Obsidian Sphere 53mm to 70mm | Gold Sheen, Silver Sheen or Rainbow Bullseye | Choose Your Sphere

Description

An obsidian sphere, cut and polished from natural volcanic glass and sent with a stand. There are seven to choose from: four gold sheen obsidian spheres from 55mm to 70mm, two silver sheen obsidian spheres at 58mm, and one rainbow obsidian sphere with a well centred bullseye. Each one is photographed on its own, and the letter in the dropdown matches the photo, so the sphere you see is the sphere you receive.

Choose your obsidian sphere

• Gold Sheen A, 70mm, 426g, £46. The largest of the set. A broad, feathered gold sheen sweeps across the whole upper half, soft and silky rather than sparkly, with deep black glass below.
• Gold Sheen B, 62mm, 328g, £35. Swirling arcs of golden sheen that curve around the sphere like brushed metal, catching the light as it turns.
• Gold Sheen C, 62mm, 318g, £34. Deep bands of bronze gold sheen with darker arcs running between them, giving a layered, almost striped look under one light.
• Gold Sheen D, 55mm, 222g, £28. A fine, glittering sheen like gold dust, spread evenly over the top of the sphere. Small enough for a palm or a bedside table.
• Rainbow Obsidian Bullseye, 53mm, 197g, £39. Black glass with a closed ring of deep red and aubergine purple, well centred, so it reads as a true bullseye rather than a crescent.
• Silver Sheen F, 58mm, 250g, £35. Soft silvery grey sheen laid down in long, layered bands, like brushed pewter, across black glass.
• Silver Sheen G, 58mm, 258g, £35. A brighter, swirling silver sheen that flows across the sphere in waves and feathered streaks.

What obsidian is

Obsidian is natural volcanic glass. Lava cooled so quickly that no crystals had time to grow, and what set instead was glass. In gold sheen and rainbow obsidian, that glass carries countless tiny inclusions and gas bubbles, lined up in layers as the lava flowed.

Light goes into those layers and comes back as sheen. In gold sheen obsidian it returns as a warm gold or bronze glow, and in silver sheen obsidian as a cool, silvery shimmer. In rainbow obsidian the layers are finer, and the light comes back as bands of colour, here red and purple. Neither is a coating or a dye. It is the glass itself doing something with light.

How the sheen behaves

The sheen is directional, and this decides whether you are happy with the piece. Under a flat ceiling light an obsidian sphere can read as near black. Bring one light in from above or to one side, a lamp, a candle or a sunny window, and the sheen opens up and moves as you turn the sphere in its stand. That is the stone behaving normally, and it is part of the pleasure of owning one.

Traditional correspondences

Obsidian is one of the best known protection stones, traditionally kept by the door or on an altar to absorb and ground heavy energy. It has long been used for scrying, and a polished sphere is the classic form for it: a dark mirror to gaze into by candlelight. Gold sheen obsidian is linked with self reflection and finding purpose, silver sheen obsidian with the moon, intuition and scrying, and rainbow obsidian with lightness and comfort after a hard time. With Samhain close, a dark obsidian sphere is a lovely centre for a seasonal altar.

Correspondences are traditional and are offered as part of a practice, not as a substitute for medical or professional advice.

Caring for your obsidian sphere

Obsidian is glass, so it can chip if knocked or dropped onto a hard floor. Keep it in its stand and away from the edge of shelves. It is around 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale, so harder crystals such as quartz will scratch it if they knock together.

A soft dry cloth brings the polish back. To cleanse, use sound, breath or moonlight.

What you receive

One obsidian sphere, the piece you choose from the dropdown, with a stand, wrapped for the post and sent by Royal Mail Tracked.

Browse the rest of the crystal spheres, or see everything in obsidian.

For the geology behind the stone, Mindat holds the reference data on obsidian.