APACHE TEARS
Small rounded Obsidian nuggets, often embedded within a grayish-white perlite matrix, Apache Tears derive their significance from Native American culture. The story goes that seventy-five brave Apache warriors were camped on a mountain, surrounded by soldiers of the U.S. Cavalry. In a sneak attack, 50 of the Apaches were killed within minutes, while the 25 that remained retreated to the edge of a cliff. Realizing that they had nowhere to go, the remaining warriors chose to leap to their death, rather than to die at the hands of the White Man.
After the battle, when the women and children discovered the bones of their beloved husbands, fathers, and sons dead at the bottom of the cliff, they wept for a Full Moon. They knew that not only their loved ones had died, but with them the fighting spirit of the Apache. Their sadness was so great, their tears turned black as they fell. When the black stones are held up to the light, the tears of the Apache women can still be seen.
It is for this reason that Apache Tears are revered as one of the best crystals for grief, and are known to lend protection and support to those dealing with loss.