Tiger Eye Angel

Description

The Tiger Eye Angel — hand-carved from natural tiger eye, golden-brown with the silky band of light that slides across the surface as you turn it.

Available at Calminds.

About the stone

That moving band is a real optical effect called chatoyancy. Tiger eye forms when parallel fibres of an earlier mineral, crocidolite, are replaced by silica while keeping their fibrous structure — light reflecting off those parallel fibres is what produces the band. The gold-brown comes from iron oxide in the fibres. On a carved figure the effect shifts as you walk past it, which is most of why people choose this stone for an angel.

Blue tiger eye, sometimes sold as hawk's eye, is the same stone caught earlier in that replacement process. Dyed red tiger eye is common — an unnaturally uniform red should be assumed treated.

The tradition

• Traditionally called the Stone of Courage
• Traditionally carried as a working and travelling stone
• Traditionally associated with steadiness and focus
• The angel is among the most widely recognised protective figures there is

Where people keep it

• A meditation space or altar
• A desk, where the flash catches as you move
• As a gift

Material and Details

Natural tiger eye, hand-carved.

• Height: 5 cm
• Width: 5 cm
• Weight: Approx. 150 grams

Care

Quartz is hard at around 7 on the Mohs scale, so tiger eye wears well — but carved wings and the narrow neck are where a dropped figure breaks. Keep it out of prolonged strong sunlight, which can fade the gold over months.

Packaging

Comes in premium box packaging with a S.P.A.C.E. process card, ready to gift.

What this is, and what it isn't

Tiger eye is a fibrous variety of quartz. Crystals have a long place in tradition and in ritual practice, and that is the spirit in which we sell them. There is no peer-reviewed evidence that any stone provides courage, confidence, focus or protection, shields against negative energy, or treats a medical condition. Nothing here is medical advice.