Obsidian, the Darth Vader of stones

Obsidian meaning and what makes it special?

Unlike most popular stones, the mysterious obsidian is a rock, not a mineral, and its name commemorates an antique marketing campaign. The deep black, secretive stone takes many forms: spotted, golden, glittering. Yet it is mostly the glassy, dark obsidian which became an inspiration for Apache legends as well as sci-fi and fantasy worlds.

Obsidian greeting: welcome to the dark side!

Obsidian is an odd one among the stones that adorn our jewelry in the webshop, since – unlike the vast majority – it is not a mineral, but a rock. Thus the conditions of its formation are also different.

It does not take shape deep in the earth but is formed as a consequence of volcanic activity when hot lava bursts to the surface rapidly cools. This is why it is also called volcanic glass. The English term of obsidian is borrowed from the Latin lapis obsidianus, but the name giver is actually a guy from ancient Rome, called Obsius. Obsius allegedly was the first to bring the black stone from Ethiopia to Rome, and we suspect he launched a pretty successful marketing campaign as it still bears his name today.

Contradictory to the obvious logical link, the names origin has nothing to do with the word obscure, meaning vague, dark, suspicious, or doubtful. The Romans referred to the stone with noble simplicity after its finder and called it Obsius stone, i.e. Obsidianus lapis. Even if based solely on how they sound, obscure and obsidian could very well be relatives. The stone uses another nomenclature as well: liparit. A name it received after one of its sources near Sicily, the Lipari Islands, better known as Aeolian Islands.

Oh, obsidian, where art thou, obsidian?

An obsidian rock has no exact chemical composition, as its structure is amorphous and does not assemble into regular crystals. In fact, it can do very well without any order, thank you very much! As already mentioned, its formation is related to lava outflows, a characteristic typical to the junction of tectonic plates. So that is where we must look for it. Apart from Italy, it has been found in Greece and Turkey, as well as in the Caucasus. Outside Europe, the most significant source is the Andes in South America, but we can proudly say that the stone has already been found in Hungary, the home of Merch Hunter as well.

A different obsidian definition for each pebble

If asked to describe it, many of us would probably unanimously declare that it is a dark or black stone. Some of you might even say: a rock with obsidian color. Yet there are many varieties. The most common versions are:

• Black obsidian:

The most common variety, it contains a lot of impurities. It may also contain inclusions, i.e. small volcanic gas bubbles, which are permanently trapped in the rock as a result of the rapid cooling.

• Snowflake obsidian:

A version of the black obsidian boasting small white spots with snowflake-like patterns.

• Mahogany obsidian:

In this case, black obsidian is dotted with brownish and reddish spots created by iron oxide.

• Gold or silver obsidian:

Countless tiny gas bubbles were trapped within while such rocks formed and cooled, conjuring a silky luster on the surface of the stone.

• Rainbow obsidian:

Tiny bubbles are trapped within the stone in this case as well, yet with the rainbow obsidian, these are actually tiny water bubbles. As light is reflected on this unique surface, streaks and spots in all colors of the rainbow appear on the stone.

• Smoke obsidian:

With greyish black color, it seldom contains impurities, and is typically formed from acidic lava. It seems opaque, but when held towards the light, might even look transparent. Commonly called apache tears, these stones are only found in a certain place of North America. A spot that is also memorialized by a Native American legend. According to the tale, this was where Native American women would mourn their husbands and relatives who died in battle. The small pebbles are the hardened tears of their grief and pain. It is believed that whoever wears apache tears, will never cry. Native American women had already cried all the tears there is.

What is obsidian good for: a triumphal procession from knives… to knives

The dark stone has been used in many ways over the millennia: from history lessons you might recall that it was already known in the Stone Age, as a material for knives and arrowheads. In South America, the Aztecs and Mayans believed it held magical attributes. So it was worn as a talisman, and used to create sacrificial daggers, statues, and mirrors in their various religious rites. The stone may have had a similar spiritual meaning in Egypt, where masks made of obsidian stone were found, presumably also serving religious purposes.

Of course, we cannot deny that the jewelry industry also discovered it thousands of years ago, and some accessories of the Merch Hunter shop were also inspired by its enigmatic appearance.

One of its special applications today is within the field of cardiac surgery. Since this rock is five times sharper than steel, it is an excellent raw material for surgical instruments, scalpels and knives. It allows for a much more precise cut, making the wounds heal cleaner and faster.

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How strong is obsidian?

Is it a strong material? Well, yes, but actually no. It has a hardness of roughly 5.5 on the mineral hardness scale. Putting that in perspective, most steel range at about 4-4.5, with hardened steel sometimes reaching up to 7.0. But even if it sometimes technically is stronger, it will never cut through steel. It’s simply too brittle. Obsidian is after all a sort of glass and lacks toughness.

But this actually lends it a unique quality. When the stone shatters, the broken edge is extremely sharp. This is due to its chemical composition – or rather the lack thereof. It has no orderly structural lines similar to a crystal, so when struck, the shockwave will freely radiate outwards. The result is an edge so fine, it rivals diamonds. Aside from its handy application in surgery, this is also a reason to be careful with broken obsidian. So is obsidian dangerous? Not more than a piece of broken glass, but it is best to handle it cautiously, if it were to break.

Obsidian, the go-to stone of fantasy and sci-fi

The enigmatic stone has become quite trendy today thanks to fantasy literature. J.L. Armentrout, for example became first known with his successful young adult novel called Obsidian. He chose mineral names for the sequels to the Luxen book series as well: Onyx and Opal. Without giving away any spoilers to those of you who haven’t read it yet, in this story, obsidian is a special weapon against deceitful enemies.

However, one of the biggest promoters of obsidian is undeniably none other than George R.R. Martin himself. The writer gave the black stone an important role in the Game of Thrones series, in which obsidian – also called dragon glass – is the only material capable of destroying White Walkers.

“Forged in the fires of the gods, far below the earth. The children of the forest hunted with that, thousands of years ago. The children worked no metal. In place of mail, they wore long shirts of woven leaves and bound their legs in bark, so they seemed to melt into the wood. In place of swords, they carried blades of obsidian.”

In addition to his most famous novel series, Martin also makes it appear in his short story, Nightflyers, nominated for prestigious sci-fi awards, and basis for a questionably successful series created by the Syfy Channel.

Perhaps the most famous mention of this stone in science fiction is made in Kubrick’s film, a space Odyssey, based on Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Duel. Here the mysterious huge stones, the monoliths, are completely black, non-reflective, columnar-shaped obsidians.

But it has made its way into countless worlds and games too. You can find obsidian minecraft blocks in the popular sandbox video game as well, while in Star Trek Deep Space 9, the Obsidian Order is an influential organization that grew out of Cardassias’ secret intelligence

What does obsidian symbolize?

Naturally, it is a source of inspiration, and as such, appears in countless stories. At least as a flicker in the brilliantly sparkling dark eyes of a main character from a novel, if nothing else. You can find it in many imaginary worlds thanks to the dark and mystical images it conjures as it continues to spark mystery and captivate the mind of each generation.