Obsidian

Properties: Obsidian is actually natural glass that is formed when hot lava is submerged in water. This is a strong grounding stone and is known as”the protector“. It is said to “mirror one’s soul. This stone brings about objectivity, dis-attachment and is grounding. It reduces fantasy and escapism. Absorbs and dissolves anger, criticism, fear, and therefore, is protective. This unusual black stone absorbs darkness and converts it to white light energy. It is a warm and friendly stone, which is used at the Root Chakra, encouraging ones survival instincts and self-awareness..

 Black obsidian brings higher Chakra light into lower ones; cleanses and uplifts. Changes fear into flexibility with the advent of change. Obsidian is used in scrying for divination purposes and often found in mirrors and crystal balls. Obsidian is used for transformation.

Folk Remedies: Obsidian is believed to draw imbalances to the surface and helps to release them. Problems or issues that are hard to face can be brought to light with obsidian. It is said to reveal half truths.

Feng Shui: Obsidian is used in the area of North for personal journeys and in the Center area for grounding and protection.

Crystal Cleansing: method 1 – 3 and method 5 – 8

History: Obsidian is Igneous rock with inclusion. Solid/translucent black to smoky, this stone takes on many characteristics due to its unique formation. Bubbles of air can get trapped in molten rock, which, when densely packed, can produce effects that look like rainbows. When clusters of small cristobalite or feldspar get trapped in the stone, it creates snowflake effects. Apache tears are the results of wind and water smoothing out the rock. When iron is introduced into the formation, mahogany obsidian is formed. Obsidian has been used by many cultures for jewelry and tools.

Obsidian arrowheads are often found, dating back centuries. Volcanic eruptions in the Black Spring area of the Black Rock Desert in western Utah spewed out the volcanic rocks of rhyolite, pumice, and obsidian. This rich obsidian is a dark colored volcanic glass formed when molten lava cools quickly. It is usually black but colored varieties range from brown to red. Snowflake obsidian, a black obsidian with whitish and gray spots (spherulites) of radiating needle-shaped cristobalite, a high-temperature quartz crystal, and is also found in the Black Rock Desert.

Snowflake Obsidian

This obsidian stone, which has inclusions of phynocryst, gives it the snowflake pattern on it’s surface, and allows us to recognize unnecessary patterns in our lives. It promotes self-esteem and confidence. It helps with clairaudience and owning our lower aspects for growth; and as a healthy balancing stone. It allows us to be more sensitive and aware of the beauty and love that is around us.

 

Mahagony Obsidian

Also called brown or coffee obsidian, this stone contains a more gentle energy (than black) that will ground and protect. Brown is associated with Earth and the earth element. These crystals offer a comforting, nurturing and stable environment. It has been used historically as a stone for fertility. Brown obsidian keeps the cozy, safe and warm feelings close to you.

Rainbow Obsidian

This was the gazing stone used by Nostradamus to foresee the future. Used to bring light and love into ones life and the “stone of pleasure” for bringing gratification and self-love awareness. This stone can be used to facilitate past-life healing and to gain insight into how the past is affecting the present.It teaches us about the evolution of our spiritual pursuits.

Obsidian, Varieties

Gas bubbles (and  additional minerals) often create the variety of colors found in obsidian. Blue stimulates the Throat Chakra, astral travel, communication. Strawberry boosts the Root Chakra, our physical energy and validates self-worth. Green connects us with nature and the self-realizations of love and tenderness. Violet brings psychic awareness,intuition and wisdom.

Apache Tear

Properties: This is considered a “grieving stone” The stones are said to bring good luck to those possessing them. Black obsidian is a powerful meditation stone. The purpose of this gemstone is to bring to light that which is hidden from the conscious mind. It dissolves suppressed negative patterns and purifies them. It can create a somewhat radical behavior change as new positive attitudes replace old, negative, egocentric patterns.The Apache tears are also said to balance the emotional nature and protect one from being taken advantage of. It can be carried as an amulet to stimulate success in business endeavors. It is used at the Root Chakra for grounding and protection.

Folk Remedies: Eases and releases pain, loss, sadness, anger, to help heal and go on with life. For looking within, protection, vision quest/purpose. Gently grounds and unblocks lower body and endocrine glands/Chakra. Helps healing.

Feng Shui: This stone is used in any direction in order to attract good luck and protection.

Crystal Cleansing: method 1 – 8

History: The haunting legend about the Apache Tear is about the Pinal Apaches, who had made several raids on a settlement in Arizona. The military and some volunteers trailed the tracks of the stolen cattle and waited for dawn to attack the Apaches. The Apaches, confident in the safety of their location, were completely surprised and out-numbered in the attack. Nearly 50 of the band of 75 Apaches were killed in the first volley of shots. The rest of the tribe retreated to the cliff’s edge and chose death by leaping over the edge rather than die at the hands of the white men. For years afterward those who ventured up the treacherous face of Big Pacacho in Arizona found skeletons, or could see the bleached bones wedged in the crevices of the side of the cliff.

The Apache Women and the lovers of those who had died gathered a short distance from the base of the cliff where the sands were white, and for a moon they wept for their dead. They mourned greatly, for they realized that not only had their 75 brave Apache warriors died, but with them had died the great fighting spirit of the Pinal Apaches.

Their sadness was so great, and their burden of sorrow so sincere that the Great Father embedded into black stones the tears of the Apache Women who mourned their dead. These black obsidian stones, when held to the light, reveal the translucent tear of the Apache.

Blue Obsidian

This stone stimulates the Throat Chakra, It assists in communication, especially for those who wish to speak clearer, more truthful or for those who need to speak for themselves. This beautiful stone has been shown to help in astral travel, It has been used for increasing the clarity of tarot readings. Helps keep away negativity and is an extremely protective stone when traveling. Helps with directional knowledge, and helps with insight, particularly for sensitive people.

Brown, Coffee, Mahogany Obsidian

Brown, Coffee, Mahogany obsidian contains a more gentle energy (than black) that will ground and protect. Brown is associated with Earth and the earth element. These crystals offer a comforting, nurturing energy. They are often used for fertility and stabling an unsure or unsafe environment. Brown obsidian keeps the cozy, safe and warm feeling close to you. The darker the variety of the stone, the more protective in nature it becomes. The inclusion of red minerals into this stone, help with grounding and a more familiar feeling or security.

Green Obsidian

The soothing color of green obsidian is a stone used for healing a broken heart.  Interestingly enough, it is believed to also help heal broken crystals and charges them with powerful, natural energies. This stone is a great for balancing the Heart Chakra. It asssists in energy healing during Reiki. This beautiful stone allows for a connection with nature and the self-realizations of love, tenderness and the significance of nurturing.

Obsidian Balls

Obsidian Balls help to see truths by initially amplifying beliefs, patterns, fears, blocking our growth. The power of the sphere represents the Universe and everything contained in it. Spheres are synonymous with the “whole” person. Including consciousness, mobility, non attachment, self containment and a powerful mind. Tied to our spiritual nature, these spheres allow for our purity, clear mind and flexibility to emerge.

Strawberry Obsidian

Strawberry obsidian is a rare stone that is a luscious red with the fire of the volcano still in its appearance! Iron minerals give this stone its rich, red color. It is used to stimulate the Root Chakra and therefore, our physical energy and validates our self-worth. Grounds us and allows us to stand up to fear and face anxiety. This red obsidian allows for our dominant qualities to awake as it balances our male and female energies.

Violet Obsidian

Violet obsidian is also a rare stone that has the cooling properties of the Third Eye Chakra, Crown Chakra and Transcendental Chakra energies. This is a stone that shows us the power of spirituality and the endless possibilities through Universal attraction, love and growth. This stones connects us to our intuition, our auric fields and is one of the most powerful gazing stones for it comes from the earth, yet has the properties of the heavens.

For Revealing & Transforming

Obsidian brings higher Chakra light into lower ones. This stone cleanses and uplifts. It is used to change fear into flexibility with the advent of change.

Obsidian is used in scrying for divination purposes and often found as mirrors and crystal balls. Obsidian is used for transformation. Like the source it comes from, it moves from molten rock to harden glass as it transforms into a something new.

Obsidian is believed to draw imbalances to the surface and helps to release them. Problems or issues that are hard to face can be brought to light with obsidian. It is said to reveal half truths.

Associations

Angels: Uriel
Associated Crystal: volcanic glass
Birthstone: October
Color: Black, Red
Chakra: Root Chakra
Element: Earth, Fire
Flowers: Black Tulip, Red Tulip, Black Orchid, Black Poppy, Red Gerber
Oils: Red Mandarin, Black Orchid
Gods/Goddesses: Ereskigal, Gaia, Hathor, Hecate, Kali, Morrigan, Pele
Planet: Pluto, Saturn
Zodiac: Scorpio, Capricorn
Sabbat: Samhain, Yule
Tarot: Death, Devil, Tower

Snowflake Obsidian Grid

The white snowflakes on this stone represent the season while the black stone itself, represents the darkest night of the year. This is why it makes the perfect Yule transformation stone. This is a nice grid to make on the eve of the Winter Solstice.

“Place white snow quartz ‘pon the top.
With moonstone next, follow the clock.
Then rainbow opal sits below,
And selenite, the last to go.
Now add obsidian, center spot,
For winter’s turn to bound the knot.”

You can find this grid and many others in Andrew’s certification course, The Crystal Witch, “A Year and A Day of Spells for Empowering Life”   Read more here

Obsidian’s Rainbow Connection

It seems counter-intuitive, that a black stone would have such a connection to all the colorful aspects of light.  Yet, obsidian, since it is not crystalline in structure, takes on the properties of glass (reflective and iridescent). As the case with Rainbow Obsidian. An iridescent, rainbow-like sheen is caused by inclusions of magnetite nano-particles. When polished and exposed to light, it shows its true bands of rainbow colors.  Gas bubbles (and  additional minerals) often create the variety of colors found in sheen obsidian, mahogany, blue, green, violet and strawberry!

 

Cleansing & Charging Obsidian

~ Cleansing a crystal is always a good idea to rid it of energies (negative or otherwise) that it may have picked up during handling and excessive use.

~ Charging a crystal is bringing its energy levels back up, after use and cleansing. Like re-charging a battery after it has lost its energy.  A great way to do this (and remind you that it is time to do so) is during a full moon.

Crystal Cleansing: method 1 -3 and 5 – 8

The Power of Color

Color plays a major role in determining how your crystal can help you.  A crystal’s color is due to its combination of minerals, which give it it’s own personality.  It contributes in what attracts you to it.  The psychological aspects of color determine how a crystal’s healing properties work.

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