Just Witchy's Blog — emotional stability

"I like to be, under the sea in an octopus's garden..."* ♫ Because that's where you'll find coral in its natural element.    While shouting and swimming about the coral beneath the waves (as mentioned in the song) sounds like fun, for most it's not a very practical way to spend time with coral. Nor is it necessarily possible as coral is underwater and without diving tanks, humans cannot breathe under water—let alone shout.     However, this blog post isn't about the physical realities of breathing underwater or the logistics in making that happen. It's about the gemstone of...

   Welcome to the first Gemstone Interview for The Beginner's Guide to Getting Stone...Um, I mean Stones, brought to you by the Shinyite School of Stones. Today we'll be interviewing a very beautiful gemstone from the Windalia Radiolalite near Graystone Junction in western Australia--Mookaite, also known as Australian Jasper. Mookaite: Oh, please, just call me Mooka    Certainly. Does that name hold any special meaning for you? Mookaite: It does, it means Running Water in the local Aboriginal dialect.    Well that makes sense as you are only found exclusively in the Kennedy Ranges and the Mooka creek region. Is...

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....

   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...