Life is art. Symbols are all around us. It’s fun to analyze objects and have them be metaphors to help us understand this crazy, wonderful world.

I used to hang out with a psychic man. When the King of Swords card would come up in a tarot reading, he liked to say, “The finest metals are always tempered with tremendous heat”. Meaning, the strongest, finest people have to experience a lot of “heat” in their lives to produce the character that allows them to excel.

I like to use crystals as metaphors for people, too.  They also are often formed under tremendous heat and pressure.  While forming, the “law of attraction” is also at play.  The crystal is formed from solute molecules that attract each other and join together. Most of the time, when there are just a few of the solute molecules, they break apart and cannot form into a crystal.  But when there are enough, and they have achieved their own critical mass, they manifest into treasures we know and love as crystals. With molecules attracting each other, coming together to form beautiful natural objects through some kind of adversity- either heat and pressure or evaporation, some change was involved.  As difficult as it sometimes seems to experience adverse change in our personal lives, it helps if you can remember that even adverse change can be very good.

Another interesting thing about crystals is that they vibrate at certain rates when an electrical current is passed through them. Using the metaphor of being a sword, you can cut through red tape and be decisive.  With crystals, you can be pretty, and vibrate at such a rate you can be used to facilitate timing (such as the movement in quartz watches) and process information (such as silicon wafers in computer chips).  And when a beautiful, vibrating entity has attracted enough “like minds” or solute molecules achieving critical mass, a real gem has been added to our lives.

Crystals display facets reflecting the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure.  Beside the metaphor of crystals and people, the many “facets” of life are like fine gems to me.  This can be applied to all sorts of things: groups of people (social, religious, political, economic, sociological, psychological, etc.), each significant personal experience, nature, progress, mediums of art and expression, the life cycle, etc..  They all reflect a different, beautiful light as in the facets of a crystal or the cuts in a faceted gemstone.

Beads are great symbols, too.  I like to think of my most significant personal experiences as the beads that make up my “life necklace”.  I’m sure you’ve all heard, “Life is a tapestry”.  Weavers and other fiber artists can probably identify with that one. What symbols resonate with you in your life?

Question:  How do crystals form? —Dave

Answer:

Crystals usually form from molten rock as the molten

rock gradually cools.  If the molten rock

cools very rapidly, then either small crystals

form or no crystals form.  An example of this

is when lava is ejected from a volcano.  If

molten rock cools slowly, then large crystals

can form.  This happens usually when the molten

material is very deep in the Earth.  Examples

of these types of crystals are diamonds, emeralds,

rubies, etc.

Crystals can also form when water evaporates.

For example, salt crystals (sodium chloride) form

when salt water evaporates.

The smooth faces of crystals are caused by

a regular internal arrangement of atoms.

-Grant

Each different crystal vibrates at a specific frequency when an electric current is passed through it. The original radios were created using vibrating crystals to create the frequency to transmit signals. As radio technology improved, radio transmitters had several different crystals to allow transmission on different frequencies. Modern radios have large number of different frequencies used by radio stations.

Vibrating crystals can be used for time keeping. A quartz clock uses the vibration of a quartz crystal to measure time. When the crystal has an electric current passed through it, the crystal will vibrate at 60 hertz (60 times per second).

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Road to Succor Creek

Succor Creek

After a great experience collecting agate at Graveyard Point, our next stop was Succor Creek. The Succor Creek Recreational Area, where the digging is at, is only about 30 miles or so from Graveyard Point. The road in is dirt and gravel, but well maintained. Any vehicles should be able to make it in. It is a truly beautiful place to visit and camp, even if not rockhounding. Succor Creek has been known by rockhounds for many years. There is fine picture jasper, red and tan jasper, agate, petrified wood, leaf fossils, and thundereggs. The scenery made up for my experience collecting there as I didn’t have much luck. Don’t let my one time visit deter you.  I’m not saying there’s nothing there, I just didn’t find it. Let me explain why.

One big key to rockhounding is getting used to being skunked every now and then. Sometimes you just don’t find anything, and that’s ok. It makes you appreciate what you find that much more. Upon arriving at Succor Creek we quickly found a great campsite at the upper regions of the area. We had a wonderful view of the valley and Succor Creek itself. We quickly made camp and were off to Site A listed in the Gem Trails of Oregon. We found the road leading back to the area, but ran into something unexpected. There was a questionable camping situation going on back there. A large pull-behind trailer and about a half dozen beat up cars were parked right by there creek. I then noticed a couple pairs of eyes staring at us from behind one of the cars. Needless to say, we were a little creeped out at this point and didn’t stick around for long. After our potential meth lab experience, we decided to check out some washes near by. We didn’t find much. A few pieces of agate and jasper scattered about, but nothing to write home about. It was getting dark and we were getting hungry, so back to our wonderful campsite we went, for hot campfire sandwiches.

Succor Creek campsite

The next morning we spent a couple hours hunting thundereggs at the spot marked on the map. It is conveniently located right by the main campground and the only toilet in the area. There is a large cliff face full of thundereggs. You can see, but can’t reach most of them. There were many nice ones taunting me just out of reach. I opted for picking them up out of the talus at the base of the slope. I filled up about half a bucket and called it quits. I’ve yet to cut them open, but if I find anything nice that’ll be another blog. Our next stop: Rome and its fantastic snakeskin agate.

Rome, OR

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I’m kind of a crack-head for agates, so needless to say I’ve wanted to dig for snakeskin agates for quite some time. Snakeskin agate gets its name from the crust that surrounds the agate. It’s very porous and cracked, making it look like the skin of a snake. The agate itself is rounded and orb-like. Some people polish their snakeskin, but many look nice just as they are. I still remember the first one I ever bought. I used to run a gas station/rock shop in Olympia, WA. There was a guy who would stop by randomly with a truck bed littered with mostly Oregon minerals. He would sell me stuff super cheap. One day, I noticed a small fist sized piece of snakeskin agate. Now, this guy always had nice stuff at great prices, but he had this fantasy that everything was some sort of fossil. I once bought a nice piece of carnelian off him that he told me was a petrified cuttlefish. This experience was no different. The snakeskin agate sold to me for just a couple dollars was dubbed by him to be a petrified octopus. Yeah…ok…it’s two bucks? Sold.

After acquiring my first piece and many more at shows and shops, I developed a need to go dig my own. What always kept me from doing it for so long is the fact that Rome, Oregon is very far away from everything. It’s located off HWY-95 in very southeastern Oregon, just north of Nevada. The digging location is just a few miles from the highway, but the road is rough and very bumpy. Trevor got his Dodge Caliber back there, but he’s crazy. Make sure you have confidence in your vehicle and some ground clearance. Stay out or get out if there is going to be rain.

Road leading to Rome

We didn’t see any fire rings on the drive in. There was a small trailer with a few people camping, but they were the only people we saw back there. We found a nice flat spot and made a fire ring. I’m not 100% sure if we were supposed to do that. The book says there’s “primitive camping” in the area. I think people just aren’t crazy enough to actually camp back there. Anyways, on the drive in we stopped at Site A in the Gem Trails of Oregon book. We found the “apache tears” reported to be there. They were cool, I guess. I still like the ones from Arizona better. Plus, were the Apache ever in Oregon?

Moving right along the trail we eventually stopped at Site B in the book and immediately found the green opal mentioned. Now, before you go getting all excited about opal, don’t. It’s just green opaque potch. I’m sure somebody could make something out of it, but why? I still grabbed a couple choice pieces for collecting sake. I was hungry for snakeskin. I decided to take a long walk to get an idea about the locality. The terrain is very moonscape-like, but with sagebrush. It wasn’t long before I found my first piece of beautiful snakeskin agate. I was so happy. I may have clicked my heels together. I knew then I was in the right area. In the right spots, the agate is just sitting there waiting for you to pick it up. When we would find spots with a high concentration of agate we would spend some time picking into the soil around.  Trevor was having a lot of luck with this method. He’d just stick his pick in the ground and would immediately pop out a beauty. It worked for me a few times, but I was having better luck covering a lot of ground. Make sure while you’re collecting to have some sort of land marker you pay attention to. You’re wandering around the high desert with your eyes focused on the ground. I did and can see people getting lost out there.

We collected agate all day and part of the next. I personally filled a five gallon bucket full of great agates. Many I’m keeping them just the way they are and some I’m getting ready to tumble. I found one that looks like a snake from one angle and a duckling from another. Trevor filled most of a bucket too. If you cover a lot of ground and do some digging, you should be able to find lots of mineralogical treasure too. I can’t wait to go back again. Next stop: McDermitt.

McDermitt

McDermitt, the town, is in Nevada. The famous McDermitt digging locality is in Oregon. It gets confusing sometimes. Either which way, it’s a long drive to get there. Having spent most of the day collecting snakeskin agate in Rome, we didn’t get to McDermitt until late in the afternoon. It was easy to find and the main road isn’t too bad. It is dirt and gravel of course, but manageable. There’s a very nice campsite available too. The area is well known for its petrified wood, but also has very nice agate, jasper, banded rhyolite, petrified bog, and thundereggs. I was there to find the petrified bog known as Gary Green. Unfortunately I forgot to bring the map that has the spot marked where it is. Doh! I must have driven around for hours trying to find it. I found all the sites listed in the Gem Trails of Oregon map, but could not for the life of me find the Gary Green. I found wood, agate, green/yellow opal, and checked out the banded rhyolite, but decided to not lug any back to the truck. I was so set on finding the bog, it was all I could think about. It started getting dark, so we headed back to the camp spot. Upon arriving it started to rain. I was a little miffed about not finding the bog, and didn’t want to sleep in the rain, so we decided to camp further north, where it wasn’t raining. Not having spent much time there we didn’t find a whole lot. I know it’s there; I just need more time and the right maps. McDermitt, I shall return. Gary Green, I will find you.

Road to McDermitt

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Graveyard Point, Oregon

2010 marked my golden birthday. I turned thirty-one on the thirty-first. Being a special birthday, I figured this year I should visit places in Oregon I’ve never been before. I’ve rockhounded in most areas of Oregon, but the far southeast was unexplored territory for me. I checked my maps and decided to visit Graveyard Point, Succor Creek, Rome, and McDermitt — all places I’d dreamed of going, but had never found the time.

When I leave on a rockhounding trip, I usually leave very early in the morning, so I can maximize my first day. My first stop this year was Graveyard Point which is a little over 400 miles from Portland, where I live, so I really wanted to get going early. The last couple of years though, something seemed to come up at the last minute, delaying my departure. This year of course was no different. I unfortunately suffer from migraines, and wouldn’t you know it, one struck the night before I was to leave. It kept me incapacitated well into the next morning.  Finally, around noon, the migraine passed enough for me to function and I was able to start packing the truck. My friend Trevor showed up and by about 2 or 3pm we were finally off on our adventure.

Graveyard Point is one of the best agate hunting locations in Oregon. It’s been popular with collectors for decades and there is still tons of material to be found. In Gem Trails of Oregon, Romaine lists that there is tube agate, white plume agate, red moss agate, marcasite-infused agate, and all ranges in between.  Now you know why I’ve been dreaming about visiting for so long.

Our drive to Graveyard Point was long and wet.  It poured cats and dogs the whole way from Portland to the Idaho border. Combine that with those Columbia Gorge winds on I-84 and you have some good times. We didn’t arrive at Graveyard until well after dark. It’s always interesting driving into a new location in the middle of the night as you have nothing to reference in the distance. There is nothing but darkness. Luckily Trevor was armed with a GPS and I with the new Gem Trails of Oregon. We rambled on through the night and after many u-turns we finally made it to site B marked in the book. We set our tents up in a field and both started noticing bits of agate glowing under our flashlights. We tromped around for about an hour collecting in the dark before we hit the hay.

Graveyard Point Agate Pits

The upside to driving into a new location at night is the awe and splendor of waking up and discovering the newly lit location you’re at. Trevor and I quickly shook the sleep out of our eyes that first morning and decided that before breakfast we should take a short hike up the hill where there were signs of pits. The pits were very large, showing years of people pounding away for decades. We could see large seams of agate in the wall. Nearby there was a man camped by another pit, only he had a claim and a backhoe. This made me begin to wonder if the pit I was in was claimed. I didn’t see any markers, but didn’t want to take any chances. I’d hate to be labeled a claim-jumper. We soon needed food and coffee, so we walked back to camp. Along the way we found lots of agate just sitting in the field. I quickly learned why they call Graveyard Point an agate lover’s paradise. The stuff is everywhere! We inhaled our breakfast in anticipation of finding lots of mineralogical treasures. We hopped in my truck to do some exploring. There was a small hill off in the distance that looked promising, so we headed for it.

I should take this opportunity to describe the roads back by site B in Gem Trails. The book recommends 4WD and for good reason. The roads are rough and rutted. People use the area for riding ATV’s and the ruts run deep in places. Passenger cars and minivans will not fair well.  I will say however, that I do not own a 4WD truck and I have reached many places that list “4WD only,” including that nasty road leading to the rainbow obsidian pits on Little Glass Butte near Bend, OR. She’s just a little four-banger Toyota Tacoma with good clearance and a madman behind the wheel. That said, I may be a madman, but I’m not an idiot. Those eastern Oregon dirt roads are nasty when wet and even the toughest 4WD trucks can get stuck.  I know my truck and what she can and can’t do. Trevor also got his Dodge Caliber back into Graveyard, but very carefully.  OK, now back to the rocks.

The Big One -- Agate from Graveyard Point

We arrived at our aforementioned hill, parked, and immediately leaving my truck a nice piece of fist sized white plume was sitting there waiting for me. In a matter of a half hour my messenger bag was full of similar pieces and a lot of great tumbler material. At the top of the hill we found a few veins and pulled out some decent material. I turned around while hammering and noticed a wash running through the valley. I wanted to go to there. I told Trevor about my affinity for washes and he quickly found out why. Within five minutes of entering said wash I bent over to pick up a nice baseball sized piece of orange colored agate. That small chunk didn’t want to budge. A smile gleamed over my face. I started picking at the dirt with my long-handle Estwing, exposing more agate. It still didn’t move. My smile got bigger. I dug some more and soon enough a beautiful hunk of agate over a foot long was in my hands. I held it up to show Trevor who was a few hundred feet down the wash. I won’t tell you the expletive deletes he called me. Within a few hours of collecting I personally filled two plastic milk crates full of awesome material. I knew if we stayed and kept collecting at that pace we’d never make it out. We got back to camp and packed everything into the vehicles. I then noticed another hill in the opposite direction and of course it was calling to me. Having plenty of material already, I told Trevor we’d go check it out, but with no hammers or buckets. I have to say, I’m kind of a crackhead for agates. I totally didn’t mean to pick up so many. Just like the other hills, there was agate and lots of it. Soon my pockets were full and I was carrying a virtual “baby” of larger agates. I was dropping agates trying to pick up others. It was ridiculous. We finally made it back to the vehicles and quickly got out of there before we couldn’t carry anymore. Besides, we still had three more localities to hit.

Overall I spent about eight hours total collecting and walked away with three plastic milk crates full of beautiful plume, moss, spotted, and many other varieties of agate. If you love digging for high quality agate as much as I do, Graveyard Point is not to be missed.

Coming Soon: Succor Creek, Rome, and McDermitt

Lars Johnson

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Continuing with my series on quartz, these are more of my favorite formations.  Quartz crystals never cease to amaze me.  With all their different characteristics, each one is so unique with its own personality.

Tabular Crystals

A tabular crystal is a flat, squashed-looking crystal with the nickname “tabby.”  In my experience, I have found that many tabbies are also double terminated.  They are usually found fully formed, independent from a host rock.

Often, tabby crystals have notches across the face that can be rubbed to reveal information stored within.  They can be used to activate the power of other crystals and can be used to clear away blockages.

Elestial Crystals

There’s something about elestial crystals that have always struck me as enchanted.  Their formations remind me of ancient, magical castles. Elestial crystals are characterized by numerous and somewhat flat terminations over the body and face of an etched or layered crystal.  Benefits include: overcoming emotional burdens, removing blockages, and connecting to the higher self, taking you deep within to understand the spiritual processes at work.  In my 20 years of experience, I’ve noticed that many elestials are smoky quartz or enhydros (especially etched ones).

Abundance Crystals

Abundance crystals are characterized by single points with many smaller crystals at its base.  These crystals are used to attract prosperity, abundance, well-being, success, and good fortune. They are great for placing in the prosperity corner of the home in feng shui.

Abundance Crystal

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What have been your dream experiences?  Do you have reoccurring or odd dreams and wonder what they’re all about?  Now you can find out!

We have the pleasure of introducing one of our best, long-time customers Sarai St. Julien and her book, DreamLines: A Guided Journey Through the Landscape of Dreams.  The Fossil Cartel is hosting a book signing, this Saturday, May 1^st from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.  Come meet Sarai, have her sign your book and enter a raffle to win her CD, Relax Now! Guided Meditations for People in a Hurry.  We also have a special on our dream healing pouch when you purchase her book.

I have done some dream work myself in the past and always loved it.  Thanks to Sarai and her book, I’m happy to be at it again.  I love DreamLines because Sarai gives us the where-with-all to learn how to understand our dreams.  She doesn’t just give pat answers for what different symbols mean but provides ideas to help you brainstorm and come to your own conclusions. I can’t wait to finish the book and am looking forward to the next few chapters on dream incubation –“The process of planting a subconscious seed from which a dream will sprout.”  This is a valuable skill as it can be very empowering in our waking life as well.

I sat down with Sarai to ask her about the story behind the book.  DreamLines is Sarai’s first solo book.  She has been a contributing author to other books for software and marketing studies, showing her diverse background.  Sarai started seriously studying dreams 18 years ago.  Upon experiencing some big changes and crises in her life, she yearned for comfort, distraction, understanding and the means to take action.  She discovered that dreams can be a tool for healing oneself.  “Dreams open up an amazing, beautiful, exciting new world filled with inspiration and the ability to explore other dimensions.  Dreams are like little works of art, poetry or films.  They offer us healing and solace.  Dreams expand our consciousness and awareness of our waking world.”

Sarai has taught dream classes at Portland Community College and loves interacting with her students.     Through her teaching she realized that her class format was the perfect structure for a book.   In comparison to other books on dreams I’ve read, DreamLines is more comprehensive and interactive.  There are several exercises in the book that teach people how to understand symbolism so they can personalize the understanding of their dreams.

As part of her research, Sarai experimented with gemstones (from The Fossil Cartel!) in her dream work and found them to be quite helpful.  She wore jasper, carnelian and hematite in a pouch around her neck while sleeping to feel safe and grounded during nightmares.  She also used amethyst, moonstone and Chinese Writing Rock.  With the latter stone, Sarai experienced detailed past life dreams.  It was so powerful, she had to move the stone to the opposite end of her bedroom so it wouldn’t interfere with her sleep.   Her experience with amethyst was that it increases one’s ability to visualize clearly, enhancing the dream state.  She also enjoys rose quartz for its emotional lift and comfort.

Currently, Sarai teaches classes in psychic development, she writes, and provides reiki treatments and readings (tarot, aura and chakra).  Her goal is to help people work on trusting their own intuition, or inner voice.  She has certainly made one of her own waking dreams a reality with the publishing of her first book!

If you can’t make it this Saturday, DreamLines is available at The Fossil Cartel store and website.  You can also visit Sarai’s website at www.intuitivespath.com.

Sweet dreaming!

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There are so many different kinds of quartz crystals, it’s fascinating.  Because there are so many, I’ve decided to break up this blog into several postings so it’s not too overwhelming.

One of my favorites is the “self-healed” quartz crystal.  This is a crystal that broke off the main crystal or cluster and healed itself by forming terminations over the broken part.  Given the gaps in our health care system, we need to take a look at this phenomenon and understand that we too have the capacity for self healing.  We are born with bodies that have the ability to heal themselves.  We must of course have certain conditions in place to insure that this can happen, including proper environment, emotional support and the right nutrients.  We need to listen to our bodies and give them what they are calling out for.  Just because we go to a doctor doesn’t mean they’re going to heal us.  In many cases, doctors just treat symptoms and not the cause, only for the problem to reappear again further down the road or manifest itself as a different “dis-ease.” We need to be proactive about our health and take matters into our own hands. Research your particular issue, talk to people and explore alternative medical approaches as well.  I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, if you need a little self healing, a self-healed crystal would be a perfect tool to help you achieve this.

Record Keeper quartz crystals have tiny triangular shapes embedded or raised on the surface.  Sometimes there’s just one and sometimes the crystal is covered with them.  Some are outlined with repetitive shapes making a chevron pattern.  Just as the name implies, record keepers store ancient wisdom.   When one is properly attuned to them, they can reveal ancient secrets and profound knowledge.  According to Melody in her book, Love Is In The Earth, the purposes for accessing this information are:

• To provide one with information concerning the origin of the human race, the human soul, and all that exists or has existed in one’s reality.
• To facilitate the actualization of each person as a healing agent for humanity and the environment.
• To allow one to incorporate higher knowledge, wisdom, peace, and love into this and other planets.

“Only those with open minds and pure hearts can access the information via attunement of the consciousness with the inner energies of the crystal. The information provided by the record keeper enhances one’s light, provides for a deeper access to personal wisdom, and promotes a greater peace to be used in this world.”

Next we will explore tabular, elestial and abundance crystals.

Self-healed quartz crystal

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I have a special talisman that helped create my family.  It is a quartz “family” that I’ve owned and meditated with for many years.  As you can see in the picture below, it has a daddy, mommy and two children .  This was the perfect amulet to help manifest the family of my dreams.  It is a very meaningful treasure to me.  I found it before I met my husband.  I would literally hold it while meditating and visualize the perfect family.  A  short while later, voila!  I met my husband and had two amazing children.

The term “crystal” can be a bit confusing as sometimes people are referring to quartz in general, not crystals per say.  It can also be used to refer to man-made “crystal” which is glass with a certain amount of lead added to it such as the famous Swarovski crystal, or the “crystal” glassware newlywed couples received as gifts in the old days. The name “rock crystal” emerged in the Middle Ages to differentiate it from colorless glass.  The Greeks called water-clear crystals krystalos, hence the name “crystal.”  The name “quartz” comes from Old German, but its origins are unknown.

“Rock crystal” or clear quartz is the colorless, transparent variety of quartz.  Quartz is made up of silica dioxide, the most common mineral in Earth’s crust after feldspar and ice.   Metaphysically, quartz is used for power, communication and cleansing.  It is found worldwide, but the best specimens are found in Arkansas, Brazil and Madagascar.  Colored quartzes include amethyst, citrine and rose quartz.  The color in these quartzes is caused by various elements such as iron and manganese.

Quartz crystals are fascinating.  Each crystal is unique and has its own personality.  To me, crystals are self-actualized stones.  I always like to use this as a metaphor for achieving and maximizing our own human potential.  Crystals stand apart from the massive form of quartz in that they have achieved the distinct physical shape and characteristics of a crystal, exhibiting six faces and one to two terminations.  Quartz crystals display varying characteristics in their formation that correspond to specific healing properties: self-healed, abundance, window, record keeper, soul mate, phantom, double terminated, etc.

In my next blog, part 2, I will discuss some of the different formations of quartz crystals and their healing properties, so stay tuned.

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The Tucson Gem Show in February was a blast.  One of the things we enjoyed  most this year was having more time to hang out with friends in the business and watching lots of sunsets at Gate’s Pass — one of the best places in the world to witness the sun descending beneath the horizon.

As promised, we are featuring one of our vendors so that you may get to know the people behind all of these wonderful pieces we bring into the store.

Our star vendor this year is Steve Wolf, a creative Oregon jewelry designer based in Ashland who has been a good friend for years.  Many of you may have heard of him because we’ve been carrying his line of jewelry for a long time.  His pieces are very distinctive, high quality work, and usually differentiated from other jewelry by his designs and the cut out shapes on the back side of his pieces.  He also uses a lot of Oregon material such as picture jasper, morrisonite and polka dot agate.  I haven’t seen other jewelers using these particular stones to the degree he does, and we love it as Oregon rocks are one of our specialties.

Steve was born in Chicago and moved to Laguna Beach, CA. when he was a year old.  From there, his family moved around to England, Hawaii, Australia, Japan, upstate New York and back to Laguna.  At age nine, Steve learned how to cut stones and discovered he had a real affinity for it.  In his twenties, Steve learned the construction trade and was able to build and invest in a couple of houses.  He flipped them and reinvested his profit in the jewelry business in the 1980s.  Originally he began his new career with his brother Richard, who went on to start his own jewelry business, Far Fetched, and is still in business today as well.

At the height of Steve’s jewelry business in the 1990s, he had 70 full time jewelry smiths in Taxco, Mexico producing his designs.  For many years he supplied stores such as Nordstroms, Bullocks, Robinsons, Natural Wonders and Disney.  One of his designs that sold millions all over the world was a sterling silver globe pendant featuring a chime inside.

Steve raised his daughter by himself and would bring her down to Mexico with him when she was very young.  In addition to creating fabulous jewelry, Steve enjoys building and developing homes, playing guitar, and traveling around the world.

Picture Jasper Pendant

Susan & Steve at Gate's Pass

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This is one of my favorite times of year:  unpacking all the new goodies from our annual buying trip in Tucson. Getting to share new treasure is a big joy in this business. We’ve got some great things to show you.  Come soon.  There is limited supply of many items and some are going quickly. This is just a portion of the booty:

• Lots of new pi’s: chrysocolla, lemon chrysoprase, blue lace agate, crazy lace agate, lepidolite (yummy dark purple!), moonstone, smoky quartz, etc.  I’ve never seen many of these stones in donuts before!
• Ruby crystals in matrix from Madagascar.  Matrix is a white composite with shiny dark bronze flakes of mica.  Quite aesthetically pleasing!
• Diopside –green.
• Peridot clusters from Arizona
• “A” grade Fluorite slabs – large and small
• Loose faceted Oregon sunstones
• Tumbled green phantom quartz
• Pyrite eggs – small and affordable!
• Cavansite- gorgeous teal blue zeolite against a white matrix
• Pearl studs – simple with no metal $9.00 pr.
• Sugilite rings “A” grade mmmmmm…..!
• Charoite earring- small, simple oval dangles,
• Chakra chip necklaces – new style with matching bracelets.
• Skulls – goldstone, blue goldstone, fluorite, smoky quartz and brecciated jasper

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Dendrites can fool you.  They look just like fossilized plant matter.  However, they are mineral formations, not plant fossils — and one of my favorite mineral formations!  The word dendrite comes from the Greek word dendron, meaning tree, and also describes the branched projections of a nerve cell.

A dendrite is a superficial deposit of manganese oxide that has crystallized in a multi-branching tree-like pattern.  This pattern is what fools us into thinking they are plant fossils.  Dendrites form as water rich in manganese and iron flows along tiny cracks between layers of limestone and other rock types.  Dendrites may also consist of iron oxides and other minerals, and can also form in quartz materials like agate and jasper. When it is found in agate and opal, it is called “dendritic agate” and “dendritic opal.”

Metaphysically, stones with dendrites resonate with blood vessels and nerves.  They help heal the nervous system and conditions such as neuralgia. Dendrites can help with skeletal disorders, reverse capillary degeneration and stimulate the circulatory system.  It is the stone of plenitude; it also helps create a peaceful environment and encourage the enjoyment of each moment.  Dendrites deepen your connection to the earth and can bring stability in times of strife or confusion.

We have some beautiful dendrite specimens of dendrites in marl (calcareous mudstone), a sedimentary rock from Solenhofen, Germany that are 160 million years old.  Each piece is different, a mini still life in stone:  framed silhouettes of  trees, ferns, seaweeds, and bushes.  These dendrites are a great gift for anyone with a green thumb or who has a strong connection to nature.

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