ORE FEATURES
A biweekly publication of Ozark Rock Exchange
VOL 1: Issue 6, January 15, 2000
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Main: >> Start Page >> ORE Features Archives >> 2000 >>Turquoise | |
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ORE’S Featured Gemstone: Turquoise by Stephanie Pflumm This is a complicated, persnickety stone. Just the right minerals have to be in just the right place for a very long time (millions of years), before you finally get Turquoise. Copper, aluminum & phosphorus are the most important minerals needed to form Turquoise. Iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, silicon & zinc can become included into the gem during the formation influencing color & hardness. Copper is key to beginning the process of creating Turquoise. The mineral is introduced into host rocks by heated magma rising to the earth’s surface. Hydrothermal actions created by the heat of the magma will break down nearby feldspar, releasing aluminum. Phosphoric acids leach from apatites (rocks not usually found near copper deposits) leaving the needed phosphorus. Just getting past this complicated process will not be enough . . . the host stones must also stay above the water table for millions of years. As Mother Earth heaved & cooled, mountains rose, seas formed & disappeared, these deposits of copper, aluminum & phosphorus had to remain under great pressures & stay dry. Almost all Turquoise is found in areas with volcanic or thermal histories and the finest grades of the gem are found closest to the earth’s surface. The stone must be able to “dry out” in order to maintain it’s hardness. Deeper deposits of Turquoise become soft because of acids created as water percolates through the earth. One of the exceptions to this is the Lone Mountain Mine in Nevada. This rich deposit of Turquoise was sent deep into Mother Earth after seismic activity caused the deposit to fault. Turquoise is found around the world. Its history as a spiritual stone goes back over 7500 years. Persian Turquoise is considered some of the finest in the world (& some of the earliest mines). China, North & South America, Saudia Arabia, Tibet also have significant deposits of this gem. Virginia has an extremely rare Turquoise that forms in prismatic crystals. Turquoise’s color can range from a perfect sky blue (Persian) to pale greenish blue. As with every gemstone, it is the minerals that bring the colors. The more copper the more blue the stone will be. Iron inclusions make the stone more green. When silicon includes itself into a Turquoise, you get a harder, more stable stone with a richer luster. Egyptians prized Turquoise as a Life Stone. The oldest pieces of jewelry set with this gem are four braclets found on the mummified arm of Queen Zar. She ruled in Egypt about 5500 BC. Highly revered in Tibet, a Turquoise stone was carried throughout one’s entire life. It was exchanged as currency & the finest stones were considered more valuable than gold. Turquoise is still a valued power stone. It will strengthen & align all of the Chakras & can be used to cleanse your energy centers. As a meditation tool, the gem can assist in clearing your mind, opening you to the Universal All. Use Turquoise to attune to the spiritual plane or provide protection during vision quests or astral travel. Native Americans believed the stone brought protection to a rider upon a horse. I consider Turquoise an vital protection stone (When my children started driving, I made sure there was always some Turquoise in the car) guarding against accidents, violence, disease, evil & it will give you courage. Turquoise is also useful in Abundance medicine. It can help attract wealth, promote harmony, bring new friends & joy. Healing uses for Turquoise range from curing stomach disorders to insanity. It is said to aid in scorpion stings or snake bites. Preventing migraine headaches, strengthening the eyes, & alleviating fevers are also excellent healing properties of this gem. You will find Turquoise in the Stone Power Prayer Pouch for Protection. Pictures of Turquoise - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Order on line or through the mail. What I am sharing with you is my vision of The Wheel Of Life. I don’t want to give the impression that this is a “one true way” to walk your path. The only “true way” is the one that you find within yourself. It is not “how” you walk, but that you “do” walk. Your vision of the Wheel of Life is within you, & if you are open & allow it to come through, it will be revealed to you. The Wheel of Life is an elemental observance of the cyclical nature of our universe, planet & lives. For me it is a system of honoring the great workings of the Universal All, God; for enoying the magical gifts we receive & finally for giving thanks for my place in this wonderous web. The Wheel turns as our Mother Earth revolves through the four seasons. Each season is associated with a cardinal direction & an elemental force. Spring = East = Air Each season, each turn of the Wheel, brings a different energy to your creative work. Those energies are relative to the elemental force associated with that season. The Medicine Wheel (a kind of ceremonial version of the Wheel of Life) begins in the East. The events we associate with Spring are the buds of life which will sustain our bodies throughout the years. Blossoms on the fruit trees, eggs in birds nests, seeds sown in the garden. All beginnings, harbringers of a coming harvest. Learning something new, beginning a new journey, starting a project will all receive an added elemental power from Spring energies. Spring energies are also aids for healing, happiness, creativity, divination & communication. Summer’s element of Fire represents the action of Grandfather Sun as he nurtures our fruits to harvest. Fire is the energy of doing, working towards that final goal. It is the faith that with the correct nurturing, the green fruit will ripen to its perfect color. Summer’s Fire can also enhance purifying energies (cleanse stones during the Summer Solstice), give strength to your walk, tear down obstacles & allow more time for playfulness. As the Wheel turns in to Fall, we honor Water. Without this element’s energy, there would be no harvest. Water is life. Pregnant women, full of life, often dream repeatedly of this powerful element. Fall is the energy of the harvest. The collection of life sustaining foods, the fruits of our labor that will carry us through the approaching colder, darker days. Just because your toil does not take place in the dirt, doesn’t mean your harvest isn’t vital to sustaining life. Use the energy of Water for visions, dreams or quests. Immerse your imagination in creativity, renew your spiritual goals, reap your material harvest. The final turn of the Wheel is Winter. Mother Earth has elemental rule over this quarter of the wheel. It was during the cold, dark days of those primal winters that we would turn back to our Mother for warmth & shelter. Deep within Mother’s caverns life survived. Winter is not about darkness, it is the celebration of light & life. The energy of survival over the harsh cruelty of Natural Law. The Winter Solstice is actually my favorite “sun holiday”. I celebrate it as Grandfather Sun’s birthday, the victory of light over dark. Use North energies to attract or enhance abundance, to bring balance to your spiritual & material life & discover your inner treasures. Show your gratitude, teach yourself the things you should be most grateful for then give thanks. Give away some of your joy. It will only multiply. Learn to trust the sacred knowledge that is revealed to you. Wheel Holidays Vernal Equinox - First Day of Spring; March 20, 2000 Summer Solstice - First Day of Summer: June 20, 2000 Autumnal Equinox - First Day of Fall: September 22, 2000 Winter Solstice - First Day of Winter: December 21, 2000 Normally there are three full & new moons per season. Every few years there is an extra full moon &/or new moon within a quarter of the Wheel. Grandmother Moon will be full a fourth time during Winter, on March 19, the day before the Vernal Equinox. There are many ways to honor, giveaway & celebrate your joys. I’ll share some of mine in future issues. If you have a Ceremony, Giveaway or a way of Honoring the Wheel of Life, you are most welcome to share your vision. Send your email to webmaster@ozarkrockexchange.com Times are: Friday & Saturday 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm; Sunday 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm To receive $2.00 off the admission price, request a “subscriber’s coupon” from stephanie@ozarkrockexchange.com and type “Fair” in the subject. If you are unable to print an email, let me know & I will mail coupon to you. First & foremost there is my incredible Rozey Gean. She has put Ozark Rock Exchange on the front page of her shopping mall at the http://www.weon.com site. Thank you Rozey for always being TOO good to me! Another special note of gratitude needs to go to Deborah Greco on the West Coast. Deborah is a web designer/ host, just like Rozey! She found one of my postings & has gone on to spread the word about Ozark Rock Exchange throughout her web community! (Deborah’s site is http://www.goprismatic.com. You’ll find links to two awesome astrology sites & a dinosaur site that she has designed at http://www.goprismatic.com/samples.htm ) . This week has been my busiest ever in the history of Ozark Rock Exchange, & I think it just might have something to do with these two wonderful women. ***************************************************** Please feel free to forward a copy to a friend. |
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