Treasure Hunting

I received some new rough agates this week, and I’ve really been enjoying cataloging and sorting through them.  One of my favorites of this lot is some green tree agate from India.  As far as agates go, this batch is a bit on the softer side - probably about a 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.   That’s still a decent hardness over all, though, for polishing and jewelry-making.  In fact, it’s right in that area that I consider “perfect” for easy polishing.  This is yet another reason why I am so fond of jasper and agates.  For the most part, they really take a good polishing.

Tree agate is another name for dendritic agate.  It’s name comes from the fern-like patterns formed in the stone.  Green tree agate has beautiful green veins mingled in with the white rock as you can see in the picture of the rough green tree agate shown here.  The stones in my batch are of a good size, too.  Most of them are in the 1″ to 1.5″ range with a couple being a bit smaller.

In general, dendritic agate is known as the Stone of Plenitude as it is believed to provide abundance and fullness in one’s life.  It is also thought to have a calming effect as it slows you down and teaches you to enjoy the individual moments in life.  Healers use dendritic agate to treat disorders of the skeletal and nervous system as well as other systems in the body that are considered branch-like.