La selenita se ha convertido en uno de los cristales más reconocidos dentro de las prácticas de energía contemporáneas. Este mineral, valorado tanto por su aspecto como por su historia, se distingue principalmente por su suavidad: un fragmento de selenita puede ser rayado fácilmente con una uña, debido a que ocupa el nivel dos en la escala de Mohs.

Se trata de una variedad transparente del yeso, compuesta por sulfato de calcio con agua (CaSO₄·2H₂O), y puede encontrarse en ambientes donde cuerpos de agua ricos en minerales se evaporan lentamente.

El nombre “selenita” proviene del griego y está asociado a la luna, ya que bajo la luz, el cristal suele mostrar un brillo suave que recuerda a la luminosidad lunar. Por sus características, la selenita puede presentarse de diferentes maneras: desde fragmentos totalmente incoloros y translúcidos, hasta piezas con ligeros matices, dependiendo de las impurezas presentes. Los cristales pueden adoptar formas tabulares, prismáticas, fibrosas o aciculares, según las condiciones de crecimiento.

Entre los yacimientos principales destaca la mina de Naica en México, conocida por albergar algunos de los mayores cristales de yeso jamás descubiertos. Debido a su solubilidad en agua, sumergir la selenita puede opacar su brillo o, con el tiempo, disolverla por completo. Todas estas características y detalles han sido compilados por HowStuffWorks, sitio de divulgación científica en una revisión publicada el 27 de mayo de 2026.

La selenita puede adoptar diversas formas y texturas, determinadas por el entorno en el que se desarrolla. El tipo más conocido es la selenita transparente, que suele presentarse en láminas delgadas o largas y destaca por su apariencia vítrea.

Otra variedad ampliamente comercializada es el satin spar (yeso fibroso), un yeso fibroso de brillo sedoso que, al recibir luz, puede mostrar un efecto visual conocido como “ojo de gato”. Esta última forma es muy utilizada en contextos de meditación y limpieza energética.

En regiones áridas, la selenita puede crecer alrededor de granos de arena y formar la llamada rosa del desierto, una piedra con aspecto de flor, cuyos pétalos surgen por el proceso de evaporación en presencia de arena. Las flores de yeso constituyen agrupaciones de cristales en formas retorcidas que pueden recordar a cuernos, cintas o colas de pez, lo que las distingue visualmente de las variedades más comunes.

La selenita ocupa un lugar destacado en prácticas espirituales y de energía, donde se le atribuyen propiedades como la purificación, la armonía y la claridad espiritual. Las placas de carga de selenita se emplean para “limpiar” otras piedras, bajo la creencia de que equilibran energías no deseadas cuando se colocan sobre ellas.

La selenita se utiliza como apoyo en la meditación para facilitar la conexión con guías espirituales y potenciar la claridad interna.

En civilizaciones antiguas, se creía que este mineral ofrecía protección espiritual y, en ocasiones, se empleaba yeso en polvo en revestimientos de paredes para lograr acabados suaves y luminosos. Si bien estas creencias son populares, el propio artículo de HowStuffWorks advierte que ninguna de estas supuestas propiedades cuenta con respaldo científico o validación desde la medicina occidental.

Debido a su extrema suavidad, la selenita requiere precauciones en su manipulación. Basta una presión leve para dejar marcas en la superficie, y las piezas delgadas pueden astillarse si sufren caídas. Es fundamental mantener la selenita alejada del agua, ya que la exposición prolongada puede provocar su disolución. Para limpiar el polvo, se recomienda utilizar un paño seco, evitando líquidos.

En los hogares, muchas personas ubican la selenita cerca de entradas, mesas de noche o áreas de meditación con la intención de promover ambientes tranquilos. También suele combinarse con otros cristales durante el trabajo energético para favorecer la concentración y la estabilidad emocional.

La iluminación natural o artificial influye en su aspecto: algunas piezas de satin spar parecen emitir un resplandor interno bajo la luz, mientras que las láminas transparentes se iluminan en los bordes, lo que refuerza la asociación de la piedra con la luna. Coleccionistas buscan ejemplares de yacimientos en México, Marruecos y otras regiones con abundancia mineral.

The intense media scrutiny and Republican attacks facing Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine over his controversial and inflammatory past online comments and his now-removed but well-publicized tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol don’t appear to be slowing him down.

A new public opinion poll shows Platner holding an upper single-digit lead over longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in a race that is among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim 53-47 majority in the Senate in this year’s midterm elections.

Platner, a progressive candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, stands at 51% support among likely Maine voters, with Collins at 42%, in a Pine Tree State poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire. Six percent of respondents were undecided, with 2% backing other candidates.

The survey is the latest public opinion poll to indicate Platner, an oyster farmer and Army and Marine veteran who served in combat in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, leading Collins, a moderate Republican who is seeking a sixth six-year term in the Senate representing left-leaning Maine.

WHAT MAINE VOTERS TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL ABOUT GRAHAM PLATNER’S CONTROVERSIES

Ninety-one percent of Democrats questioned said they’d vote for Platner in the general election, with 87% of Republicans backing Collins. The senator held a slight 47%-44% edge over Platner for the support of independents.

The poll was released two weeks ahead of Maine’s primary.

Platner is considered the Democrats’ presumptive nominee after two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and other establishment leaders, suspended her campaign a month ago. Mills cited fundraising concerns and polling woes for her decision to end her bid. But the governor’s name will remain on the primary ballot.

According to the poll, Platner stands at 76% support for the Democratic nomination, with Mills at 10% and longshot Senate contender, David Costello of Brunswick, who spent decades working in state and federal government, at 3%.

Collins faces no challengers for the Republican Senate nomination.

PLATNER CONFRONTED OVER PAST ON-LINE CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS

Platner, who advocates an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and advocates for the working class as he runs for the Senate, has been criticized by Collins and other Republicans as too extreme for Maine.

«I believe that will be the conclusion of Maine voters. But, obviously, I don’t take anything for granted,» Collins said when asked in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this month if Platner was too far to the left.

But Platner, in a Fox News Digital interview a week later, argued, «What’s radical is somebody like Susan Collins, who, for decades now, has made sure that we pass policies that are going to help corporations and billionaires to the detriment of working people, supporting over and over and over again, illegal and insane foreign wars.»

Platner, amid a slew of media stories, has come under fire from Republicans in recent weeks over his past controversial comments from last decade, after he returned from combat tours of duty, as well as more recent comments earlier this decade, that he made on Reddit.

WHAT GRAHAM PLATNER SAID IN A FOX NEWS DIGITAL INTERVIEW

Platner apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after they made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign.

But confronted by Fox News Digital last week near his home in Maine, Platner declined to apologize both to voters and a Purple Heart recipient when asked about a deleted Reddit post where he said the wounded soldier «didn’t deserve to live.»

Meanwhile, Platner has said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He said that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning last year that it resembled a Nazi symbol.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

It’s not just Republicans who are taking aim at Platner over the comments and the tattoo. A few Democrats are also speaking out. Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts this week reiterated his criticism of Platner.

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«As I said months ago, I find Platner’s Nazi tattoo and his commentary about it personally disqualifying,» Auchincloss wrote Tuesday in a social media post. «If it were me, I’d vote for someone else in the Maine Democratic primary.»

The Pine Tree Poll was conducted May 21-25, with an overall sampling error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

A man suspected of attacking three individuals at a train station in Switzerland on Thursday morning has been arrested, according to Zurich Cantonal Police.

«About 30 meters away, I heard a man behind me shout ‘Allahu akbar’ five or six times, very emotionally and agitatedly,» one witness reported recalled to the outlet Blick.

«Shortly after 8:30 a.m., a man injured three people with a bladed weapon at Winterthur train station. The suspected perpetrator was arrested by police. He is a 31-year-old Swiss national,» Zurich Cantonal Police said.

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The three wounded Swiss nationals, ages 28, 43 and 52, were transported to the hospital, according to the release.

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Police officers remove tape following a stabbing attack at the train station in Winterthur, Switzerland, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (Claudio Thoma/Keystone via AP)

«The motive for the attack is under investigation,» the release added.

Zurich Cantonal Police did not provide Fox News Digital with additional information on the incident besides saying a press conference is planned Thursday afternoon about the incident.

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Commuters walk past a police vehicle parked in front of the central train station where a man wounded three people with a bladed weapon in Winterthur, near Zurich on May 28, 2026. (ARND WIEGMANN / AFP via Getty Images)

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«Together with the Zurich cantonal police, the Winterthur city police, the SBB transport police, the rescue service of the Winterthur cantonal hospital and Zurich protection & rescue were deployed. More information will follow this afternoon,» the press release noted.