Black Onyx Meaning
Black Onyx provides grounding, protection, and emotional stability. It helps absorb and transform negative energies, boosts self-discipline, and enhances resilience, fostering inner strength and clarity while supporting a balanced and focused approach to challenges.
What Is Black Onyx?
Black Onyx is a highly coveted gemstone, incorporated into several forms of jewelry not just because of its translucent outer coating and sophistication but because of the healing properties that are associated with it. Black Onyx falls under the family chalcedony quartz. The mineral hardness is between 6.5 and 7 using the Mohs scale.
Throughout history it has not only been cut into jewelry in the form of rings and bracelets but it's been used in public spaces as decoration for things like statues, particularly the jewelry that is worn by statues or the eyes that are carved into statues.
Onyx only forms in bedrock openings or caves and is mined in many colors, like black, red, blue, yellow, green, and brown. Black Onyx has been excavated from several areas around the world, including Arizona, in the United States, China, Argentina, India, Indonesia, Germany, Brazil, Uruguay, and Canada.
While black Onyx is a naturally occurring gemstone, you can find artificially colored black Onyx that doesn't appear to contain the same natural lines or layers and instead has a pure dark black color to it, though natural occurrences of this are rare.
Types Of Black Onyx
The name for black Onyx derives from our Greek word for “nail” or “fingernail.” Historically, most people associate black Onyx with its Greek origins. In the Greek tale, when Cupid shoots Venus, his mother, with one of his love arrows, it shoots through her fingernail. Her fingernails fell from Mount Olympus, and when they landed in the Indus River, they became the black Onyx we know today.
That said, black Onyx has appeared throughout historical writings around the world. For example:
In ancient Egypt black onyx was carved into talismans and amulets that citizens and warriors alike could wear for protection. Archaeologists have uncovered Onyx carved into vessels and bowls throughout ancient Egypt as well. There are writings that confirm Cleopatra wore it to protect her against evil spirits and give her warnings when bad things were forthcoming.
In ancient Greece, Onyx was characterized as a Venus stone, believed to provide individuals with inner strength and assistance in curating better relationships. Pliny the Elder discussed medical treatments involving the use of Onyx.
On the Isle of Crete, Minoan artifacts and jewelry containing black Onyx were found.
In 1602, the Mughal emperor in India crafted the throne of Jahangir from black Onyx, which remains the largest onyx table in the world today that can be visited by tourists.
More recently, there have been several periods around the world where black Onyx gained popularity, such as the 1920s when Onyx was incorporated into Brazilian Art Deco jewelry, dishes, and sculptures.
Other Onyx, like green and yellow, can be found in theaters and hotels throughout St Petersburg and Paris, and they also rose in popularity during the 20th century.
Healing Properties
Ancient Romans believed that carrying black onyx amulets were linked to Mars, the god of war and as such offered them protection and courage when they went into battle. This same idea of protection against evil spirits is found throughout other historical references as well.
In general, many people believed that carrying Onyx stones could protect the wearer against evil in ancient China while also providing the strength and stamina to do whatever was necessary.
spiritual healing properties
Spiritual healing properties date back to the Book of Revelations in the New Testament, in which Christian priests were said to incorporate black Onyx into their clothing. During this time, the high priest used a breastplate covered in jewels, of which onyx was the fourth jewel down. This breastplate was only worn inside the holy temple.
Spiritual Growth
Black onyx is also known for its spiritual connections. It can help you ground yourself, restoring balance to your body, repelling negativity, and helping you attract positive energies. Today it is often worn to help individuals figure out whether existing relationships will last or what type of challenges they might encounter down the line. Much like Cleopatra, wearing black Onyx today can give you a better tie to your emotional strength and inner wisdom.
Meditation
Wearing or holding black onyx during meditation and other spiritual practices can help direct you toward your sense of purpose and improve your spiritual growth much the same as it purportedly did in the temples of old.
physical healing properties
Black onyx was used in ancient Persia as a treatment for epilepsy.We can also look at other physical healing properties of black onyx. Some of these include:
Back Pain
Today, Black Onyx is known for having healing properties particularly with your lower back muscles and bones as well as soft tissue. This has a great deal to do with its connection to the root chakra.
Stress Management
Additionally, many people wear onyx jewelry because of its ability to alleviate stress, help you achieve mental balance, and improve your memory. By alleviating pervasive negative feelings, this type of jewelry can do away with negative thoughts and help you focus on your recall, cognition, and stress relief.
Physical Strength
Black Onyx is said to give you strength when you are dealing with challenges, providing you with stability and self-control while also helping you capitalize on your personal instincts and inner strength. For example, when Cleopatra wore black Onyx she did so in order to determine when there were risks or enemies in her future.
Mental & Emotional Healing Properties
Throughout history, black Onyx has been worn for its protective abilities, not just physically but mentally and emotionally.
Emotional Stability
The same protective and healing properties associated with black Onyx are linked to relationships and emotional stability. Many people believe that wearing black onyx jewelry can help you control your emotions. That emotional regulation is considered most effective when Onyx is worn as a necklace. This emotional regulation enables you to control how you react to things unnecessarily, gives you an opportunity for self-reflection, and helps you determine the root of your emotional responses.
Relationships
In terms of relationships, it is still believed that wearing onyx jewelry can help you determine whether any relationships that you are currently in are unhappy or not or whether a relationship has run its course. Tangentially, it's believed that black Onyx, in particular, can help you deal with grief or separation, easing feelings of sorrow, even loneliness that might arise from the passing of a close friend or family or the breaking up of a relationship.
Metaphysical Properties
In England, midwives used black Onyx as a form of protection and strength for the mother while she went into labor. Amulets would be placed between a woman's breasts when she went into labor, or jewelry wrapped around her arm to give her the strength she needed for a successful childbirth.
In feng shui It is believed that having black onyx throughout your home or your office can help you achieve financial gains in addition to the emotional healing, physical healing, and spiritual connections.
It is still believed that wearing black Onyx can help you tackle feelings of loneliness or other challenges brought about by trauma. It provides unique protection and the ability to focus on what matters most especially when it comes to doing away with emotional trauma and finding the capacity for growth.
Chakra
Black Onyx is heavily associated with your root chakra. Located at the base of your spine, the root chakra is tied to your physical grounding, your metaphysical stability, and your emotional security. The root chakra serves as your foundation for all things, helping provide energy and balance throughout the whole body. If you have any blockage with your root chakra, it can result in distraction, physical ailments with your back, depression, exhaustion, stress, or anxiety.
Wearing black onyx jewelry provides an opportunity to remove blockages around the root chakra, limiting feelings of depression or anxiety, blocking stress, providing mental clarity so that you are not distracted, and providing better balance so that you feel energized instead of exhausted.
When you meditate with black Onyx or wear black onyx jewelry, it can help provide balance to your root chakra, from which you can enjoy better strength and stability in all other areas of life.
Zodiac Signste
Traditionally, black Onyx was not associated with the zodiac sign or a birthstone. However, more recently, it has become the official birthstone for those who are Capricorns or Leos.
The protective qualities of black Onyx are said to provide Leo and the Capricorn with wisdom and inner strength to help master destiny, do away with stress, protect against evil of all kinds, and heal from many previous emotional wounds or trauma.
Given the association with Capricorn and Leo, black Onyx works as a modern birthstone for people born between July 23rd and August 22nd, as well as December 22nd and January 19th. For this reason people born in July, August, December, and January can benefit from a black onyx birthstone bracelet, necklace, or amulet.
Leos
Leo's can struggle with fiery temperaments, being overly critical and self-centered, and thinking that they know best. This type of negativity and stress can leave others feeling discouraged and place a strain on relationships. The use of black Onyx can go a long way when worn as a necklace or bracelet, helping individuals with the zodiac sign to be more patient, less domineering toward others, and even-keeled..
Conclusion
Overall, black onyx carvings or jewelry can be a great gemstone for those who want protection against evil or negativity. Wearing black Onyx can help you find balance in life and do away with hindrances like emotional instability and unresolved emotional trauma.
Black Onyx brings with it powerful capacities to remove any blockage you might experience at the root chakra, helping you achieve better metaphysical, physical, and mental balance. If you are looking for a gift for a Leo or Capricorn, or you are one yourself, black Onyx can offer an amulet that, today, provides the wearer with the same types of protections that earned black Onyx its role throughout history.
