Snowflake obsidian

I don't know alot about crystals but I was speaking to someone last night, not on here, and when I told him I had a snowflake obsidian he recommended that I throw it away.

I know there are old-wives tales about tarot, we've all heard them but I didn't realise it happened with crystals too. This person had apparently been using crystals for years and seemed quite knowledgeable but definitely had some issues with the Snowflake Obsidian , I hope I'm spelling this right. But he wouldn't tell me why this crystal is, in his words, dangerous.

I've done a search on here and I can't find out why either. So does anyone know more about this crystal that is still sitting and will continue to sit with my other crystals. lol

Emily -

The Snowflake Obsidian is one of the four (and for me, the most important) crystals I have had with me for every professional reading I have ever done. When readings start going bad, it is the one which grounds me the quickest.

Here is an excerpt from the descriptive card the shop gave me when I purchased it:

"Snowflake Obsidian will help keep away negativity and is an extremely protective stone, particularly for sensititive people ...... it can also strengthen prophecy ..... it has been used by American Indian tribes because it is believed to sharpen inner and outer vision".

Perhaps the reason your friend is afraid of it is the same reason I embrace it - it appears to be a strong stone.

Dan

Just because your friend is afraid of Snowflake Obsidian doesn't mean you have to be . Here is some info to help.

Obsidian is actually not a crystal. It is a volcanic glass which is amorphous (no crystal formation). Obsidian is formed from volcanic lava that is rich in silicic acid, the lava cools and hardens so quickly that crystalline structures don't have time to from. The "snowflakes" in snowflake obsidian are small inclusions of grey feldspar which form in pieces of obsidian that do begin to crystallize. If the crystallization process continues the obsidian will completely transform into feldspar.

From Michael Gienger's book Crystal Power Crystal Healing:

"Emotionally: Obsidian dissolves shocks, fear, blocks and traumatization. It has an enlivening effect and brings hidden inner images to light. Obisidian bestows an unimagined depth on our emotional nature and helps with any type of obsession. It purifies the atmosphere of negative, spiritual influences and serves as a protection against of psychic attacks."

There is much more about obsidian in this book but I don't have time to type it all!

Ruby7

Oh dear, this reminds me of folks who say their tarot deck is evil or a deck they bought used has negative emanations etc.

It's in someone's mind, like fear of chickens! My mother used to shake if someone held a fuzzy toy Easter chick up to her face--because she was chased by a chicken on a farm when she was young. Her whole body shook if you showed her one of those fuzzy chicks.

Fear is a terrible thing when not mastered.

I bought some lovely beads of Snowflake Obsidian to use in a necklace, they are extremely pretty and one of the most eye-catching gemstones I've ever seen.

Yummy!!! I hope you have a big piece of it. Buy it some friends!!

Another Idea About This

I have always loved the word "obsidian" and years ago when I first got interested in fonts and typography, I used to use as my signature: "Archivist : Obsidian Font Society"

The OFS of course is in my mind, but I am the pondering archivist, sorting through my bits of paper and my six binders filled with print-outs of fonts; classifying, ordering, continually sorting and browsing and searching. SO, pair this with the word "snowflake" and you're talking heights of ecstasy, and semantic revelations of enormous import. Right? Yeah.

What if you wrote something about Snowflake Obsidian? Words and feelings--draw a tarot card to go with it and sit them together on a table and look at them. Look deeply and remember how you feel, what sparks of words come to mind? Write about them, tell the story about Snowflake Obsidian.

You said in your post: "But he wouldn't tell me why this crystal is, in his words, dangerous." I am going to use the Light and Shadow tarot for this, since it is black and white, and I think your friend, although probably a nice chap and all, is thinking in black and white: things are bad or good, but never the balance of reality.

And I pick the Princess of Cups:

In the dangerous obsidian sea world, a dolphin plays with the Princess of Cups. She sees with pearl diver eyes, Japanese ladies in bright kimonos against spring snow remnants; their eyes dappled like snowflake obsidian with thoughts of spring blossoms, realized. Snowflake that did not crystallize, there is no danger except in your truth, surfacing. The seabird sacred lotus lifts me high on depths of obsidian seas, circling energy in the limitless wide world. I rise toward light and stream drops of melted sea rain on my skin, breathing vitality in like snowflakes settling on my speechless tongue.


Well there's a different angle, huh?? ;-0)))

Thanks for the replies and really your responses summed up what I've found about the snowflake obsidian. A protection stone, used for grounding, and the emotions. It seems to be a very good crystal.

I'm sitting here with my piece looking at it and, no, its not gone for my throat yet It is quite pretty.

I didn't put in my original post but he suggested that as I wouldn't throw it away, I should keep it in salt water. Strange huh?

Really it sums up the rule:- Don't talk to strange people in chat rooms

Hi Emily

This is from Scott Cunningham's - Crystals Gems and Metals Magic:

Obsidian is a greounding, centering stone. It is effective when carried or used in potective rituals.

It seems it was also used by a Dr Dee, a magician-alchemist hired by Queen Elizabeth I, because he used it as a mirror for scrying. It is considered a protective, grounding, divination and peaceful stone.

From the Crystal Bible:

Placed on the sacral chakra, it calms and soothes, puting you in the right frame of mind to be receptive before bringing to your attention ingrained patterns of behaviour. It teaches you to value mistakes as well as successes. It is a stone of purity, providing balance for body, mind and spirit. It also helps you to recognise and release wrong thinking........

I have read all three of my books and two ebooks that I follow regularly and I cannot find anything negative about this stone.

Like Darwinia says, some people feel this way about tarot. I was once told something very similar about the Thoth deck and although I had a few strange things happening in my life at the time, I now know that it was nothing to do with the deck. As you know I have recently re-purchesed it and there is absolutely nothing evil with the deck. Unfortunately at the time I listened to someone who I thought knew better than me!

salt water would eventually destroy the stone. Brief intervals act, in my mind, as a recharging clensing process. I have some snowflake obsidian, i like it. Its present seems to discharge negativity instantly, it doesn't allow others to be overly influential, and it acts as a grounding agent.

I can see snowflake obsidion being used in negative actions with dangerous results, but if you have a stone of your own, the energies should cancel themselves out. I would imagine that snowflake obsidion would ward away bad dreams.

Obsidian in general is a really powerful stone for bringing negativity to the surface -- but it does not dissolve it or absorb it or deflect it. It just digs it up and sticks it in your face like a giant slimy bug -- here you go, YOU deal with it.

Not the easiest situation to work with, especially if you weren't sure what you were getting into in the first place. It's possible that your obsidian-avoiding aquaintance could have had an experience like this.

It's useful, though, when you know you want to begin the process of getting rid of the negativity. You have prepared for the sight of the bug, and know you want to squish it flat when it's handed to you. But you can't squish a bug when it's still underground.

Snowflake obsidian is actually one of the gentlest of the opaque obsidians. It brings up negativity, but with more tact than a pure black obsidian. Mahogany obsidian is gentle, also, and is good when you feel stuck in a rut and need new direction. Apache tear is transparent obsidian. It resembles smoky quartz, only usually darker. It has similar properties to smoky quartz, too: it can ease depression and bring optimism.

Don't scry with a pure black obsidian sphere unless you really want to see what it will show you. There is a time for doing so, but make sure you are prepared.

You may want to work with a white or clear stone also as you work with obsidian to balance out the dark shadow-type energy you will encounter. Snowflake obsidian has both black and white, so it is naturally inclined to be more balanced in energy. Have a rose quartz nearby in case the intensity gets too scary.

Anyhow, start to work with the stone yourself and see what it has to teach you. Approach it -- as well as any stone -- with respect and it will be a fine companion.

Kyrielle

He did mention rose quartz, as a gentle stone, protection, grounding etc. But I think maybe he did have a bad experience with snowflake obsidian or he wouldn't have been so adamant about me throwing it away.

He did tell me a new way of grounding with the rose quartz that i tried and did make me feel different. It's not often I work with crystals other than rock crystal but it was interesting to chat to him but I think maybe his experience was way over my head. lol