ORE FEATURES
A Monthly publication of Ozark Rock Exchange
VOL 7: Issue 7, April 5, 2006
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Main: >> Start Page >> ORE Features Archives >> 2005 >> Moss Agate | |
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| ORE's Featured Gemstone: Moss Agate by Stephanie Pflumm The Agate family is one of the largest and most diverse groups of gemstones in the mineral kingdom. Agates include powerful healers like the Carnelian, protectors like Botswana Agates and that wonderful communicator the Blue Lace Agate. Another power member of this crystal clan is the Moss Agate. For thousands of years this simple Agate with its intricately complex patterns has been a favorite tool among shamans, magicians and healers. Agates form patiently in a very slow process that can take a few million years to complete. Layer forms over layer as numerous catastrophic geological events occur in slow succession. It is this tedious process that gives many Agates their delightful bands and lacy looks. The Moss Agate's growth process takes a slightly different angle. It has been only in recent years that geologists began to truly understand how this Agate acquired its mossy appearance. For centuries they attributed the tree and plant (dendrite) like patterns within the gem to inclusions of foreign minerals. Like a phantom crystal. However, microscopic studies of this Agate reveals that the patterns within them are actually extremely fine canals invisible to our human eyes. Just like other Agates, this mossy sibling had to endure repeated geological events during its growth cycle. During one or more of these events, hydrothermal solutions containing Iron (red), Manganese (black and brown), Magnetite (green) and/or Limonite (yellow) entered the tiny openings. Over the eons the solutions dried out, but not without leaving their mark behind. Providing us with a dramatic power tool and a beautiful gemstone. Moss Agates are found all over the Earth under a variety of names. Montana is famous for their translucent milky Agates with brown to black patterns that frequently resemble leaves or plants. Most of the material can be picked up in the riverbeds of the Yellowstone and its tributaries in Montana, Wyoming and parts of Canada. Russia has a similar looking Moss Agate with white and yellow dendrite markings. Mocha-Agate (aka Mocha-Stone) is one of the oldest mined and most frequently cut for gemstones of the Moss Agates. They look similar to the Montana Moss Agate in that they are gray to white with extremely fine brown, red and black dendrite markings. These Agates were first discovered near Mocha, a seaport city at the entrance of the Red Sea. India's Moss Agates are well known for their red, green and yellow patterns. Most of their gemstones are found near or in volcanic rock traps in the Western areas of the country. The ubiquitous presence of the Moss Agate makes it a fairly inexpensive stone to acquire. Many specimens require no mining at all. Tons of the material can be found in the alluvial flows of rivers around the world. When the Agate has to be cut from the Mother, it is often found in huge blocks weighing 30 to 40 pounds. This was not always the case. At one time Mocha Arabia was the only known source for this magical Agate and dealers were able to command some very high prices for cut stones. Moss Agate has a long history as an important tool in magic and healing. According to the Greek philosopher Orpheus, wearing Moss Agate brought you the favor of the Gods. In the middle ages gardeners often tied the Agate to sticks and tree branches in their gardens to promote an abundant harvest. In some Native American traditions the Moss Agate was used to help balance out unhealthy weather patterns. In a practice called "cloud-bursting" the crystal would be used to bring rain in dry conditions and dry out rainy weather. Midwives have long utilized this special Agate to give a new mother courage during labor. It assists with natural childbirth by easing pain and helping to alleviate dangerous complications. Magicians and shamans have used the Moss Agate in rituals to predict weather, find hidden treasures (or food for a starving tribe) and to protect against natural disasters. All Agates teach the important lessons of patience and tolerance. The Moss Agate will help you to understand the intricate nature of your relationship with all things. It will teach you why these lessons are so valuable. Why even your slightest smile or simplest good deed has an impact on all. You will gain a more intuitive understanding of the delicate interplay of events, people and the way our Universe works. With Spring blooming, now is a good time to test the ancient tradition of using Moss Agates to promote a healthy garden. Bury them in the four corners of your garden, or hang them from sticks or nearby tree branches with strings. Make notes of how your flowers and vegetables perform with the Agate's influence. Working with a Moss Agate will assist you in finding your hidden strengths. Stop putting off the dreams and goals your heart desires. Ask your Moss Agate to help you see the path to your destiny, providing you with the endurance and confidence to surpass any challenge that lay ahead. The promise of Spring that shows us year after year the ability of life to renew itself. Moss Agate helps you understand the powerful regenerative force you have to start your life over again every day. You are not expected to carry around the burdens of past mistakes all your life. Instead embrace the lessons gratefully then watch your personal power grow as your knowledge and understanding expand. Moss Agate is a powerful tool to use in rituals or ceremonies to aid in the healing of planet Earth. The crystal helps in broadening understanding of life's delicate balance, encouraging a more respectful attitude toward all of Earth's children. In personal healing, Moss Agates with brown and red colorings are best for healing the lower Chakras. Black and green colorings work well to heal and open the Heart Chakra. All Agates have a reputation for alleviating thirst. The high Quartz content may help in boosting your immune system. It is also believed to promote good digestion and the elimination of toxins from the body. Pictures of Moss Agate --+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-- SUBSCRIBER'S SPECIAL: FREE small Moss Agate! Receive a FREE Moss Agate with any purchase from Ozark Rock Exchange. You can shop on line at https://www.ozarkrockexchange.com/cart You can also place your order by email at stephanie@ozarkrockexchange.com or send your telephone number for a phone appointment. Discount will be taken at the time of purchase. You must be a subscriber as of April 5, 2006 to be eligible for the Subscriber's Special; the Subscriber Special is not valid with other offers (unless otherwise stated). Only one special per subscriber, please. The Subscriber's Special will expire May 3, 2006. Remember you never pay extra for shipping at Ozark Rock Exchange! --+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-- SKY NOTES Second Quarter Moon, Wednesday April 5 8:01 am ET -+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-- The Cedarbrook Fox Joins the James River Urban Council The Cedarbrook Fox shakes off his dread and glares angrily into the eyes of Buddha Cat. Under normal circumstances, any creature facing down those glaring eyes would turn and run. Buddha Cat stands his ground, though his muscles poise to zoom away should the Fox make any moves. "And just WHAT am I, we to do about the two-leggeds wanting to build more of their buildings"? Sarcasm and helplessness lay between his words. "We have some ideas", The cat replies. A loud fox laugh fills the midnight, but there is no mirth in the sound. "Come to hear us and see for yourself. In two more nights Grandmother will be void and the James River Urban Council will be meeting to discuss the building". The Cedarbrook Fox continues to regard the cat's words with disdain and hopeless disbelief. Buddha Cat continues. "We will be meeting in that thicket of trees and brush", the cat nods his head to indicate the area he is referring to. "Shortly after the hours counted by humans reaches midnight the council will begin. Several members will have reports on efforts already taken and we will be devising a final plan of action". "Sure you will", the Fox replies. "The public zoning hearing february 12 has already happened and we will have a representative that attended the hearing giving a report. Many have already been making small efforts and we think we can stop this building". Buddha Cat finishes and waits for the Fox to reply. Instead The Cedarbrook Fox shakes his head and turns to leave. How can simple foxes and cats stop the powerful two-leggeds with their many magical powers. This council thing is crazy and the Cedarbrook Fox wasn't going to waste a moment of his time thinking about it. Instead, he decides, his best plan of action is to find new habitat. It was obvious that soon the humans would be ruining his precious meadow too. Do the humans want every bit of the land for themselves, regardless of how small the space is? They must have millions of buildings already in this one little city. How much do they want anyway? Buddha Cat resists a temptation to call after the Fox. He performed the task he was sent to. Besides, a cat is not going to spend any time worrying about someone else's attitude or need for salvation. Once the old cat is sure the Fox is well out of site, he heads for his dwelling. Perhaps the two-legged that lives with him will warm up some of that wonderful milk drink. Buddha Cat knows one sure thing, there is always hope. It took just a small effort to put away the memory of his meeting in the meadow with the strange cat. As the next night ends, The Cedarbrook Fox saunters with a content full belly to one of his favorite sleeping holes. He is looking forward to a long day's sleep. It has been a rewarding night hunting the metal boxes behind the two-leggeds' buildings. He even manages to find several large tasty pieces of their cooked meat. How is it possible to be so wasteful of good food? The Fox will never understand humans. Sleep is almost here, but the thought of humans brings a memory rushing forward. This coming night is the Dark Moon. Tonight is the meeting of the James River Urban Council. Silly four-leggeds. Haven't they seen what these two-leggeds can do? Someone needs to stop those fools because one of them is going to get hurt. Someone besides a single orphan fox. A weary body stops the chain of thoughts so the Cedarbrook Fox can slip into a restless sleep. In the darkness of his dreams hills explode with deadly fury. Buildings burst onto every known space and concrete covers every path. There are no soft places for his paws to step. A frightened, orphaned fox wanders this hateful hardscape screaming silently "BUT WHAT CAN I DO"? "Wisdom Stalker". A familiar voice speaks his secret name, breaking through the nightmare with instant comfort. The sad fox stops shaking in his sleep. As her familiar shape moves toward him, the hard, haunting images melt away until there is just his Mother. "Wisdom Stalker, my wise little kit. My heart is so full of joy to have this moment to see you all grown up". The sleeping fox stirs. "Be still, there is no time for you to speak in this dream. There is only time for me to remind you to follow your curious heart. It is your path to question and seek. Do not fear the journey toward the truth, it is your destiny. Know that you never travel alone, and that you are deeply loved". His dream Mother nuzzles the young Fox and is gone. Deep sleep comes for his body and mind. The night is hours old when The Cedarbrook Fox wakes. There is an eager feeling in his heart and he exits his hole with the anticipation of a new adventure. It is dark without the Moon and the cool Winter air keeps the two-leggeds inside. The Fox easily makes his way to the big concrete paths without being seen. Along the big path are signs that count the human hours. The Cedarbrook Fox is anxious to see what hour it is. Humans call the big path where the Fox is going, Sunshine. A small untended lot provides him with cover as he watches the bank sign change until he recognizes the numbers that count time. They count 11:11 in the dark. Plenty of time. Disappearing into the overgrowth, the Cedarbrook Fox makes his way to the steel and wooden trail. He touches one of the endless steel tracks with his paw to be sure a giant thunder box is not traveling the trail. The cold steel is dead and the Fox heads down the trail at a determined trot. Less than ten minutes count by when the Fox reaches the meadow. Curious, but cautious, The Cedarbrook Fox decides to make himself unseen. Four mice are the first to arrive. Two represent a human business called a Funeral Home. The other two represent the local field mice. A red tail hawk arrives shortly after them and the Fox watches in amazement as the mice wait calmly for this deadly enemy to land right beside them. He has to stifle his verbal disbelief when the hawk made no attempt to eat the mice. Buddha Cat shows up and the scene begins to take on a very surreal look. Cat, mouse and bird, chatting calmly together in a thicket of trees and bushes. Just a few hundred feet away from a two-legged's concrete pathway and less than fifteen feet from a well hidden fox. Another forty-five minutes counts by and dozens of representatives from various clans, flocks and colonies within the surrounding city arrive. Songbird, raptor, butterfly, turtle, frog, deer, opossum, raccoon, cat, dog, snake, worm, groundhog, bee and more sent their voice to the council. To offer their skills, and, if necessary, their lives to save the threatened meadow. Several minutes pass and the Cedarbrook Fox begins to think he is wasting his time. How could this mess of voices and species ever come together with a plan. Let alone stop the two-leggeds. "Attention! This meeting of the James River Urban Council is called to order. May we please have silence. There is much to discuss tonight". Buddha Cat's voice rings authoritatively through the council. The Fox is impressed by the sudden silence. "Thank you", Buddha Cat continues. Our honored First Chief, Soaring Voice will open the meeting with a few words and then we will get right to the reports". "Thank you Buddha Cat". The Red Tail Hawk steps forward to address the council. "And thank you, all my relations for being here tonight. We have much business to discuss and only a few hours before light returns and the two-leggeds come out". "The public zoning hearing february 12 has happened. Every Bit and Persistent Patience our mice representatives from the Funeral Home were able to attend the hearing. They will give their report first. Following their report, we'll open the discussion so we can hear everyone's ideas. Finally we'll form planning clans and give out assignments for our final plan of action". The Cedarbrook Fox could sense everyone's approval of Soaring Voice's authority and confidence in his actions. He wonders how it feels when everyone is looking up to you for leadership. "Persistent Patience and Every Bit, please come forward and report on the hearing". The Red Tail Hawk steps back to give the mice room to speak. "Good evening all my relations. My name is Persistent Patience and this is Every Bit. We dwell in the Funeral Home where the threat to our meadow begins. In the first days we attempted to foil the two-leggeds' plans by helping the documents they needed disappear or become unusable. Eventually, the documents were kept at some other place where we could not harm them". Every Bit picks up the story. "It became obvious we were going to need help stopping the two-leggeds and this is when we approached the council. At the request of the council we attended the public zoning hearing february 12". "These are the things we learned at the meeting". Persistent Patience begins recounting the humans meeting. "The Funeral Home wants to build a crematorium. A building for burning the bodies of their dead". A small gasp spreads through the council. "They have documents that say they can do this. The city's council wants to give them final permission, but their laws say they must ask the two-leggeds' that dwell near the meadow for permission as well". What Every Bit says next sends a shock wave through the council and awakens a feeling The Cedarbrook Fox has never known before. "The two-leggeds' around our meadow will not give their permission. At the public zoning hearing february 12 many angry humans spoke out against the building. They swore their intention to fight the Funeral Home and stop the building. These two-leggeds are forming their own council to stop the Funeral Home". The Cedarbrook Fox steps out from his hiding spot. Unaware that he is breaking council rules by interrupting the meeting or that all eyes are staring at him, he barks out "Humans telling humans no building? This cannot be true"! Two dogs, responsible for the council's security this night start to rush the Fox, but a quick look from Buddha Cat stops them. Still, they stand ready to protect the hawk or mice from the approaching fox. If necessary. The Cedarbrook Fox continues to the front of the council (later he'll apologize for being so rude), as this new feeling grows stronger inside him. "Is this true, little mouse", he asks coming face to face with the tiny representative from the Funeral Home. "That humans want to stop the humans from building"? "Yes my fox friend" Every Bit replies as he faces down one of his natural predators. "There are two-leggeds that want to keep our meadow safe too. They want to stop the building, just like we do". "Just like we do", The Cedarbrook Fox repeats quietly to himself. The Fox turns to Soaring Voice and Buddha Cat. "I have never belonged to a clan or council. I have been alone nearly all my life. But I love this meadow. I pledge my services to the James River Urban Council. The four-leggeds and two-leggeds working together might actually save this special wild space". The new feeling in the fox explodes into full force and for the very first time in too long, he feels something like joy. Buddha Cat smiles because he knows there is always hope. (to be continued . . .) -+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-- SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY CONTEST
Starting Sunday April 16th and ending Saturday April 22, you will have the chance to win a prize EVERY DAY!! Each day there will be a different way to win prizes and a new prize every day! Watch your email box for a note on Friday April 21 for complete details on how to win!! Seven prizes in seven days!! Details coming April 15!!! -+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-- What's Happening At Ozark Rock Exchange? NEW ARRIVALS: Dozens of new spheres have arrived at Ozark Rock Exchange! Rose Quartz and Labradorite in different sizes. Orange Calcite, Septarian, Rhodocrosite, Aventurine, different Jaspers - check out all these new spheres at: NEW JEWELRY: A beautiful new shipment of pendants have arrived. I won't have time to take pictures before Nashville, but watch for more information later this month. Right now you can see two of the new pendants (Labradorite and Turquoise) here: GALACTIC GATEWAYS: This Saturday and Sunday in Nashville Tennesee! The fair is at the Tennessee Fairground and runs Saturday (4/8) from 11am until 8pm and Sunday (4/9) from 11am until 7pm. If you are able to stop by and see me, remind me that you are a subscriber, I'll have a small gift for you! ONLINE ORDERS: While I am in Nashville, I will not be able to process online catalog orders. So, any orders received after 12pm on Thursday April 7, will be processed Monday April 10 and shipped on Tuesday the 11th. Thanks! HEARTLAND PAGAN FESTIVAL: Memorial Weekend the Mobile ORE Store will be at the Heartland Pagan Festival just outside KC at Camp Gaea. Looking forward to seeing lots of old friends there! WHAT'S HAPPENING AT OZARK ROCK EXCHANGE? The answer is at -+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-- ©Copyright 2006, Stephanie Pflumm, All Rights Reserved Worldwide. No portion of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written permission of the editor/founder, Stephanie Pflumm. Please feel free to share with a friend. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4 Blessings (East, South, West, North) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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