Witnessed by: Unani
Soapstone (steatite) (Talc), of the silicate mineral (massive talc rock) family. A soft, massive, compact rock of greenish-grey to white, greasy to the touch and easily cut and carved; native range: metamorphosed magnesian rocks — talc-schist bodies in altered ultramafic and dolomitic ground. Globally recognized as sang-e-jarahat in Arabic/Urdu, sang-e-jarahat, ghiya pathar in Hindi, and soapstone, steatite, potstone in English. The part used is the stone, levigated to a fine powder. Greenish-grey to creamy white, soapy and slippery under the finger, so soft a fingernail marks it, and odourless.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
SOAPSTONE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- soapstone (steatite)
- Scientific name
- Talc (hydrous magnesium silicate, Mg₃Si₄O₁₀(OH)₂ — the massive steatite rock)
- Family
- silicate mineral (massive talc rock)
Form
- Part used
- the stone, levigated to a fine powder
PROPERTIES
Nature
Temperature
- Unani
- cold & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- mujaffif (desiccant), habis-ud-dam (styptic), qabiz (astringent), mundamil-e-qurooh (heals ulcers), radi (repellent)
Cautions
- Toxicity
- an inert stone on the skin; the dust is not to be breathed, and talc rock from asbestos-bearing ground may carry asbestiform fibres — a known hazard of the mineral's geology
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