Obsidian
Also Volcanic glass, Obsian stone
Glassy jet black with a bright wet lustre; also brown, or grey-flecked as snowflake obsidian, or with a gold or rainbow sheen when turned to the light
- Crystal system
- Amorphous
- Hardness
- 5-5.5 Mohs
- Handling
- Volcanic glass, not a mineral, and it breaks to an edge sharp enough to cut you. Check a piece for chips before pocketing it and keep flaked pieces away from children. Water does it no harm, but never put a chipped stone in a drink, because glass sheds slivers.
- In water
- Safe
What it is held to be for
Pliny records obsidian as named for Obsius, who found it in Ethiopia, and notes that it was cut into mirrors giving back the shadow of a face rather than a likeness. Later scryers used the same black glass, John Dee's speculum among them. The tradition holds it to show what is there rather than what is wanted. It is given to anyone asking to see plainly.
Pliny XXXVI, on obsian stone; John Dee's black mirror
Correspondences
These are the tradition's ascriptions, not properties of the mineral.
- Planet
- Saturn, Mars
- Element
- Earth
- Signs
- Scorpio, Capricorn
- Chinese phase
- Water
- Year animal
- Rat, Pig
- Centre
- Root Muladhara
- Sephirah
- Binah
How it is used
Kept at the edge of a room rather than on the body: a doorway, a windowsill, a desk facing the door. A small polished piece can be carried, though check it for chips first.
Today
Set it somewhere you will pass. Each time you pass it today, say one true sentence about the thing you are avoiding. Keep the sentences short.
A longer working
After dark, put the stone on a dark cloth with a single lamp behind you, so its surface holds no reflection you can read. Sit with it for ten minutes. Do not stare into it; let your eyes rest. Afterwards write down the first thing you thought that you had not intended to think. Wrap the stone back in the cloth and put it away. Read the note again a week later.
Works with
- Herb
- Mugwort
- Incense
- Myrrh