Just Witchy's Blog — Calming

He can smell a fire, before it starts to burn... Nosey disembodied voice: What are you singing?" The Smokey Bear song. Disembodied voice: Why? Because this month's featured gemstone is Smokey Quartz! One of the hottest and most dangerous gemstones on the planet! I need to warn everyone before the fire gets out of hand. Disembodied voice: Ummm, I don't think you have to worry about fire. Well you know the saying--Where there's smoke, there's fire. Disembodied voice: The gemstone is Smoky Quartz, not Smokey, and it gets its distinct color from natural radiation interacting with aluminum impurities, not from fire. Oh....

Why are there are so many songs about rainbows? Maybe because they can be found everywhere--even in stones! I present you with Rainbow Moonstone--the shinyite of the month!    Described as having a "light that flows" or "moonlight on water," Rainbow Moonstone is actually a very flashy form of white labradorite, and not technically a moonstone--making it more of a cousin rather than a sibling to moonstones. The labradorescence--the blues, greens, and oranges that give it its rainbow appearance come from light diffracting and scattering microscopic layers of albite and orthoclase. Significant deposits are located in Australia, Tanzania, Canada, and Brazil, but...

Today's featured stone is Adventureine--The Stone of Opportunity--prized for attracting luck, prosperity, and emotional healing and hearth health... Aventurine Ring Disembodied voice: You mean Aventurine. Yeah, that's what I said.  Disembodied voice: No, it's not. You said Adventureine. (EYEROLL) Okay, I meant aventurine. I'm pretty sure everyone knew what green gemstone I was talking about... Disembodied voice: Sometimes it's not green. Umm...what? Disembodied voice: Aventurine is a translucent quartz. The name comes from the Italian a ventura, which means by chance, referring to the 17th century Murano glassmakers who accidentally dropped metal shavings into molten glass--creating sparkling aventurine glass. Peach Aventurine Bracelets...

   What beautiful pink stone occurs in a metamorphic depots world wide and is known for its unique color and spiritual benefits? Why Rhodonite!    This rose-red manganese silicate mineral, whose name in Greek means "rose", is well known for its heart-healing properties that promote forgiveness, and self-love. Despite needing careful handling due to being prone to cleavage upon impact, it has a Mohs hardness of 5.5-6.5 and is used in jewelry as well as crystal healing. Wearing it can serve as a daily reminder for kindness and to help release the self-destructive patterns of resentment and having it around...

   What do underwater blast sensors, piezoelectric pressure transducers, high frequency circuits, and and water purification systems have to do with today's blog? Well, they contain a really cool gemstone I get a charge out of... TOURMALINE!    This gemstone literally generates an electrical charge when placed under mechanical stress and is used in pressure gauges to detect shockwaves, explosions and underwater blasts! Its unique optical properties have been historically used in polarizing apparatuses and it also has the ability to help adjust the pH and improve water quality. Pretty neat, but also really pretty attractive!    Tourmaline is available...