1 Introduction Micas are a series of layer silicates (phyllosilicates). Many clay minerals, such as muscovite, celadonite, illite, phengite, belong to the mica series and possess the same basic crystallographic symmetries. Illite is a kind of micas whose unit structure consists of one octahedral sheet in between two opposing tetrahedral sheets. These sheets form a basic 2:1 layer that is linked by interlayer cations. Mica twinnings and twin laws (Donnay et al., 1964; Rieder, 1970) have been …