Rainbow Obsidian
obsidian with oriented nanorod inclusions
Black glass with layers of aligned nanoscale crystals inside it, spaced closely enough to interfere with light and throw a spectrum out of something that looks entirely opaque. Almost all of the good material comes from Jalisco, Mexico. People carry it for transformation, shadow work and grief. Tradition attaches it to the element spirit, the root, third-eye chakra, Neptune.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Mineral facts
Hardness
5-6 Mohs
Formula
SiO2 glass with magnetite/hedenbergite nanorods
Family
volcanic glass
Where it comes from
Mexico (Jalisco), USA (Oregon, Glass Buttes)
What it is
Black glass with layers of aligned nanoscale crystals inside it, spaced closely enough to interfere with light and throw a spectrum out of something that looks entirely opaque. Almost all of the good material comes from Jalisco, Mexico. Cutters have to orient the stone to the flow banding or the rainbow never appears.
What it is confused with
black-obsidian, aura-quartz, labradorite, fire-agate, oil-slick-coated-glass
Looks like plain black obsidian until angled into a strong direct light, when concentric or banded rings of green, magenta, gold and violet appear beneath the surface, thin-film interference from layers of aligned nanorods that follow the original lava flow. The rings are broad, soft-edged and follow the flow structure, and they only appear from a narrow range of angles with a point light source. Under diffuse light the stone looks black. Spheres show the sheen as concentric eye-like rings.
How to tell
The sheen must appear only at specific angles under a point light and vanish under diffuse light; coatings look iridescent from every angle and on every face including broken ones. Conchoidal fracture and a brown glow at thin edges confirm obsidian.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Rainbow 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.
Rainbow Obsidian for every sign
Aries
Diffuse light shows you nothing.
It looks like plain black glass until you put a single point light on it at the right angle, and then rings of magenta and gold appear from nanorods lying parallel to the old lava flow. Diffuse light shows you nothing. Cut it off the flow banding and the rainbow never appears.
Taurus
Angle is everything.
Almost all the good material comes from Jalisco, and the cutter has to orient the stone to the old lava flow banding or the rainbow never appears. The rings are nanorods lying parallel inside black glass. Angle is everything. The stone will not meet you halfway.
Gemini
The cutter guesses the orientation and gets one attempt.
Under a diffuse light it is plain black. Angle it into a single point source and rings of magenta and gold surface, thrown by nanoscale crystals lined up along the old lava flow. The cutter has to guess that orientation before grinding and gets one attempt.
Cancer
Diffuse light hides it completely, which is most light.
Black under any ordinary light. Bring a single point source to it at the right angle and broad rings of green and magenta rise from underneath, thrown by nanorods lined up along the old lava flow. Diffuse light hides it completely, which is most light.
Leo
Cut it wrong and the rainbow never appears at all.
Cut it wrong and the rainbow never appears at all. The colour comes from layers of parallel nanorods following the original lava flow, so a cutter has to read the flow banding before the saw goes in. Jalisco supplies almost all the good material.
Virgo
Cut it wrong and the rainbow never appears.
Cut it wrong and the rainbow never appears. The colour comes from nanorods lying parallel to the original lava flow, spaced closely enough to interfere with light, so it shows only under a point source at a narrow angle. Under diffuse light the stone reads as plain black.
Libra
A wrong guess at the flow direction kills the rainbow.
Under diffuse light it is plain black. Angle it into a single point source and banded rings of green, magenta and gold surface from layers of nanorods lying along the old lava flow. The cutter has to guess the flow direction before sawing, and a wrong guess kills it.
Scorpio
Under diffuse light it stays flatly black.
Layers of magnetite nanorods suspended in black glass, spaced closely enough to interfere with light. Under diffuse light it stays flatly black, and the colour appears only through a narrow range of angles under a point source. Cutters must orient it to the flow banding or nothing shows at all.
Sagittarius
The cutter has to orient it or the rainbow never appears.
Black glass containing layers of parallel nanorods spaced closely enough to interfere with light, which is how a spectrum comes out of something opaque. Nearly all the good material is from Jalisco. The cutter has to orient it or the rainbow never appears.
Capricorn
The cutter reads the lava flow before the first cut.
Black glass carrying layers of parallel nanorods spaced closely enough to interfere with light, so a spectrum comes out of something that reads as solid black. It shows only from a narrow range of angles under a point source. The cutter reads the lava flow before the first cut or it never appears.
Aquarius
Cut it against the flow banding and the rainbow never appears.
Looks like plain black glass until you find the one angle. Inside are layers of parallel nanorods following the original lava flow, close enough together to interfere with light. Cut it against the flow banding and the rainbow never appears at all.
Pisces
What the rock was doing when it stopped decides what shows.
Layers of parallel nanorods follow the direction the lava was flowing, close enough together to throw colour by interference. The cutter has to orient the stone to that flow or the rings never show at all. What the rock was doing when it stopped decides what shows.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
spirit
Planet
Neptune
Chakra
root, third-eye
Signs
scorpio, pisces, libra
What tradition says
In crystal lore, rainbow obsidian is associated with grief, with the end of relationships, and with finding light inside a dark passage, attributions built on the optical behaviour.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Inert and water-safe. The sheen is internal and cannot be washed off, but the stone chips like all obsidian. The cut orientation determines whether the rainbow shows at all.
Common questions
What does rainbow obsidian mean?
Rainbow Obsidian is carried for transformation, shadow work and grief. Black glass with layers of aligned nanoscale crystals inside it, spaced closely enough to interfere with light and throw a spectrum out of something that looks entirely opaque.. Tradition links it to the root, third-eye chakra.
Is rainbow obsidian real or fake?
Rainbow Obsidian is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. The sheen must appear only at specific angles under a point light and vanish under diffuse light; coatings look iridescent from every angle and on every face including broken ones. Conchoidal fracture and a brown glow at thin edges confirm obsidian.
Can rainbow obsidian go in water?
A short rinse is fine for rainbow obsidian, then dry it.
Uncommon · black with green, magenta, gold, violet and blue banded sheen
Where this leads
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works