Libyan Desert Glass Meaning

Libyan Desert Glass is a powerful talisman for connecting with the Sun and solar gods and goddesses, particularly the many Egyptian solar deities.  While many cultures associate the Sun with masculine attributes, and the moon with feminine energy, this is not always the case.  The Divine Feminine and the Sacred Masculine are both capable of bright warmth that allows us to see clearly, to grow strong, and to become our most empowered Highest Self.  Libyan Desert Glass encourages us to realize our full potential and to thrive in the life we are given and the life we create for ourselves.  It helps us to trust our “gut instincts” and to have the patient courage to go after our dreams, especially the big scary dreams that take years to achieve.  Libyan Desert Glass encourages growth as well as completion.  It reminds us that we can be healING while simultaneously being healED, because the journey of healing and self-actualization is a beautiful spiral rather than a linear line.  Libyan Desert Glass inspires us to be the person we were always meant to be and to shine bright, so that we bless the world with our Light.

Libyan Desert Glass is a Tektite, a type of natural glass created by the force of a meteorite striking the earth. When a meteorite hits, it slams into the earth with such force that it creates an impact crater and tosses terrestrial stones high into the air. The enormous heat and pressure caused by the impact causes these terrestrial rocks to melt and be thrown far up into the atmosphere. Upon re-entry, they quickly cool and rain down on the earth as Tektites. After an especially large meteorite strike, Tektites can fall thousands of miles away from the impact creator. In the case of Libyan Desert Glass, the stones were created after a giant meteorite fell 29 million years ago in the Great Sand Sea, an area covered in sand dunes.  Because the sand constantly shifts and moves, the crater has long since disappeared.

Libyan Desert Glass’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment.  Try it in combination with Petrified Wood

Libyan Desert Glass, also known as Great Sand Sea Glass, is a relatively “new” healing stone whose healing properties have only recently been explored. It isn’t included in any ancient or medieval lapidary, books describing healing stones and their power.  The gem was prized by ancient Egyptians, but was likely found at random rather than deliberately mined.

Libyan Desert Glass is a type of Tektite, a natural glass created by a meteorite strike. Tektites are formed when terrestrial rocks are thrown up into the air after a meteorite strikes the Earth. The force and heat of the meteorite impact is such that it briefly liquidizes everything it touches. The terrestrial material soon returns to a solid shape and becomes a type of natural glass, similar to Obsidian. Despite the fact that meteorites strike the earth fairly regularly, Tektites are only formed during very special, and seldom met, conditions.

There are only five known sources for Tektites, two of which are in Africa.  In western Africa, there are black Tektites known as “Ivorites” because they are found on the Ivory Coast.  These Tektites were formed 1 million years ago and are associated with an impact crater in Ghana which is now Lake Bosumtwi.  The lake is sacred to the local Asante peoples who believe that the souls of the dead go there to bid farewell to the fertility goddess Asase Ya.  It is considered taboo for iron or metal to touch the lake, and only wooden boats were traditionally allowed upon it.  Ivorites are the rarest of all Tektites and have the smallest strewn field.

In north-eastern Africa the strewn field of Libyan Desert Glass can be found scattered across the Great Sand Sea.  This is a classic sand dune desert that shifts and moves with the wind.  The impact occurred 29 million years ago, but no one is quite sure where it happened. If the meteorite hit the desert itself, the sands have long since covered it up.  It has been theorized that Lake Iro located south of the desert in Chad may be the impact crater, due to the lake’s almost perfectly circular shape, but it hasn’t been confirmed. The Great Sand Sea stretches 28,000 square miles (72,000 kilometers) along the border of Libya and Egypt.  The Tektites found in Libya tend to be a brighter yellow, while those found in Egypt sometimes have a faint greenish-tint.

Ancient Egyptians were aware of Libyan Desert Glass and treated it much like other precious gems.  King Tutankhamun (1341-1323 BCE) was buried with a large pectoral, or breast plate, which had a golden-green Libyan Desert Glass carved into a winged scarab at its center.  Tutankhamun was a relatively unremarkable pharaoh, but his tomb is the only royal grave that survived intact until the 20th century.  Uncovered in 1922, the tomb is largely considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time.  There were 5,398 items cataloged from the tomb, including jewels and weapons, furniture and clothes, as well as food and wine.  These objects have been critical in helping archaeologists and historians understand life in ancient Egypt.

This breast plate was found in a treasure chest, rather than on the body of the Pharaoh.  It is made of gold and silver and is decorated with Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, and Malachite.  The center stone was originally thought to be a Chalcedony.  Ten years after the tomb was opened, it was suggested that the golden gem might actually be a piece of the natural glass occasionally found in the Great Sand Sea.  This identification was confirmed in 1988 by Vincenzo de Michele, an Italian mineralogist who was allowed to analyze the optical properties of the Pharaoh’s mysterious golden scarab.  In ancient Egyptian lore, scarabs are a very powerful symbol, representing immortality and resurrection.  They were associated with the god Khepri who represents the morning sun and the renewal of life, whose name literally means, “to change” or “to happen.”

Libyan Desert Glass, Tutankhamun’s Pendent, Egypt