TEKTITES AND PSEUDO TEKTITES: Tucson Gem show 2022, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are buzzing with talks of MOLDAVITE, but did you know there are more varieties of tektites (and pseudo tektites) than just MOLDAVITE?! Read on to find out! Don’t miss out on these hidden gems!
TEKTITES: Moldavite, Microtektite, Australite, Bediasite, Indochinite, Philippinite, Javanite, Uruguaite, Bikolite, Billitonite, Chinite, Darwin Glass, Georgiaite, Irghizite, Ivorite, Zhamanshinite, Atacamaite, And Libyan Desert Glass, Pica Glass; AND PSEUDO TEKTITES: Amerikanite/Americanite, Colombianite, Arizonaite, Saffordite, Cintamani Stone, Carpathian Cintamani, Agnimanitite, Healdsburg Tektite or Glass of Healdsburgites
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Whether you are a newcomer or a seasoned veteran of the “Crystals, Minerals, & Metaphysics” community, we are sure you have heard all the BUZZ around tektites, namely Moldavite! With TikTok shooting it to the mass, and with the majority of the mines being shut down by the Czech Republic government, with no current production, MOLDAVITE is in-demand more than ever, with soaring prices (with good reason, too!). After-all, it is one of the most instrumental stones in the Age of Aquarius, and makes for denying metaphysical properties of stones rather difficult for ones who have experienced its surreal magick. Of course, the soaring prices of Moldavite must be understood for what it is, and can’t be attributed to TikTok all in itself. There are a combination of factors that play a role with it, and they aren’t limited to: 1) mass appeal (supply and demand, perhaps TikTok and the internet played a role in helping this wonderful stone reach the masses, which is a GOOD THING), 2) no new production or not much production of more Moldavite stones as the mines are mostly shut down in the Czech Republic, 3) the cost for vendors to replace even wholesale Moldavite has risen to high numbers per gram, thus retail prices have to increase to match it and for the vendors to even be able to repurchase stone to restock once their stock has sold, and 4) MOLDAVITE IS A LIMITED SUPPLY, and not a renewable resource.
While the sacred qualities of Moldavite can certainly not be denied, and the attainability of genuine moldavite becomes more difficult (do note, we have a great supply of genuine Moldavite available for purchase at ThrowinStones.com and ThrowinStones.ETSY.com for you to catch before supplies run out!), DID YOU KNOW there are other such sacred stones, of the same tektite— glassy terrestrial and extra-terrestrial fusion— variety that are worth experiencing? As well as, Pseudo tektites, which are not of extra-terrestrial or meteoric origin but are ancient obsidian, with incredible properties!
Read along, as we share more such sacred stones, both Tektites and Pseudo-Tektites, that could supplement your Spiritual or Mineral enthusiast journey!
FOR MILLENNIA, people all around the world have been intrigued by these glassy gems. The oldest documented mention of tektites is found in a book by Liu Sun, Ling Piao Lu Yi, generally translated as "Notes on the Wonders Beyond the Nanling Mountains in Kwangtung," written approximately 900 B.C. during the T'ang dynasty in China. Liu Sun said that after rainstorms, lei-gong-mo, or Thundergods inkstones, were collected, which were black stones with a bright brilliance and created a ringing sound when struck (Extra cheers for “*Angel chimes”). Tektites were a mystery until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was little investigation done until Alfred Lacroix of the Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris documented a huge tektite deposit in Indonesia and subsequently recognized the Ivory Coast as a tektite site. These discoveries, as well as the following publication of studies on them, piqued the curiosity of scientists all around the world. The rest of the first half of the twentieth century was devoted searching for and identifying new tektites and their locations across the world. As more tektite sites were discovered, a variety of theories were proposed to explain the tektites' peculiar chemical and physical features. The assumption that tektites come from the Moon propelled tektite study into the spotlight throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Most scientists ultimately dismissed this notion, but the large amount of data gathered during this time period formed the foundation for tektite study that continues today.
*Angel Chimes
Tektites are natural impact glasses that have the ability to vibrate at a resonant frequency. When a tektite is struck or rubbed, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, which causes the tektite to vibrate. The air molecules around the tektite vibrate as a result of the oscillations in the tektite, generating a chiming sound. Not all tektites, however, are "Angel Chimes," and thicker glass does not resonate as well as thinner glass. An Angel Chime tektite contains a high internal tension possibly because it solidified quickly from a molten state to a hard glass during its formation. When tapped, dropped, or brushed on glass or metal, the Angel Chime tektite will vibrate more and generate a chiming or ringing sound owing to its high internal tension. Angel Chimes are more commonly discovered in thinner or longer tektites that were able to cool more quickly after they formed. Angel chimes with thicker form are also possible. The chiming or ringing sound of Angel Chimes varies in intensity. This is obvious if the sound it emits has a higher pitch and a longer ringing sound, which might indicate increased internal tension. If the sound is lower in pitch and has a shorter ringing sound, it may have a lower internal tension (than chimes with a higher pitch and longer ringing), or only a portion of the tektite may have a greater internal tension (than chimes with a higher pitch and longer ringing) (e.g. only part of the tektite cooled faster while the other part cooled slower). Angel Chimes are more brittle than conventional tektites since they have a higher internal tension and are frequently thinner. This means they should be handled with care in the process of producing chiming. When attempting to make the chime sound, try not to drop it or smash it too hard against glass or metal, since this can break the stone.
WHAT ARE TEKTITES?
Tektites are a form of small, naturally occurring glassy material that are found only in a few locations on the Earth's surface. The phrase originates from the Greek tēktos, which translates as "melted" or “molten." While tektites were the subject of intense scientific scrutiny for the majority of the twentieth century due to their unknown and possibly extraterrestrial origins, as mentioned above, they are now recognized to have formed as the result of the melting and rapid cooling of terrestrial rocks vaporized by high-energy impacts from large meteorites, comets, or asteroids on the Earth's surface. The extraordinarily high temperatures and immense pressures generated by such impacts melted the rocks at the location, creating clouds of molten silicate droplets that quickly cooled to a glassy state before falling to Earth. Tektites come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sculptured surfaces. They range in color from green to dark brown to black. Some are glossy, while others have a delicate shine caused by minute sequential ridges and grooves that spiral across the surface. Tektites with spherical, elliptical, lenticular, teardrop, dumbbell, disk, and button shapes are the youngest and least corroded. Tektites range in diameter from a few tens of micrometers to approximately 10 cm (4 inches). Those greater than a few millimeters in diameter are all silica-rich; they resemble terrestrial obsidians but are distinguished by their decreased water content. Chemically, tektites differ from acid igneous (granitic) rocks in that they contain less soda and potash and more lime, magnesia, and iron. Microscopically, tektites lack the tiny crystals (microlites) found in terrestrial volcanic glasses.
Take-away:
Tektites are nonvolcanic, spherical, pitted masses of silicate glass formed by enormous hypervelocity meteorite impacts with terrestrial rocks. Tektites, which are typically around the size of a walnut, may range in size from microtektites weighing a few grams to huge, blocky Muong Nong-type specimens weighing up to 12.8 kg (28 pounds). Tektites vary in color and age based on where they were discovered. Tektites are often black in appearance; however they can also be bright green or greenish yellow. The age ranges from 35.5 million to 750,000 years. Tektites are distinguished chemically by extraordinarily high silica concentrations, which range from 70 percent in Australasian tektites to 98 percent in Libyan Desert Glass.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN TYPES OF TEKTITES?
There are four main types of tektites:
- Microtektites
- Muong-Nong type tektites or Type A Tektites
- Splash-form tektites or Type B Tektites
- Australites or Type C Tektite
1. Microtektites
Microtektites are a type of tektite with a diameter of less than 2 mm (0.08 inch). Most of them are virtually spherical, but some are oblate spheroids, while others are formed like rods, teardrops, and dumbbells. These are the types of morphologies that are usually taken up by rotating liquid drops. Corrosion appears in some microtektites, which include deep grooves or pits. Microtektites, which were initially identified in 1968 and have a wider range of composition than large tektites, for example, their silica content can be as low as 50%, equivalent to that of terrestrial basalts. Microtektites have only been discovered in deep-sea sediments thus far, owing to the difficulties in separating them from the more numerous and coarser land sediments. Their spherical shapes and composition, which is identical to that of massive tektites, separate them from volcanic ash.
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Muong-Nong type tektites or Type A Tektites
These Type A tektites, also known as the Muong Nong-type, are chunky or platy on the outside but typically exhibit indications of underlying compositional layering and variations in bubble content. This tektite type, thought to be generated by molten glass puddles, was discovered in 1935 by Lacroix and named after the town of Muong Nong, Laos, where they were initially discovered.
Muong-Nong type tektites are centimeter to decimeter-sized objects that include the largest known tektites. They are called after the place in Vietnam where they were initially discovered. They have a hefty structure, are frequently tablet-shaped, and often include layering, with each layer being about 1 mm thick.
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Splash-form tektites or Type B Tektites
Type B tektites, also known as "splash-form" tektites, are constituted of specimens that may be formed into spheres, ellipsoids, rods, teardrops, dumbbells, and boats when unbroken. Due to fluid movement when molten, some of these tektites have interior structures that are curved, twisted, and rolled. Previously, the forms of splash-form tektites were incorrectly connected with aerodynamic shaping. Variations in the rotation speeds of partly molten glass droplets really shaped these tektites. Dumbbell-shaped specimens rotate at the fastest speeds, whereas spheroid specimens rotate slowly or not at all. The surface tension of the melt from which these "splash-form" tektites are created limits their size.
Splash-form tektites resemble microtektites in morphology but are a million times larger. The most common shapes are spheres, oblate spheroids, and a few dumbbells, teardrops, disks, and cylinders. The two most typical types of corrosion on splash-form tektites are 1) a system of hemispherical pits of various diameters and 2) a system of straight grooves of uniform width on a given specimen. Long furrows, like worm tracks, can also be seen on some tektites. The surface exposures of a system of twisted layers (schlieren) extending through the tektite and correlating to changes in the silica content may be seen on many specimens. They grade into the Muong-Nong tektites' layers.
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Australites or Type C Tektites
These tektites are Type B formations that have been afflicted by heat on one side (the anterior side), causing a portion of the mass to be lost to ablation and/or resculpted to create a flange from the material from the anterior side. These flanged "buttons" are most abundant in Australites, although they may also be found in some Javanites. (1) About 10% of the tektites found in Australia are australites and kindred types. They have a lens like shape with an attached flange around the edge, giving them the appearance of a saucer. As mentioned, the heating and melting of entities that are similar to splash-form tektites certainly generated flanged australites. Transition forms have been discovered between the splash-form tektites and the australites.
WHERE ARE TEKTITES FOUND?
Except for Antarctica and South America, tektites may be found on every continent. They originated in groups at various points over Earth's history, with none forming in between. They only appear in certain regions, known as strewn-fields, and are given various names according on where they are located. The 35.4-million-year-old North American strewn-field provided a few tens of thousands of tektites, predominantly splash-form in kind. The 14.6-million-year-old strewn-field in the Czech Republic yielded tens of thousands of specimens, mostly of the same sorts as those discovered in the North American area and known as moldavites. The Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) strewn field, which is roughly 1.3 million years old, has generated a few hundred tektites. The majority of its specimens are splash-form. The Australasian strewn field, which stretches from South China to Australia and Tasmania via the Malay Archipelago, is estimated to be 800,000 years old. It is the single most prolific source of tektites; millions of specimens, largely of splash-form type, have been collected and are known as australites. The Russian strewn field is located in the southern Ural Mountains, and its tektites, called as Irghizite, date back to around 1.1 million years. The specimens are generally found mixed up with gravels and other coarse sediments in all of the aforementioned strewn-field regions. Microtektite fields in maritime sediments near to the regions of land occurrence are found in the North American, Australasian, and Ivory Coast fields. A number of strewn fields are associated to major impact craters. For example, Russian Irghizite may be found in and around the Zhamanshin meteorite crater, whereas Ivory Coast tektites can be found in Ghana's Bosumtwi Crater and Czech Republic moldavites can be found near Germany's Ries Crater. The impact craters of the Australasian and North American tektites have yet to be identified.
The western Caribbean and eastern Mexico are the most well-known strewn fields, with tektites recovered in strata that mark the transition between the late Cretaceous and early Paleogene periods. These tektites, found in the late twentieth century in Haiti and northeastern Mexico, were revealed to be 64.5 million years old, roughly twice as old as the oldest previously dated tektites. The ones discovered in Haiti were found in a layer of iridium-rich sedimentary rock around the Cretaceous-Tertiary, or Cretaceous-Paleogene, boundary, and are thought to be debris from a massive asteroid impact. The discovery of tektites supports the theory of a high-energy impact that resulted in worldwide extinctions and dinosaur extinctions. Microtektites-like glassy spherules have been discovered in rocks going back 367 million years in Belgium, and they may be evidence of a massive impact event associated to a global extinction that occurred during the Late Devonian Period (about 374 to 360 million years ago).
HOW DID TEKTITES GET THEIR NAMES?
As previously stated, Tektites are found in strewn fields around the globe, and these strewn fields may be found on every continent except Antarctica. Each strewn field is made up of specimens that are identical in age and chemical composition, such as tektites found on land and microtektites found in deep marine sediments, and are thought to have been formed by the same age impact event. The Australasian strewn field is the biggest of all strewn fields, encompassing an estimated 10% of the Earth's surface, followed by the Ivory Coast, Czechoslovakian, and North American strewn fields. Individual tektite variations have names derived from the location of their strewn field occurrence and/or the place or nation where they are discovered. "Moldavites," called after the Moldau River in the Czech Republic, and "bediasites," named after the Bedias Indians, are two examples of regional naming. Australites, javanites, indochinites, and philippinites, for example, are called for the location or nation where they are discovered. A few groups, such as the tektites of the Ivory Coast and the tektites of Georgia, are unnamed.
WHAT ARE TEKTITES COMPOSED OF?
Tektites are distinguished from other naturally occurring glasses by their physical features and chemical makeup. The color of tektites is usually the first thing that is remarked about them. Tektites seem shiny black on the outside; however thin portions of specimens are transparent and appear yellowish brown. However, depending on the strewn field in which the tektite is found, the black hue of most tektites can vary. Moldavites are a dark green tint, whereas Libyan Desert glass is a greenish yellow to straw yellow. The Mohs' scale, which goes from as soft as talc [1] to as hard as diamonds, assigns a hardness rating of 6 to 7 to tektites [10]. The most prevalent chemical element of tektites is silica. The refractive index and specific gravity are two physical properties that are frequently used to determine silica concentration. A material's refractive index reveals how well it deflects light travelling through it. The density of a substance is measured by its specific gravity. The refractive index and specific gravity have an inverse relationship with silica content, the higher the refractive index and specific gravity, the lower the silica concentration. The percentage of silica in Ivory Coast tektites and Philippinites ranges from roughly 68 percent to around 98 percent in Libyan Desert glass. Differences in the silica concentration of tektites are thought to be caused by variations in the silica content of the parent rocks. Although certain varieties of obsidian have high silica concentrations, up to 80%, there are numerous additional characteristics of tektites that distinguish them from other types of naturally occurring glasses.
Tiny particles of lechatelierite, a very uncommon, fused silica glass created by melting quartz crystals at extremely high temperatures and pressures, are frequently found within tektites. This material is usually cited as evidence for shock metamorphism triggered by a meteorite impact event when it is found alongside tektites. Because these particles are absent from obsidian and other volcanic glasses, their existence is critical. Lechatelierite is frequently connected with air bubbles. The temperature at which the lechatelierite developed is shown by the related bubbles. In tektites, there exist other bubbles that aren't connected to lechatelierite particles. Gases trapped during the molten state of the tektite material generate these bubbles. The quantity, structure, and gas composition of these bubbles can reveal information about the circumstances that existed during the development of tektite. These bubbles, on the other hand, can cause inaccuracies in precise gravity measurements. As a result, refractive index is commonly regarded as the most precise method of determining silica concentration.
Typical tektites are comprised mostly of silica (SiO2) and have a similar composition to granites, albeit they are lacking in sodium monoxide (Na2O) and potassium oxide (K2O) and richer in magnesium oxide (MgO) and ferrous oxide (FeO) (FeO). These patterns resemble those seen in rocks that are midway between shales and sandstones. As a result, tektites are thought to have formed in sedimentary rather than igneous rocks. Water is only present in tektites to the extent of roughly 100 parts per million (ppm), significantly below the threshold for terrestrial igneous or sedimentary rocks, according to refined investigations. Radioisotopic dating may reveal a lot about tektite's past; the ages for the tektite strewn fields described above were discovered using potassium-argon dating.
HOW DO WE KNOW HOW OLD TEKTITES REALLY ARE?
The ages of tektites can be calculated in a variety of ways. The most straightforward technique to date a tektite is to utilize 87Rb/87Sr decay measurements to determine the glass's solidification age. Potassium-argon decay data can be used to determine the age of ablation produced by atmospheric entry or re-entry. Another geochronologic method is fission track analysis, which can reveal the tektite glass's most recent heating episode. Finally, the stratigraphic age of the sediments around tektites can be used to determine a general time window for tektite creation and/or deposition. The age of tektites ranges from 35.5 million to 750,000 years. Scientists have attempted to match the ages of tektite strewn fields with impact craters all across the world using these dates. For the most part, these studies have been successful in locating tektite source craters; but the Australasian strewn field source crater has yet to be discovered, leading some to doubt the meteorite impact explanation.
THE GREAT TEKTITE DEBATE: WHAT’S THE TRUE ORIGIN?
Because of their peculiar form and chemical makeup, which varies from glassy rocks of igneous terrestrial origin, the origin of tektites was a source of heated controversy throughout most of the twentieth century. Tektites were thought to emerge from the molten ejecta of high-energy impacts, but it was unclear if these impacts occurred on Earth, the Moon, or elsewhere in space. Although radioisotope data revealed that tektites could not have come from somewhere other than the Earth-Moon system, they did not rule out the possibility of a lunar origin. According to this notion, tektites are lunar rocks melted by meteorite impacts on the Moon's surface. Some of the tektites were sent into orbit and finally landed on Earth. The peculiar lens-and-flange form of australites, which showed that they came from beyond the Earth's atmosphere, backed up the moon notion. The morphology of these tektites could only be explained by two heating events: the first, which generated the glass, and the second, which was caused by air friction melting when the australite reached the Earth's atmosphere at a high velocity. The lens-and-flange shape appears to be the consequence of a glassy sphere melting on its front side (the area of maximum friction), then flowing toward the lee and curling to create a flange as the object slows down. (Of course, tektites flung outside the Earth's atmosphere and then subjected to aerodynamic heating upon reentry may experience the same thing.) A lot of scientists supported the lunar-origin idea, but the limited distribution of tektites on Earth was a major argument against it. If tektites originated on the Moon, their distribution over the Earth's surface should be consistent, which is not the case. More crucially, the Apollo space missions' investigation of lunar rocks from the late 1960s and early 1970s revealed that they were not adequate parent rocks for tektites, putting the lunar-origin notion to rest. The composition of tektites closely mimics that of various rocks found throughout the Earth's crust, which has long been used to prove their terrestrial origin. However, it wasn't until the discovery of linkages between impact craters and some strewn-field locations on Earth that the notion of terrestrial origin received widespread acceptance. There are numerous and striking links between tektite strewn fields and terrestrial impact craters. Ivory Coast tektites, for example, are found 300–1,600 kilometers (180–960 miles) from Ghana's Bosumtwi Crater, and both the tektites and the crater were formed 1.3 million years ago. Chemical composition, radioisotopic ratios, and other characteristics of the Bosumtwi crater glass and the Ivory Coast tektites have been shown to be similar. Several additional impact craters and their related tektite groups share similar characteristics. The cumulative effect of these evidence is significant, and practically all experts now propose a general link between craters and tektite fields.
The majority of modern scientists believe that tektites are generated when quartz-rich soils and rocks are rapidly heated and then cooled. Large meteorites collide with the Earth's surface with enough energy to melt soils and rocks and scatter the molten ejecta across enormous distances, generating tektites. Researchers think that shale and quartz sandstone mixtures, as well as some igneous rocks, have comparable compositions to tektites, leading them to conclude that these rocks constitute the "parent" or "source" rock of tektites. Additionally, terrestrial soils, which cover nearly the whole world, have been discovered to have the chemical compositions necessary to form tektites. These soils, which are formed by the erosion of a variety of source rocks, might be a source of tektite-melt material. Before delving into the details of tektite production, it's worth considering why the meteorite impact idea has become so popular among current scientists.
ALTERNATIVE THOUGHTS
Are tektites a type of obsidian?! No.
Because tektites resemble obsidian so closely, many early scholars assumed they were the result of terrestrial volcanic explosions. Their diverse forms were thought to be the consequence of abrasion by wind-blown sand or water sculpting. Later, chemical characteristics and the discovery that tektite surfaces were ablated rather than abraded refuted this notion. Abrasion might appear similar to ablation at first glance. The following is how they differ: Abrasion is the wear and tear on rock surfaces caused by the friction and collision of rock particles carried by wind, ice, waves, moving water, or gravity. Ablation is the melting of molten surface layers of meteorites and tektites during passage through the Earth's atmosphere, which removes and reshapes them. The occurrence of green and yellowish-green moldavites and Libyan Glass, as well as the fact that obsidian is found in nature as a black glass, a result of the ash trapped within the crystal, gives an obvious illustration of why this idea may be dismissed.
Were tektites created by mankind?! No.
The idea that tektites were man-made artifacts formed during ancient civilizations' smelting processes. This notion is refuted by the chemical and physical properties of tektites, as well as the stratigraphic ages of their sites. (Rudimentary smelting processes were created by humans as early as 6000 B.C., but the youngest tektites are about 100,000 years old.)
Natural fires created tektites! No.
Natural fires igniting coal seams, such as forest fires or ground fires, are thought to be a source of tektites. Despite the fact that these flames may reach extremely high temperatures, the appearance of ablation forms and other distinct chemical features in tektites cast doubt on this notion.
Tektites were created by lightning! No.
The fusing of silica-rich surface soil and dust by lightning was another hypothesized method for tektite production. While these forms, known as fulgurites, have reached high enough temperatures to melt the silica, they do not have the same appearance as tektites, which are often found as soda-straw shaped tubes like the ones shown here, and they lack the chemical and physical properties that distinguish tektites from other naturally occurring glasses. Furthermore, the type and extent of tektite occurrence refutes this notion. Thousands of lightning strikes occur every day. If this notion were correct, tektites would be found in vast quantity all throughout the planet.
Tektites were ejected from lunar volcanoes! No.
During the 1950s and 1960s, theories that tektites were material expelled from lunar volcanoes or that tektites were created by meteorites colliding with the Moon gained widespread support. Some scientists, however, questioned these explanations, claiming that tektites were produced on Earth as a result of meteorite and/or comet impacts. Scientists analyzed and compared the chemical composition of lunar rocks to tektites after the Apollo Moon landings. Their findings revealed little to no similarities between tektites and lunar materials, casting doubt on the lunar origin of tektites and lending credence to the now generally accepted terrestrial impact idea.
NAME THE ROCKS, NAME THE ROCKS!
Now, let’s get to the fun stuff, shall we? What are the other tektite stones falling under the same umbrella as Moldavite? Here we go.
VARIETIES OF TEKTITES: MOLDAVITE, MICROTEKTITE, AUSTRALITE, BEDIASITE, INDOCHINITE, PHILIPPINITE, JAVANITE, URUGUAITE, BIKOLITE, BILLITONITE, CHINITE, DARWIN GLASS, GEORGIAITE, IRGHIZITE, IVORITE, ZHAMANSHINITE, ATACAMAITE, AND LIBYAN DESERT GLASS
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MOLDAVITE
Moldavite (vltavín in Czech) is a forest green, olive green, or blue greenish vitreous silica projectile glass created by a meteorite impact around 15 million years ago in southern Germany (Nördlinger Ries Crater), and it is, of course, a kind of tektite. Moldavite gets its name from the Moldau (Vltava) river in Bohemia (the Czech Republic), where the first pieces were discovered.
Franz Eduard Suess reported in 1900 that the surface of the gravel-sized moldavites had odd pittings and folds that could not be explained by water action but matched other meteorite features. He linked the substance to a cosmic origin and categorized moldavites as a different type of meteorite, coining the word tektite to describe them. The highly textured surfaces of Moldavites have been attributed to extensive etching caused by naturally occurring CO2 and humic acids present in groundwater. Moldavites were formed around 14.7 million years ago by the impact of a huge meteorite in the present-day Nördlinger Ries crater, experts believe. This is because of their extremely low water content and chemical composition. Splatters of molten material cooled as they soared through the air, the most of which fell in Bohemia. Moldavites have been discovered in southern Bohemia, western Moravia, the Cheb Basin in northwest Bohemia, Lusatia in Germany, and Waldviertel in Germany (Austria). According to isotope studies, Moldavites have a beryllium-10 isotope composition comparable to that of Australasian tektites (australites) and Ivory Coast tektites (ivorites).
Ninety-nine percent of all moldavite discoveries have been made in South Bohemian locales, whereas one percent was made in South Moravian locales. Only a few pieces have been discovered in the Lusatian region (near Dresden), the Cheb basin region (West Bohemia), and Northern Austria (near Radessen). Moldavites are most often seen in Tertiary sediments of the Ceské Budejovice and Trebon Basins in Bohemia. The most significant sites are clustered in a NW-SE stretch of the Ceské Budejovice Basin's western border. The vast majority of these occurrences are associated with the Vrábce Member and the Koroseky Sandy Gravel. The Trebon Basin's most prominent locales are surrounded by the Domanin Formation's gravels and sands.
Moldavite is found in a small region of Moravia, generally confined by the municipalities of Trebic, Znojmo, and Brno. Moravian moldavites are often more brownish in color than their Bohemian cousins. Moravian locales are far less productive than Bohemian ones in terms of number of pieces discovered; nonetheless, the average weight of the moldavites discovered is significantly greater. Between Slavice and Trebic lie the earliest (primary) moldavite-bearing sediments. The bulk of other locales in southern Moravia are related with Miocene and Pleistocene River deposits that flowed southeast through this area, comparable to the current streams of Jihlava, Oslava, and Jevisovka.
Moldavite has the chemical formula SiO2(+Al2O3). Its qualities are comparable to those of other varieties of glass, and its Mohs hardness is stated to range between 5.5 and 7. Moldavite can be clear or translucent, with a mossy green hue enhanced by swirls and bubbles. Moldavites may be differentiated from imitations of green glass by their worm-like lechatelierite inclusions. You guessed it, this is one of the best ways to identify genuine moldavites from fakes, whether by way of magnification by use of a jeweler’s loupe or immersion in mineral oil in a plastic bag.
Moldavite's entire global distribution is estimated to be 275 tons. Moldavite is classified into three grades: high quality (often referred to as museum grade), medium quality, and regular grade. Each of the three classes may be distinguished by their appearance. Regular grade pieces are often darker and more saturated in green, with a surface that seems to have closely spaced pitting or weathering. Occasionally, this type appears to have been broken off from a larger chunk. The museum grade is distinguished by a distinctive fern-like patterning and is significantly more translucent (allowing light to pass, exhibiting Moldavite's famous green hue) than the regular grade. Typically, there is a significant price difference between the two. Moldavite stones of exceptional grade are frequently used in handcrafted jewelry.
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MICROTEKTITE
Microtektites are the tiny counterparts to tektites, which are glass objects formed when the Earth's crust melts and vaporizes as a result of extraterrestrial objects colliding at high speeds. They are typically dispersed throughout regions distant to impact craters, referred to as strewn fields. On the Earth's surface, four large strewn fields have been identified to yet (i.e. Australasian, Central European, Ivory Coast and North America).
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AUSTRALITE
Australite tektites are a form of tektite largely believed to be part of the enormous Indochina strewn field. On the other hand, australites may be distinguished from other indochinites morphology. They have traversed differently than other tektites, abrading their surfaces and forming molten glass flanges around their perimeters. These flanged Australites are incredibly desirable and extremely rare. Frequently, the flange is translucent and thin. A complex pattern of circular ridges is frequently visible on the surface that was facing downward during flight and melted. These ring waves produced by air currents over a liquid surface are pretty intriguing. Typically, the ablation surface or aerodynamic stress shield has split from the main body of the specimen, resulting in the formation of a core type Australite. These tektite specimens are quite intriguing even without a flange.
Australites were referred to by Indigenous Australians as ooga ("staring eyes") and were employed as holy artifacts or cutting implements. Australites were discovered by Europeans in 1857, when explorer Thomas Mitchell presented biologist Charles Darwin with an unusually formed piece of natural black glass. Due to its resemblance to obsidian, volcanic glass, Darwin speculated that australites were volcanic in origin. They are of course not volcanic in origin, and are in fact tektites. Charles Fenner, who discovered his first australite in 1907, was one among the first scientists to devote significant attention to them. Australites, he believed, were glass meteorites (tektites).
The majority of australites are found in southern Australia, below the latitude of 25 degrees. They mark the southern limit of the huge Australasian tektite strewn field that runs from southern China to Australia, based on similar ages and compositions. The Australasian strewn field is estimated to be between 610,000 and 750,000 years old and may have been formed as a consequence of an impact in Indochina.
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BEDIASITE
Bediasite is a black tektite variety from North American strewn field. It originated in a region in the eastern section of the United States of America's state of Texas, concentrated on the small town of Bedias, located 74 miles north of Houston. They are found in about nine counties in Texas, covering an area of more than 7,000 square miles. The biggest specimen ever discovered weighs slightly more than 200 grams. Virgil Barnes was one of the first scientists to conduct extensive research on Bediasites. George D. Ramsey brought the first identified Bediasite to the University of Texas in Austin in 1936, where it was recognized by Virgil Barnes. Bediasites are a component of the 34-million-year-old North American strewn field that originated in the Chesapeake Bay impact crater. This impact is connected with two strewn fields and tektite groups: the black Bediasites in Texas and the green Georgiaites in Georgia.
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INDOCHINITE
In contrast to European moldavite tektites, which are green, Indochinites are distinctly dark black in color. The age of these masses of solidified magma is estimated to be 700,000 years. Indochinite tektites are found throughout the Indochinese peninsula, from Australia and the Pacific Island of Micronesia to China and Indonesia in the north and west. The largest indochinite weighs 29.0 kg and is a tektite of the Muong-Nong type (which are layered tektites).
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PHILIPPINITE
Philippinites, also known as rizalites, are tektites that were discovered in the Philippines. They are estimated to be around 710,000 years old and range in size from millimeters to centimeters. Their age is consistent with that of other tektites in the tektite field scattered over Australia. In 1964, the University of California, Los Angeles Department of Astronomy acquired an extremely big Philippinite weighing 226.3 grams (0.499 pounds) and the biggest Philippinite ever discovered measures 1,281.89 grams (2.8261 pounds) in its splash form, making it the heaviest tektite of this kind as well.
The term rizalite was coined in October 1926 in the Philippine province of Rizal, when the black tektites were found (which was then part of Rizal). Although it was not until 1928 that American anthropologist H. Otley Beyer, considered the "father of Philippine tektite research," used the phrase to apply to tektites discovered in the Philippines. Philippinite has become the preferred word due to the discovery of other tektites in various parts of the Philippines, including the Bicol region and the town of Anda in Pangasinan province. Some early authors referred to Philippine tektites as "obsidianites," but that word has now become obsolete due to subsequent authors' adoption of the name Philippinite.
In ancient Philippines, tektites were utilized as arrowheads and other tools, as well as for ornamental purposes, by early colonizers. Due to the polished appearance of philippinites discovered in burials during the Philippine Iron Age, it was determined that philippinites were utilized as amulets or charms. But now in recent times, it is utilized as a collector's item.
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JAVANITE
The Indochinite strewn field contains Javanite tektites. Java is home to Indochinite tektites with an unusual texture and look. They are all members of the Indochinite tektite family and formed in the same impact event, but are often tiny and quite dissimilar in appearance. Javanites are frequently severely pitted and even spiky in appearance. They are uncommon, and the collecting market does not have a huge supply of Javanite tektites. They are black in color, as are all indochinites, although dispute persists over the extent to which the chemical environment in which the glass was exposed shaped its outer appearance. For example, the debate remains whether very acidic soils, such as those found on the island of Java, ate into the glass, resulting in the sharp and deeply pitted shapes observed in just a few locations, like with Javanites. This may explain why certain tektites, such as the Javanites, have such distinct appearances. Another explanation for the difference is that their chemistry is somewhat different, making them more susceptible to etchants in the soil and ground water. Regardless of the explanation, this uncommon subgroup of indochinites is an excellent specimen for any dedicated tektite collection.
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URUGUAITE
A kind of Tektite, more so, a black-colored tektite from a newly found strewn field in 2016 (Ferrière et al., 2017).
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BIKOLITE
A term used to refer to tektites found in the Bikol region of the Philippines.
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BILLITONITE
These incredible, opaque glasses originate from the Indonesian island of Belitung. The Australasian Impact, the cosmic event that gave rise to Billitonites, occurred around 780,000 years ago in the Bay of Tonkin. Tektites from the Australasian impact are found across Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and as far south as Australia; nevertheless, Batu Satam Billitonites are extremely rare and difficult to obtain. Only a small percentage of these amazing stones make it to market outside of Belitung. What distinguishes Billitonite tektites is its unique glossy surface and complex spiral/U-shaped patterns. Billitonites were discovered by miners looking for tin in deep alluvial shafts. This explains their distinctive scrolling patterns and glossy/enamel-like sheen. One explanation for these remarkable structures is that the vitrification, chilling, and rewarming processes during reentry create fissures inside the glass droplets. Once the tektites have fallen and been buried, these fissures are accentuated when acidic-tin loaded groundwater trickles around them. The indigenous people of Belitung Island venerate this stone for its magical characteristics. These incredible tektites retain a unique place in our hearts and are believed to aid us in purging ourselves of spiritual disease. Additionally, it is claimed to assist in protecting against negativity. Ideal for meditation and reiki practice. They are a joy to hold, and the high resolution, tactile designs transport the eye on a contemplative journey. They are extremely rare and extremely difficult to obtain.
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CHINITE
A black tektite variant found in the strewn fields of Australasia. Chinite was discovered in China, thus the name.
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DARWIN GLASS
Darwin glass is a kind of natural glass discovered south of Queenstown on Tasmania's West Coast. It is named after Mount Darwin in the West Coast Range, where it was initially discovered, and later Darwin Crater, a possible impact crater and the presumed source of the glass. Darwin glass fragments have been discovered strewn throughout a 160-mile squared region. This type of land is referred to as a scattered field. Between 250 and 500 meters elevation, the glass occurs as quartzite shards buried beneath peat and dirt. Peat is approximately 20 cm thick, whereas the quartzite fragment horizon is 30 cm thick. At elevations more than 500 meters, the bedrock is immediately exposed to the air, and Darwin glass occasionally appears on the surface. The Darwin glass is buried beneath peat and sediments in valleys below 220 m. North, west, and south of the crater, the glass appears. Kelly Basin and the lower northeast shore of Macquarie Harbour are included in its range. It reaches close to the Lyell Highway and Crotty Dam in the north. Darwin glass is quite scarce within the crater. Darwin glass concentration was observed to range between 0.3 to 47 kg/m3 during controlled excavations of gravel sites. The maximum abundance was discovered around 2 kilometers from the crater, with an average abundance of 3.4 kg/m3 of gravel throughout a 50-kilometer-square research region near the crater. This indicates that around 25000 tons of Darwin glass, or approximately 10000 m3, occurs within this 50 km2 region. The amount of glass is substantial in comparison to the crater's size. While acidic ground water aids in preservation by not dissolving the glass, this alone cannot account for the glass abundance. There is so much glass present that it must have been formed in greater quantity than in earlier meteorite strikes of comparable magnitude.
The glass is produced in shades of light to dark green, white, or black. The glass is twisted into masses, shards, or chunks up to 10 cm in diameter. It features a flowing texture on the inside, marked by lines of elliptical bubbles. When the composition of Darwin glass was determined, there seem to be two types. Type 1 is often white or green in color, whereas type 2 is typically black to dark green in color. The black glass has a lower silica content and a higher magnesium and iron content than the bright green glass. Additionally, the black glass is enhanced with chromium, nickel, and cobalt. The chemical discrepancies might be explained by the fact that, in addition to being mostly formed of melted local metamorphic rocks, the type 2 glass contains alien material from the meteorite. Darwin glass was determined to be around 816,000 years old using the argon–argon technique. The glass is an impactite formed when local rocks melted as a result of the impact of a big meteorite. The presumed source is Darwin Crater, a 1.2-kilometer-wide geographical depression. The crater is 230 meters deep and is filled with sediments and breccia. A meteorite with a diameter of 20 to 50 meters would produce a crater of similar magnitude, releasing 20 megatons of energy upon impact with Earth!
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GEORGIAITE
Georgiaite is a very uncommon kind of tektite found solely in the southeastern United States. These tektites are discovered in a portion of the North American strewn field and are likely to have originated from the Chesapeake Bay impact crater around 35 million years ago. This impact is now related with two scattered fields and tektite groups: black Bediasites in Texas and green Georgiaites in Georgia. Georgiaite has been discovered exclusively in the eastern region of central Georgia, with about 1,000–2,500 specimens known as of 2018. They are most frequently seen in the form of splash-shape tektites. Georgiaite specimens discovered so far have a spherical shape and pock pitted surfaces due to the harsh circumstances under which it formed. Georgiaite is most frequently transparent and has an olive green hue. Georgiaite comes in a variety of sizes, however the majority of samples obtained measure little more than 2 inches. Georgiaite, like other tektites, is composed of silicate glass and is most similar to obsidian. In contrast to other North American tektites, Georgiaite includes silica and potassium but no other significant elements.
Georgiaite has only been verified to exist in the state's center and eastern counties. The bulk of Georgiaite has been collected in Bleckley and Dodge counties in Georgia, but minor amounts have been discovered in other nearby counties.
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IRGHIZITE
Zhamanshin crater is a circular meteorite impact formation with a diameter of 13.5 kilometers located around 40 kilometers southwest of the hamlet of Irghiz in Kazakhstan. The area, which is around one million years old, is well renowned for its Irghizites, tiny drops and ropy ribbons of vitreous jet-black glass. Irghizites have long pushed the definitional limits between tektites and non-tektites by demonstrating clear evidence of aerodynamic flight shaping. Currently, the majority of authority do not regard them as tektites. An often noted distinction is that Irghizite-like impactites are generally found only in close proximity to the related impact crater, whereas tektites are typically found no closer than a few hundred kilometers from the apparent location of impact or identified crater of origin (and the outer limit for known tektite strewn fields is about 2000 km).
The finding of Atacamaites a few years ago adds another dimension to the topic. These have an uncanny resemblance to Irghizites in terms of appearance and size distribution. The issue is that they appear to be unrelated to a crater. As far as is known, there is a large, scattered field in an arid desert area with great exposure, but no crater has been observed thus far. (This devalues the distribution patterns of impactite ejecta relative to their crater of origin as a definitional criterion!)
Irghizites are among the most meticulously crafted impact glass objects. They are recovered as immaculate black glass ribbons and threads, droplets and swirls. Irghizites frequently have minute spherical glass droplets strewn throughout its surface. This results in an intriguing pimple-like texture. There was undoubtedly a mist and shower of microscopic glass particles, since the boiling moment is retained in these unique and exquisite objects.
These tektites, (MAYBE better to perceive them as impactites), Irghizites are a rare type of tektites that are found directly within a meteorite crater, and as such, they hold a unique position among the other tektites. Irghizites were thought to be used as amulets to ward off evil spirits and to treat various ailments. Typically, altar stands are erected around tektite and impactite outlets. The ages of several stands within the crater varied between ten thousand and twenty-five thousand years (later Palaeolith). The morphological features of Irghizites are classified into two groups: a) those that retain their brilliant surface and b) those that have weathered surfaces. These two classifications encompass a variety of varieties: a. Drops, dump-bells, and balls, occasionally twirled with glued small droplets; b. Flat and stretched drops and fragments with fibrous surface, flat and stretched without glued droplets; c. Samples with fibrous and jet surface, flat and stretched without glued droplets; and d. Openwork samples composed of glued fibers and droplets.
The majority of Irghizites have a complex surface due to the presence of several secondary formations. They can be classified as positive or negative: the former is created during their growth and creation, while the latter are formed upon their demise. In terms of chemical makeup Irghizites are classified as acidic tektites. Silicate steams formed as a result of condensation in the high-temperature cloud; and tektites with a basic structure, which are most likely stiffened sparks of silicate fusion ejected from a crater. Acid Irghizites have a microgranular structure; they are made up of the tiniest (less than a micron) spherical particles that include up to 80% silica and a glass cement; they are also high in aluminum and alkalis. Chemical analysis indicates certain distinctions and overlaps between Irghizites, impact melt rocks (Zhamanshinites), and other types of tektites. Irghizites contain vaporizable and chalc-filled elements (Cs,Tl,Pb,Sn,Mo,Bi,W,Cu) in amounts comparable to those found in other types of tektites (tektites contains them 1.5, 2 times as much than in sedimentary rocks). Between Irghizites and zhamanshinites, the situation is identical. It forms tektites because more mobile components are vaporized at elevated temperatures. Except for chromium, the maintenance of lo elements have values consistent with those of other tektites. In fact, Irghizites have an extremely high water retention rate for tektites - 0.051 percent (for ex. quantity of water in moldavite is 0.0092 percent).
Irghizites are fundamentally distinct from magmatic rocks due to their low alkali concentration and high CaO and MgO content, as well as the absence of bivalent ferrum. Evaporation of volatile elements, particularly alkalis, is fairly common in high temperature fluids. This is owing to the fact that its composition has undergone significant modifications. Irghizites appear to be the outcome of this process. Reduced alkali content and a greater K/Na ratio attest to the rock's extensive high temperature metamorphism. Metamorphism at high temperatures also exhibits a complete lack of crystallization effects, however these features of the high temperature fluid can be retained only under extremely rapid cooling and hardening. Nickel's meteorite or terrestrial origin is often established by its ratio to Cobalt: in terrestrial rocks, these minerals are found in relatively high concentrations. Ni/Co ratios in basic Irghizites are similar to those found on Earth: 1.5–2.5; however, in acid Irghizites, the ratio is extremely high, reaching values of 13–16. On the basis of this observation, we believe that around 90% of the nickel in acid Irghizites is cosmic in origin. It is determined that the gas composition in pores and bubbles within tektites is similar to that of the surrounding atmosphere, although at a lower pressure. CO2, H2O, HF, H2S, H2, and HCl are the gases found in blebs and pores of Irghizites; and H2, CO2, H2O, HF, H2S, H2, and HCl are the gases found in acid Irghizites. There is no N2 or O2, which provide unequivocal evidence for the gas's atmospheric origin. As a result, the gas in Irghizites' pores appears to be unique to these tektites.
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IVORITE
A strewn field of black tektite from the Ivory Coast (Lake Bosumtwi Crater, Ghana). Occur exclusively in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). IMPORTANT: Certain tektites from the vast Australasian field are being marketed fraudulently in Ivory Coast as Ivory Coast tektites (the latter are extremely rare).
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ZHAMANSHINITE
The Zhamanshin crater was formed around a million years ago in Kazakhstan; the meteorite crater is located approximately 100 kilometers northeast of a tiny sea and is considered to be one of the planet's most recent and catastrophic impacts. The Zhamanshin crater has a diameter of 14 kilometers and a depth of 300 meters. The earth has been stirred throughout the area, and today there are fossilized corals and shells on the surface of the ground, as well as numerous tektites and various types of impact melts, including less dense frothy rocks and darker dense impact glass, as a result of the rock undergoing transformation as a result of the impact's heat. The amount of energy unleashed is comparable to many dozen Hiroshima bombs. It had the same effect as a "nuclear winter," causing flames and smoke emissions that wiped out all animal and plant life within a few hundred kilometers radius.
Despite almost 50 meters of post-impact crater filling, a variety of impact glasses have been discovered in the Zhamanshin crater. There are four varieties of Zhamanshinites that are frequently recognized: Irghizites, Silica-rich Zhamanshinites, blue Zhamanshinites (with hues varying from turquoise to blue), and Silica-deficient Zhamanshinites. These are found in the form of blocky glass "bombs" in fallback breccias composed primarily of local country rocks.
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ATACAMAITE
Atacamaites are tiny tektite-like stones. M. Warner found five specimens of Atacamaites in 2012, or M. Warner recognized them for the first time in 2011. They recovered 3,000 specimens in a 20-kilometer-square region in 2013. Subsequent fieldtrips by other parties resulted in the collection of even more specimens: 23,000 samples from over 100 distinct locations throughout a 650 km2 area. Atacamaites were dated to 7.83 0.26 Ma using the fission-track technique. It would be fascinating to check this date using the Ar-Ar dating technique that is generally used to determine the age of impact glasses. Atacamaites appear to be the result of an iron meteorite impact, and Gattacceca limits them to a probable IIAB Group Iron based on their estimated 5.4 wt. percent Ni concentration and 12.0 Ni/Co ratio. Atacamaites are bodies resembling tektites. Gattacceca et al. (2021) coined a new word for these bodies: 'tektoids.' It's a problematic topic since the observations made in this article are accurate, yet there are variances in the proximal ejecta produced by large and minor impacts. For a while, it was believed that this tektite-like body should be classed individually, but it was subsequently determined that a sub-category of tektites would be more appropriate. Tektite is defined as the following: 1) Holohyaline glass (wholly glassy and macroscopically homogeneous). To create a glass, a large amount of network former (mainly SiO2) must be present; 2) A droplet with surface tension-controlled surfaces must be present; and 3) The droplet must be expelled ballistically. Thus, do Atacamaites satisfy these requirements? Yes. The majority of Atacamaites are made of holohyaline glass. Around 10% of Atacamaites are said to include crystallites, which appear to be caused by meteorite contamination. These specimens are more appropriately referred to as Krystites. Atacamaites are drops, but many have ligaments. They have not yet reached a temperature sufficient to form real droplets and are hence intermediate between melted blocks and droplets at the point of cooling. Finally, Atacamaites are evidently expelled ballistically.
Thus, it is considered safe to classify Atacamaites as Tektites but to further subdivide the Tektite group into Proximal (plastically deformed, e.g., Indochinites), Medial (slightly plastically deformed, heated during re-entry, and spalled, e.g., Philippinites), and Distal (slightly plastically deformed, heated during re-entry, and spalled (very slightly plastically deformed heated during re-entry to a degree they ablate, then spalled, e.g., Australites). Subdivide the Proximal forms further into Layered, Ligament, and Droplet. Both the Layered and Ligament types fall outside of the tektite criterion. Atacamaites clearly represent a very proximal impact glass with strong similarities to the following: 1) Irghizites derived from the 14 km diameter Zhamanshin Crater and found in the crater depression; 2) Lonar Crater Glass derived from the 1.88 km diameter Lonar Crater and found within several hundred meters of the crater rim. In general, this glass is more obstructive. Thus, what conclusions may we draw regarding the Atacamaite crater? It is unmistakably near to the strewn field, most possibly within tens of kilometers — the crater may even be included inside the strewn field. The diameter of the crater will range between hundreds of meters to 14 kilometers (perhaps somewhere in the middle). It was formed when an iron meteorite collided with the earth. It is calculated to be 7.83 0.26 Ma. Any crater at this age may have been severely eroded, submerged by alluvial deposits, or buried by lava flows.
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LIBYAN DESERT GLASS (most likely a tektite, read on to find out why!)
29 million years ago a mysterious silica-rich natural glass, called Libyan Desert Glass (LDG) was formed. Also known as Libyan Gold Tektite or Great Sand Sea Glass, this fascinating stone is found between sand dunes in western Egypt's southwestern corner of the Great Sand Sea (modern day Sahara Desert, in what is Western Egypt and Eastern Libya), glittering as glass gems under the radiant desert Sun. This golden glass, usually yellow in color, but can range from being clear, milky, bubbly yellow, or even an amber orange, are found spread over several square miles. While P. Clayton was the first to discover it in 1932, it has a long tradition that dates back to Ancient Egypt.
It is known that Libyan Desert Glass is a glass, due to its silica-rich composition, which is also termed as Lechatelierite in this case, because of its quality of being not only a silica glass, but also an amorphous SiO2, non-crystalline mineraloid. Which means that it does’’t have the traditional crystal structure, though sometimes it is placed in the quartz mineral group. Major and trace element presences are relatively uniform in Libyan Desert Glass, though few cristobalite inclusions do occur in it, but it is otherwise glassy. Cristobalite is a kind of silica that is found in small octahedral crystals and is the main component of Opal. What makes this fascinating all on its own accord is, Libyan Desert Glass is a naturally occurring glass. Since the sand beds where glass is formed are almost entirely made up of silica, naturally occurring glass is very rare. Why? Where a glass is as pure as 90%+ silica, it takes extremely high temperatures to convert the silica to a glass form. So, things are usually added to silica to cajole it down from the extremely high temperatures needed to melt it. Fluxes are used to obtain a lower melt temperature, as melting pure silica requires temperatures above 3100° Fahrenheit. To form Libyan Desert Glass, at all, requires this level of extreme heat, concentrated at the pure silica. The creation itself is of a tremendous high energy event, which adds to its rarity and reverence.
So, what is the likely Origin? | Why I am inclined to lean towards a Meteorite origin:
The proof of a rare mineral called reidite (as discussed earlier), which only forms after a meteorite impact when atoms in the mineral zircon are compressed into a tighter structure... is the turning point in substantiating the Meteorite theory. Minerals of high-pressure origins, such as these, are characteristic of being formed during meteorite impacts, and not during airbursts. Zircon is a mineral that can be found in granite, sandstone, and other types of rock. It has been discovered on the Earth, the Moon, Mars, and in various meteorites. It's a common method for determining when rocks formed and their age.
When looking for signs of shock deformation caused by a meteorite impact, zircon is also useful. Zircon deforms by subtly bending the crystal when subjected to low shock pressure. However, as the shock intensity rises, zircon reacts in a variety of ways, and reidite forms as a result of the increased extreme stresses. Zircon will re-crystallize if the rocks get too hot. As a consequence, a network of novice, small interlocking grains are generated. Zircon degrades to zirconia at temperatures above 1,700°C. Many zircon grains can be found in Libyan desert glass, all of which are smaller than a strand of human hair. Although the majority of the glass formations responded to zirconia due to the high sun, about 10% of them retain reidite proof. Reidite, on the other hand, is no longer active. Since reidite is unstable when heated, it reverts to zircon at temperatures above 1,200°C. It can only be salvaged if the shocked rocks don't dissolve. To determine whether reidite once existed in shocked zircons that were hot, a specialized technique known as electron backscatter diffraction is used. Analyzing the crystal orientations of the minuscule interlocking grains of reverted zircon is the key to finding traces of former reidite. As reidite reverts to zircon, it leaves behind a fingerprint that can be identified using orientation analysis. Reidite fingerprints were discovered in samples of Libyan desert glass using this process. Former reidite critical crystal orientation indications was found in all of the seven samples that were analyzed.
Reidite is a rare mineral found only at meteorite impact sites. It can be contained in crater ejected material as well as shocked rocks. Former reidite has been detected in zircon from impact melt in previous tests, close to how it was discovered in Libyan desert glass. Every 10,000 years, a 100-megaton airburst may occur, but the geological record does not support the theory that this type of phenomenon caused Libyan Desert Glass to form. Furthermore, the reidite fingerprint suggests that the only feasible alternative is a meteor strike. However, there are still unanswered questions about Libyan Desert Glass, such as the site of the source crater, its size, and whether it has eroded away; without all of those as concrete evidence, it is still difficult to conclude in certainty.
Libyan Desert Glass is still a highly cryptic material. The mode of creation, whether airburst or impact, or a hybrid of the two, has yet to be determined. It seems that an origin by impact, or at least mostly by impact, is the most possible scenario. The discovery of shocked bedrock and strong evidence of physical association of meteoritic material with the target rocks, as seen by the admixture of meteoritic material in the glass, cement the prospect. Given the erosion rate in such places, the lack of a crater, or at least the fact that none has yet been found, is troubling but not difficult to justify. To understand Libyan Desert Glass solely by airburst raises the question of why high-pressure, high-temperature, and meteoritic additives are present. Furthermore, if Libyan Desert Glass was not created by impact of something extra-terrestrial with then terrestrial, why aren't there more comparable deposits on Earth, given that an airburst would be much more natural than an extra-terrestrial impact? Whatever the forming process was, all of this suggests the Libyan Desert Glass is rare, complicated, and a deep mystery.
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PICA GLASS (CHILE)
DISCLAIMER: This one’s a bit of a mystery still, as to its identity as a TEKTITE OR IMPACTITE, and as to its origin in how it was formed. But, according to:
The paper UPDATE ON THE EXOGENIC MINERLAOGY OF PICA (CHILE) IMPACT GLASSES: IMPLICATIONS FOR IMPACTOR IDENTIFICATION AND SHOCK DYNAMICS IN AN AIRBURST published on 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2020):
Melt glasses discovered throughout the Atacama Desert (near Pica, Chile) were initially assumed to be the consequence of an airburst but were not confirmed until recently. The discovery of meteoritic debris trapped in molten glass is a critical observation. Around 12 ka, several fireballs generated strong radiant and convective heating that melted fine-grained sediments and merged to produce folded and rolled melt masses. Following melting, accompanying meteorite dust (entrapped in air and degassing volatile-rich phases) was introduced into the resultant glass and captured in vesicles. A paradigm shift occurred in the researchers' understanding of the Pica bolide when the abundant iron-sulfide/iron-nickel sulfide/iron-copper-nickel sulfide assemblages that coat the walls of numerous vesicles were compared to Berger et al's work on comet aqueous alteration, as represented by the Stardust samples returned from 81P/Wild and the CI primitive chondrite Orgueil. Not only are the Pica sulfides chemically and morphologically comparable to those described in CIs and cometary debris, but the complete suite of exogenic minerals may be reasonably compared to CIs or a mixture of CIs and CVs. As a consequence, it is very probable that the Pica impactor was a comet. The array of exogenic grains trapped in the Pica impact melt glass appears to be most consistent with an aqueously altered carbonaceous body such as CI meteorites or a comet such as 81P/Wild. Additionally, these clasts are sufficiently massive to permit extensive petrologic examination. This investigation is ongoing in order to better comprehend the early solar system and to estimate the future danger of an airburst on the magnitude of the one that occurred in Chile at the end of the Pleistocene.
Tektites VS. Impactites
During a massive meteorite strike, the terrestrial ground and the extraterrestrial object are attempting to inhabit the same space at the same time. At that moment, there's an explosion that leaves a crater and plenty of other formations and deposits, as evidence. The effect is so powerful that certain pieces of the earth's crust are not only thrown into the air, but also heated into molten rock that acts like liquid glass. When droplets of the molten rock, as liquid glass, move through the atmosphere, they are quickly cooled into solids, though they often maintain their droplet shape.
Impactites
Impactites or impact glass, is a term used to usually categorize materials that are created by meteorite impacts. This includes molten or melted rocks, shocked minerals, and shatter cones. Shocked minerals are when the crystalline structure of quartz or another mineral are deformed along planes within the crystal during the event of pressure shock. Although there is a lot of pressure in this situation, the temperature isn't too high. Shatter cones are distinctive cone or fan-shaped structures in rocks with horsetail-like radiating fracture lines. Nuclear blast zones and meteorite impact systems are the only two places where they can be seen. These shatter cones result as a consequence of a massive impacting object or a large explosion producing a high-pressure, high-velocity shock wave.
Tektites
Tektites are non-volcanic, spherical, pitted bodies of silicate glass formed by massive hypervelocity meteorite impacts with terrestrial rocks. They've been identified as "splash droplets" from large meteorite impacts on Earth. Tektites vary in color and age based on when they were discovered. Tektites are mostly black in color, but they may also be light green or greenish yellow (hint hint, Moldavite). The age ranges from 35.5 million to 750,000 years. They are distinguished chemically by exceptionally high silica contents, which range from 70 percent in Australasian tektites to 98 percent in Libyan Desert Glass.
While they both, Tektites and Impactites, seem similar, as they were created by high velocity events, and involve similar terrestrial or extra-terrestrial components: Tektites: are natural glasses (silicate-rich) formed from terrestrial material that was melted and displaced by the impact of an extraterrestrial body. Composition analysis of tektites suggests that they are end products of shock melting or vaporization of terrestrial soils, sediments or rocks, during impact catering. They are typically small glassy free-forms of previously melted material that often show evidence of aerodynamic shaping while they were molten. Because of this, they are considered to be droplets of molten rock thrown high into the atmosphere, and outward over large distances from the original impact site.
These are the notable differences between Tektites and Impactites:
* Key-take away: TEKTITES VS. IMPACTITES
Differences:
- Water content is often 10 times higher in impactites or impact glasses than in tektites
- Impactites or Impact glasses occur directly at the source crater, whereas tektites occur in strewn fields
- The gas bubble pressure within tektites aligns to an altitude of up to 70 kilometers, whereas the pressure of impact glass is at surface level
Similarities:
Both are produced by impact melting of terrestrial surface rocks, whether in the case of tektites the source of the impact being extraterrestrial, and in the case of impactites, it could be either an extraterrestrial object, like a meteor, or a terrestrial event such as airbursts.
WHAT ARE PSEUDOTEKTITES?
There is a family of strikingly identical (and frequently debatable) natural glasses known as "pseudotektites," which includes Saffordites (a.k.a. " Arizonaites"), Colombianites, Healdsburgites, and Amerikanites. When compared to the actual thing (tektites), these appear to be tektites, but probably are not. Some individuals believe they have discovered new tektites or strewn fields; while the majority of these claims are easily discounted, the most convincing ones necessitate a re-examination of tektite detection criteria.
If someone who is familiar with tektites is asked to explain them to someone who is unfamiliar with them, it is believed they would add features such as dimpled skin, aerodynamic designs, and glass that is either black or green, rather than gray. There are other descriptions, but these are often the most prominent. However, pseudotektites are distinct from tektites and provide a challenge to their designation as tektites due to the following: 1) Their skin ornamentation—dimpling, pitting, and grooving—is virtually indistinguishable from that of true tektites; 2) Their transmitted light color is frequently a smoky-lavender, which is not a color included in our definition; and 3) Tektite-like morphologies, particularly patties, biscuits, spheroids, and occasionally teardrops, are fairly common in the pseudotektites. By focusing on qualities that do not require a laboratory that are actually important to the nature of a tektite (or are not), two significant negative discriminants have been identified. As follows:
1) A delicately suspended magnet's gray transmitted light hue and/or deflection indicate the existence of crystalline magnetite. In a huge plasma flame, tektites are born. It is true, and is most likely a direct result of creation, that tektite glass is highly pure, free of volatiles, and completely dissolved in its constituent elements. There are no fundamental crystallites.
2) When internal flow bands or schlieren are present in pseudotektites, they are typically cut by the morphological surface. Tektites are full primary bodies (when unbroken). Any internal fabric will adhere to the morphological surface on which it is bonded. By this criterion, the teardrop shaped Saffordite seen below is not a primary aerodynamic form, but rather an incidental erosional/corrosive similitude of a teardrop that is not complete, but is a relic of a much larger primary (volcanic) domain.
The "morphologically truncated banding" is an extremely useful technique for identification. A splash form tektite is a three-dimensional object comprised completely of molten glass, resembling a flying glob of molten glass. Each viscous taffy-like internal band will respect the shape's eventual outward bounding surface. Consider a volcanic flow-dome complex that is entirely or partially formed of obsidian. Domains with flow bands might span meters or even tens of meters. Allow that body to fracture chaotically in your mind as a result of deep time's accumulated stress, and allow advancing fronts of hydration, devitrification, and other types of erosion to eat away at these fracture faces until just a few "buttons" remain in the boulders' most core hearts. How would they appear? Saffordites, Healdsburgites, Colombianites, and (perhaps) Amerikanites are all possible answers.
Therefore, what are pseudotektites if not tektites? They are thought to be the ultimate skeleton remnants of either extremely ancient obsidian or glass that became chemically unstable during the weathering process. All glass is geologically metastable and does hydrate, devitrify, and recompose into clays over a few tens of millions of years (albeit they do not exactly decompose, but rather transition from an amorphous state to a crystalline one, effectively the reverse of decomposition; therefore, "recompose"). Logic dictates that the last remnants of glass, only geological minutes from annihilation, must have a corroded and etched skeleton aspect. They are genuinely pretty intriguing and mystical items in and of themselves. Thus, these "pseudotektites" are the species' most ancient forefathers, and when they go, its ancestral rock will become extinct. It is believed that we humans have only just begun to concern about the extinction of biological species in our spaceship habitat, but we forget that even mountains and rocks have natural life cycles and are relegated to the past. “These pseudotektites are the last surviving descendants of their volcanic forefathers in the geologic ‘Garden of Eden.’” They are something of a crowning jewel since they are the strongest parts in the hearts of boulders. It takes only a split second to fall in love and be in amazement when one is held. It is not a tektite, and that's not needed. It is a stone with an incredible tale. It is one of the species' penultimate generations before extinction. Truly incredible, brimming with age-old wisdom and timelessness!
VARIETIES OF PSEUDOTEKTITES: AMERIKANITE/AMERICANITE, COLOMBIANITE, ARIZONAITE, SAFFORDITE, CINTAMANI STONE, CARPATHIAN CINTAMANI, AGNIMANITE, HEALDSBURG TEKTITE OR GLASS OF HEALDSBURGITES
Amerikanites, also known as Colombianites and Arizonaites, are actually terrestrial (ancient) obsidian. Amerikanites can also be spelled Americanites, however they are not to be confused with the 35 million year old strewn field of North America. The fascinating aspect of these pseudo-tektites is that the sculpting is strikingly similar to that found on tektites. This might be seen as proof that the tektites sculpture is not primary. Though this is improbable, one may admit that certain tektites have some weathering.
Colombianite (pseudo-tektite or tektite? We are sticking to calling it a pseudo-tektite, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t carry the punch of a tektite!)
Columbianite or Colombianite, also known as Cintamani/Chintamani Stone (“wish fulfilling Jewel” in Sanskrit), is considered a sacred stone by the Columbian Indians from the Muisca tribes. They call it "Piedra Rayo" meaning "Stone of Light" or “Lightening Stone”. It was originally thought to be extra-terrestrial in origin (it very much resembles tektites in form) due to it speculated being found near the contemplated Cali impact Crater strewn field in Colombia, but is now thought to be of volcanic origin (it very much resembles tektites in form) due to it speculated being found near the contemplated Cali impact Crater strewn field in Colombia, but is now thought to be of volcanic origin (ancient Obsidian, in its transmutation from Obsidian to the next phase before it is deteriorated and absorbed back into the Earth.) It’s earned the name “Pseudo-tektite”, such as the other stones of this variety of ancient obsidian regarded also as Cintamani or “The Philosopher’s Stone” : 1) Colombianite, 2) Carpathian Cintamani, 3) Saffordite Cintamani, and 4) Agnimanitite “Pearl of Fire.” These look similar to tektites, and in the case of Colombianite, because they have an origin in a location that is near an impact crater, that make way for speculations that it might be of extra-terrestrial origin, such as true tektites. But Colombianites, like the others, are pseudo-tektites, and are most accurately a variety of Ancient Obsidian.
In Arizona, specimens resembling tektite were discovered. Arizonaites' origins are controversial, although the final hypothesis is that they are volcanic in nature, similar to Colombianites. They do exhibit Tektite-like characteristics, such as hemispheric pitting of the skin.
Saffordites are a soft lavender-colored natural glass stone that occurs in just one location on Earth (hint: Safford, Arizona.) Frequently referred to as Saffordite tektites or Arizona Tektites, they are really members of the obsidian glass family of rocks. Saffordite stones are enigmatic in a variety of ways. For example, Saffordite hunting has been enjoyed by a large number of people for years, yet the source of Saffordites has never been discovered. They may have been carried many miles by water throughout the centuries they have been under the earth. Saffordites are often spherical or oval in form, suggesting that they were tumbled and molded by agitation in rushing water. Saffordites typically have pitted surfaces with cup-shaped depressions similar to those found in tektites. When held up to a light, certain Saffordites are gemmy transparent and brilliant. Other varieties of Saffordites are banded or transparent rather than clear. While some are opaque, each variety of Saffordite appears quite dark when illuminated from behind. When viewed from behind, they fully exhibit their underlying beauty. When backlit, the banded Saffordites are quite intriguing. (10)
A broad term utilized towards a variety of pseudotektites, namely: Saffordites, Agnimanites, Colombianites, and Carpathian Cintamani stones. It’s a term perhaps referring to a mythical (mystical, too, maybe) stone, connecting back to Hindu and Buddhist literature. [Please refer to: “2. COLOMBIANITE FROM COLOMBIA” section’s description for more details.]
Slovakia is home to the Carpathian Cintamani Stone (Pseudo Tektite). This "Carpathian Cintamani Stone" is the newest of the Pseudo-Tektite (naturally eroded ancient obsidian nodule) type stones to hit the market; nothing more is known about these stones at the moment, other than that they are discovered in Slovakia, with the precise location of the source being well guarded. This stone is unmistakably distinct in contrast to Colombianite, Agni Manitite, or Saffordite. What makes these stones unique is their bluish color when illuminated!
Agni Manitite (Agni Mani or Agnimanitite) OR "Cintamani stone" OR "Pearl of Divine Fire" is an Indonesian pseudotektite. This strange stone resembles tektite but was not formed by a meteorite impact. These stones were very likely formed during massive volcanic eruptions in which lava was sprayed into the atmosphere. The particles then crystallized as volcanic glass and washed down. As such, this stone belongs to the obsidian group of stones and is best likened to other pseudotektites such as Saffordite and Colombianite.
DISCLAIMER: This one’s a bit of a mystery still, as to its identity as a TEKTITE OR PSEUDO-TEKTITE. For the sake us of us know being too sure on what exactly it is, we are leaving it under “Pseudotektites.”
According to an abstract released on Harvard's online educational website for a scholarly article American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2012:
A Population of Distinctive Glass Clasts— Numerous sites throughout Sonoma and Solano Counties in north central California, spanning a 200 km2 region, unusual 1-5 cm mostly ovoid glass clasts are discovered in young sediments as part of the pebble population. They are made of black massive aphyric nonvesicular glass with a texture of interconnecting tiny deep holes and grooves covering the whole surface. The pits are hemispherical in shape, measuring between 1 and 10 mm in diameter, and unite at sharp edges made of straight segments. Where grooves exist, they are the breadth and depth of the pits and can be several centimeters long and vermicular in shape. Certain clasts have internal layering reminiscent of flow textures. Four of these glass clasts from widely dispersed places within the exposure region have been dated at the Berkeley Geochronology Center using the laser incremental heating Ar39/Ar40 technique, yielding a 2.81 Ma age (upper Pliocene). At one sigma, the ages of the four samples overlap. Chemical studies of ten main and fifty minor elements were performed at commercial laboratories on four widely separated clasts. The clasts are all rhyolites and cluster firmly on Le Maitre et al (2002)'s TAS diagram. All available evidence indicates that these pitted and grooved clasts form a single population.
The Clasts Are Tektites on the following grounds— as the researchers believe these unusual glass clasts are tektites due to:
Pits are constantly present and completely cover the surface of the clast. Approximately half of the clasts show unique irregular vermicular grooves overlaid on the pitted surface. This surface pattern is similar to those found on other well-known 'classic' tektites, such as indochinites. The clasts appear to be tektites. B. There is no evidence of substantial weathering on the clasts. They are solid and vitreous once they have been cleansed of clinging debris. Additionally, there are no instances of partial formation of the characteristic surface roughness, as would be expected as a result of in situ weathering. C. The clasts are not obsidian stones; they are not detrital. The pit and groove pattern, which is highly developed on clasts across the distribution region, is delicate and could not have sustained extensive travel. D. The clasts are not volcanic in origin (i.e., they are not referred to as 'apache tears'). Contrary to the comparatively smooth surface of apache tears, the pit and groove pattern of the clasts has no relation to lapilli.
Their unusual appearance and consistent age and chemistry indicate that these items are tektites scattered over a strewn field, only a portion of which has been recognized to date. There is no evidence of a linked impact site, although the clast composition implies a continental target.
As a result, the report proposes that these clasts, formerly referred to informally as Healdsburg glass, be classified as tektites and dubbed Healdsburgites, in the way of other tektites.
METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Tektites
The metaphysical characteristics of tektites are what make them so appealing. The actual formation of these natural glasses, as well as their qualities and advantages, are yet fully known. Many energy healers and crystal therapists think these stones contain high-frequency energy and may be utilized as effective energy healing instruments. Most tektites are regarded magical due to their ages, which range from 30 million years (hello, Libyan Desert Glass) to 15 million years (hey, Moldavite). Furthermore, they have been utilized for psychic protection against harmful forces and influences, as well as spiritual pursuits like as rituals and meditation, since ancient times. Many of these meteorites contain strong, powerful energies that resonate with high-frequency universal energies, making them valuable for spiritual healing.
Tektites are vitality generators that bring the new into the physical world. They are a stone of knowledge, riches, prosperity, and fertility. For ages, Tektites have been both feared and admired for their strong magick, which can be used to control both life and death. They are said to possess enormous Shamanic power, which aids with the shedding of the old and the birthing of the new. They are said to help with all phases of creation since they are excellent at manifesting. They are considered to assist us go forward more quickly, as well as increase spiritual growth and awareness, by releasing energy blockages that keep us back. They teach us how to persist in the face of adversity and find hope in the midst of despair. They dispel bad energy and aid in the release of the past, assisting in the transformation of painful events into beautiful life lessons that enrich the soul. Tektites resonate with all chakras and cleanse them, as well as opening the third eye and facilitating inter - dimensional contact. They are also believed to aid in the translation of other frequencies or energies through which they convey ancient wisdom and knowledge.
They are powerful energy amplifiers as well as of other crystals. They enhance connectedness to all energies by opening new levels of consciousness. They assist in the communication with other planets, other realms, and ancient beings. They reawaken latent psychic abilities, allowing the soul's life purpose to be realized. They are also supposed to erase past life contracts, relieve karmic links, and seal karmic scars. Isn't it incredible? They're also a formidable guardian, shielding our physical bodies and astral bodies from negative energies. Tektite is a wonderful talisman, amulet, or protection charm since it raises our vibration and helps avoid energy or entity attachments. They are thought to activate Kundalini life force energy, making them ideal for sexual exploration and learning to embrace one's own sexuality without fear or judgment. They assist in the development of sexual confidence by allowing one to feel at ease and content in their own skin. They energize the lowest three chakras by harnessing sexual creative energy and relieving any trauma, shame, or guilt carried in these locations. Tektites are supposed to aid in the development of strong self-love and healthy interpersonal boundaries, as well as the elimination of negative thinking and critical mental conditioning. Tektites are a great spiritual ally because they unite all of life's elements and generate a conductive energy that guides us smoothly from one cycle to the next. They deliver the gift of optimism, fresh prospects, and unlimited future possibilities, which helps to prevent stagnation.
Black Tektites, or Tektites in general, according to energy healers, can be utilized for a variety of reasons, including:
- stimulates telepathy and clairvoyance
- expanding consciousness via active meditation or being around its energetic field
- Revitalizes and cleanses the chakras
- facilitates positive emotional transformation, expression, and alignment
- harmonizes the flow of energy along the meridians
- eliminates any energetic blocks
- Psychic sensitivity is enhanced
- Aids the body's integration of high-frequency energy
- Regulates astral travel and lucid dreaming, allowing for more in-depth understanding of particular situations
- Increases the frequency with which synchronicity occurs
- thins curtain between dimensions
- Encourages people to overcome their fears
- Enhances understanding and awareness
- Aids in influencing the outcome of a battle against an antagonist
- Improves your capacity to tell the difference between truth and lies
- Telepathy improves communication from a distance
- Lower Chakras are cleared and unblocked
- Encourages the gathering of knowledge and connects the upper and lower chakras
- MOLDAVITE
- along with general Tektite metaphysical properties:
- synchronicity is brought into your life by working with Moldavite energy
- supports the process of spiritual awakening, enlightenment, and transformation
- aids in the reception of divine messages
- assists in overcoming ingrained habits of inhibitive thoughts
- the Heart Chakra is cleansed
- clairvoyance is enhanced
- the link with spirit guides is strengthened
- awakens Kundalini energy
- MICROTEKTITE
- same metaphysical properties as tektites [size doesn’t matter in context to metaphysical properties ;) ]
- raises one’s vibration
- allows for higher consciousness
- enables more acute insight and foresight
- allows one to free oneself from old conditioning and programming
- allows for connection to astral realms
- Tektites have been utilized to align the physical body's energy centers as well as to help regulate the neurological system
- AUSTRALITE
- along with general Tektite metaphysical properties:
- Australite has a grounding and protecting energy
- In terms of higher learning and spirituality, Australites are beneficial in performing responsibilities, tasks, and delivering a sense of “knowing"
- BEDIASITE
- along with general Tektite metaphysical properties:
- During moments of confusion, Bediasites are supposed to aid in the clarity of thought processes
- Interdimensional communication and lucid dreaming are aided by Bediasites
- Bediasites help people comprehend each other and add power and tenacity to their undertakings
- Bediasites help to clear mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual clutter
- In one's life, Bediasites generate sensations of well-being and energy control
- INDOCHINITE
Black as a night, the surface fissures and craters of Indochinite Tektites are distinctive. Indochinite is a solid stone of higher consciousness that is also termed as "Tibetan Tektite," in the metaphysical market.
(Though, fair warning, it is possible that "Tibetan Tektites," are actually simply Indochinites or Chinites, being sold as "Tibetan Tektites," either by a lack of knowing or whatever the reason may be. The elevation of "Tibetan Tektites" is due to the belief that those stones were once handled and infused with the meditative powers of Tibetan monks, and so carry that higher, pure energy, on top of the already carrying the elevated quality of being a high-vibrational Tektite. That may be true and entirely possible, but it is not easy to have a catalogue of those particular stones that were handled and blessed by the monks, for them to be in the market now, available for sales as "Tibetan Tektite." So most likely, what we see in the market as "Tibetan Tektites," may simply not have that history and connection to the Tibetan monks, as they are thought to be.)
Back to Indochinites: Indochinite possesses the transformative properties of other tektites, but unlike moldavite, which takes the user on a trip away from the material self, Indochinite establishes a link with the Earth as well as the stars (or Aether), so anchoring the energy once it has been elevated. This, strangely, may be viewed of as particularly significant while we are in the midst of the present pandemic (old systems breaking down, new ones arising), both of which are signs of a Root Chakra imbalance that has to be treated in order to achieve balance (as a collective).
- PHILIPPINITE (OR Rizalites )
Philippine tektites are high vibrational tektites similar to moldavites in that they progressively transmit cosmic energies into one's auric field. They mostly resonate with the third eye and crown chakras; however their energies cover all Chakras. Increased synchronicities in one's life can be caused by Philippine tektites, assisting in one's life path and matching the life lessons in store for one. They are said to bring good fortune. According to local legend, when tektites are discovered in a mining field, miners assume there is gold nearby. They are long used as an amulet in both indigenous Philippine communities and around the world.
- JAVANITE
Also called as “Agni Mani” or “Pearl of Fire” or “Fire Pearls”, not to be confused with Agnimanitite Pseudotektite which is also called as “Agni Mani” in the market. While Javanite is a tektite, Agnimanitite is a pseudotektite.
- URUGUAITE
General Tektite metaphysical properties:
- stimulates telepathy and clairvoyance
- expanding consciousness via active meditation or being around its energetic field
- Revitalizes and cleanses the chakras
- facilitates positive emotional transformation, expression, and alignment
- harmonizes the flow of energy along the meridians
- eliminates any energetic blocks
- Psychic sensitivity is enhanced
- Aids the body's integration of high-frequency energy
- Regulates astral travel and lucid dreaming, allowing for more in-depth understanding of particular situations
- Increases the frequency with which synchronicity occurs
- thins curtain between dimensions
- Encourages people to overcome their fears
- Enhances understanding and awareness
- Aids in influencing the outcome of a battle against an antagonist
- Improves your capacity to tell the difference between truth and lies
- Telepathy improves communication from a distance
- Lower Chakras are cleared and unblocked
- Encourages the gathering of knowledge and connects the upper and lower chakras
- Aids communication with extraterrestrials
- BIKOLITE
General Tektite metaphysical properties:
- stimulates telepathy and clairvoyance
- expanding consciousness via active meditation or being around its energetic field
- Revitalizes and cleanses the chakras
- facilitates positive emotional transformation, expression, and alignment
- harmonizes the flow of energy along the meridians
- eliminates any energetic blocks
- Psychic sensitivity is enhanced
- Aids the body's integration of high-frequency energy
- Regulates astral travel and lucid dreaming, allowing for more in-depth understanding of particular situations
- Increases the frequency with which synchronicity occurs
- thins curtain between dimensions
- Encourages people to overcome their fears
- Enhances understanding and awareness
- Aids in influencing the outcome of a battle against an antagonist
- Improves your capacity to tell the difference between truth and lies
- Telepathy improves communication from a distance
- Lower Chakras are cleared and unblocked
- Encourages the gathering of knowledge and connects the upper and lower chakras
- Aids communication with extraterrestrials
- BILLITONITE
General Tektite metaphysical properties:
- stimulates telepathy and clairvoyance
- expanding consciousness via active meditation or being around its energetic field
- Revitalizes and cleanses the chakras
- facilitates positive emotional transformation, expression, and alignment
- harmonizes the flow of energy along the meridians
- eliminates any energetic blocks
- Psychic sensitivity is enhanced
- Aids the body's integration of high-frequency energy
- Regulates astral travel and lucid dreaming, allowing for more in-depth understanding of particular situations
- Increases the frequency with which synchronicity occurs
- thins curtain between dimensions
- Encourages people to overcome their fears
- Enhances understanding and awareness
- Aids in influencing the outcome of a battle against an antagonist
- Improves your capacity to tell the difference between truth and lies
- Telepathy improves communication from a distance
- Lower Chakras are cleared and unblocked
- Encourages the gathering of knowledge and connects the upper and lower chakras
- Aids communication with extraterrestrials
- CHINITE
General Tektite metaphysical properties:
- stimulates telepathy and clairvoyance
- expanding consciousness via active meditation or being around its energetic field
- Revitalizes and cleanses the chakras
- facilitates positive emotional transformation, expression, and alignment
- harmonizes the flow of energy along the meridians
- eliminates any energetic blocks
- Psychic sensitivity is enhanced
- Aids the body's integration of high-frequency energy
- Regulates astral travel and lucid dreaming, allowing for more in-depth understanding of particular situations
- Increases the frequency with which synchronicity occurs
- thins curtain between dimensions
- Encourages people to overcome their fears
- Enhances understanding and awareness
- Aids in influencing the outcome of a battle against an antagonist
- Improves your capacity to tell the difference between truth and lies
- Telepathy improves communication from a distance
- Lower Chakras are cleared and unblocked
- Encourages the gathering of knowledge and connects the upper and lower chakras
- Aids communication with extraterrestrials
PLUS that of Indochinite’s Metaphysical properties:
- DARWIN GLASS
- along with general Tektite metaphysical properties:
- When one utilizes this stone, one can get information from one’s spirit guides and experience the vibrations of the third eye chakra
- This stone is believed to help heal emotions and help if one has issues with heartbreak, expressing feelings, feeling emotions, or recovering from traumas
- It is said to interact with the chest and heart area
- This stone has high vibrations and can aid in spiritual growth and release of fear
- This stone is also said to help one overcome worry associated with upcoming events
Darwin Glass is a beautiful stone with many of the same qualities as Moldavite, but it's a lot easier to work with and has a closer link to nature. Darwin Glass, like other Tektites, is an excellent protection stone, especially when you're having problems picking up on strong emotions from those around you and need a shield. Darwin Glass provides a protective bubble around you, allowing you to stay tranquil and calm while filtering and processing all of the information you're assaulted with. It also aids in the opening of the Heart Chakra, helping you to form love bonds with everyone and everything around you, including people, animals, the environment, and beyond. It provides you endless freedom and helps you expand in all ways due to its absence of crystal structure. This structure aids in the creation of a link between your Third Eye Chakra and your Forehead Chakra, allowing you to connect with your higher self and other dimensional entities to further your knowledge. Darwin Glass has a deep link to nature and helps you understand the value of the natural world around you.
- GEORGIAITE
*Please Note* Georgiaites are extremely rare, and it is possible only a few thousand pieces are in collection around the world. Not much metaphysical information exists on them, and I have not personally held a Georgiaite tektite, and therefore I can only leave a speculation of what their metaphysical properties MIGHT be, given that they are tektites, without having any insight on them in a personal level.
General Tektite metaphysical properties:
- stimulates telepathy and clairvoyance
- expanding consciousness via active meditation or being around its energetic field
- Revitalizes and cleanses the chakras
- facilitates positive emotional transformation, expression, and alignment
- harmonizes the flow of energy along the meridians
- eliminates any energetic blocks
- Psychic sensitivity is enhanced
- Aids the body's integration of high-frequency energy
- Regulates astral travel and lucid dreaming, allowing for more in-depth understanding of particular situations
- Increases the frequency with which synchronicity occurs
- thins curtain between dimensions
- Encourages people to overcome their fears
- Enhances understanding and awareness
- Aids in influencing the outcome of a battle against an antagonist
- Improves your capacity to tell the difference between truth and lies
- Telepathy improves communication from a distance
- Lower Chakras are cleared and unblocked
- Encourages the gathering of knowledge and connects the upper and lower chakras
- Aids communication with extraterrestrials
- IRGHIZITE
It's not surprising that Irghizite has a greater connection with the Earth than many other tektites, due to its black color, but it's also strangely heart-centered, with a delicate, mystical character. Whereas moldavite affects the Heart and higher chakras and indochinite affects the Root and lower chakras; Irghizite focuses on the center of the body— The Solar Plexus. It resonates more with the cooling process than the volatile, high-velocity causative event energetically, therefore its emphasis is on the coalescence and solidification of the change, the inspiration, and the insight it delivers, and roots it into the physical, rather than merely the transformation itself. That is, it, like moldavite, assists us in seeing our own potential or the potential of a circumstance, but unlike moldavite, it also assists us in fulfilling that potential.
Irghizite is my go-to stone anytime I experience energetic blockages in my sacral and solar plexus chakras! I use it in conjunction with Natrolite and Thailandite (a Thailand variant of Indochinite) to clear blockages in the lower, middle, and upper chakras!
- IVORITE
*Please Note* Ivorites are rare, and not much metaphysical information exists on them, and I have not personally held a Ivorite tektite, and therefore I can only leave a speculation of what their metaphysical properties MIGHT be, given that they are tektites, without having any insight on them in a personal level.
General Tektite metaphysical properties:
- stimulates telepathy and clairvoyance
- expanding consciousness via active meditation or being around its energetic field
- Revitalizes and cleanses the chakras
- facilitates positive emotional transformation, expression, and alignment
- harmonizes the flow of energy along the meridians
- eliminates any energetic blocks
- Psychic sensitivity is enhanced
- Aids the body's integration of high-frequency energy
- Regulates astral travel and lucid dreaming, allowing for more in-depth understanding of particular situations
- Increases the frequency with which synchronicity occurs
- thins curtain between dimensions
- Encourages people to overcome their fears
- Enhances understanding and awareness
- Aids in influencing the outcome of a battle against an antagonist
- Improves your capacity to tell the difference between truth and lies
- Telepathy improves communication from a distance
- Lower Chakras are cleared and unblocked
- Encourages the gathering of knowledge and connects the upper and lower chakras
- Aids communication with extraterrestrials
- ZHAMANSHINITE
Zhamanshinite is said to provide indescribable security in the most difficult occasions or situations and help sharpen one’s awareness of what is right and good. They are said to help one escape dualism and experience the UNITY of Life, as one large, linked family of all living beings within our Gaia and throughout the cosmos. They are also said to aid in dealing with emotional, mental, and other spiritual issues that need to be addressed with shadow work before the process of enlightenment and integration to Source. It’s a helpful stone for anyone who feels lonely or afraid of the future because it is said to offer one strength and a sense of security, which helps remove dread of any form.
- ATACAMAITE
Atacamaites are controlled by surface tensions with great similarities to Irghizites, Lonar Crater Glass, Darwin Glass, Waber Glass, physically and energetically. Along with the general tektite metaphysical properties, Atacamaites actively work with the solar plexus and sacral chakras, helping one sit with their fears and anxieties and face them for healing, in active shadow work, thereby helping one release these blockages. They are a great companion for Womb Healing meditative practices, along with any kind of Shadow work, and Shamanic work. They hold the fiery rawness of all tektites, but they are focused in helping one tend to the "engine," so to speak, or the life force, to awaken it, reignite it, and allow it to BLAZE, so one can conquer their fears and face their Soul Path and Life Purpose in joy, confidence, and strength.
- LIBYAN DESERT GLASS
Libyan Desert Glass are thought to be highly protective crystals that will help you enhance your willpower since they are a radiant golden yellow color and contain the pulse of the Golden light— a strong spiritual energy. They are known to be effective manifestation tools as well as for enhancing spiritual healing. These unusual stones provide a powerful vibration in the solar plexus chakra, which is the seat of the will in the body. They, like all tektites and impactites, have a powerful aura that protects you from any harmful psychic energy that could be stored in the solar plexus or any other part of the physical and etheric bodies.
The Solar Plexus chakra zone functions as a psychic barrier, and these stones aid in this process by providing a deep resonance within the zone. Libyan Desert Glass is a beneficial stone for those who believe they do not belong on Earth and may have come from somewhere else in the world (similar to the mechanism of other Tektites, due to their extra-terrestrial origins).
Libyan Desert Glass is an energetically strong stone, probably because it embodies the vitality of the occurrence that gave rise to it (as we discussed earlier in the article). The color of the glass varies, but the color has no effect on the amount of energy it contains—except in the difference between non-brown/green ones and brown/green ones, since the latter are believed to have a more noticeable extra-terrestrial presence in them. In this case, the exact hue of yellow is unimportant since even light-yellow stones have a powerful vibration associated with the Solar Plexus chakra.
With all that is going on in our world, we can all accept that this is a moment of tremendous spiritual shifts and incredible physical activations of our light bodies. Our world is undergoing a profound transformation in which we are all tackling all of the dysfunctions and injustices that have existed for a long time, and there is undoubtedly a need for all of us to raise our energies by aligning ourselves and assisting our earth in aligning to more caring, inclusive, fair, and universally sustainable societies.
The high frequency energy that these stones provide is extremely beneficial in assisting one's continuing spiritual journeys. It has an incredible and highly mystical vibration that will assist us in reconnecting with ancient wisdom. These enigmatic stones contain the golden light and are excellent for meditation. They assist in past life explorations and are said to enable contact with entities from other worlds, including extraterrestrial beings.
This stone has a powerful, beneficial resonance in the solar plexus chakra, making it an excellent psychic defense stone. Their resonance keeps harmful psychic energy from building up in this zone. It also aids in the prevention of energy thieves (also known as Energy Vampires) from stealing your energy because it provides a powerful deterrent against these kinds of harmful events. It is also a powerful stone within the sacral chakra for increasing inspiration and creativity, and can stimulate those with the gift of clairsentience (enhanced ability to feel and sense energies), to have stronger abilities. They are potent stones to use in meditation because they can help you reach the field of the akashic records and learn more about lives you might have lived, especially in the area from which this stone emerged. Since these stones have a very high vibration and are claimed to enable you to communicate with extraterrestrials, it is assumed that this communication is connected to their extraterrestrial roots.
Main Metaphysical Attributes:
- powerful stones to aid the willpower
- holds strong energy to aid manifestation
- encourage growth of personal abundance and prosperity
- in alignment with one’s highest good, Libyan Desert Glass assists one to manifest an increase in money, opportunities, and attributes to make one “shine”
- heighten spiritual growth and spiritual healing
- their high vibration may aid light-body activation
- improves creativity
- highly protective, especially protective against energy vampires
- provides spiritual grounding, like all tektites and impactites
- especially beneficial to use during time of transformation or vulnerability
- the potent Golden ray embodied within Libyan Desert Glass is effective for ascension
- useful to connect to ancient knowledge
- increased synchronicity with events that bring success in the Material world
- opens spiritual vision to allow one to experience deeper spiritual awareness, and aids stimulation of one’s mental ability in alignment with one’s highest good
- bridge between worlds, helps establish connection with other worlds
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complete support of your spiritual transformation and journey
- PICA GLASS
*Please Note* Pica Glass are a new find, and not much metaphysical information exists on them, and I have not personally held a Pica Glass tektite, and therefore I can only leave a speculation of what their metaphysical properties MIGHT be, given that they are tektites, without having any insight on them in a personal level.
General Tektite metaphysical properties:
- stimulates telepathy and clairvoyance
- expanding consciousness via active meditation or being around its energetic field
- Revitalizes and cleanses the chakras
- facilitates positive emotional transformation, expression, and alignment
- harmonizes the flow of energy along the meridians
- eliminates any energetic blocks
- Psychic sensitivity is enhanced
- Aids the body's integration of high-frequency energy
- Regulates astral travel and lucid dreaming, allowing for more in-depth understanding of particular situations
- Increases the frequency with which synchronicity occurs
- thins curtain between dimensions
- Encourages people to overcome their fears
- Enhances understanding and awareness
- Aids in influencing the outcome of a battle against an antagonist
- Improves your capacity to tell the difference between truth and lies
- Telepathy improves communication from a distance
- Lower Chakras are cleared and unblocked
- Encourages the gathering of knowledge and connects the upper and lower chakras
- Aids communication with extraterrestrials
Pseudo Tektites
Pseudotektites are often overlooked with metaphysical enthusiasts and energy dabblers looking toward Tektites for a high-vibrational experience. But pseudotektites stand in their own merit, deservingly so, as what they offer while it is not of a meteoric or alien origin, is actually of the most transformational and grounding of Terrestrial, and Mother Gaia's wisdom. How so? They are the final remnants of their volcanic ancestors in the geologic "Garden of Eden,” as is said. Further, they are regarded as something of a crowning jewel since they are the strongest parts in the hearts of boulders. They have made their journey from the core of the earth to the surface, and have been molded by fire and earth, and have endured waters and storms; and have absorbed the memories of Time. They are filled with a powerful Earth wisdom, that one would expect to receive from an ancient sage, how has merged with the energies of the earth for centuries in elevated meditation.
Before there were veils and layers and layers of physical “realities” that we were subjected to accept and sit through, alchemy and mysticism was the norm of interaction with the world. Connection to nature, the Sun, the Moon, the waters and fire were our source of strength and energy. Co-existence and consumption of animals in their natural purity (they are ones without the physical and etheric debris that we have) and plants in the wonders of their ways, were our grounding and medicine. We viewed the world in its natural state of motion and change. We interacted with the world in this process of constant transmutation: water into ice, fire into ash, lava into rock then back into lava— into the core of the Earth, for it all to cycle back again. We change this way, too, from one form of our physical being into the other; and this transmutation extends into our psyche, mental evolution, and emotional evolution, too—all interacting seamlessly with our Spiritual connection and evolution. What a world it was! Un-polluted and uncomplicated by false layers designed to have us deviate from that connection with ourselves and others…
Maybe what makes pseudotektites special to me is that, like us, these stones, too, are a product of Nature’s alchemy (read along to find out why), reminding us that just as seasons pass, and as life ebbs and flows, we, too, must follow the light into transformation and connection back to Source.
- AMERIKANITE/AMERICANITE — please see Colombianite, as they have similar metaphysical properties.
- COLOMBIANITE
Columbianite or Colombianite, also known as Cintamani/Chintamani Stone (“wish fulfilling Jewel” in Sanskrit), is considered a sacred stone by the Columbian Indians from the Muisca tribes. They call it "Piedra Rayo" meaning "Stone of Light" or “Lightening Stone”. It was originally thought to be extra-terrestrial in origin (it very much resembles tektites in form) due to it speculated being found near the contemplated Cali impact Crater strewn field in Colombia, but is now thought to be of volcanic origin (it very much resembles tektites in form) due to it speculated being found near the contemplated Cali impact Crater strewn field in Colombia, but is now thought to be of volcanic origin (ancient Obsidian, in its transmutation from Obsidian to the next phase before it is deteriorated and absorbed back into the Earth.) It’s earned the name “Pseudo-tektite”, such as the other stones of this variety of ancient obsidian regarded also as Cintamani (Cintamani or Chintamani means "thought-gem" or "wishing stone”) OR “The Philosopher’s Stone” : 1) Colombianite, 2) Carpathian Cintamani, 3) Saffordite Cintamani, and 4) Agnimanitite “Pearl of Fire.” These look similar to tektites, and in the case of Colombianite, because they have an origin in a location that is near an impact crater, that make way for speculations that it might be of extra-terrestrial origin, such as true tektites. But Colombianites, like the others, are pseudo-tektites, and are most accurately a variety of Ancient Obsidian.
At an initial glance, Colombianite’s small, brown, unassuming exterior look may be unstirring, but their energy is anything but! They carry the power of Natural Duality: in the essence of alchemical transmutation, form changes from one to another. With Colombianite, like with the other pseudo-tektites, they have transformed from Fire to Solid Rock Glass, back to a break-down state before disintegrating into the Earth, by brewing in water (an aspect that attributes their smooth texture) for a long time. Metaphysically this is the ultimate state of union within a dual state of being, where form transmutes from one to another, but more so that, one that was created from fire, solidifies to earth, strengthens by wind, and then nurtures in water for a long time… before eventually completely breaking down back into the earth, into the central fire. This way of being born of fire and then simmering in water, gives them this phenomenal duality. This is part of the reason why though pseudo-tektites are grounding, a quality transferred from Obsidian, they are also high vibrational, at the same time. It’s a state of being both, at both ends, in complete union within the duality. This quality also gives them the ability to act as a reflective stone, that allows for emotional release and deep shadow work!
Colombianite Medicine:
- Connects the root (grounding quality) with the crown (high vibrational quality) and Soul Star chakras: helps access cosmic knowledge and downloads, then aids with the processing of it, then allows for effective grounding (these three tenets of 1. access, 2. process and integration, 3. release and stability are crucial in any Spiritual pursuit, and lucky for us, this fascinating stone stimulates all three!)
- Special significance in the South American Shamanic tradition, where it was used by Shamans to communicate with higher dimensional beings for centuries
- Aids shadow work, emotional release, and dreamwork
- Helps promote compassion, love, peace, and understanding of oneself and others
- Helps clear negative energy and dissolve and heal emotional baggage (making peace with the past to embrace the present for a hopeful tomorrow)
- Helps awaken spirituality, gently, like in the embrace of the warm waters of one’s womb-state
- ARIZONAITE— please see Saffordite, as they have similar metaphysical properties.
- SAFFORDITE
The holy grail stone, the wish-fulfilling stone, and Cintamani are just a few of the nicknames given to Saffordites. Cintamani or Chintamani means "thought-gem" or "wishing stone” or “wish full-filling stone” in Sanskrit. When viewed with the naked eye, Saffordites seem to be a common brown colored stone, however, upon closer inspection, shows small moon-like craters and dimples. When exposed to the sun, it turns a lavender or grey-green color. They also glow a flaming orange to brilliant yellow when held up to a flashlight, becoming practically transparent and revealing lines and dimples within the rock. When this happens, you are holding a luminous stone with a high vibrational frequency and can physically experience its presence; it feels charged and warm, exuding a warm, grounding aura.
The Cintamani stone, also known as a philosopher's stone, is claimed to change the vibrations it receives into pure vibrations of love, light, and grace. Because "all things are possible with love," Saffordite is known as the "wish-fulfilling stone." Some believe that burying the stone generates an energy vortex that forms barriers against bad or unwanted energies. Having the stone on hand and with you is thought to assist you in spreading positivity in the world and reducing the negative energy that surrounds us.
The crucial thing to remember is that Saffordite, like other stones, responds to our intentions. All is of the mind. Everything else is our allies and tools for understanding and wielding it. We build our realities, and the strength of it all comes from our own self. Love is magnified when we feed it to our stones. Whatever we feed the stone, that is what it becomes and multiplies. So it may assist in bringing success and abundance to yourself and others— all we have to do is intend it. Of course, stones have their own intrinsic values and properties, but supplementing our own purpose and energy towards it is always beneficial— after all, aren't we all part of Source, so why not co-create alongside the energies of our favorite stones?
- CINTAMANI STONE— please see Colombianite, as they have similar metaphysical properties.
- CARPATHIAN CINTAMANI— please see Colombianite and Agni Manitite, as they have similar metaphysical properties.
Slovakia is home to the Carpathian Cintamani Stone (Pseudo Tektite). This "Carpathian Cintamani Stone" is the newest of the Pseudo-Tektite (naturally eroded ancient obsidian nodule) type stones to hit the market; nothing more is known about these stones at the moment, other than that they are discovered in Slovakia, with the precise location of the source being well guarded. This stone is unmistakably distinct in contrast to Colombianite, Agni Manitite, or Saffordite. What makes these stones unique is their bluish color when illuminated!
- AGNIMANITE
This stone powerfully activates the Solar Plexus Chakra, increasing energy levels and connecting one with one's power, rapidly. It directs one's will to what truly brings one happiness, while setting the solid foundation needed for rapid manifestation. I love working with this stone, during especially stressful times, as it is soothing, grounding, and helps me heal to feel empowered once again, with a reignited fire. In addition to its foundational alignment, and empowerment properties, Agni Manitite is a grounding and protective stone that creates a shield around one so one can move forward with confidence. It encourages spiritual awakening and transformation by shining a light on what changes need to occur – inspiring one to move toward one's highest good. This is a dynamic and powerful quality that is found in Obsidian varieties, especially in Black Obsidian, and Agni Manitite encompasses that fully, while being soothing, whereas Black Obsidian can be more direct and rawer. I feel this stone to hold the magnitude of powers of black obsidian, WHILE also being a powerful Solar Plexus and Sacral Chakra stone, wherein it is literally "toughening us up" by getting our GUT HEALTH (in the emotional and spiritual sense) in order and in alignment. I liken this stone as soothing as how it feels when one is laying in the fetal position when one is at one's lowest point. Comforting, healing, and stimulating enough to get one back on one's feet, to face any challenges head on. Agnimanitite also activates kundalini energy and helps one remember that anything is possible when you’re divinely connected. Agni Manitite is a stone of leadership— but, not in an abrasive way, but in a way we can only expect from a seasoned, gentle, "for the people" type individual— who imparts their guidance while lending support for the person to become empowered to stand their own ground. It sparks one to take the lead in external situations and in one's own life. Agni Manitite enhances one's creativity and sense of adventure, while also stimulating involvement and love for the community.
- HEALDSBURG TEKTITE OR GLASS OF HEALDSBURGITES
*Please Note* HEALDSBURGITES are quite rare, and not much metaphysical information exists on them, and I have not personally held a HEALDSBURGITE, and therefore I can only leave a speculation of what their metaphysical properties MIGHT be, given that they are pseudo tektites (maybe tektites, unsure on that!), without having any insight on them in a personal level.
Please see Colombianite and Agni Manitite, as they MAY have similar metaphysical properties.
WHAT WE HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU!
If you got this far in the post (THANK YOU!), you must REALLY like Tektites and Pseudo-tektites (YAY, me too, can you tell? :P )
I hope this discussion was helpful in collating the varied tektites and pseudotektites that have graced our world with their presence. Of course, this isn’t a conclusive list. I tried to be as thorough as I can, but I can’t say that I have not possibly overlooked some stones. More so, under the grouping of Indochinites (the regional name that is used as the Proximal descriptor for the Australasian Tektites strewn field), there are Thailandites, Vietnamites, Cambodianites, and even Chinites and Lei Gong Mo. I did not address these Indochinite stones by their country name in our discussion, as I felt their identity in being grouped into the regional name of Indochinites was sufficient for our exploration into these stones. It might be worth noting that there could be slight variation in appearances of these same Indochinite stones depending on their location. Personally, I find Thailandites to be exhibiting a more pronounced translucent quality when backlit than the traditional Black Indochinite tektites, for example, and so, if you are a crystal collector, it might be worth acquiring these stones not only by the categorization of region (Indochinite) but by Country (Thailandite or Chinite for example).
While it was certainly interesting for me to learn of the origin and scientific side of these stones, I must say that the energetic components and metaphysics associated with these stones is what makes them sacred to me. There was a point not too long ago that these stones were alien to me. But my life has transformed for the better upon bringing them into my life. I hope I could hold all of these stones at some point in my life, so I can fill the gaps in my knowledge regarding their metaphysical properties, since I have not personally interacted with all of them (only most).
My sincere hope for anyone reading this is for you to give these sacred Tektites and Pseudotektites a try, and to bring them into your life. We all could use a shining star, a ray of hope, a spark of fire, and a solid guide in our lives— can’t we? And these stones are exactly that. They are ancient wisdom, and a portal to sights beyond ones limited to the design of our eyes. So often we measure reality by all that is tangible, and that’s needed— but sometimes it’s worth exploring the intangible, the supra consciousness, and the aether… and a sure way to get a boost towards that is with…. tektites and pseudo tektites.
While we currently do not carry or source ALL of these amazing stones that were mentioned in this post, we do have a mesmerizing selection of:
MOLDAVITE
LIBYAN DESERT GLASS
INDOCHINITE (BLACK TEKTITE)
COLOMBIANITE
SAFFORDITE
AGNI MANITITE
Get yourself these, and experience their magic for yourself!
Thank you for reading.
Until next time,
Sherley Jennifer of Throwin’ Stones
Company Writer and Content Strategist
