Native American Legends
Apache Tear Drop
An Apache / Jicarilla Legend
Apache Tear Drop is a form of black obsidian. It is a calming translucent
stone, found in Arizona and other parts of the U.S. It is composed
of feldspar, hornblende, biotite and quartz. It was formed by rhythmic
crystallization that produces a separation of light and dark materials
into spherical shapes, and is a form of volcanic glass.
There is a haunting legend about the Apache Tear Drop. After the
Pinal Apaches had made several raids on a settlement in Arizona,
the military regulars and some volunteers trailed the tracks of
the stolen cattle and waited for dawn to attack the Apaches.
The Apaches, confident in the safety of their location, were completely
surprised and out-numbered in the attack. Nearly 50 of the band
of 75 Apaches were killed in the first volley of shots. The rest
of the tribe retreated to the cliff's edge and chose death by leaping
over the edge rather than die at the hands of the white men.
For years afterward those who ventured up the treacherous face
of Big Pacacho in Arizona found skeletons, or could see the bleached
bones wedged in the crevices of the side of the cliff.
The Apache Women and the lovers of those who had died gathered
a short distance from the base of the cliff where the sands were
white, and for a moon they wept for their dead. They mourned greatly,
for they realized that not only had their 75 brave Apache warriors
died, but with them had died the great fighting spirit of the Pinal
Apaches.
Their sadness was so great, and their burden of sorrow so sincere
that the Great Father imbedded into black stones the tears of the
Apache Women who mourned their dead. These black obsidian stones,
when held to the light, reveal the translucent tear of the Apache.
The stones are said to bring good luck to those possessing them.
It is said that whoever owns an Apache Tear Drop will never have
to cry again, for the Apache Women have shed their tears in place
of yours.
The Apache tear drops are also said to balance the emotional nature
and protect one from being taken advantage of. It can be carried
as an amulet to stimulate success in business endeavors. It is also
used to produce clear vision and to increase psychic powers.
Black obsidian is a powerful Meditation stone. The purpose of this
gemstone is to bring to light that which is hidden from the conscious
mind. It dissolves suppressed negative patterns and purifies them.
It can create a somewhat radical behavior change as new positive
attitudes replace old, negative, egocentric patterns.
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