I Have to Have This!

It is a grey, rainy, icky, stay-inside-and-read-a-book kind of day. What does one do when down?

SHOP!

I made a quick foray onto e-bay and started with candles. I love candles and of course I'm heartbroken that Illuminations has closed its doors. Not that I have been able to find some of the really old fragrances like Pear and Wasabi but there was a teeny ray of hope that maybe I could when they still were open. I found a couple of candles under Woodwick (new to me) and White Barn Candle Company, but nothing exciting. I skipped around then, looking briefly at office organisers, DVDs, etc. And then I typed in "crystal".

Crystal brought up all sorts of stuff - bowls, jewelry, etc., but I realised that this was too general. So I typed in "flourite", and then got specifically flourite items, but again, most cut into gemstones or jewelry. Ah. So I typed in "flourite balls" and hit gold - or in this case, flourite!

I did do some fast shopping - two beautiful flourite balls, one light and one dark; and one rainbow obsidian ball, just stunning! And I bought them all from one seller, so after that purchase I did some browsing and then I found this:

Description: "This gemstone heart is brand new, fabulous look. Perfectly polished. Labradorite is a powerful crystal with tons of energy and this one has plenty. It would be a great addition to your collections. The heart pictured is the exact one you will receive. All pictures were taken in natural sun light.

Labradorite is truely a fascinatingly beautiful mineral. Its a mineral whose charm is not fully noticed and may be overlooked if not viewed from the proper position. Generally a dull, dark looking mineral with no special virtue until the colorful shiller is observed glowing on the surface. Labradorite can produce a colorful play of light across cleavage planes and in sliced sections called labradorescence. The usually intense colors range from the typical blues and violets through greens, yellows and oranges. Some rare specimens display all these colors simultaneously.

The color display is from lamellar intergrowths inside the crystal. These intergrowths result from compatible chemistries at high temperatures becoming incompatible at lower temperatures and thus a separating and layering of these two phases. The resulting color effect is caused by a ray of light entering a layer and being refracted back and forth by deeper layers.

This refracted ray is slowed by the extra travel through the layers and mixes with other rays to produce a light ray coming out that has a different wavelength than when it went in. The wavelength could correspond to the wavelength of a particular color, such as blue. The effect depends on the thickness and orientation of the layers. If the layers are too thick or too thin no color shiller is seen. Also if the viewer does not observe from the precise angle or if light is not supplied from the proper angle then no color shiller is seen. The labradorescence is truely a one of a kind mineralogical experience and must be observed in person in order to truely appreciate its beauty.

Metaphysical Properties: Emits a powerful light energy, from planetary sources and beings, to the soul of the user. Used in facilitating astral projection. Stone of transformation and utilization of the subconscoius mind. Promotes intellectual, intuitive, and mystical wisdom. Stimulates brain, reduces anxiety and stress. Clears, balances, and protects aura."

I sent the seller a message saying I really have to have this but I spent my budgeted money for this week (when I have my tire replaced today I will have, anyway - $200!); what can you do for me so that I can get this without worrying that someone else will swoop in and take it away? It's a "Buy It Now" listing at $149.99 with a shipping fee of $10.35 and it weighs 4lbs, 10.6oz! It is over 4" in size! By and far the largest Labradorite I have ever seen!

I have to have it!

Hopefully I will get a positive answer to this. I'd like to get it next week or the week after. I also asked if they have any rutilated quartz, as I only have one rutilated ball and while it is stunning, it is smallist and I'd like to add another to the collection. I should ask about stands, too - all of mine are full...

The two flourite balls will be joining many, many more but they are all special to me - these are not that big (they are about average to a bit larger but I have one at home that is 80 or 90mm and these are (light) 40mm and (dark) 50mm. Still, they are quite gorgeous and they are banded, quite obviously so. I love that look.

"Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. Cubic crystals up to 20 cm across have been found at Dalnegorsk, Russia. Crystal twinning is common and adds complexity to the observed crystal habits.

The word fluorite is derived from the Latin root fluo, meaning "to flow" because the mineral has a relatively low melting point and was used as an important flux in smelting. Fluorite gave its name to its constitutive element fluorine."

I have a large collection of flourite but it is the nature of flourite to vary greatly - some are so light that they almost look like clear quartz; others so dark and rich they look more like amethyst. And while the more psychically able will use them for whatever metaphysical properties they may have, I'm a psychic doorknob and just admire and enjoy the beauty of the stones.

I did see some other items that I am "watching" in ebay: a 54mm large green fossil sphere, a 64mm green jasper ball, a 71mm green malachite sphere, a 64mm red tigers eye sphere, and a 45mm yellow turquoise with hematite sphere (it is quite fascinating). I fully intend to buy those, too!

The other ball is rainbow obsidian, and while I have an obsidian ball and a couple of snowflake obsidian balls, I don't have, nor am I familiar with, rainbow obsidian. It looks incredible. Of course, I have a soft spot for obsidian as it is volcanic rock (usually referred to as volcanic glass) and many a powerful volcano has spit it out. And you know how much I love volcanoes!

It would be more interesting if this came with a pedigree...

"Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth. Obsidian is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows, where the chemical composition (high silica content) induces a high viscosity and polymerization degree of the lava. The inhibition of atomic diffusion through this highly viscous and polymerized lava explains the lack of crystal growth. Because of the lack of crystal structure, obsidian blade edges can reach almost molecular thinness, leading to its ancient use as projectile points, and its modern use as surgical scalpel blades."

I don't know where this comes from or what volcano spit it out, but it will be mine to admire.

The only thing I need now is to have a wooden piece I can hang on my walls at home that would house all of my crystal balls so that the cats and cleaning ladies can't accidentally break them!