Description
This deep & bright orange colored all-natural, untreated AAA Grade Twin Orange Spessartine Garnet on glittering matrix from Tanzania has brilliant inner fire, clearly visible throughout the gemstone, and comes embedded in the sparkling matrix from which it was birthed deep beneath the surface of the Earth.
The net weight of the twin garnets and matrix is 805 carats, 161 grams or 5.7 ounces, more than a quarter pound.
These Orange garnet gemstones have 24 kite-shaped facets, and come from Loliondo, Tazmania.
They were mined toward the end of 2007, and first appeared on the global gem market at the Tucson show in January 2008.
Gems & Gemology magazine's spring 2008 issue had just come out when we first saw these beauties and had a story on these amazing garnets -- which have captivated collectors worldwide.
There were only two dealers with substantial quantities and access to the mines, and we have talked extensively with one of the two gentlemen, who told us that they have reached the end of the vein and the mine will not be producing much more.
We saw a 45 kilogram lot of this material, and picked a selection of the coolest pieces from the various grades available in various sizes.
The vast vast majority, well over 90% of this material, had abundant dark inclusions, which appear to the naked eye to be braunite. These are high manganese and low hematite specimens, so the inclusions are definitely NOT hematite or any iron based material. This specimen has remarkable orange fire throughout and very little in the way of dark inclusions, marking it as a AAA grade specimen.
Spessartine garnets are vitreous, translucent hexocatahedral gemstones with a hardness rated significantly above quartz crystal, characterized by the presence of aluminum and manganese, which imparts their
striking reddish orange color.
The garnet derives its name from the pomegranate seed. Pomegranate is called punica granatum in Latin.
Garnets have been used for millennia in shamanistic healing and spiritual traditions across the globe, by Native American Indians, Aztecs, Mayans, and African medicine men and healers. Garnet is also one of the stones found in the breastplate of the Israeli High Priest in the Old Testament.
Garnets were traditionally considered stones of protection in both the Middle East and European spiritual traditions, used to ward off demons and evil environmental influences, and to protect warriors in battle. Garnets were also used as stones of sexual healing, to promote passionate connection between loving partners.
Most of all, garnets are the quintessential stone of prosperity, used to manifest abundant wealth and income for millennia in cultures around the world.
All these properties are connected to the garnet's connection to the root chakra, which is colored red in the Western chakra system, and which governs issues of survival, adequate prosperity to sustain life, and sexual energy.
The root chakra is the site of the coiled kundalini energy which is the fountainhead of all spiritual experiences, and thus the garnet is also thought to awaken the kundalini energy which normally lies dormant in human beings until awakened by a spiritual teacher or by intense spiritual experience of some kind.
Experienced crystal healers and Lightworkers familiar with these unique garnets tell us that they activate and energize the second chakra, which is considered to be orange in color in the Western chakra system. The second chakra governs the genital organs and lower abdomen, and is connected with sexuality, vitality, personal magnetism, and personal affluence.
We have talked with both a major dealer in African gemstones and with well-known crystal healers, who have discovered from personal experience that these Spessartine garnets act as magnets for money as well as potent activators of personal magnetism, increasing one's charisma and making the bearer more attractive in the eyes of potential sexual partners and existing love relations.
We have been guided to tell you that the bearer can expect to attract wealth and abundance and to become more attractive personally, so be careful not to squander money that comes to you or to abuse the personal magnetism that you are sure to feel when carrying one of these garnets, or when using one of them in meditation or on your altar!
The four main constituents of the matrix are:
1. Mica - the white flaky stuff. According to many websites and rockhounds, the word "mica" is thought to be derived from the Latin word micare, “to glitter”, but the Oxford English Dictionary, says the word “mica” comes from the Latin word mica, “grain, or crumb”. The English word “mica” originally referred to any small, glittering piece of talc, selenite or other extremely tiny flakes of reflective mineral substance found in a rock formation. Over time, perhaps because of the false association with micare, the word “mica” came to refer very specifically to aluminum silicate crystals, which form in tiny plates or scales within formations of granite and other types of rock.
Crystal healers point to mica’s incredibly high reflective index as a key to its metaphysical properties. Mica is said to help the bearer to enlighten and clarify the mind, hold up a mirror to the soul, and potentiate latent clairvoyant abilities so that the individual can more easily access Higher Mind.
2. Muscovite – It’s the pink substance in the matrix. This is mica with a high concentration of manganese. Because the color pink is associated with the heart chakra in the Western system of crystal healing, muscovite is said to quicken the mind and open the heart, infusing the open heart with a sense of joy and optimism that promotes the giving and receiving of loving energies. In addition, muscovite is said to have all the metaphysical properties of mica, and to promote the bearer’s ability to see himself or herself in another person, to facilitate a deep emotional connection with a loved one, heart to heart.
3. Kyanite - Its the flat orange material in the matrix, distinctively different from the spessartite. Orange kyanite is really, really rare in nature. Kyanite is a vitreous form of aluminum silicate which exhibits great chatoyancy. Chatoyancy is the bright reflective opalescent light seen on various gemstones.
Kyanite has the distinct advantage of being one of those stones which, metaphysically, is said to remain clear & not require clearing (as are such other stones such as super 7 and citrine). It is believed that these stones do not accumulate or retain negative energy. However, we always clear & clean our crystals & Reiki attune them, because in our experience, it is always wise to keep all of your magical tools as clear as possible!
Kyanite is said to aid in balancing yin & yang energies, to enhance meditation & to unify all the chakras. As with all orange stones, orange kyanite activates the third, solar plexus chakra, strengths the will forces, aids in personality development, accelerates the individuation process, and infuses the “hara” center just below the navel with universal life force energy, or “chi”, helping to restore the individual to vibrant health.
4. Quartzite - Present in small traces. Quartzite, commonly known as “Snow Quartz”, is a hard, metamorphic rock created by heat and compression of sandstone over long geologic ages. Eventually, the sandstone, a form of silica, recrystallizes, forming tiny granules of quartz crystal, which are fused into what appears to be a single, grainy, metamorphic rock, containing the tiny quartz crystals along with traces of the companion minerals such as iron oxide, carbonate or clay, which cement the tiny granules together.
Metaphysically, quartzite exhibits the same properties as quartz crystal, although it is said that quartzite energy is not as focused and concentrated as the energy of pure quartz crystal.
(Remember all four of these elements may not be present in the matrix found with each Orange Spessartine Garnet.)
This crystal has been cleaned with Universal Life Force Energy, and given an energy attunement using Reiki, a Japanese technique of energy healing, so it will continue to receive and transmit Universal Life Force Energy direct from the Source of Creation. It has also been cleaned and charged with the natural energy of sunlight. It is ready for you to program according to your own needs and desires.
Use this powerful gemstone with loving wisdom and respect its long journey in the Earth that has lasted for many long historical cycles.Accepting this crystal into your life is a responsibility as well as a delight.
Note: Above weight is shipping weight. Net weight is 805 carats, 161 grams or 5.7 ounces.