Some sources confuse Apache tears with Pele's tears, and claim that they are formed when obsidian cools as droplets blasted into the air by a violent eruption this is bollocks. The general consensus appears to be that marekanite is indeed a synonym for Apache tears.Ģ. There is some confusion in this point some sources define marekanite as a synonym for Apache tears, some as a synonym for perlite ( Oxford Dictionary is the most convincing of the later group). I suspect that it is a later addition to the legend, but it is also said that anyone who carries the Apache Tears will never need to cry again, as the families of the warriors cried enough tears for all who mourn.ġ. The tears shed by their families turned to stone. When it was clear that they could not win the battle, the warriors rode their horses over a cliff rather than surrender. The name Apache tear comes from an Apache legend of Apache warriors that fought the US Cavalry circa the 1870s. The name marekanite comes from the Marekanka River, Okhotsk, Siberia in Russia,where they were first found. If you are particularly lucky, you might find some in brown or even brick red, although these forms are nearly always referred to as marekanite rather than tears. If the perlite is completely polished off they look rather like prunes, although some people don't know when to stop and will polish them into boring black marbles indistinguishable from standard obsidian. They hold the strength and solidarity of a group of women moving through adverse times to continue on as brave mothers and grandmothers of the Earth, despite their. They tend to be a smooth black overlain with chalky white, sometimes approaching snowflake obsidian in appearance. Apache Tear Obsidian Crystal Meaning: Apache Tears are precious little stones that are said to be formed from the tears shed by women who tragically lost their husbands in battle. They are most often polished before sale, but are attractive regardless. As the conditions were evidently gradated during their formation (otherwise, the rock would be pure perlite), Apache tears have a pitted, irregular surface with onion-skin fractures.

We don't fully understand why they form, but it is probably related to cooling rates, the amount of ambient water, and alkalinity 2.

It is often the case that perlite contains small round bits of black obsidian glass, usually about 3-5 cm in size, and usually somewhat irregular in shape. Siliceous lava flows may cool into obsidian, but in the presence of water they form instead into perlite, a brittle volcanic glass with so many small fractures that it appears grey or white. If your Apache tears are too pretty, you may have been conned. While they have a distinct geological origin, a large portion of their attraction comes from the myth surrounding them, and I suspect that many of the more decorative 'Apache tears' are actually just random bits of obsidian that have been polished into beads. Apache tears, also known as marekanite 1, are actually just small nuggets of obsidian.

Apache tears obsidian