

Another claim is that this stone can neutralize the adverse effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs).

I’ve done some testing and data collection of my own and researched what other reliable sources have come up with, and…sorry to say …there just isn’t anything (yet) to back this up. I’ve experimented with my own electronics and testing devices to see if I’ve noted anything, but I haven’t been able to come up with any data as of yet.

However, carbon is known for having diamagnetic shielding proprieties (basically, this means it reverses magnetic fields and creates an energy shield). I haven’t been able to gather data on this specifically with this stone. Hopefully, some evidence about its ability to do this will be coming to us soon.

4. Possible Radioactivity Shield

Although there have been no official shungite scientific studies that I can find done on this, I’ve pondered it quite a bit:

Something quite impressive to consider is that people living with the fallout from the Chornobyl disaster in the Karelia region are actually thriving rather than suffering as the others in nearby regions are. These areas were subjected to the MOST TOXIC levels of radiation known to man!

Here’s some research on the “Effects of long-term low-level radiation exposure after the Chernobyl catastrophe” that I was able to dig up. It claims that “no substantial explanation has been offered to explain this divergence.” Yet, just next door to the Kalerila region, Helsinki, Finland, experienced some of the highest levels. What gives?

Ummm, I’d like to offer up shungite as being the reason! How ’bout let’s do some research on that? Hmmm?

General Shungite Healing Properties

In working with shungite over the last few years & in hearing from our student body in the Hibiscus Moon Certified Crystal Practitioner Course, I’ve compiled a list of general shungite properties:

  • aligned with the Earth Star Chakra and Root Chakra
  • very grounding
  • cleansing
  • purifying
  • protective
  • boosts the immune system
  • improves general overall health & vitality
  • transmutes & shields from negativity

HM_ Shungite

Fullerenes?

This stone was thought to be the only natural source for fullerenes (carbon nanotubes and spheres with unique properties) for quite some time, but recent studies have also disproved this. Geez!

Despite that, it’s still obviously a powerful stone to work with.

BEWARE: “Shungite” used to mean that the rock was 98% pure carbon. But recently, sellers have taken to applying the name willy-nilly to any rock that has some shungite included.  Not coolio! So, be sure to ask the seller about the purity of their shungite. If they’re not sure, better move on to someone else so that you’re more likely to get the higher quality.

Are you interested in other black stones? Hop over to this post:  How to Tell the Difference between Black Onyx, Jet, Apache Tear, Black Tourmaline and Black Obsidian

For those of you always asking where I like to get my shungite — here you go direct from Russia. (My recommendation for Noble Shungite – they have all sorts of creative shungite products. Even beauty products like a Shungite Facial Scrub. Check them out!)

Have you worked with Shungite?  If you have any additional info or stories to share, please post in the comments below! I’d love to hear your take on it.

Crystal Blessings,