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Entry № 208

Golden Sheen Obsidian

Volcanic Glass with Gas-Bubble Sheen

Black glass with a golden hush trapped inside it.

Chakra

Solar Plexus · Root

Element

Fire · Earth

Zodiac

Leo · Scorpio

Golden Sheen Obsidian

I. The Metaphysical Reading

How the stone has been held.

Golden sheen obsidian is worked with as a stone of hidden authority, held during work that requires influence rather than display. Practitioners hold that its sheen only reveals itself at the right angle — a reminder that power does not need to announce itself continuously.

Chakra
Solar Plexus · Root
Element
Fire · Earth
Zodiac
Leo · Scorpio
Keynote
Black glass with a golden hush trapped inside it.

II. The Scientific Reading

What the lattice actually does.

Golden sheen obsidian is a rhyolitic volcanic glass in which planes of aligned microscopic gas bubbles were preserved during rapid cooling. When the glass is cut across those planes and polished, light scattered off the layered bubbles produces the characteristic golden schiller — a purely optical effect from internal structure, not from any golden mineral inclusion. The bulk material remains ordinary obsidian.

Formula
SiO₂-rich volcanic glass (roughly 70 – 75% SiO₂)
System
Amorphous
Hardness
5 – 6 (Mohs)
Provenance
Mexico, USA (Oregon), Iceland

References & Sources

Independent mineralogical references used to verify the scientific details above.

Mineral Profile

Fact Sheet

Chemical Formula
SiO₂-rich volcanic glass (roughly 70 – 75% SiO₂)
Crystal System
Amorphous
Mohs Hardness
5 – 6 (Mohs)
Density
2.35 – 2.60 g/cm³
Refractive Index
1.48 – 1.51
Provenance
Mexico, USA (Oregon), Iceland
Color Origin
Jet black with a golden metallic sheen across the polished surface

Related Crystals

Stones that share this lattice

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