Moss Agate

Moss Agate (also called mocha stone) is a semi-precious gemstone formed from silicon dioxide. This mineral is commonly found in limestone and granite. It is a form of agate, which includes minerals of a green color embedded in the chalcedony, forming filaments and other patterns suggestive of moss. It also sometimes resembles blue cheese. The field is a clear or milky-white quartz, and the included minerals are mainly oxides of manganese or iron. Moss Agate is of the white variety with green inclusions that resemble moss. It occurs in many locations. The colors are formed due to trace amounts of metal present as an impurity, such as chrome or iron. The metals can make different colors depending on their valence.

Despite its name, Moss Agate does not contain organic matter and is usually formed from weathered volcanic rocks.

Montana Moss Agate is an Agate found in the alluvial gravels of the Yellowstone River and its tributaries between Sidney and Billings, Montana. The Agate originally was formed in the Yellowstone National Park area of Wyoming as a result of volcanic activity. In Montana moss agate the red color is the result of iron oxide and the black color is the result of manganese oxide.

Moss Agate is one of the most powerful stones belonging to the Agate family. This stone is said to be the stone of new beginnings and seems to have got its name from the green patches of color, which resemble moss growing on a rock.

This stone has a Hardness rating of 6.5 to 7.

This gemstone is found in green, blue, red, yellow or brown colors. Moss Agate is also referred to as ‘mocha stone’.

This stone is associated with the Zodiac signs of Virgo and Aquarius. This is also the wedding anniversary gem associated with the 14^th year of Marriage. This is a positive energy stone and enhances concentration, persistence, communication, endurance, optimism, self-esteem; self-confidence, etc.

 

Moss Agate is associated with the heart chakra and helps in balancing emotional energy and enables the user to let go of anger and bitterness. It also enables to release fear and stress.

When used in jewelry the Moss Agate is believed to bring the wearer health, friends and riches. The pendants and rings made with this stone are extremely popular in jewelry. Moss Agates are used to treat depression, speed up recovery, counteract long-term illnesses and cleanse the circulatory and elimination systems.

Moss Agate is an earth stone and strongly connected to nature. Wearing or carrying this stone while traveling or walking around helps to open your eyes to the beauty around you. This is a very good stone for gardeners and agriculturists.

Moss Agate strengthens in times of stress.  It is helpful in relieving sensitivities to weather and pollution. Midwives use it to assist in successful birthing. It is used to speed up recovery, counteract long-term illnesses, cleanse the circulatory and elimination systems.

Sesame/Kiwi Jasper

The name Jasper is derived from the Greek word iaspis, meaning 'spotted stone'. Sesame Jasper and Kiwi Jasper are trade names used to describe this lovely Jasper. It truly lives up to jasper's 'spotty' reputation. This variety of Jasper is a minty green color with spots of black, reminiscent of polka dots. 

Available at 'tiques n t'ings $35

There has been a lot of debate about this stone as to whether it is true Jasper as it contains a mix of other minerals as well as some Jasper.  Kiwi/Sesame Jasper becomes warm when held, with a sense of healing, and the feet become warm too, also felt peaceful and relaxed.

Kiwi/Sesame Jasper is a pale seafoam green color with black & clear crystal spotting effect throughout the stones.  It’s a nurturing stone, a good stone for the healers to use on the behalf of others. A good stone for people in counseling or therapy, who want to overcome addictions or compulsive behavior, & gather up their strength for the battles ahead (emotional).  It is a power stone for those who stand for justice & fair play.

Kiwi/Sesame Jasper stone facilitates shamanic journeys and recalls dreams.  It absorbs negative energy’s and gives protection; it will cleanse and aligns the charkas and the aura, which in turn balances yin and yang.  It is a stone that is very good for electromagnetic and environmental pollution.

This stone is sometimes dyed pink or purple in color.

It is found in Brazil, France, Germany, India, and Russia.

Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli (sometimes abbreviated to Lapis) is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color.  Lapis is the Latin for "stone" and lazuli the genitive form of the Medieval Latin lazulum, which is taken from the Arabic لازورد lāzaward, which is from the Persian لاژوردlāzhward, the name of a place where lapis lazuli was mined. Taken as a whole, Lapis Lazuli means "stone of Lāzhward".  The name of the place came to be associated with the stone mined there and, eventually, with its color. The English word azure, the French azur, the Italian azzurro, the Polish lazur and the Spanish and Portuguese azul are cognates.

In ancient times, lapis lazuli was known as sapphire, which is the name that is used today for the blue corundum variety sapphire.

In ancient Egypt Lapis Lazuli was a favorite stone for amulets and ornaments such as scarabs; the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians also used it in ancient Mesopotamia for seals and jewelry. Lapis jewelry has been found at excavations of the Predynastic Egyptian site Naqada (3300–3100 BC), and powdered Lapis was used as eye shadow by Cleopatra. In ancient Mesopotamia, lapis artifacts can be found in great abundance, with many notable examples having been excavated at the Royal Cemetery of Ur (2600-2500 BC).

Lapis Lazuli was widely used by Egyptians for cosmetics and painting.  Persian legend says that the heavens owed their blue color to a massive slab of Lapis upon which the Earth rested.

Lapis Lazuli is one of the gemstones that are used in commesso, also called Florentine mosaic.  Commesso is a technique of fashioning pictures with thin, cut-to-shape pieces of brightly colored, semi-precious stones, developed in Florence in the late 16^th century.  The stones most commonly used are Agates, quartzes, Chalcedonies, Jaspers, Granites, Porphyries, Petrified Woods, and Lapis Lazuli.  Commesso pictures, used mainly for tabletops and small wall panels, range from emblematic and floral subject to landscapes.

Ground up into a powder and stirred up together with binding-agents, the marble-like gemstone can be used to manufacture radiant blue watercolors, tempera or oil paints. Before the year 1834, when it became possible to produce this color synthetically, the only ultramarine available was that valuable substance made from genuine Lapis Lazuli that shines out at us from many works of art today.

Many pictures of the Madonna, for example, were created using this paint. But in those days, ultramarine blue was not only precious and so intense that its radiance outshone all other colors; it was also very expensive. But unlike all other blue pigments, which tend to pale in the light, it has lost none of its radiance to this very day. Nowadays, the blue pigment obtained from lapis lazuli is mainly used in restoration work and by collectors of historical paints.

Lapis lazuli has been collected from mines in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan for over 6,000 years and there are sources that are found as Far East as in the region around Lake Baikal in Siberia. Trade in the stone is ancient enough for lapis jewelry to have been found at Predynastic Egyptian and ancient Sumerian sites, and as lapis beads at Neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the Caucasus, and even as far from Afghanistan as Mauritania.  In addition to the Afghan deposits, lapis has been extracted for many years in the Andes (near Ovalle, Chile), the Lake Baikal region of Russia; Siberia; Angola; Burma; Pakistan; Canada; India; and in the USA in California and Colorado.

Available at 'tiques n t'ings $40

Made by Karen Kroha, Sold 

Lapis takes an excellent polish and can be made into jewelry, carvings, boxes, mosaics, ornaments, and vases. It was also ground and processed to make the pigment ultramarine for tempera paint and, more rarely, oil paint. Its usage as a pigment in oil paint ended in the early 19th century when a chemically identical synthetic variety, often called French ultramarine, became available.  Lapis lazuli is commercially "synthesized" (actually simulated) by the Gilson process, using artificial ultramarine and hydrous zinc phosphates.  It may be substituted by Spinel or Sodalite, or by dyed Jasper or Howlite. 

Lapis Lazuli is the anniversary gemstone for the 7^th and 9^th year of marriage.  It is the secondary birthstone for September.

Lapis Lazuli can easily be scratched or chipped.  Water can dissolve the stone’s protective coatings. Hence clean your Lapis Lazuli jewelry with a soft dry cloth.

Lapis lazuli is an ancient gem, and as such, has a storied history. Egyptian cultures made a practice of burying a Lapis Lazuli scarab with their dead, and believed it to offer protection. The very earliest cultures valued Lapis Lazuli more highly than gold. Greeks spoke of an ancient Sapphire that was included with gold, and this was unmistakably Lapis. Some believed that dreaming of Lapis would foretell love that would be forever faithful.

When working or meditating with Lapis Lazuli, it can bring matters more clearly to the mind. It is one of the most powerful stones and should be used with care. Wearing a Lapis Lazuli ring can help you to become a channel. The ancient Egyptians used Lapis Lazuli as a symbol of Truth.

Available at 'tiques n t'ings $20

The stone is said to increase psychic abilities. Lapis is said to be a cure for melancholy and for certain types of fever. Lapis Lazuli eliminates negative emotions.  It relieves sore throat pain.
Traditionally believed to increase mental clarity, virility, and calm.  Lapis Lazuli is an energy focuser for teachers, lecturers, and speakers.  It enhances creative self-expression.  It is believed to be useful in relieving depression and promoting spirituality.