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- Hey, crystal lovers.
Ashley here with the Love & Light School.
And in this video,
I'm sharing all about the healing properties of black onyx.
This is such a beautiful stone for strength and grounding,
and it's actually a cryptocrystalline form of quartz.
It's a black chalcedony, but we call it "onyx."
"Onyx" is one of those names,
a little bit like a daisy, where it's a little generic.
It can mean a number of different things,
but it's the most common name
for this black semi-precious stone
that is often featured in jewelry
and has been for thousands of years.
So a great affirmation to use
when working with your black onyx stone is
"I embrace my inner shadow
"and I integrate the lessons it has to teach me."
Black onyx is probably best known for its ability
to support you with your grounding practice,
so helping you feel more in the present moment.
But it's also an excellent crystal
for promoting inner strength and clear focus.
It also amplifies your intentions.
Because you're really present in the moment,
when you're working with black onyx,
holding it and setting an intention
for your day or something longer term,
it really helps you embody that
and keep that intention top of mind.
It also assists with integrating lessons that are shared
by your shadow side
and energetically supports you
as you face your shadow side with courage
so that you can release old patterns
that are no longer serving you.
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It really ranges in color from a soft black
to a dark charcoal-gray,
and it's occasionally streaked with lighter bands
or swirls of gray, white, or cream.
It's connected with the zodiac signs of Taurus and Scorpio,
and it corresponds to the element of earth.
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Its companion flower is the ghost pipe,
and its companion essential oil is mugwort.
A great companion stone to use along with black onyx
is peach aventurine.
It brings a really nice balancing energy
to this heavy, earthy stone.
Black onyx is commonly found in Brazil, India,
Uruguay, Madagascar, and Peru.
And one way to differentiate black onyx
from other black stones, especially if it's tumbled
and it's a little bit difficult to tell,
is that it often has a somewhat waxy-looking surface,
not quite as shiny or glassy as black obsidian.
And it's usually missing some of the telltale fissures
or craggy surface of a black tourmaline.
As I mentioned earlier, onyx is a form of chalcedony,
which is the cryptocrystalline
or microcrystalline variety of quartz.
It can be, but is not always, banded.
Onyx in general can come in lots of different colors,
and you may see green onyx, blue onyx.
But remember, "onyx" is that blanket term
that's used for a lot of banded stones.
Onyx does have a long and very interesting history
that's really worth learning about.
It has this excellent, smooth texture
and interesting patterns in the banded varieties
that made them favorites for carving
for jewelry and everyday objects.
This included some of the world's most exquisite cameos,
so where the little pictures of people were silhouetted
into the stone.
The reason that you get the two colors,
usually a white image on a colorful background,
is because of the layers of the stone.
And by carving through the whiter layer,
you create a relief that leaves the image popping out
in a 3D picture.
Thank you so much for watching.
I'm Ashley Leavy
with the Love & Light School of Crystal Therapy.
Until next time, crystal blessings.
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