Amber is the fossilized resin of ancient conifer trees. It is said to be a healing stone that calms the mind and eases the spirit. It is believed to provide mental and emotional strength, and to bring joy into our lives. It is even believed to bring about success. Amber is associated with the Zodiac sign of Taurus.
The following two articles about amber were written by Stephanie Pflumm.
Amber is the first & oldest geological specimen to be used in jewelry. Archeologists digging primitive sites near the Baltic sea have found evidence of Amber jewelry that is approximately 40,000 years old.
Amber & Copal are not minerals, they are organic compounds. However, geological forces do play an important role in forming Copal & Amber. Some 360 million years ago, extinct pine trees oozed thick sticky resins. As these resins flowed, a variety of living & decomposing matter became trapped inside.
Unlike minerals that become included in molten magma flows, these inclusions did not influence the color of Amber. Although, they can influence the value of a specimen.
As this goo hardens, it first becomes Copal. For the Copal to become Amber it will have to fossilize under great pressures. This would happen as the young Mother Earth heaved & churned, burying the ancient Pine Trees. Resins that remained closer to the surface survived as Copal.
Entities that were trapped in the original flow, became perfectly preserved specimens of primal life on Earth. The theory behind the infamous Jurassic Park movies, is that DNA can be extracted from these fossils & used to clone dinosaurs.
Amber has some unique properties. An ethereal oil can be distilled from it, though a good size specimen may only yield minute amounts. When dissolved in oil of turpentine or linseed oil, it creates a premium varnish. Amber-lac or Amber-varnish is extremely hard & imparts a dark rich color to the wood. Around 600 bc, a Greek named Thales discovered that by rubbing an Amber vigorously, it became electrically charged. The ancient name for Amber was Electron, which is the root word for today’s electricity.
Most Copal & Amber specimens are going to be in the gold to lemon yellow color ranges. Rare occurrences of reds, blues, greens & blackish green have been found. The Dominican Republic is responsible for much of the red & blue Amber on the market.
The oldest Amber specimens come from areas around the Baltic Sea (as do specimens from Ozark Rock Exchange). It is not unusual for chunks to wash up on shore. Many of the primal forests & their resins were buried in clay beneath the younger sea. Violent storm swells break loose the Amber & it is brought ashore on the waves. Amber weighs the same as salt water, therefore it will float to the surface when freed. Burma, Sicily, Romania & Poland are also historic sources of Amber.
Canada, Mexico & Columbia boast some nice Amber finds. Columbia also has some occurrences of Copal, that some dealers have tried to represent as Amber.
A simple, quick test for Copal vs. Amber is to burn a small piece of the specimen. Amber lets off a distinctly pleasant aroma, while Copal is less pleasant & fortunately less potent.
Copal is found in Africa, South America, Australia & Madagascar as well. Just like its ancient history as a jewelry stone, Amber’s past as a power tool reaches back to man’s earliest memories.
Apollo cried Amber tears after being banished from Olympus. Magicians & Sorcerers used it to enhance their powers. Medieval housewives would burn Amber to remove negativity from their homes. Tribal healers in Native American societies used it in fire ceremonies.
I’ll review the individual energies attributed to Copal & Amber separately. Beginning with the younger, softer Copal.
COPAL
I highly recommend Copal as a beginner’s stone for children. As Amber’s young sister, it’s milder nature should be perfect as a starting tool.
Copal allows you to activate your Crown Chakra to receive from the universe, yet assists you in remaining physically alert.
Use it to remove thought patterns that keep you from beginning a new project. Copal gives physical strength, it will aid you in realizing the full potential of your mind while increasing psychic abilities.
Ancient healers used a ground powder of Copal as an antibiotic. They also used it to communicate with their Spirit Guides for help in diagnosing illnesses. Copal can help with heart ailments, restore vitality after illness & give you a healthier kidney & bladder.
AMBER
You can use this fossil to heighten your creativity, be more flexible & make your own wishes come true. Many ancient traditions associate Amber with the universal life force, essentially life has been trapped inside.
Like Copal, Amber is excellent at removing self-imposed obstacles, it also imparts a positive attitude that is fueled by self confidence. Amber can initiate a steady flow of money coming to you. In fact it enhances any energies you are attempting to create for attracting something into your life.
It has been used to guard against impotency & promote fertility. Many early Amber carvings were of animals associated with conception, frogs, rabbits or fish.
Amber beads can bring you new friends or protect you from disease. Powders were burned to relieve the pain during childbirth, or the fumes inhaled to stop nosebleeds. Amber will relieve your headache, sore throat, digestive problems or reduce your fever.
This information was taken from ORE Features, a publication written by Stephanie Pflumm, reprinted with permission.
ORE'S Featured Gemstone: Amber
Amber was our first jewel. Its connection to a past even more ancient than our own. Life seemingly captured within its golden embrace. The warmth of its touch and the electricity it exudes. Soft, yet sturdy and so easy to carve or drill. All these aspects combine to elevate Amber to its monumental place as our first adornment, first magical tool, first healing stone.
Resin from primal forests, buried beneath seas or sediment for hundreds of millions of years evolve into the gemstone known as Amber. Resin is not the same substance as a Tree's sap. Sap is a liquid that flows through the vascular system (the veins of branches and leaves) of a Tree. Resin is created by the Tree to help prolong its life and manage its health. It fills in gaps between growth rings, heals insect bites and open wounds caused by branches broken during violent weather.
Most Amber began as a resin from extinct Conifers (various evergreens). Araucariaceae appear to have produced the greatest about of Amber specimens (related to modern Norfolk Pines, Monkey Puzzles and the Kauri Pines). Other primal pines include Taxodiaceae (Sequoias), Taxaceae (Yews), Cupressaceae (Cedars, Cypresses, Junipers) and Pinaceae (Pine). Podacarpaceae were also responsible for some of the fossilized resins, but appear to have no modern decedents.
The first resins that fossilized date back to the Carboniferous era approximately 360 to 385 million years ago. These ancient Amber gems are found in the United Kingdom and the United States. Over the next 220 million years, from the Permian era to the Cretaceous era geological forces were working around the planet to produce this warm gold gem. Eventually Amber deposits would emerge in Russia, Austria, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Spain, France, Israel, Lebanon, Japan, Sweden, the Dominican Republic and all across the African continent.
Conditions for evolving gooey resin into an Amber gemstone are equivalent to those required for any Fossil to form. The organic matter must be buried in some manner that prevents oxygen from beginning the decay process. Unlike wood or animals where organic matter is replaced by Quartz over millions of years, resin must literally evolve into Amber.
The warm woodsy smell coming from resin (and Amber) is the result of a set of chemicals called terpenes. Over the slow passage of geological time these terpenes break down into gasses and escape from the buried resin, allowing it to harden. Copal, a baby sister to Amber contains a higher quantity of the volatile terepenes and is not completely fossilized. Copal is resin that is less than 100 million years old (approximately).
Amber's intriguing physical properties continue to add to the gem's mystic and power to capture our attention. It is the only gem that floats on salt water. The earliest known "mining" of Amber was literally picking up pieces that had been washed to shore by surf or storm. One way to test if your Amber is real or a reconstituted piece is to put it in a glass of water mixed with table salt. Real Amber will float, man-made will sink.
Rub a specimen with a wool or silk cloth and it will build a static electric charge. Watch it attract dust and light pieces of paper. In the dark you will see sparks. The early Greek name for the gem was Elektron, the root for the modern word electricity.
Over the centuries this gem has picked up a number of names. In Latin it was known as Succinum and mineralogists refer to it as Succinite. Germans inspired by the Fossil's ability to burn dubbed the gem Bernstein.
Other names like frothy, soily, foamy, bone and fatty are used to identify various colors and/or degree of transparency within a gem. Amber is normally yellow to gold, but has also been found in green, red, black and a rootbeer brown. Pyrite inclusions often create the frothy/foamy effect. Green is thought to be the result of decaying organic matter being dissolved by the resin before it hardens into Amber.
Succinic acid is one of the compounds in the chemical makeup of Amber. In the human body it works as an organic stimulant, aiding the nervous system, heart, kidneys and healing processes. It is no wonder Humans instinctively turned to this fossil gem to cure a variety of our ills.
Hippocrates (460-377 BC) writings on the medicinal uses of Amber were used by alchemists and scientists throughout the middle ages. One of the oldest remedies involving Amber is to crush it and mix it with honey. This mixture was used to treat gout, asthma and the black plague. Roman physicians used the same honey mix to cure throat, ear and eye maladies. In China Amber was added to Opium to make an Amber Syrup which was prescribed as a tranquilizer and antispasmodic.
Tribes from Lithuania would smudge newborns with smoke from Amber to ensure healthy growth. Doctors in the middle ages gave Amber beads to draw the yellow out of jaundiced skin. Russian men mixed the gem with vodka to improve fertility and performance. In Germany it was given to teething infants to promote strong teeth.
Amber's power is not limited to healing. Its warm and electric personality made it a must have in any magical tool kit. Magicians frequently employed the gem's energy to empower spells and potions. Often carving symbols or animals on the stone to "spark" up its energy. Shamans and tribal spiritual leaders around the globe used Amber in a variety of fire rituals and ceremonies. Amber pendants were given to daughters to ensure their virginity. Soldiers wore it to bring victory. Nannies were provided with Amber beads to protect them while they were caring for your child.
Greek and Roman myths are rich with stories of gods that cried Tears of the Sun (Amber). In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Phaeton's sisters weep Amber tears when their brother fails in his efforts to please his father, the Sun. Appollo cried tears of Amber when he was banished from Olympus.
Even today Amber is the subject of myth and mystery. In spite of the popularity of the Jurassic Park movies, scientists have yet to extract any viable DNA from insects or creatures encapsulated by fossilized resin. Though specimens that contain these primal relatives are becoming more rare and increasingly more expensive.
Your Amber doesn't need a bug or beetle inside to help you create your own golden myths and magic. Amber is considered the essence of life, use it to recharge your own joy for living. Carry or wear the gem to help capture the special moments along your journey. Then, in those lonely moments, rub your Amber and reawaken those happy memories.
These days many families are faced with the fearful prospect of seeing their child deployed on very dangerous military endeavors. Send an Amber with them to help protect their lives and give them a piece of your loving warmth to carry with them. Are you afraid of the dark, or currently working through a dark time in your life? Bring some of the Sun's tears along to brighten your path and ease your fears.
When working through difficult problems or trying to untangle complicated situations, a quiet meditation with an Amber may help you fill in the gaps. Bring to light those areas of the problem you've been overlooking, so you can see the whole picture and manifest the correct solution.
Use the gem when you are feeling stuck. Working with an Amber will inspire your creativity, help you see old ways in new lights. This Fossil will teach you to roll with the flow. Stop trying to control everything, and on occasion allow life to just happen.
This information was taken from ORE Features, a publication written by Stephanie Pflumm, reprinted with permission.
Home Page Search Gift Certificates Gift Certificate Balance Featured Items View Cart Checkout About The Artist Contact Us Privacy Notice Shipping and Returns
If you have any questions or would like more information, please Email Me
Thank you for visiting Sahar's Beaded Creations