Obsidian: meaning, properties and lore

The mineral

Obsidian is a natural volcanic glass formed when silica-rich lava cools so rapidly that crystals have little or no time to develop. New World Encyclopedia describes it as an igneous rock with a glassy form produced during the rapid cooling of volcanic lava. Daily Art Magazine adds that it contains minimal crystals, and the glass forms where cooling is so quick that crystal growth is cut short.¹²⁴

Opinions differ on how the stone should be classed. Obsidian is sometimes classified as a mineraloid because it is not crystalline, while it is also considered a rock because it is formed by volcanism. The material is amorphous and usually occurs as rounded masses ejected in eruptions, small broken pieces, hairlike filaments and flows. It forms when felsic lava freezes before crystals can grow.²⁵⁶

Obsidian consists mainly of silicon dioxide, usually 70 percent or more, and its typical hardness is 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale, with a relative density of approximately 2.6. The glassy, amorphous nature makes the stone hard and brittle. It breaks with a characteristic conchoidal fracture, and that fracture is highly conchoidal.²¹

Obsidian typically appears black or brown and is generally translucent in smaller pieces. Iron and magnesium typically give it a dark green, brown or black colour, and it is most often deep black with natural variations in colour. Impurities such as magnetite, an iron oxide, or manganese give the natural bodycolour, and iron-rich inclusions can produce red, brown or mahogany hues.³²⁴

Obsidian is widespread across the world, with most of it coming from the Western United States. The Arteni Mountain in Armenia's Aragatsotn region is one of the most significant occurrences in the Caucasus Mountains. The stone is found in areas of present and former volcanic activity, at the margins of lava flows and where lava entered a lake or sea, including large quantities between Mammoth Hot Springs and the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.³¹⁵²

Obsidian is the most common form of natural glass and occurs in many attractive varieties. Over time it becomes fine-grained mineral crystals, a breakdown that is accelerated by water.²⁵¹

History and lore

Obsidian has been used as an ideal material for manufacturing cutting tools since the Neolithic era, roughly 7000 to 1700 BCE. It fractures into extraordinarily sharp edges, which made it ideal for knives, spear points and scrapers. It was valued in certain Stone Age cultures because, like flint, it could be fractured into sharp blades or arrowheads.¹⁴²

Pre-Columbian Mesoamericans used obsidian extensively for tools, decorative objects and the macuahuitl sword with obsidian blades. Archaeological pamphlets record that the Aztecs broke off flakes of obsidian for arrows and knives by pressure instead of blows. The same pamphlets state that the arrow-heads found at nearly every ruin were principally made from the more beautiful varieties of obsidian, jasper and agate. Sir Edward Belcher described how Esquimaux pressed gently along the margin of a splinter to make arrow-heads.²⁶

Pliny the Elder described the distinctive appearance of obsidian and its use in luxury craftsmanship, according to Daily Art Magazine. The same magazine reports that obsidian was a symbol of wealth, prestige and skilled craftsmanship in ancient Egypt and the Near East. Egyptian artisans used it for the pupils of inlaid eyes on coffins and funerary masks, a tradition that continued into the Roman period. Throughout the Renaissance and later centuries, artisans carved it into cameos, seals, small sculptures and decorative objects.⁴

In later Aztec tradition, obsidian was especially associated with the deity Tezcatlipoca, whose name translates to Smoking Mirror, according to Daily Art Magazine. The same magazine says obsidian was one of the earliest widely traded commodities, connecting communities across remarkable distances. Recent geochemical studies suggest that many Egyptian obsidian artifacts originated in present-day Ethiopia, while others came from Anatolia.⁴

Obsidian was used in the construction of the Moai statues on Easter Island. Its geological origin can be identified by chemical analysis, a method archaeologists use to trace ancient trade networks.²⁴

Tom Dodge has come to be associated with fire obsidian, and since 2014 he has championed its vibrant beauty, according to the Gemological Institute of America.³⁷

Birthstone and other links

Obsidian is a popular ornamental gem due to its workability and the occurrence of attractive varieties, according to the Gemological Institute of America. Its appeal as a gem rests on how easily it can be worked and on its range of attractive forms.¹

Apache tears are small rounded obsidian nuggets embedded within a grayish-white perlite matrix, according to New World Encyclopedia. The Apache's Tear form is a small tumbled piece, described as a volcanic glass by The Healing Crystals First Aid Book.²⁸

What crystal practitioners say

In many traditions, they say the stone is linked to these qualities of clear thinking and honesty.⁹

Crystal healers describe obsidian as a protective stone that absorbs or deflects negative influences. Believers hold that it absorbs and transmutes negative energies, shielding the wearer from psychic attacks. Such views place the stone at the centre of protective practice among crystal practitioners.⁹¹⁰

Lithotherapy sources describe obsidian as supporting emotional purification and the release of buried emotions and past traumas. The view is held by crystal practitioners who use the stone for inner clearing.⁹

Aztec belief held that natural obsidian glass could communicate with the spiritual world and access hidden knowledge, a belief that crystal practitioners cite in their own accounts of meditation with the stone.¹⁰

According to The Healing Crystals First Aid Book, obsidian is said to help with chronically cold hands and feet and with hardening of the arteries in the legs caused by smoking. The same book says it heats chronically cold feet very quickly when a small tumbled crystal is placed in the sock or a cabochon in the shoe. It is also said to help stop minor bleeding from cuts and scratches, and to relieve the state of shock in the cells after an abrasion, cut or operation. The book advises that gem essence should not be taken internally when only cold feet are the problem, because obsidian is said to have a far-reaching effect on other parts of the body.⁸

What testing has found

A 1993 study in rats compared wound healing with obsidian and with surgical steel scalpels. Obsidian blades are said to have cutting edges up to five times sharper than steel scalpels.²

Edzard Ernst, in his analysis of 150 complementary and alternative treatments, concluded that rigorous trials of crystal healing's therapeutic value do not exist. Ernst also observed that the 2001 study by Christopher French did not test that value, and he stated that no scientific proof exists of any positive effect beyond placebo.¹¹

Participants were challenged to tell real crystals from fake ones after holding them and meditating, and six people felt nothing while the rest reported energy such as tingling or improved wellbeing. Participants could not tell the difference between real and fake crystals, which indicated only a placebo effect.¹¹¹²¹³

Scientists concluded from the 2001 crystal study that the crystals were not what helped people, but the power of suggestion, according to Euronews. The results have not been replicated in larger studies, so generalising from them is hard. Some researchers say crystals likely do not directly act on physical and psychological woes but may have indirect benefits explained by the placebo effect, and Ted Kaptchuk, a Harvard Medical School professor, argues that placebo outcomes should not be discarded from knowledge of health care.¹²

Jarry argues that the reputation of complementary and alternative treatments benefits from non-specific placebo effects, which create the illusion that crystals work. Ernst's authors say pleasant feelings from crystal healing can be attributed to the strong placebo effect and to believers' cognitive bias.¹¹