Obsidian is natural volcanic glass, usually black. It chips and can break into sharp edges, so it is worn with some care.
See it as
Natural volcanic glass
Obsidian
Obsidiana
- Palette
- Black Brown Green Gray
- Mined in
- United States, Mexico, Italy, Turkey, Japan, Iceland, Kenya
- Hardness
- Mohs 5.0–6.0 ?
- See-through
- translucent
- Known since
- Prehistoric
- Named for
- Obsidius, a Roman said in Pliny's account to have found it
- Also sold as
- volcanic glass, black obsidian, snowflake obsidian, rainbow obsidian, sheen obsidian, mahogany obsidian
- Intention
- Protection Strength
- Looking for
- Protection Grounding Clearing negativity
- Water
- Keep it dry; wipe with a soft cloth
- Dye or finish
- Obsidian is natural volcanic glass and is usually sold as it is. The sheen and rainbow looks come from the stone itself, but ask if a color is unusually bright.
In our pieces · 1See the piece ↓
3 NANOMETERS
A well-made obsidian blade can have an edge only about three nanometers thick, sharper than a steel surgical scalpel.
1,500 MILES
Obsidian from the Yellowstone region turned up at Hopewell sites in Ohio, more than 1,500 miles away.
1,300 YEARS
Newberry Volcano's Big Obsidian Flow in Oregon formed about 1,300 years ago and covers 1.09 square miles.
What it is
Obsidian is volcanic glass, shiny and usually black, with a curved glassy break. Varieties include snowflake (white spots), mahogany (brown), and sheen or rainbow obsidian with a golden or colorful gleam.
What gives it its color
Obsidian is black or brown because of tiny iron-rich crystals such as magnetite in the glass; the golden or rainbow sheen on sheen and rainbow obsidian comes from microscopic aligned bubbles or crystals that bounce light, and white snowflake patches are clusters of cristobalite crystals.
Where it comes from
Obsidian is found wherever there is volcanic glass, including Mexico, the western United States (Oregon, California, Nevada, New Mexico), Iceland, Armenia, Turkey, Japan and the Mediterranean islands of Lipari and Pantelleria.
In history
Obsidian is one of the oldest tool stones: Anatolian obsidian was reaching the Levant by about 12,500 BC, and obsidian from the Greek island of Milos supplied Greece and its neighbors. The Aztecs fitted wooden swords (macuahuitl) with obsidian blades and polished it into mirrors tied to the god Tezcatlipoca, whose name is often translated 'Smoking Mirror.'
What's said about it
In crystal lore, obsidian is the grounding and protective stone. It's said to help people feel steady and to keep unwelcome things at a distance.
In ancient Mexico it was cut into blades and polished into mirrors that priests used to look for visions.
People wear it as a bracelet, carry it in a pocket, or set it in a room.
How people wear or keep it: As a bracelet, in a pocket, in a room, or in a meditation space.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, obsidian is paired with the root and heart chakras, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: as a bracelet, in a pocket, in a room. People reach for it when they want protection, grounding, clearing negativity, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraRoot, Heart
ZodiacScorpio
Also calledvolcanic glass, black obsidian, snowflake obsidian
Care
- It is glass, so it chips and cracks on a hard knock and can break into sharp edges.
- Wipe with a soft damp cloth and dry it.
- Avoid dropping it or leaving it loose among harder stones.
- Polished beads and cabochons are safe to handle; broken rough edges are not.
How to tell what you have
- Real obsidian is black or dark with a curved, glassy break and often a faint sheen or small speckles. Bright, flawless, perfectly even pieces, or ones that look like cut glass with round bubbles, may be man-made glass; helenite is one such lookalike.
What sets the price
Price follows the type and look of the stone (plain black is common, while sheen, rainbow, snowflake and rare colors such as green, blue or transparent are scarcer), how well it is polished, and whether it is real obsidian rather than colored glass.
Questions people ask at our table
What is obsidian?
Obsidian is natural volcanic glass, formed when silica-rich lava cools too fast for crystals to grow. It is amorphous, so it breaks with smooth curved surfaces.
Is obsidian the same as onyx?
No. Onyx is banded chalcedony, a form of quartz, while obsidian is glass from a volcano. Both are dark, but obsidian is lighter in weight and softer, at 5 to 6.
Why is it sharp?
Glass breaks into extremely thin edges, which is why ancient peoples made blades of it. Polished beads are smooth, but a chipped bead can leave a sharp edge.
What are snowflake and rainbow obsidian?
Snowflake obsidian has white cristobalite spots in black glass. Rainbow and sheen obsidian show color bands or a gleam from tiny inclusions inside the glass.
Do you carry obsidian?
Our silver obsidian is the same family. Black onyx and lava stone are two other dark stones we carry that wear much like it.
Our obsidian pieces
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