Black Obsidian Crystal Point 14.1cm

Black Obsidian Crystals For Sale (Volcanic Glass)

This gorgeous Black Obsidian Point (otherwise known as a Black Obsidian Crystal Point or Volcanic Glass Point) measuring 14.1cm tall displays a glistening jet-black hue with an incredibly glossy sheen. 

This Black Obsidian Glass Crystal has been carefully cut and polished into a smooth Free-Standing Crystal Point with a stable free-standing base, multiple polished faces/sides, and a pointed tip. 

Black Obsidian (Volcanic Glass) is similar in appearance to other black crystals, black stones, and black gemstones such as Black Tourmaline, Black Moonstone, Jet, and Onyx. 

Please note: this piece displays some small natural pits on its otherwise smooth, polished surface. 

Types Of Obsidian

The most popular Obsidian variety is pure Volcanic Glass, otherwise known as Black Obsidian. 

Other types of Obsidian include: Sheen Obsidian (Silver Sheen Obsidian and Gold Sheen Obsidian), Mahogany Obsidian, Rainbow Obsidian, Snowflake Obsidian, and Fire Obsidian. 

What Is Black Obsidian Made Of?

Black Obsidian is an Extrusive Igneous Rock with a high silica content, similar to other volcanic rocks like Rhyolite, and a rock which displays a glassy lustre. 

Black Obsidian is mostly composed of silicon dioxide, and the black colour of the Obsidian Stone comes from inclusions such as iron and magnesium/magnetite. 

Black Obsidian is a Volcanic Glass: technically, it is not a mineral, as it does not form crystals, however it may be classed as a mineraloid.

Mineraloids are substances that look like minerals but do not display crystals (a key property of minerals): the unique formation process of Black Obsidian (Volcanic Glass) explains why it can be considered a mineraloid. 

How Does Black Obsidian Form? 

Obsidian Stone is formed when a volcanic eruption releases lava, and the lava cools so rapidly into solid volcanic rock that there is not enough time for crystals to grow. 

Therefore, Obsidian is not crystalline, and is not classed as a mineral; instead, the glassy rock formed from the lava is named Volcanic Glass (Obsidian Glass).

Where Does Black Obsidian Come From?

Black Obsidian can be found in many countries worldwide including the USA (for example, Oregon), Mexico, Greece, Japan, Turkey, and Kenya.  

Our Black Obsidian Crystals, including this piece, are crystals from Mexico, a country renowned for its high-quality Black Obsidian and Volcanic Glass specimens. 

Black Obsidian History

The use of Obsidian by humans, as well as by human ancestors, can be traced back to over a million years ago.

Obsidian was historically used in ancient civilisations and by pre-historic peoples to make tools such as weapons, building tools, and cutlery, dating all the way back to the earliest periods of the Stone Age. 

Black Obsidian was also a highly spiritual stone for certain ancient civilisations such as the Maya and Aztecs; Black Obsidian Stone was used to make Scrying Mirrors for use in shamanic rituals, and a Black Obsidian Mirror is even a core image in the depiction of the major Aztec God Tezcatlipoca, whose name means "Smoking Mirror" in reference to the Black Obsidian. 

Black Obsidian was used furthermore for decorative purposes (the Aztecs made a variety of Obsidian Ornaments such as Obsidian Jars, Obsidian Vases, Obsidian Cups, and decorative bowls for example), and on Easter Island, Obsidian was used to create the eyes of the Moai statues. 

Black Obsidian Name Meaning

Obsidian Stone was named "Obsidian" after the Roman Explorer Obsidius, who in Ethiopia discovered the stone; Pliny the Elder, a famous historian in Ancient Rome, detailed the discovery of Obsidian Stone (Latin: Lapis Obsidianus) in his book "Natural History", a text dated at around 77AD.

The use of Obsidian stretches much further back through history than its discovery by the Romans a few thousand years ago, however; back into the history of the earliest human civilisations and beyond into pre-history. 

Black Obsidian In The Stone Age: Pre-Historic Obsidian Use

Archaeological evidence has been discovered that shows Obsidian was used as a stone tool and material for tool-making in the Stone Age by some of the earliest modern humans, as well as hominid ancestors of modern humans.

Remains of a stone tool-making workshop (otherwise known as a knapping workshop) have been found in the Awash Valley, Ethiopia, alongside a rich treasure trove of hand-crafted Obsidian Handaxes, which geological dating shows are approximately 1.2 million years old, from the Early Stone Age/ Old Stone Age (more specifically, the oldest period of the Old Stone Age, the Lower Paleolithic Period). 

Obsidian Tools have been discovered more commonly at archaeological sites dating from the Middle Paleolithic Period onwards, otherwise known as the era of the Neanderthals living in the Near East and Europe between 300,000 to 28,000 years ago.

Black Obsidian Stone Tools And Weaponry: Obsidian Knapping

In the Stone Age and beyond, Obsidian was used to make a variety of sharp stone tools, for example Obsidian Blades and Obsidian Arrowheads, as both everyday tools for farming, building, and food preparation, as well as for weaponry. 

But why was Obsidian such a popular material used in pre-historic tool-making? 

The reason is that Obsidian, alongside other popular stones used in tool-making such as Flint and Chert, display unique properties that lend them well to stone-crafting: most prominently, stones like Obsidian display a Conchoidal Fracture when broken. 

A Conchoidal Fracture means that when Obsidian Stone is broken, it breaks into rock fragments with very sharp edges that also display a curved surface: the breakage of Obsidian into such fragments forms the basis of the stone-crafting process known as "Knapping", which was used to create lithic stone tools by pre-historic peoples. 

Via the Knapping process, otherwise known as the "Lithic Reduction" process, knappable stones such as Obsidian were shaped by a stone-crafter (sometimes called a "Flintknapper") into a knapped stone tool such as a blade. 

The Knapping Process involved hitting the Obsidian Stone with a hammerstone, causing conchoidal breaks and conchoidal fractures in the Obsidian Stone, producing Obsidian Flakes (Obsidian chips and fragments) which had sharp edges and points and a curved surface. 

These Obsidian Flakes (Lithic Flakes produced by striking the Obsidian Stone until it breaks) themselves, especially larger flakes, could be used as they were or further crafted into small Obsidian Tools such as Obsidian Arrowheads and Obsidian Knives/ Obsidian Blades. 

Alternatively, the large remnant of the original Obsidian Stone which had been hammered/struck (otherwise known as the core of the stone or "Lithic Core") could be further crafted into a stone tool/ core tool such as an Obsidian Handaxe. 

Whilst Obsidian Tools were very useful due to their sharpness, they could be difficult to craft due to the brittleness of the Obsidian Stone. 

Black Obsidian In Mesoamerica

In Mesoamerica, both in Pre-Historic times and the times of ancient Mesoamerican peoples such as the Mayans and Aztecs, Obsidian was a highly prized stone. 

In Pre-Historic Mesoamerica, archaeological evidence has been found that shows Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers living in this geographical area crafted Obsidian Blades for use in big game hunting. 

Obsidian was also used to make many other types of tools, aside from weapons, especially in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Civilisations such as the Olmec Civilisation, Maya Civilisation, and Aztec Empire (located in what is now modern-day Mexico). 

Black Obsidian In The Aztec Empire

In Ancient Mesoamerica, most famously during the Aztec Empire, the crafting material of choice to make tools such as plates, axes, and knives was sharp-edged Obsidian, rather than metals. 

Obsidian also held great spiritual importance to the Aztecs, and was believed to be a way of connecting with the Gods, especially the supreme Aztec God Tezcatlipoca. 

The Nahuatl Language (otherwise known as the "Aztec Language") named Obsidian "Itzli", and this continues to be a name used for baby boys. 

Black Obsidian In Aztec Religon: Itzli, God Of Obsidian

Itzli was also the name for an Aztec God, the God of Obsidian, who was a divine representation of Obsidian Stone, and the guardian of the spiritually revered Obsidian Blade (used by the Aztecs to craft sacrificial knives, known as cuchillas, during ritual sacrifices to the Gods). 

Itzli was not only representative of Obsidian Stone itself, but an an important Aztec God and warrior deity in his own right, owing to the material importance of the Obsidian Stone in tool and weapon crafting and the spiritual reverence Obsidian inspired in Aztec Society. 

Itzli, the Aztec God of Obsidian, was also worshipped as a symbol of the night, sacrifice, death, war, renewal, creation, and the duality of life and death. 

Black Obsidian In Aztec Religion: Obsidian Protectors And Patron Gods And Goddesses

Itzli was one of the Aztec deities appearing in complex myths associated with the supreme Aztec God Tezcatlipoca, alongside others such as Itzpapalotl ("Obsidian Butterfly"), a similar Aztec Deity associated with Obsidian, death, fire, and sacrifice, oft depicted as a goddess with wings tipped by sharp Obsidian Blades. 

It is thought that Itzli and the revered Tezcatlipoca were perhaps related via a close familial link.

These Aztec deities were protectors of Obsidian Stone, and protectors of Obsidian Stone-Cutters, as patron gods and goddesses of those who worked with the stone, such as miners, stone-crafters, and tool-makers.

Another such deity associated with Obsidian in Aztec Religion and Spirituality was Itztlacoliuhqui-Ixquimilli, whose name is commonly translated to mean "Curved Obsidian Blade", although some scholars argue this is not entirely accurate.

This Aztec deity was not so associated with the protection of Obsidian, and was more associated with the concept of coldness, frost, winter, and punishment. 

Black Obsidian Aztec Artefacts, Mosaics, And Ornaments

Obsidian Artefacts discovered at Aztec Archaeological Sites of Obsidian Mines and Obsidian Tool-Making Workshops include Obsidian Figurines crafted into representations of, or engraved with images of, protective deities associated with Obsidian such as Tezcatlipoca. 

Black Obsidian and similar black stones, referred to as "Itzli" (meaning Obsidian), "Teotetl" (meaning "Divine Stone"/ "Stone of God"), or Tezcapoctli (in reference to the God Tezcatlipoca), were used to make mosaics that decorated ornaments, masks, and other objects representing Tezcatlipoca. 

Black Obsidian was perhaps most famously crafted into highly reflective Black Obsidian Mirrors in Aztec times. 

Black Obsidian Mirrors, Magic And Spirituality: Scrying Mirrors

Black Obsidian was also used in Aztec Society to make mirrors, due to the reflective properties of the Black Obsidian Stone, and these Black Obsidian Mirrors were used by the Aztecs for important spiritual purposes. 

The Aztecs used Black Obsidian to make scrying mirrors, which were used in shamanic rituals to connect with spirits and Gods, and to induce prophetic visions. 

Aztec Black Obsidian Scrying Mirrors were seen as a way to connect with the highly important Aztec God Tezcatlipoca, whose name means "Smoking Mirror" in reference to the Obsidian Mirror often depicted as part of imagery of the deity. 

In Ancient Greece, this scrying tradition was also popular, and Black Obsidian Mirrors have been found at Ancient Greek archaeological sites. 

The famous English magician John Dee also owned one such Aztec Black Obsidian Scrying Mirror, which he used to attempt to connect with spirits and angels, much in the same manner he used his crystal balls for scrying.  

Black Obsidian Mirrors: The God Tetzcatlipoca And His Smoking Mirror

Perhaps most famously, Black Obsidian is associated with the central Aztec God Tezcatlipoca (sometimes referred to as "Black Tezcatlipoca"), whose name means "Smoking Mirror", in reference to the Black Obsidian Mirror the deity is depicted as holding.

Tezcatlipoca is oft thought to have been the supreme Aztec God, and it is believed that the Black Obsidian Mirror he is depicted as carrying (the "Smoking Mirror") represented the all-seeing, omniscient view of the world he held as omnipotent ruler. 

Similarly, Sacrificial Obsidian Knives, or Obsidian Cuchillas, were carefully adorned with engravings and images of eyes, symbolising the all-seeing eye of the Gods during ritual sacrifices and offerings to the Gods. 

It is thought that Tezcatlipoca is an Aztec representation of older Mayan Gods such as K'awiil ("God K"), a prominent Mayan God of Lightning, Kings/Rulers, and Fertility and Abundance who was depicted as having an Obsidian Knife in his forehead that emitted smoke.

Furthermore, it is also thought that Tezcatlipoca was inspired by another Mayan God, known as "Tohil", whose name is translated by some historians to mean "Obsidian", and who was a fire deity associated with war, sacrifice, the sun, and sustenance: thus, a representation of the duality of life and death.

Black Obsidian Crystal Meaning & Spiritual Meaning

Black Obsidian Stone has rich symbolism and spiritual crystal meaning as a crystal that represents a great many aspects of life and death. 

Black Obsidian Crystals represent the duality of light and darkness; like the stars in the night sky they are said to embody, they illuminate the shadows of the cosmos with celestial fire, thus symbolising the chaotic, primal energy of the synergy between creation and destruction and the cycle of life, death, renewal, and rebirth. 

Black Obsidian Stones represent spiritual and supernatural concepts such as sorcery, mystery, illusion, magic, prophecy, destiny, fate, and psychic vision; Black Obsidian symbolises the ability to see into the shadows, break through illusions, and see the world with wisdom and clear vision, for example through clairvoyance.  

Black Obsidian is a Stone of Warriors, representing the will-power, fight, persistence, stamina, and sacrifice.  

Black Obsidian Crystal Healing Properties

Black Obsidian is a very spiritually powerful stone and an especially powerful protection stone.

Black Obsidian exudes strong fire energy and earth energy: forged in the fires of volcanic lava, this stone is one of power, vitality, and strength. 

Black Obsidian Chakras

Black Obsidian is said by crystal healers to resonate strongly with the Root Chakra (Base Chakra) and Third Eye Chakra, forming a bridge between the lower chakras and the higher chakras. 

Black Obsidian: Root Chakra Stone

Black Obsidian is believed to be a potent Root Chakra Crystal, and is thus a very grounding and protective stone which absorbs and repels negative energy.

Black Obsidian is perfect to use when one needs to feel cleansed and grounded. 

Black Obsidian: Third Eye Chakra Stone

Black Obsidian can also be used with the higher chakras, particularly with the Third Eye Chakra: this deeply spiritual stone is great for spiritual work such as connecting with the psychic world, accessing visions, and aiding meditation to experience clarity of mind and spirit. 

How Hard Is Black Obsidian?

Black Obsidian measures 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness, which means that it is a somewhat soft mineral which is susceptible to scratching, although it is a harder mineral than Calcite and Fluorite. 

Black Obsidian Crystal Care

Great care should be taken not to damage the Black Obsidian Glass surface by handling the stone gently and keeping it away from other stones. 

As Black Obsidian is a glass, broken Obsidian pieces can have very sharp edges, and so care must be taken when handling broken Obsidian Glass to avoid injury. 

To clean your Black Obsidian Crystal, simply use water and dry it afterwards with a soft cloth. 

Black Obsidian is generally a water-safe crystal, especially for short periods of submersion/water exposure, but It is best to avoid submerging Obsidian in water for prolonged periods of time due to risk of damaging the Black Obsidian Stone. 

Salt water is more abrasive than normal water, and therefore there is a higher risk of damaging your Black Obsidian Crystal if you use salt water to cleanse it. 

Black Obsidian Crystal Collections

This gorgeous Black Obsidian Glass Crystal Point is ideal for the crystal collector or crystal healer, and makes a great crystal gift for loved ones. 

Crystal Points are wonderful as Crystal Display Pieces and make for unique home decor/ furnishings. 

A piece of Black Obsidian (Volcanic Glass) would make a wonderful addition to any crystal collection, especially alongside other black crystals and black gemstones like Black Tourmaline, Black Moonstone, and Black Septarian. 

Buy Black Obsidian Crystals Online at Madagascan Direct.

Product Reference Number: 17071