Crystal Ball with split

[tarotbear]

Could not come up with a better title - NO - my crystal ball did NOT split in half!

I bought this ball many years ago at some kind of non-themed show at an arena in Miami. The ball is @ 2 1/2 inches across. As you can see - it looks like the ball was cut where two crystals grew together- dividing the ball almost in half! There are clouds and occlusions galore in this ball - but I thought it was intriguing enough to pay the $40 they wanted for it at the time and take it home.

[shelikes2read]

Originally Posted by tarotbear

Could not come up with a better title - NO - my crystal ball did NOT split in half!

I bought this ball many years ago at some kind of non-themed show at an arena in Miami. The ball is @ 2 1/2 inches across. As you can see - it looks like the ball was cut where two crystals grew together- dividing the ball almost in half! There are clouds and occlusions galore in this ball - but I thought it was intriguing enough to pay the $40 they wanted for it at the time and take it home.

Oh, I SO love spheres! And this is a very pretty one.

Sometimes the internal fractures that appear in a stone occur due to uneven heating, like when they are taking a stone out of the cold ground, and it hits the warm surface air for the first time. I was reading a while back about a miner who was terribly upset when his pristine long quartz crystal developed a fracture as he watched, even though he'd tried to shield it from warming too quickly. Evidently, a stone the size of the one he had would have been more valuable had it been inclusion-free.

We, of course, know that inclusions do not make or break whether or not a stone speaks to us. Sometimes, the inclusions are what catch our eye in the first place, because sometimes they really draw us into the stone that much more.

Very nice. I love quartz, and I love spheres, and this sphere is very eye-catching.

[wildchilde]

wow, that is quite an interesting sphere! I do not blame you for wanting to give it a good home!

[janie144]

I have started collecting quite a few crystals lately, I don't have a crystal ball ...YET This one is really cool tarotbear.

[tarotbear]

A cracked Crystal Ball??????

Not really.

This 6-inch sphere was cast in 1973 out of something called (I believe) 'KleerKast' or something like that. It is a liquid that you mixed with another chemical catalyst that started the reaction to harden and cure it; you poured it over something (like a coffee table) or you poured it into something and let it harden. This was cast in a thin glass ball mold with a neck. When the resin had cured, you smashed the glass and retrieved the object. For some reason - high humidity, or whatever - it developed this spiral fissure but cured solid. It was made for a Gypsy Fortune Teller in the musical 'Carnival' and the reference to her was 'Don't believe a thing she tells you; her crystal ball is cracked' - and it was cracked!

I kept it after the performances ended. I've used it as a prop for my Tarot booth, but I have never tried to really scry with it.

ETA - the base is also KleerKast - it could be colored with additives.

[celticnoodle]

oh wow, TB! its BEAUTIFUL!!!! Even with the crack in it. adds to its appeal, I think. Even looking at the pictures, I'm seeing lots of things in it. I may go grab one of my crystal balls to play with now.

I saw a woman with her arms outstretched in front of her in one picture, and a bird taking off in flight in another. I saw a woman again getting out of a bed, or a chair in one picture too and then finally an owl landing! WOW! I really like that ball! just making note of what I 'saw' from the pictures of this ball in case it comes to make sense to me later on. that would really cool, eh?

thanks for sharing the pictures. also the story that goes with it is rather interesting too.