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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Stromatolites and Chert



I am taking a break from artwork these days for various reasons and have turned my attention to rocks.  I have become a Rock Hound!  I've always loved rocks and minerals along with plants and animals.  Since plants are mostly slumbering this time of year and the birds are quiet (except for the chickens), it seemed like the right time to explore the mineral world.  I want to experiment with Gem Elixirs, made by soaking various crystals and stones in distilled water in the sunlight, then preserving them with brandy and storing in dark bottles.  These are vibrational remedies, similar to flower essences or homeopathic medicines.  And from my research, they can have pretty profound impacts on our mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well being.

One type of rock that excites me is the Stromatolite.  I got the one pictured above from a small local rock shop.  Stromatolites are the fossilized remains of ancient colonies of cyanobacteria which lived in shallow water and used water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to create their food.  They excreted calcium carbonate which formed layer upon layer of stone with bacterial remains sandwiched between them.  Many of these stones are up to 3.5 billion years old!!  Just think of it!  The cyanobacteria were largely responsible for increasing oxygen in the primeval earth's atmosphere through photosynthesis, thus allowing other forms of life to develop.  Bacteria were the only form of life on earth for the first 2 billion years that life existed on earth.  And as a matter of fact, we humans consist of bacterial colonies that outnumber our human cells ten to one.  Such important organisms, yet we mostly don't even think about them.

In a little book I have called "Gem Waters" by Michael Geinger and Joachim Goebel, stromatolites are listed as a healing stone that, when prepared in an elixir or gem water, cleanses the connective tissues and the intestines, improves intestinal flora, encourages metabolism and elimination, dissolves abdominal tensions.  On higher levels, this elixir helps us adapt to change and aids our creative power.  It makes sense to me that these oldest forms of life might contain powerful blueprints, or vibrations that could stimulate our digestive systems.  And the thought of making a remedy with something that is 3.5 billion years old blows my mind.  Talk about getting down to basics - these tiny creatures had digestion down pat. 

 When stromatolites are cut and polished, they make beautiful pieces suitable for jewelry with swirling streaks of brown and black, or sometimes other colors.  There are modern forms of stromatolites still found around the world, but not as numerous as in the far distant past.

So I am preparing to make a stromatolite gem elixir and will pass along what I learn from it.

Pink Ozark Chert


Another stone I'm working with is our common Ozark pink chert.  Chert is pretty much the same as flint, though flint is usually dark.  According to "Gem Elixirs and Vibrational Healing" by Gurudas, flint's prime function as an elixir is tissue regeneration of the entire endocrine system.  As a by-product of this it stimulates tissue regeneration throughout the entire system and aids assimilation of all nutrients.  I figure that pink chert ought to be particularly effective since the color pink relates to regeneration.  It's exciting and liberating to think that powerful medicines can be developed from the stones beneath our feet.  Think what mysteries are contained in the natural world!  

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