The Healing Properties of Obsidian For Protection (2023)

Black obsidian is a powerhouse of a stone. If you have a crystal collection, include at least one piece (preferably more) and you'll quickly see why you need it. The healing properties of Obsidian are geared toward your whole being - mind, body, and soul. You would be hard-pressed to find another stone as capable of cleansing negativity or as proficient at helping you face past traumas and strife.

There are several different ways black obsidian's health benefits can be tapped. It all depends on what you're focused on healing. What part of you suffers? Regardless of the answer - or even if you don't know the answer yet - black obsidian is a guardian stone and a protector. It pulls darkness to the surface and helps you dispel it. That is an obsidian gemstone's meaning and a true gift.

To learn how to apply black obsidian's gifts to your life and healing journey, begin by understanding the stone itself.

What Does Black Obsidian Mean?

The meaning of the black obsidian stone is shrouded in mystery and shares a deep link with the concepts of darkness, protection, and grounding. It absorbs negativity and unwanted energies and acts as a shield against them. Black obsidian’s magical properties allow you to look inside yourself and confront the experiences, triggers, and feelings in your life that are keeping you from becoming the person you want to be.

It isn’t easy to gaze at the darkest parts of yourself and own them, which is why you need obsidian in your arsenal. Obsidian benefits and supports those who are ready to help themselves. No crystal can do all the work for you, but black obsidian can grant you the strength to start a difficult quest and come out better on the other side.

Black obsidian’s metaphysical properties help you face your current struggles head-on but allow you to reach back into the past to deal with ancient traumas from your past lives, too. Anger and other heavy feelings can follow our soul from place to place. If you can’t identify the cause of the negative energy in your life, perhaps it’s followed you through times you don’t remember. Black obsidian helps bring all those old hurts to the surface to be dispelled once and for all.

How Does the Obsidian Stone Form?

The obsidian stone’s energy is intrinsically connected to the Earth itself. During a volcanic eruption, hot volcanic lava flows from the mouth of the volcano and rushes down its sides. When that lava cools, it forms obsidian. Obsidian isn’t technically a crystal at all - it’s a type of volcanic glass. The lava cools so quickly that crystals don’t form, but obsidian’s magical properties are still in full swing.

Since it forms anywhere with volcanic activity, black obsidian isn’t rare. There are active volcanoes on every single continent, so obsidian could potentially form all across the world. Don’t make a mistake, though. Black obsidian might be common, but it’s still a formidable ally to have as you begin your healing journey.

Top Colors of Obsidian Crystals & Their Meaning

When you close your eyes and picture ‘obsidian’ you probably visualize the shiny, black variety. Black is the most used variety of the stone, but it isn’t the only one. While the black obsidian healing properties are undeniable, the various colors and patterns have their own special benefits, too. All varieties of obsidian stone have meaning and unique abilities:

Ice Obsidian

This variety is similar in appearance to black obsidian but is lighter in color. Ice obsidian’s healing properties make it ideal for drawing out bad energy and stress. You’re most likely to find it as jewelry or beads.

Pink Obsidian

Obsidian with a pink sheen is rare, but it does form! Pink obsidian’s meaning and coloration make it useful for healing blockages in the heart chakra, though obsidian itself is linked with the root chakra. If you get your hands on a pink obsidian stone, think of it as obsidian with a bonus.

Rainbow Obsidian

When light hits this obsidian at the perfect angle, it shows a burst of color. Some pieces of rainbow obsidian have bright colors, while others display a subtle sheen. It’s favored by healers for its ability to lift spirits above the darkness bogging them down.

Mahogany Obsidian

Mahogany obsidian intensifies obsidian’s natural grounding effect. If you’re doing healing or spiritual work focusing on control and getting yourself back down to Earth, mahogany obsidian is an excellent companion.

Snowflake Obsidian

If you’re prone to running hot (in the emotional sense), snowflake obsidian can help. It’s dappled with white, which gives it the “snowflake” name and can help cool your fiery feelings. Keep snowflake obsidian close as you confront the causes of those feelings and glide beyond them.

Apache Tears Obsidian

Apache Tears are typically small, pebble-sized pieces of obsidian. They’re translucent when held up to the light but appear dark otherwise. The Apache Tears obsidian rock’s meaning follows the Native group it’s named for. Keeping it close grants the foresight of an Apache warrior and helps you handle struggle with dignity.

Gold Sheen Obsidian

Some obsidian has a golden sheen caused by air bubbles occurring while the lava cools. This variety holds many metaphysical properties of obsidian and is favored in the mystic arts. A golden obsidian ball has meaning and links to the universe, so it’s fantastic for scrying. Use it as your crystal ball as you search for answers.

What Does Obsidian Do to Heal?

Now that you understand the basics of obsidian, how does that relate to healing? It seems like an unlikely use for a stone once used to make weapons. The healing properties of black obsidian are profound, though, and are employed in numerous different practices.

Energy healing, chakra balancing, dreamwork, spirit cleansing, and meditation all have a place for black obsidian. That’s just scratching the surface. If you’re working on healing yourself in any way, you’ll get a boost of strength from having this stone nearby.

Why is that? Before delving into the specific types of healing rituals and practices, look at how black obsidian heals every part of you - mind, body, and spirit.

Obsidian’s Meaning & the Mind

The goal of most healing journeys is holistic well-being. You want to feel good everywhere. Your mind has problems of its own, though, and they can’t always be addressed by healing your body and spirit.

Do you feel depressed or anxious often? Do your emotions get the better of you, or seem to hit you without warning? Those are symptoms of something greater. Black obsidian can help you pull out the causes of those feelings and thoughts. Once you identify the cause, you can begin healing your mind and let it rest.

Many people struggle with mental health, and those struggles bleed into every area of life. Depression and anxiety can make you feel stuck. If you feel like you can’t move forward, or as if you’re trapped in a loop you can’t break, it’s time to start asking why. Why do you feel that way? Why do your thoughts keep you trapped and prevent you from growing? Tap into the magical properties of black obsidian as you search for answers. Once you have them, you can confront them once and for all to heal your mind.

Obsidian is especially suited to bringing clarity. It isn’t all about focusing on negativity. If you’re struggling to find your purpose in life and want clarity about who you are and what you should be doing, black obsidian works to guide you.

Black Obsidian’s Uses When Healing the Body

No matter what method you choose, your body can benefit from the healing properties of black obsidian. Black obsidian is linked with the root chakra, or base chakra, and blockages of the root chakra cause disturbances in the body.

Beyond that, black obsidian’s properties help relieve symptoms of certain diseases and ailments:

Arthritis

• Obsidian stone’s properties make it an adept healing tool for arthritis. Arthritis is a painful condition that can strike anywhere in the body. It progresses as time passes and there is no cure. It’s about symptom management instead, and black obsidian offers relief. If you suffer from arthritis, use black obsidian during your healing rituals. Keep your obsidian close to the afflicted body part for extra help. Are your arthritis flare-ups in your hands? Use an obsidian ring’s meaning for a reprieve.

Joint pain

• This is similar to arthritis, but people get joint pain for several different reasons. The power of black obsidian can help free you from that pain. If you have joint pain in multiple places, try placing black obsidian near your bed when you sleep, or carry it with you in your bag and pocket as you go through the day. An obsidian bracelet benefits those with joint pain, too.

Weight fluctuation

• Overeating and undereating are caused by the root chakra becoming imbalanced, so if you struggle with disordered eating or weight management you’ll benefit from working with black obsidian.

Pelvic Pain

• If you have frequent pelvic pain or suffer from bad menstrual cramps, black obsidian could be the answer. Those two things are in the gemstone’s wheelhouse, too, and are linked to imbalances in the root chakra.

Cardiovascular Problems

• One of the many healing properties of black obsidian includes regulating blood pressure. It can improve vitamin absorption, including iron, and keeps the heart steady and strong.

Fatigue

• Black obsidian’s effect on sleep gets explored in more depth later, but it’s often used in dreamwork and sleep rituals. If you suffer from frequent fatigue and never feel like you get enough rest, sleep with black obsidian nearby. It helps create and maintain a calm, relaxing environment.

In addition to the multitude of health benefits above, black obsidian is also a solid ally in overcoming addiction and bad habits that affect your wellness. Much of the black obsidian stone’s meaning comes from beating the negative forces ruling your life. Addiction is one of the greatest trials you can face. For some, it’s the ultimate darkness, which makes black obsidian your toughest weapon.

Whether you seek medical help or focus on healing yourself through metaphysical or spiritual means, black obsidian can be an asset. Purging the trauma and hurt that led you toward addiction is one of the most crucial steps to getting well again.

This power can be applied to any bad habit - drug addiction, smoking, self-harm, and so much more. If you’re prone to behavior that damages your body, black obsidian is the guardian you’re searching for.

The Best Obsidian Properties for Your Spirit

Are you lost in a sea of unhappy or gloomy feelings? Too much negativity leaves your spirit feeling trapped and bogged down. It blinds you to the possibilities around you and to who you are. This spells disaster for your spirit. The only way out of it is to get back in touch with yourself and the qualities that make you who you are. Whether you choose spiritual cleansing, dreamwork, meditation, or some other method, black obsidian’s ability to bring clarity into your life will be invaluable on the journey.

Obsidian is particularly powerful when facing your shadow. Your shadow self is, in essence, all the parts of yourself that you reject. As a child, you’re taught to repress certain aspects of your behavior, thoughts, and desires, and as you grow those repressed pieces form your shadow self. The shadow tends to rear its head at the worst times - when you’re stressed, struggling, and grasping at straws. Sometimes, the shadow self becomes so present and active that it eclipses your real self. If that happens, it has a profound impact on your spirit.

Black obsidian has benefits that will help you fight your way back. Shadow work is taxing. It requires you to take a long, hard look at yourself - especially the parts you don’t like. Obsidian assists in confronting those parts, exploring them, and embracing them to become a whole and happy person.

Your spirit may carry woes and old hurts from past lives, too. Not everything that ails you comes from your present-day experiences. Black obsidian is a highly effective mystical tool that helps you revisit and relieve ancient traumas. It’s also popular in scrying and divination. Concern and worry for the future could keep you from growing. Scrying is one possible way to get a glimpse of answers that will help. It will ease your mind and your spirit.

Knowing what’s ahead is one more way to develop self-confidence and feel a sense of surety that you can handle whatever comes.

Working With Obsidian in Healing Rituals

Now that you know a bit more about how black obsidian affects your mind, body, and spirit, it’s time to explore the specific ways it can be used. Once you discover the specific ways obsidian can be used and it incorporates into your life, you’re ready to take the next step in your healing journey.

Black Obsidian & Chakra Blockages

One of the most natural ways to use this crystal is by tapping into it the obsidian gem’s meaning for the root chakra. The root chakra, which is sometimes called the base chakra or Muladhara chakra, is located at the base of your spine. It represents your ties to the Earth (hence the term “root”). Black obsidian is one of the primary stones used to balance the root chakra or clear blockages, so have it on hand before undergoing any type of chakra work.

The earlier section related to black obsidian’s effect on your body mentioned several specific ailments. Blockages in the root chakra are behind several of them. This chakra influences things like pelvic pain, menstrual cramps, weight issues, constipation, and incontinence, among a multitude of other health conditions. An overactive root chakra can also lead to anxiety as your mind and worries race away from you.

Many of the problems in the root chakra can be traced back to a lack of grounding. That’s one of black obsidian’s primary effects. After all, the root chakra represents your connection to the Earth. It makes sense that rectifying imbalances would involve grounding and regaining lost stability.

Chakra healing can restore your sense of calm, balance, and peace. That’s true regardless of which chakra you’re focusing on, but it’s especially the case when clearing a blockage in the base chakra. Getting to that point takes hard work and it isn’t always an easy journey, but if you’re willing to plunge your hand into darkness then black obsidian can guide you. Its status as a ward and protector means it will keep the negativity away once you do the work to overcome it.

Place black obsidian on your feet or near the groin area for maximum effect. Meditate, chant, repeat mantras, or whatever ritual feels right, and channel the protective energy of the stone.

Black Obsidian’s Uses in Meditation

Meditation is used frequently in all types of healing rituals, including chakra healing, spiritual cleansing, shadow work, and more. Focusing on your mind is the basic idea of meditation. You can meditate on certain questions if you’re seeking answers, for calm and peace, or to feel grounded and connected to your body and the Earth. There are many reasons to incorporate meditation into your life, and just as many ways to actually do it.

If you’re sick, ill, or in pain, use meditation to guide energy through your body. This type of meditation can be combined with chakra balancing for a heightened effect. Focus on the healing properties of the black obsidian near you. Visualize that energy flowing toward your root chakra. Picture it calming you, easing your pain and troubles, and wait for the release to come.

Asking questions in shadow work is crucial. Who am I? What causes me to behave this way? What needs to change? How do I become who I am? Meditation clears your mind of all the frantic, chaotic thoughts that prevent you from finding those answers. That scattered way of thinking prevents you from healing, and black obsidian’s impressive grounding energy brings you back down. Reach for those answers as you meditate and they’ll lead you down the right path as you begin to heal.

You’ll benefit from meditation even if you don’t engage in any specific practice, though. Just find a peaceful spot and clear your mind. Breathe and keep your black obsidian close. Sit outside and touch the Earth as the sunlight or moonlight surrounds you. You could find a peaceful spot indoors, too. Clutch black obsidian in your hand or wear it as jewelry on your body. Feel its grounding energy and let it calm you as you search your psyche and soul for answers to your questions.

Black Obsidian’s Benefits in Dreamwork

To say that sleep is important to your well-being is an understatement. It’s not just important - it’s critical. Chronic lack of sleep has terrible effects on your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Fatigue, sluggishness, and loss of concentration are only some of the ill effects. Lack of sleep severs an important connection to your psyche, too, which can cause or exacerbate the things listed above. So much important healing happens in sleep. Black obsidian helps to maintain a calm environment, free of negative energy, so you can get the rest you need.

Then the true healing begins. Sleeping with black obsidian nearby lets you engage in lucid dreaming and do dreamwork. Both lucid dreaming and dreamwork are incredibly beneficial when confronting traumas, repressed memories, and thoughts or feelings you flee from while you’re awake.

Your black obsidian gemstone’s meaning supports that willingness to explore and face your dark thoughts:

Lucid Dreaming

• Lucid dreaming happens when you know you’re dreaming. You know what you’re seeing isn’t real, and that knowledge grants you some measure of control over what happens in the dream. Lucid dreaming is the perfect environment to confront your demons - past and present. It’s safe because you know it’s not real. Black obsidian brings what you fear to the surface of your dream so you can finally face it.

Dreamwork

• Dreamwork aims to help you understand the “language” of your dreams and learn from them. Some dreams offer guidance, while others help better understand your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. By using black obsidian as a touchstone during dreamwork, you add a grounding element and clarity. Those qualities are invaluable when you’re trying to interpret your dreams and use them to grow and heal.

To use black obsidian during dreamwork, you can place the stone around your bedroom. Put it beside your bed or even sleep while wearing a piece of black obsidian jewelry. An obsidian star’s meaning and the gift of guidance are useful, too, if placed on your nightstand.

Final Thoughts

There is a myriad of crystals used in the healing arts. Black obsidian isn’t your only choice, but it is an important one to make. Much of the work it helps with is difficult. People avoid it for years, even most or all of their lives, and continue to suffer.

It isn’t easy to willingly confront the unknown or the darkness that is within you. Doing so is necessary for your healing journey to begin, though, and you’ll need the kind of support a guardian stone offers. Obsidian is a powerful crystal and it's capable of imbuing you with part of that power.

If you lack the strength to face and fight down the demons that plague you, you need a protector. That’s exactly what black obsidian is. Shop Energy Muse today for all of your Obsidian needs and feel free to Contact Us if you have any questions!

FAQs

The basics of obsidian quartz’s meaning and its effect on healing are covered, but some commonly asked questions add value to the discussion. There’s always more to learn about this phenomenal stone.

What is Obsidian Used For?

Obsidian is used for healing, including the practices listed above, spiritual cleansing, Feng Shui, mystic work, and divination, just to name a few. Beyond its metaphysical involvement, obsidian is also used to make art and jewelry.

In spiritual cleansing, obsidian is used to create grounding and calm during meditation exercises, cleansing baths, breathing exercises, and more. Practitioners clutch the stone in their hands, wear it, or place it nearby so that its energy is available to them. Successful spiritual cleansing frees the soul of negative energy and moves it toward higher, happier vibrations.

Black obsidian represents the water element in Feng Shui. Placing it in your home - either at the center of your house or in each of the four corners - invites financial prosperity, opportunity, and success into your life. It’s the perfect guardian for your entryway or front door, too, as it wards off all unwanted or harmful energy from entering your home.

If you choose to combine elements, you’ll see interesting results. An obsidian buddha’s meaning, for example, combines the calming, peaceful presence of Buddha with obsidian’s grounding and protective energy.

Mystic work frequently calls upon the power of black obsidian. Obsidian is excellent for scrying and divination. An obsidian sphere has a meaning akin to a crystal ball and is used the same way. It’s used to glimpse the future and foster psychic connections (new and old).

What Are the Health Benefits of Black Obsidian?

Black obsidian’s effects on your health are varied and plentiful. It helps you eliminate stress from your life by confronting your fears, traumas, triggers, and all the nasty things that pull you down. It reduces depression and anxiety in the same way, giving you a path to get your mental health back on track. You can pursue growth and purpose once you leave many of your worries and a lot of stress behind.

Obsidian is used to alleviate symptoms of several ailments. Arthritis, joint pain, constipation, and pelvic pain are only the tip of the iceberg. The actual healing process can be done by clearing blockages in the root chakra or some other type of energy healing. Any method that directs the stone’s energy to the body part in need will work.

Healing the spirit is important, too. Black obsidian plays an important role in spiritual cleansing, but also shadow work, dreamwork, and other spiritual practices. It's too easy to lose your spirit and sense of self when it's bombarded with the energy of a bleak and unkind world, but black obsidian acts as a helping hand to see you through to the light.

The actual healing process involves placing obsidian on certain parts of the body. To clear the root chakra, the feet and the groin are best. Use a polished stone if that’s what you have, though raw obsidian’s meaning is the same. It can also be placed in the room or home where the healing takes place.

Who Should Wear Black Obsidian?

Anyone can wear black obsidian. Its benefits extend to everybody seeking to protect themselves from psychic attacks and low vibrations. Wearing obsidian jewelry is an excellent way to keep the stone close to you at all times, and it comes with an extra reward.

Depending on the type of jewelry you choose, it places your obsidian closer to certain chakras. Black obsidian is tied to the root chakra, but an obsidian pendant’s meaning or obsidian necklace’s meaning affects the heart and throat chakras, too.

The bottom line: if you want what obsidian has to offer, wear it.

Sources

• https://www.myku.co/pages/obsidian
• https://satincrystals.com/blogs/news/the-colors-of-obsidian-stones
• https://stonebridgeimports.com/a/602-what-on-earth-is-apache-tears-obsidian
• https://cosmiccuts.com/blogs/healing-stones-blog/black-obsidian-healing-properties
• https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/how-to-lucid-dream
• https://lonerwolf.com/dream-work/https://northshire.co/products/black-obsidian-sphere#:~:text=For%20centuries%2C%20Obsidian%20Spheres%20have,has%20in%20store%20for%20you.