Raw black tourmaline is sheathed in antique brass filigree and wire-work which echoes the wild geometry of the crystal. Black tourmaline, historically known as Schorl, has a uniquely primal beauty, midnight-black with a blueish, raven-wing shimmer.
Tourmaline forms in granite pegmites, where uprisings of molten stone from the earth's mantle have penetrated the earth's crust and cooled there, creating complex subterranean gardens of stone with networks of cavities and crevices are fed by hydro-thermal vents, where mineral-rich volcanic fluids nourish the growth of nature's most beautifully formed crystals. Tourmaline grows pillar-shaped crystals and can form in any color depending upon their chemical environment, and can sometimes acquire a rainbow gradations of color, caused by chemical fluctuation over time. Black tourmaline is the most common variety of tourmaline. An iron-rich solution lends an opaque darkness and metallic luster, and imbues it with unique magnetic properties. When heated, black tourmaline becomes electro-magnetically charged. This phenomenon, known as pryoelectrity, occurs when the positions of the atoms shift and realign, polarizing, and becoming temporarily magnetic.
Schorl is a favorite stone for ritual work and shamanic practices. It draws its power from the iron-black heart of the earth, and it can be used to connect us to that power, guiding and protecting us. Black Tourmaline is protective, but it is not a shield: It is sensitive, and will to receive, conduct, and transform energy, instead of simply reflecting it. Historically, it has been used to subdue demons, to negotiate with the spirits of the earth, to purify, and to channel and the dark mysterious energies of nature. It can help us to remember repressed or forgotten truths, and to awaken latent powers.
Chain sold separately.