At Practical Magic, we put educating our customers and clients ahead of all else, so we thought it would be a perfect place to post a general list of stones that are marketed as crystals/gemstones/rocks but do not technically come from the earth directly. With that said, we are not speaking to their inability to have metaphysical significance in ritual and healing work, and we continue to offer some of these stones for their properties metaphysically. However, we want everyone to stay informed and up to date on stone mineralogy, especially with our personal background of being students of science and educators!
Opalite
Green Obsidian
Aqua/Blue Obsidian
Yellow Obsidian
Red Goldstone
Blue Goldstone
Green Goldstone
Purple Goldstone
Synthetic Opal
Synthetic Malachite – We do NOT carry synthetic malachite, and if you know what you are looking for, you can easily spot FAKE malachite. We only carry authentic malachite. Usually, a cheap price is a pretty dead giveaway that someone is trying to pass off fake malachite to you as the real deal, and REAL malachite is certainly a real stone. However, buyers beware to be sure that you can spot the different between the two!
There are many stones on the market that are being passed off as incorrect identifications. These FAKES will be discussed in another article, but we just want you to get a general idea of the manmade, not of the earth, stones first!
Anything that says synthetic, “lab created” or “lab grown” in front of it is not from the earth and should be an indicator to you. This is different from vapor dioxide aura quartz coated stones, which are chemically altered, but were done so on real stones.
Moldavite, is often faked as well, but when received from a reputable source, is a real earth based mineral.
Several stones on the market have undergone chemical processes, such as heating, to alter the look of the stone. These are real stones, and in our opinion, have incredible alchemical metaphysical properties that you can use in your work. Stones that have been altered include snakeskin carnelian aka fire agate, rainbow hematite, aura quartz, citrine heated from amethyst, carnelian, some types of hematoid quartz and from what I have heard from a few sources but have not yet had a chance to confirm with certainty, some forms of jade.
Always in the Light,
