Mahogany Obsidian
obsidian with hematite/magnetite staining
Obsidian stained red-brown by iron oxide, giving the least severe of the volcanic glasses, the swirls are a frozen record of how the lava was flowing at the moment it quenched. Oregon and Mexico supply most of it. People carry it for grounding, protection and self-love. Tradition attaches it to the element earth, the root, sacral chakra, Mars.
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Mineral facts
Hardness
5-6 Mohs
Formula
SiO2 glass + Fe oxides
Family
volcanic glass
Where it comes from
USA (Oregon, California, Nevada), Mexico, Armenia
What it is
Obsidian stained red-brown by iron oxide, giving the least severe of the volcanic glasses, the swirls are a frozen record of how the lava was flowing at the moment it quenched. Oregon and Mexico supply most of it. Softer-looking than black obsidian and treated accordingly by practitioners.
What it is confused with
red-jasper, black-obsidian, brecciated-jasper, goldstone
Black glass shot through with irregular streaks, clouds and bands of deep red-brown from iron oxide, with the two colours swirled together in flow patterns that record how the lava moved. The boundaries are smoky and gradational, not sharp, and the whole thing retains obsidian's mirror luster and conchoidal fracture. Backlit thin edges transmit red-brown light. No crystals, no granularity.
How to tell
Glassy conchoidal fracture and a translucent red-brown glow at the edges mean obsidian. Red jasper is fully opaque, granular on the break, and harder, it scratches glass, obsidian does not confidently.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Mahogany Obsidian is a volcanic glass, 5-6 on the Mohs scale, and it is the stone traditionally carried when the problem is proximity rather than intensity.
You know what this one would do for you. You just don't have it.
Mahogany Obsidian for every sign
Aries
Whatever it was doing when it stopped, it is still doing.
The red-brown swirls are iron oxide, frozen in the shape the lava had at the instant it quenched. Whatever it was doing when it stopped, it is still doing.
Taurus
Iron oxide staining in volcanic glass.
Iron oxide staining in volcanic glass. The swirls hold the exact shape the lava had at the second it quenched, which is the closest thing to a photograph a rock can be. Oregon and Mexico supply most of it.
Gemini
The swirl is what the lava was doing when it stopped.
Iron oxide staining in volcanic glass, swirled into the exact pattern the lava was making the second it quenched. Backlight a thin edge and it glows red-brown, which separates it from red jasper in one move. Oregon and Mexico supply nearly all of it.
Cancer
The pattern is what the lava was doing when it froze.
Iron oxide stained the glass red-brown in the exact pattern the lava was moving when it stopped. There are no crystals anywhere in it and every boundary is smoky rather than sharp. Backlight a thin edge and it passes red, which red jasper never does.
Leo
Nothing inside it has moved since the lava froze.
The red-brown swirls are iron oxide caught in the exact arrangement the lava held at the instant it froze. Nothing in it has moved since. Oregon and Mexico produce most of it, and the colour boundaries stay smoky rather than sharp, which is how you separate it from dyed glass.
Virgo
A frozen record of how the lava was moving.
The red-brown clouding is iron oxide, and the swirl is a frozen record of how the lava was moving in the second it quenched. Boundaries are smoky and gradational rather than sharp, which rules out brecciated jasper. Red jasper scratches glass. This will not.
Libra
Nothing in it was resolved when the clock stopped.
Black glass stained red-brown by iron oxide, the two colours swirled in flow patterns that record how the lava was moving the instant it quenched. The boundaries are smoky and gradational, never sharp. Nothing in it was resolved when the clock stopped.
Scorpio
It looks less like a weapon. That is the difference.
Black glass stained red-brown by iron oxide, the swirls recording how the lava was moving at the instant it quenched. Backlit thin edges transmit red. Practitioners treat it as the mild protective glass, which mostly means it looks less like a weapon than the black does.
Sagittarius
The swirls record how the lava moved at the instant it quenched.
The swirls record how the lava was moving at the instant it quenched, iron oxide staining black glass red-brown. Oregon, Nevada and Armenia all produce it. Practitioners treat it as the mild one, which the mineralogy neither supports nor contradicts.
Capricorn
A frozen record of how the lava was moving.
Obsidian stained red-brown by iron oxide, and the swirls are a frozen record of exactly how the lava was moving in the second it quenched. Oregon and Mexico supply most of it. The least severe of the volcanic glasses, which is a low bar, and it clears it.
Aquarius
The swirls record how the lava was moving when it froze.
The red-brown streaks are iron oxide, and their pattern records how the lava was moving in the instant it froze. There is no crystal in it and no structure except that frozen motion. Oregon and Mexico supply most of what sells.
Pisces
The pattern is a record of motion, held still.
Iron oxide swirled through black glass in smoky gradational bands with no sharp boundary anywhere, because the lava was still moving when it froze. It is the least severe of the volcanic glasses and gets treated accordingly. The pattern is a record of motion, held still.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
earth
Planet
Mars
Chakra
root, sacral
Signs
scorpio, aries, capricorn
What tradition says
In crystal lore, mahogany obsidian is described as a gentler protective stone than black obsidian, associated with rebuilding confidence and with steady rather than sudden change.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Inert and water-safe; chips easily on edges and points.
Common questions
What does mahogany obsidian mean?
Mahogany Obsidian is carried for grounding, protection and self-love. Obsidian stained red-brown by iron oxide, giving the least severe of the volcanic glasses, the swirls are a frozen record of how the lava was flowing at the moment it quenched.. Tradition links it to the root, sacral chakra.
Is mahogany obsidian real or fake?
Mahogany Obsidian is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Glassy conchoidal fracture and a translucent red-brown glow at the edges mean obsidian. Red jasper is fully opaque, granular on the break, and harder, it scratches glass, obsidian does not confidently.
Can mahogany obsidian go in water?
A short rinse is fine for mahogany obsidian, then dry it.
Common · red-brown and black, mahogany, rust with black bands
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works