"I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul." -Pablo Neruda

Obsidian is formed as the result of Volcanic lava flow that has dried very quickly. Obsidian has been used to fashion spear points, arrowheads, and cutting tools since prehistoric times, and has also been valued for its high spiritual vibration. Black obsidian displays many faces (or forms) that constantly shows us the presence of light within darkness. This powerful stone of healing has been used by alchemist, shamans, spiritualist, and light-workers to aid in repelling discordant vibrations, as obsidian can amplify and transmit an extremely high frequency of divine light energy transmissions into the base chakra to assist in the direction and maintenance of survival drives. However, obsidian goes beyond simply being a facilitator of basal directives, it helps us to understand the power that within the darkness or defeat, despair and depression that the light of higher consciousness and hope awaits discovery.

Obsidian is very popular and can be found available in a variety of forms: tumbled, polished eggs, spheres, pyramids, obelisks, pendants, necklaces, ect. Fortunately, most of these forms of obsidian are affordable, with the exception of larger sizes of Rainbow or sheen obsidian. Snowflake obsidian and Apache tears are two popular varieties of obsidian and are also very important tools of conscience Both are good for psychic protection, however black obsidian and Apache tears are thought to be more efficient in this area.

Obsidian meditation:

To prepare for your meditation, select a variety of obsidian stones that intuitively draw your attention and is pleasing to your senses. The shape of the obsidian that you choose is also a matter of personal preference, but spheres and eggs seem to be the most popular meditation shapes. After cleansing and blessing your stone as well as the space where you will be practicing your meditation, you are ready to begin.

1. Begin your meditation by situating yourself in an upright position with feet booth flat on the floor. the room should be dimly lit, and quiet. Begin your rhythmic breathing as shared in our very first crystal quartz meditation: http://www.thehoodwitch.com/blog/2014/11/10/how-to-meditate-with-crystals
2. Begin to visualize golden/white light surrounding you and entering your nose, filling your chest, and heart center with warm loving sensations. As you exhale, visualize frustration, resentment, anxiety, and anger leaving your body in dark, cloudy swirls. Bless this discordant energy in the name of any higher or divine power you feel most comfortable with. 
3. Pick up your obsidian in your left hand and begin to gaze upon it. Notice the depth of its color, the rich, dark, satiny luster of your black crystal. Now repeat: "Attune, Balance, Integrate, Ground" three times, then place the index of finger of your right hand upon your obsidian and began to stroke it gently. "Attune to the depths of obsidian. Attune to the depths of the black ray."
4. After a time you might experience some warmth or tingling, especially along the spinal column, from your crown to your base chakra, down your legs and into your feet. This is the effect of your energy system attuning to the divine vibrations being amplified through your obsidian and should not cause alarm. Relax, breathe deep, and allow yourself to merge with and absorb the energies being transmitted by your obsidian crystal.
5. Visually fix the black color of obsidian at your base chakra, see your base chakra as a liquid pool of black obsidian, pulsating with the black light vibration that grounds you through your base chakra to the very consciousness of Earthly existence. If you're using a colored obsidian, visualize the shimmering colors within your obsidian as swirling divine light vibrations above your head. Now allow those swirling divine lights to slowly travel the length of your crown chakra down into the liquid pool of obsidian at your base. Watch the shimmering colors mingle, integrating the etheric with the dynamics of Earthly survival modes.

Hold this visualization for up to 10 minutes. allow your obsidian to illuminate those aspects of yourself and your Earthly reality that you have been keeping hidden away from view. Allow the light of truth to illuminate the chambers where delusion, self-importance, and compulsions for material greed lie veiled by the ego- facilitated conditioned attitudes that may be keeping you from your highest potential. Allow your obsidian to assist you to clearly see the reality of your thought patterns as to how it pertains to your survival on Earth. Allow the light of truth to penetrate and illuminate the depths of darkness, and know that the light and darkness exist as one.

6. When you are ready to end the meditation, slowly count backwards from ten to one. at the count of one, open your eyes and breathe deeply several times. Remain seated until you feel fully integrated, and reflect upon your meditation experience. This is an excellent meditation for journal writing after.