Obsidian
(uhb - sid - ee - uhn)What is Obsidian?
Obsidian is Volcanic Glass that forms from the quick cooling of molten lava without much crystallization, leading to its glassy appearance. So, it’s called Lava Glass, Petrified Volcanic Glass, and Hyalopsite (which means Glass in Greek) after its formation.
Did you know it’s called Obsaidan, Obsidiānus, and Œqinolit in other languages?
While it’s most commonly seen in black, brown, maroon, red, and gray, Obsidian may also appear in yellow, blue, golden, silver, orange, and purple colors.
The use of Obsidians dates back hundreds of thousands of years. Many indigenous cultures used the stone for a variety of things. The Aztecs made balms with powdered Obsidian, Rabbit fat, and Chamomile oils for healing wounds.
Obsidian crystals are called Xaga among the Apache and Navajo tribes. Geologists call Obsidians Isophyre or igneous rocks with a glassy texture. It’s a stone of courage, protection, and strength in the spiritual world.
The English mathematician, astronomer, and spiritualist Dr. John Dee used an Aztec Obsidian mirror to summon spirits and communicate. He believed Angel Uriel gave it to him.
Fun Fact: Did you know Obsidian is not a mineral because there isn’t any crystalline structure? It’s a mineraloid like Jet and Amber.
Obsidian Healing Properties and Benefits
Motivation and Positivity
- Obsidian varieties with golden, silver, and fiery inclusions tap into the energy centers responsible for inspiration, confidence, and positive self-talk.
- Program your stone for positivity by meditating with your crystal for five minutes facing the Sun. Once it’s charged, carry the stone wherever you go.
Clarity
- Obsidian with Tridymite and Cristobalite are good pairings for clearing brain fog and improving decisiveness.
- Charge your crystal for focus and concentration by burying it overnight under three inches of soil.
Peace
- Balance in the body, mind, and soul is easy when you’ve bonded with a black, green, gray, and silver sheen Obsidian.
- Set a peace altar using tumbled stones of your crystal. Activate the crystal altar by circling a lit incense or smudge stick every morning.
Fertility
- Did you know Copper Calcite and Red Obsidians activate the Kundalini energy center? As a result, impotence, infertility, and reproductive blocks are cleared.
- Create a crystal elixir by indirectly infusing the energies of your crystal to resolve fertility problems in the body.
Pain Management
- If pain results from chakra blockages, Black and Mahogany Obsidians can help you unblock it.
- Find an Obsidian Outcrop and sit on it in the Lotus pose for a few minutes while taking deep breaths. Repeat it daily.
Obsidian Spiritual Properties and Benefits
Scrying
- Have you ever wanted to look into the future? Get a Black Obsidian Mirror for insights about fate, past lives, and spiritual destiny.
- Scrying under the moonlight by gazing into the crystal is an excellent way to discover your spiritual past, present, and future.
Psychic Protection
- Obsidian with Hematite, Pyrite, and Magnetite are powerful crystals for setting up psychic shields and protection.
- To protect your home and family from evil forces and negative vibrations, charge your crystal and bury it around your house.
Karmic Healing and Luck
- Gold Sheen Obsidian gives you visions and assistance on how to clear your karmic debts and let good fortune in.
- Charge your stone for good luck and healing by holding it for a few minutes before a lit candle.
Psychic Powers
- Purple, Blue, Silver, and Mahogany Obsidians activate dormant brain areas responsible for psychic abilities such as intuition, clairvoyance, and mediumship.
- While it’s not easy to activate dormant psychic abilities, try bonding with Obsidians charged with multiple elements like Fire, Natural Light, Air, or Water.
Spiritual Development
- Another little-known benefit of Obsidian is it helps you expand your spiritual consciousness and help you travel astrally.
- Program the stone for spiritual abilities by setting it in the center of a crystal grid for spiritual development.
Obsidian Side Effects
- Blind Positivity: Overusing the stone on end without pauses can lead to unrealistic behavior and expectations. In such a case, you should take a break and cleanse with a Clear Quartz stone.
- Disturbing Visions: Sleeping with high-vibration crystals under your pillow may lead to psychic visions that keep you up at night, but it will never give you nightmares.
- Horoscopic Issues: When the ruling planet in your horoscope clashes with the energies of the Obsidian, you may end up with misfortune.
Obsidian Meaning: What Does Obsidian Symbolize?
The meaning of Obsidian is “Protection.”
Often called the Divine Stone and used for strength and courage, most Obsidian varieties create an auric shield of protection around you. They’ll repel negativity and ground negative self-talk. So, it’s sometimes called a transformation stone.
In some belief systems, the Obsidian’s reflective surface is considered a divine portal, and in others, the ability to tap into divination and psychic abilities.
Did you know Pliny the Elder said Obsidian with pine resin, Lepidolite, and incense grants the gift of premonitions and intuition? In earlier times, it was also engraved with the symbols of the Sun and Moon.
The same Obsidian benefits were highlighted by Benoît de Sainte-Maure in the Romance of Troy and were believed to make you youthful and prevent nightmares.
Types of Obsidian
- Black Obsidian: This is the most common type of Obsidian in a glossy and smooth black. It helps with transformation and psychic protection.
- Apache Tears: A small and rounded variety of Obsidian, Apache Tears are also black with high gloss and shine. Use them to move on from grief, loss, and heartbreak.
- Macusanite: This is a clear and pale-yellow variety of Obsidian, often called Acid Volcanic Glass. Did you know this Obsidian variety was believed to be a Tektite? It’s great for decisiveness and vitality and is called Macusani Glass.
- Pele’s Hair: A thin, fibrous Volcanic Glass from Hawaii, lengthened and stretched by the winds. It’s a good stone for overcoming challenges.
- Marekanite: Originating from the Marekanka River in Siberia, this glassy igneous variety forms balls similar to Apache Tears. Use this crystal for mental clarity and intuition.
- Stigmite: Another porphyritic type of Black Obsidian, this variety forms elongated shapes and is often used for clearing negative energy.
- Saffordite: An opaque and porous variety of Obsidian, Saffordite resembles Lava Rocks with colors like white, black, gray, and yellow. It’s good for communication.
- Fire Obsidian: This is another black variety of Obsidian with iridescent flashes. Use it to boost creativity and passion.
- Mahogany Obsidian: One of the famous varieties of Obsidian in dark red and black patterns, this stone is named after its resemblance with mahogany trees. It’s great for protection and is often called Bergmahogany.
- Snowflake Obsidian: You’ll see spherulites in the shape of snowflakes with Quartz and Feldspar in this variety. Use this stone for psychic protection and grounding.
- Rainbow Obsidian: This multicolor Obsidian is known for removing toxins and blockages in the higher chakra. Use it for manifesting intentions.
- Gold Sheen Obsidian: If your Lava Glass shows sparkling golden inclusions on a black base color, you should use it for balancing higher and lower energies.
- Silver Sheen Obsidian: When the sparkles look silver, you have a silver sheen Obsidiānus. Use this stone for tapping into the Lunar Chakra.
- Fire Obsidian: This is a rare type of Volcanic Glass with a fire-like flash and reflectance. It’s good for purification and amplification.
- Dendritic Obsidian: In this type of Obsidiānus, you’ll notice dendritic patterns on the stone with a base color of peach, orange, yellow, brown, or tan. Use this stone for health, luck, and love.
- Strawberry Obsidian: Named after its pinkish-red color, Strawberry Obsidian is a gentle amplifying stone used in manifestation grids.
- Clear Pale Obsidian: Resembling clear Citrine stones, Clear Pale Obsidian might include colored inclusions of purple, yellow, blue, and black. They attract luck, fortune, and abundance.
- Firework Obsidian: Also called Fire Opal and Firecracker Obsidian, this is an enchanting stone with vivid orange, red, yellow, black, and gray colors. Use it for karmic healing and spiritual awakening.
- Green Obsidian: This is a harmonizing stone in pale to dark green hues, often used for balance, peace, and abundance.
- Gray-Green Obsidian: In this type of Volcanic Glass, you’ll notice inclusions of gray and dark green colors in the same stone. Use it for mental clarity and confidence.
- Tangerine Orange Obsidian: A vibrant stone with high transparency and yellow flashes, this type of Obsidian helps you tap into luck and abundance.
- Banded Obsidian: Volcanic Glass varieties with brown, yellow, red, green, blue, black, and gray bands form this variety. They’re great for positivity and courage.
- Cyclopean Obsidian: When Obsidian forms in black color with large formations, it often looks glossy black with white inclusions. Use it for power and perseverance.
- Black and Brown Obsidian: Alternating bands of black and brown hues appear in this variety, making it an excellent stone for Root and Earth Star Chakras.
- Blue Obsidian: Showing pale and dark blues, sometimes in flashes, this type raises your spiritual abilities to communicate with angels and spirits.
- Peanut Obsidian: Also called Mexican Peanut Obsidian, this variety looks like peanuts or shells of peanuts in brown and gray. They’re great for activating Kundalini Awakening.
- Purple Obsidian: From lilac to lavender hues, this enlightenment stone is good for psychic powers like intuition and clairvoyance.
- Bicolor Obsidian: Often seen in brown-black, red-black, blue-black, purple-black, and orange-black colors, this is a good stone for multi-chakra balance, luck, and manifestation.
- Aura Obsidian: Rainbow-like colors on the surface of this variety come from metallic coating added to real Obsidians. They’re great for astral travel, spiritual awakening, creativity, and motivation.
- Peacock Obsidian: Resembling the greenish-blue feathers of the peacock, this variety may also show colors such as gray, purple, gold, teal, pink, or lavender.
- Cali Glass: Also popular as California Glass, this is a Rhyolitic Obsidian that shows black, gray, or brown colors. It’s good for balance, strength, and detox.
- Maine Obsidian: Often occurring with Black Tourmaline, this Volcanic Glass variety shows colors like brown, white, black, yellow, orange, and gold. Use it for healing the body.
- Phantom Obsidian: If your Lava Glass contains phantom-like crystals or dark areas inside the original crystal, it’s a powerful scrying Obsidian.
- Copper Calcite Obsidian: This type of Volcanic Glass exists with Copper Calcite crystals inside in vibrant red, orange, brown, or yellow against the base color black. Use it for fertility and karmic healing.
- Obsidian Outcrop: Natural formations of Obsidian grow over rocks in a raw state are called this. They’re usually black, brown, maroon, or gray and great for psychic protection.
- Obsidian with Opal Triplets: These are composite stones where Obsidian is used as a backing for Opal Triplets. They’re amplifier stones used for manifesting intentions.
- Obsidian with Cristobalite: Showing white, gray, beige, or tan spots on a black base, this type of Black Lava Glass is good for angelic contact and help.
- Obsidian with Fayalite: The iron-rich Olivine shows up in white, tan, or gray patches on Black Volcanic Glass, helping with psychic development.
- Obsidian with Hematite: This is the Lava Glass variety with rust-colored bands often used by shamans and healers for auric shielding. Use it for immunity and recovery.
- Obsidian with Pyroxene: Showing up in yellow, beige, orange, white, green, and gray hues, this is a natural crystal formation for mental clarity and focus.
- Obsidian with Tridymite: When Obsidian forms with Tridymite, it shows white, orange, brown, and cream hues. This variety is common to New Zealand and excellent for higher powers, like intuition and spirit communication.
- Obsidian with Magnetite: Did you know Iridescent Magnetite is also called Fire Obsidian? This stone is a mix of shades, like white, yellow, brown, black, and peach. Use it to find willpower, confidence, and courage.
- Obsidian with Enstatite-Ferrosilite: Showing orange, blue, yellow, gold, blue, and black hues, this crystal formation naturally occurs around New Zealand. It’s excellent for willpower and kundalini awakening.
- Obsidian with Perlite: Often called Monkeyhead Obsidian, this type of stone naturally shows black stone eye-like shapes on a beige or tan-colored rock.
- Obsidian with Golden Pyrite: A banded variety of Obsidian with black, gray, brown, orange, silver, and yellow hues, this stone attracts prosperity and luck.
- Obsidian with Quartz: With a white center and black base color, this type of crystal is a purifying stone for positivity.
How To Cleanse Obsidian?
- Seed Mantra: Chant the mantra OM while holding your before your lips for a few times to eject the negativity absorbed by it.
- Earth: Bury your stone under three inches of soil overnight or for a week after intense spiritual rituals.
- Clear Quartz: Circle a Clear Quartz wand thrice over Obsidian to purify the negativity stuck onto it.
Questions and Answers
No, Obsidian is not a gemstone but a naturally occurring glass.
No, Obsidian is not rare, as it’s abundantly available on Earth. However, some varieties of Obsidian, like Firework Obsidian and Rainbow Obsidian, are rare.
Yes, most Obsidians are safe in the water, but prolonged exposure may damage their integrity.
Yes, Obsidian crystals are safe in the sun. However, prolonged exposure may cause some varieties to lose color.
Real Obsidian isn’t scratched by glass but can be scratched by Quartz. Obsidian doesn’t have a streak as it’s a type of Lava Glass, not a mineral. It can feel cold to the touch.
Onyx is harder than Obsidian and without the gloss and shine of Volcanic glass.
No, Obsidian is not a God; it’s a naturally-occurring volcanic glass.
The power of Black Obsidian is psychic protection, as it repels negativity and evil vibrations of hexes, curses, and voodoo.
Zodiac signs like Gemini, Virgo, Libra, and Taurus shouldn’t wear Obsidian because they’re the enemies of Obsidian’s ruling planet – Jupiter.
Yes, Gold Sheen Obsidian and Obsidian with Pyrite inclusions are good for attracting wealth.
Interactions with Obsidian
Obsidian vs. Onyx
You can use Black Obsidian with Black Onyx because Saturn rules both planets. Use this combination for balance, harmony, and grounding.
| Crystal | Obsidian | Onyx |
| Chakras | Root and Earth Star. | Root |
| Ruling Planet | Jupiter, Saturn, Earth, and Pluto. | Saturn |
| Ruling Element | Earth, Water, and Fire. | Earth |
| MOHS | 5 to 5.5. | 3.5 to 4. |
Obsidian vs. Sardonyx
Because Saturn rules Obsidian and Sardonyx, you can wear them together. It’s a good crystal pairing for courage and willpower.
| Crystal | Obsidian | Sardonyx |
| Chakras | Root and Earth Star. | Root and Sacral. |
| Ruling Planet | Jupiter, Saturn, Earth, and Pluto. | Saturn |
| Ruling Element | Earth, Water, and Fire. | Earth |
| MOHS | 5 to 5.5. | 6.5 to 7. |
Obsidian vs. Shungite
Saturn rules both Obsidian and Shungite and is good for manifesting intentions and attracting luck.
| Crystal | Obsidian | Shungite |
| Chakras | Root and Earth Star. | Root |
| Ruling Planet | Jupiter, Saturn, Earth, and Pluto. | Saturn |
| Ruling Element | Earth, Water, and Fire. | Fire and Air. |
| MOHS | 5 to 5.5. | 3.5 to 4. |
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