Septarian has been one of our favorites since the first time we saw it. This beautiful mix of minerals, called a concretion, was a mystery to mankind hundreds of years ago and still is somewhat of a mystery to scientists today. This concretion of calcite, aragonite, and limestone, can have other minerals of various crystal size, (sometimes micro and found within the limestone) such as barite, gypsum, pyrite, flint, marcasite, and siderite, depending on where it is found. (Ours is from Nevada and has some barite in it). There are many theories to the creation of the septarian but there seems to be consensus that it was developed approximately 50-100 million years ago which would have been during the Jurassic Period. Quite a span of time that the scientists have come up with, which tells me that it is all an educated guess.
The best educated guess that I believe is closest to facts (which is just intuitive) is that these balls of “mud” (the mud being limestone with other minerals), were formed after the earth was shook up by volcanic eruptions. Dead sea life, such as shells of ocean creatures seeped into cracks that were formed from the drying process of the mud balls? These shells, etc decayed and developed into the orange calcite that is found at the very center of septarian today. The very thin walls turned a dark color in a different process and eventually became aragonite. It was the drying and cracking that created the artistic look of the septarian. Nature and God are amazing. And speaking of amazing, most of our septarian is either in sculpture form or carved into animals. It is too beautiful to break into very small pieces for tumbling so ask about this great stone and we will certainly help you find it!
The name septarian has something to do with the number seven. It is unsure if the theory that sometimes the stone cracked into 7 areas or 7 cracks, is true or not? Seems slim as it is not necessarily always the case but perhaps when first discovered the first few were all like that from one mine? More bizarre theories, not just about the number seven, prevailed back then. Many honestly believed they must be dinosaur eggs as the mud balls looked just like eggs, with cracks, but were so huge! And before that back to another time there were those that said these must be dragon stones that possessed much magic! It was believed that these dragon stones must have been bewitched and that they must be very powerful tools for spiritual journeys. It was considered a powerful tool of change and transformation. Probably because the snake was considered very closely related to dragons and so these “eggs” were considered powerful enough to make changes in almost any aspect of life change if needed.
Shaman carried this stone as part of their mainstay stones. It had so many purposes. As far as physically healing, it had been known to help with ulcers, joint pain, intestinal issues, skin problems, bone healing, cellular healing, and possibly calcium absorption. And it is no slouch when it comes to helping with emotional health as well. When one is in need of patience, or reduction of anger, lessening apathy, easing depression and anxiety, emotional balancing, nightmare eliminating, and fears being released, than one need only reach for septarian! Because of it being a concretion of different minerals it has many uses and the individual stone energies apply as well. So don’t forget to get out your crystal bible or handy crystal book and look up orange calcite, aragonite, limestone, and whatever other minerals may be in your piece of septarian.
For fun it has been aligned with the sun signs of Aries, Sagittarius, Taurus, Capricorn, Gemini, Pisces, and Cancer. It is a great stone for calming and grounding, as well as protection. It is a nurturing stone that helps one to “speak” to Mother Earth. It has a wonderful peaceful quality to it that makes me, especially, feel at one with all. It will help one center themselves enough to be more understanding of differences and can help one with much needed change. Its transformative powers lie in the ability of one to work with septarian to help bring up one’s emotional and physical issues so they may be examined and healed. No stone does healing on its own. Healing is always up to you, but septarian can be your partner in healing. Pick up your septarian healer today!
j.m.s.
