Gemstone Animal Carvings Symbology

I have just received a new shipment of lovely and unique gemstone animal carvings.  Early people honored animals for their strength and character, and the animal was recognized as a symbol for these traits. Myths gave special meaning or extraordinary qualities to common animals.
In ancient Egypt it was thought that some gods and goddesses represented themselves on earth in the form of an animal, and honoring that animal would please the god or goddess. The animal that was believed to be the incarnation of the god or goddess lived a pampered life.
West Africans believe that each person has a magical or spiritual connection to a particular animal that can act as a guardian, a source of wisdom, or an inspiration.
In most Native American beliefs, man communicated with the Creator through interaction with animals. Some tribes, most notably the Zunis, carve animal fetishes that represent the spirit of that animal and are believed to invoke the wisdom and protection of that animal for the owner.
At OakRocks we have a great collection of stone animal carvings! Click here to see the large selection of stone animal carvings!
Please keep in mind that meanings vary greatly between cultures, and even tribes, and that this list is simply a compilation of information and is offered just for fun!
Bear is the symbol of maternal protection, as well as strength, courage, power and honor. A bear fetish is believed to lighten emotional burdens. Many civilizations have myths regarding bears, from the Greeks and the Celts to the Ainu of northern Japan and the tribes of North America.
Bird is enlightenment, perspective, swiftness, vision, and knowledge of the future. Every U.S. state has an official bird, as do all of Canada’s provinces, Australia’s states and Japan’s prefectures.
Buffalo is abundance, having your survival needs met, good fortune, and healing. The buffalo gives you the endurance to overcome and great emotional courage. The bison is also depicted on the flags of Wyoming, Kansas, and Manitoba, the state seals of Kansas and Indiana, and on Manitoba’s coat-of-arms. The White Buffalo is very rare and it is a sign of peaceful times ahead.
Cat is feminine energy, agility in body and spirit, and is believed to keep the wearer safe in travel. This animal is resourceful, strong and fearless. Use a cat figure to increase courage and confidence. In ancient Egypt the cat was an object of worship. In Ancient Greece and Rome, the cat was attributed to the goddess of liberty, and it was sacred to the goddess of the moon. A cat saved Mohammed from the serpent, and it is thus revered in Moslem cultures.
Cow represents nourishment, motherhood, procreation, gentleness, nurturing, wealth, providing for daily needs, and the power of community sharing.
Dog of course, is companionship, and also health, service, loyalty, protection, guidance, fidelity, faithfulness, and watchfulness. In the Chinese zodiac, people born in the year of the dog are regarded as faithful and true.
Dolphin represents joy, childlike play, helpfulness, and harmony. The Dolphin can teach us much about harmony with others, and are therefore a great symbol for friendship. Dolphins can take away tensions and help bring joy to your life. For the Greeks, Dolphins represented the sacred and righteous.
Duck teaches you how to maneuver through the waters of life with grace. Ducks are also a Celtic animal symbol of honesty, simplicity and resourcefulness.
Elephant is commitment, strength, and power. The elephant attains old age and with it, wisdom and long memory. The Elephant is considered a strong symbol of luck in Thailand. The Hindu god of wisdom and success, Ganesha, is usually depicted with an elephant's head. The elephant has been a symbol of the Republican Party of the United States ever since 1874.
Fish is miracles, good luck, prosperity, foresight, and fortune. The fish can be a helper at times of movement and change, in both financial and spiritual situations. Throughout history fish have been associated with religion and worship. Fish were considered sacred to the Greeks and Romans. The first Christians represented trinity by three fishes. The Fish is also one of the eight sacred symbols of the Buddha.
Frog represents healing, cleansing, health, and honesty. In myths they are bringers of rain or thunder, calling the water down with their croaking. In Ancient China toads were a symbol of longevity, and they were associated with Liu Hai, the God of wealth. In Rome, the frog was believed to bring good luck to the home.
Giraffe has its legs firmly planted on the earth, but its head in the sky. This represents balance and the ability to progress, as well as the ability to reach things that are unreachable to others.
Hedgehog symbolizes self-preservation, and defensiveness. The Hedgehog teaches how to be on the defense and how to protect yourself.
Hippopotamus is associated with birth, motherhood and the protection of the young. Tauret was a goddess of childbirth, nurturing and protection. She was depicted as a pregnant hippopotamus. The hippo can teach you how to move through the emotional waters and keep in touch with your intuition, while remaining grounded, practical and stable. The hippopotamus is sacred in Egyptian and African traditions. Its name means "Water Horse," and it spends most of its day in water.
Horse is power, stamina, speed, wisdom, nobility, energy, wildness, strength and power, coping under difficult circumstances, devotion, loyalty, and communication. The state animal of New Jersey is the horse. Since man has relied on the horse for so long, it has become a symbol of friendship, travel, transportation, mobility, and freedom. Shamans are often pictured flying on mythical horses.
Kangaroo In shamanism it is said that the kangaroo, with its enormous leaping ability, can teach us how to jump over obstacles, like beliefs or fears that prevent you from doing what you really want. The Kangaroo only moves forward, never backward
Lion inspires strength, courage, pride, nobility, and fairness. Because of the lion's noble character, it represents the great power of self-control. The Egyptians saw the lion as a symbol of power and wealth. In Singapore, a lion and tiger are depicted on the coat of arms of “the city of lions.” The lion is a traditional symbol of Spain and of Great Britain.
Lizard represents foresight, vision, dreaming, letting go, and facing fears and confrontations. One of the few reptiles recognized as helpful to the shaman.
Octopus shows us how to get what we want in an intelligent and efficient way. Octopus symbolizes intelligence, moving rapidly away from danger when needed, and the proper use of smoke screens (ink) in evading enemies.
Owl is a symbol of wisdom and often considered magical. In Greek mythology, the owl was sacred to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The owl has exceptional vision and sense of hearing and is regarded as the protector of the night.
Pig The Greek earth fertility goddess, Demeter, kept a sacred pig, which became a symbol of fertility. The pig is also a strong symbol of luck. If you need more luck in financial matters, the pig provides prosperity in abundance. Native American Indians recognize the pig as a symbol of the abundance of daily life, and believe that it teaches us to celebrate life and share it with others.
Rabbit is a symbol of fertility, swiftness, longevity, courage, vigilance, and quick thinking. Rabbits in mythology are often associated with the great cycle of life and death. Rabbit teaches to be caring and loyal to family members, and to be kind to others. The rabbit was one of the favorite animals of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. The Rabbit is a symbol of faith for several religions.
Rhinoceros is a symbol for confidence, assurance, steadiness, and sure-footedness.
Rooster is courageous. An image of a Rooster conveys a wish for advancement, because the Rooster's crest, (guan), is a play on the Chinese word meaning official. More importantly, the Rooster is can ward off evil spirits.
Squirrel represents gathering, foresight, energy, storing, warning, balance and harmony, and thrift. Squirrel is a wonderful symbol for people who need to get organized. They also warn you to be careful of useless hoarding and teach you to take life lightly.
Tiger is courage, fierceness, and strength. In shamanism, tigers are associated with power, ferocity, passion and sensuality. In China, tiger images are used as charms to ward off evil. A symbol of protection, the image of a tiger is often seen on clothing or in the home to ward off harm. In certain areas of Asia, the Tiger is regarded as the God of Wealth. Tsai Shen Yeh, the Chinese God of Wealth is depicted sitting on a tiger.
Turtle live to a very old age and so are often associated with long life. We can learn much about time and the perception of time by listening to the turtle. In most Native American cultures the turtle is the symbol of Mother Earth.
Wolf most cultures have stories of a great Wolf. The Wolf is a symbol of family, unity and spirituality. Wolves have been long regarded by Native Americans as teachers or pathfinders.

We're hunting Dinosaurs!

Last month we had the opportunity to dig for dinosaur bones at the Dana Quarry in Wyoming. We were invited by a dear friend of ours, Kirby Siber, owner of the Saurier Museum Aathal in Switzerland, and world renowned paleontologist.  You wouldn’t think two people who have spent most of our lives digging rocks would have been so excited for this opportunity.  But I have to say it was quite and adventure.  Even if we didn’t get to keep any of our finds! 

The Dana Quarry site was discovered more than 15 years ago by Kenneth Tanner.  It is located on his property near the tiny town of Ten Sleep, in Wyoming, where ancient sand and mudstone deposits form the Morrison Formation date back to the late Jurassic Period approximately 150 million years ago.  Though the quarry isn’t very large, over a dozen individual virtually complete dinosaur skeletons representing a variety of species have been recovered there.  These species include:  Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Amphicoelias, Camarasaurus, Allosaurus, Ornitholestes, Coelurus, Elaphrosaurus, Torvosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Othnielosaurus, Camptosaurus, and Stegosaurus.

Digging dinosaur bones is obvious hard and tedious work.  You have to be very careful as you remove the dirt less you accidently chisel into a bone.  All of the bones are carefully removed, glued, labeled and wrapped either in tinfoil or in plaster cast; so that they can be sent to the laboratory where they are painstakingly repaired and reconstructed to try to get as complete a skeleton as possible.  Afterwards we took a dip in a freezing river and Art went off to hunt fish with his crossbow. 

For Bruce the highlight of the trip was when he and Kirby pulled a vertebra out together.  But for me the most interesting part was when we took a lunch break with us two Americans, Kirby (Swiss), a Belguim, a Serbian, and a Dutch man.   As we discussed the universal problems faced by young people today; economics, drugs, lack of ambition and lack of respect for anything, it was never so apparent what a small world we live in!

 

See us at www.oakrocks.net for fossils for sale. And Happy Hunting!

A recommendation to check out!

If you haven't check out www.billatkinson.com yet you are missing out!  Bill is a truly unique, intelligent, talented and all around nice man and I feel privileged to call him, and his lovely wife Sioux, my friends.  

Bill was a member of the original Apple team and is credited with developing the pull down menu as well as many of the graphic design features.  Now Bill is a photographer and he is amazing.  He is especially talented in photographing close up shots of beautiful polished rocks and his lovely pictures adorn all the walls in my house.

In 2004 Bill self publish the book Within The Stone.  This stunningly visual book has 72 close up shots of colorful natural polished rocks and they are accompanied by literary pieces written by authors asked to view the pictures and share their thoughts.  In order to insure the colors and vibrancy of the pictures, Bill himself help develop the printing techniques.  In the book Bill shares his methods for photographing polished rocks and at the Tucson Gem Show this year he shared his set up and tips with me.  I certainly hope you find it shows in my quality of pictures on my website as I implement his suggestions.

Bill sells his polished rock pictures on his website and I am proud to say you will find a selection of our rocks in his gallery.

The one below I just got this February and haven't had time to frame it.  It was a lovely piece of Chrysocolla Cuprite, otherwise known as Sonora Sunset.  When he brought it to me at the Tucson Gem Show several people tried to buy it on the spot, but I could never sell it!  You can however buy one like it on his site.

Even more fun, if you have an iPad you must get his free app- Bill Atkinson PhotoCard - available through the iTunes store.  In this app you can send virtual postcards using Bill's awesome pictures, or your own pictures, to anybody by email for free!  And for a very small amount you can send gorgeous actual postcards through snail mail.  He offers a collection of wonderful pictures, not just the polished rocks, but of course those are my favorites!

See us at www.oakrocks.net to see more polished rocks.  And Happy Hunting! 

Christmas Gifts for him and her!

So the Thanksgiving turkey is gone, the christmas decorations are up, and the madness begins.  I love the holiday season.  The lights, the songs, the hot chocolate, and of course-having my girls close by!

I love shopping on line.  I can shop in my pj's.  I can shop at any time.  And I can find almost anything I need!  Of course the web is so vast, it is harder to shop when you don't really have an idea what to give somebody.  Paging through pictures and websites can get frustrating.

So here are just a few suggestions for gifts for him and her from my website. 

If they have a lapidary hobby: such as cutting rock, wirewrapping or setting jewelry, I have great rough rock and cabochons available. 
Animal gemstone carvings are great for both sexes.  If they collect an animal:  an owl or elephant-you can find great carvings in my store.  I also have more "masculine" animals:  alligators, lizards, and hedgehogs.  Plus check out my guide on animal symbology to give a gift with a message.
Animal Symbology
For the collector I have great stone spheres and eggs.  But you don't have to be a collector to enjoy them.  A great stone sphere is a unique gift for any busy executive's desk.  I also have unusual shapes:  cubes, pyramids, skulls and more.  Even a lovely freeform polished piece is a wonderful gift for just about anybody.
The gorgeous gemstone boxes and frames are great gifts too. And who wouldn't love bookends cut from genuine American petrified wood?
Whether you believe in it or not, people love getting gifts with "meaning".  Check out my Metaphysical Guide for what rocks to give for special powers!
Metaphysical Guide

You should have no problem finding the right gift for everyone on your list in my store.  And don't forget to look for stocking stuffers too!  Check under Animal Carvings for tiny animals and lovely animal necklaces.  For him I  have some great fossils and sharks teeth.

Come have a look!:  http://www.oakrocks.net/

I still plan to follow up on my China post...coming soon! and watch for information on the upcoming Quartzsite and Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.

Made in China

We just returned from a 2-week trip to China.  We went there to source rough rock and to check out stone cutting factories.  If this offends you, please stop reading now.  It is not my intention to anger anybody.  I once got a very scathing letter from a customer who received a stone from me labeled as from China.  She felt I was responsible for the fall of the American Empire, because I bought from that country.  I believe in the Made in the USA concept, and try to practice it whenever possible.  However reality is seldom what we want it to be.  The truth is our decision to use Chinese stone cutting factories is not really an economical, or convenient, decision.  It is a necessary for survival decision.  It truly doesn’t save us money.  We have to ship rough rock over there, which is heavy and expensive to ship, and we pay import customs and duties there.  Then we have to ship the stone products back here, again paying customs and duties.  Because it is much cheaper to ship large shipments we only ship back once a year-so it is almost a whole year turn around for us to get stone product back. This makes it hard to know which products will be popular, as well as makes it impossible to take custom cutting or product orders.   Throw in 2 trips a year over there to teach skills and check quality, language barriers that often cause us to not get back what we ordered, and the risk of items getting lost or stuck in customs and it is easy to see that it isn’t all that much cheaper and definitely less convenient than cutting it here in the U.S. 

So why, you might ask, don’t we have a lapidary cutting shop here?  The answer is very simple, because we have tried, repeatedly.  But the failure rate is very high.  Lapidary cutting of rough rock is a skill that takes lots of years of practice to perfect.  It is costly and difficult to train unskilled labor.  And when they finally do get good, they quickly learn they can be more successful if they go out on their own.  Hence you trained your competitors!  There are skilled cutters out there.  But in my experience if they aren’t working for themselves, it is because they have alcohol or drug dependencies and are unreliable.  We hired a very skilled homeless guy.  Bought him a bed, refrigerator and microwave and let him sleep in the shop.  He went around telling everyone we kept him chained in the shop working.  There’s the one who went out for a “pack of cigarettes”, leaving the lapidary shop wide open and never returned.  There’s the one who worked for us for about a year and decided even though we had been in business many years, he “made us who we were” and he deserved a partnership.  There’s the time we were robbed and how they did it and what they took told us it was an inside job, and then there was the one who smoked all kinds of funny things, but after three months told us he had lung cancer from the rock dust and he was suing us.  Oh, and my personal favorite, the one who stole my husbands identity.  We found that out when I got a call from a woman late one night asking how long I had been married because “he didn’t tell me he was married!”

To be fair-there are also talented cutters who do freelance custom jobs.  They are usually expensive and one person usually cannot cut a serious quantity of stone.

Unfortunately China is now facing some serious importing rough rock issues and is also experiencing a lot more social issues.  I am told that workers there would much rather take low paying but easy work jobs, rather than get paid more for a harder rock cutting job. 

I will tell you more of our actual adventures and about the importing rocks trouble in my next blog next month!  Thanks for reading!

Goodbye Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum

The Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, was a museum focused on minerals and mining. 
It began in 1884 as a temporary exhibit at Arizona's first territorial fair.  The exhibit was very popular and was moved into a permanent building on the state fairgrounds in 1919.  It 1991 it was moved to its own location.  Its wonderful exhibits included more than 3,000 minerals, rocks, fossils, and artifacts related to the mining industry, a very big part of Arizona's history.  The entire collection is said to hold more than 22,500 specimens.
It also held an extensive library of maps and records showing Arizona mine information and mining reference material.   The museum offered lapidary classes, rock clubs held their meetings here, and they had an
outreach program that traveled around the state, teaching school kids about earth sciences.  It is estimated that 56,000 people visited the museum annually. 
In 2010 the Arizona Historical Society, a state government agency,  took control of the museum from the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, under provisions of a new state law.   In a press conference on February 12, 2010 Governor Jan Brewer announced that a Centennial Museum would be established in the building currently occupied by the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum.  It is estimated that this conversion will take approximately 9 million dollars and the museum supporters hope to raise that through private donations.  They hope to have the museum open in time for Arizona's centennial birthday February 14, 2012.  Of course once the museum is opened it is estimated it will cost the taxpayers 6 million dollars a year to run it.

On Saturday, April 30, 2011, the Arizona Historical Society fired the staff and closed the Arizona Mining & Mineral Museum.  This was a month earlier than expected.

I am not trying to make a political statement.  I understand that for everyone who is upset with this decision, there are people who support it.  I do not know how many taxpayer's dollars it took to run the Mineral Museum.  I do know this museum was supported by mining companies and volunteers from the mining industry.  I also know the Arizona Historical Society is an important organization.  They were founded in 1864 to preserve and document history.  They already oversee 4 museums in our state and the collections in their museum facilities throughout the state, number in excess of three million objects.
Of course not everyone cares about rocks and minerals.  We personally were intimately involved in this museum.  From donating specimens, to selling to their gift shop, to researching their vast resources of material available.  Therefore I just wish to express my distress.  I want to thank the wonderful staff at the museum, especially Nyal Niemuth, chief mining engineer for the Department of Mines, who truly loved his job and was always extremely informative and helpful.  I also want to thank my fellow rock dealers and collectors who gave their support to the museum and the ones who donated or loaned lovely specimens-some extremely valuable!- to be displayed so that the public could  enjoy them.
It is said that the new museum will continue to have an extensive display of Arizona rocks and mineral specimens.  Unfortunately I do not believe there are definite plans yet and there is no provision in the plan that the curator should have rock or mineral specimen knowledge.   I hope so!

http://www.oakrocks.net/

It has come to my attention that New Mexico is trying to close Rockhound State Park to rockhounding. To me this is a travesty and one more example of how our government is trying to close off public land and destroy the hobby and business of collecting and selling rocks and minerals.
The proposed plan may be read at the following web site:
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/documents/RockhoundPMPPublicReviewDraftMarch2011.pdf
But, to save you time, the following was posted by Dances with Snakes to my yahoo group-Rough for Sale:
"Rockhound State Park was originally established as a destination for rock collectors. At the time, in 1966, rock collecting was a popular pastime. Visitors were encouraged to visit the Park in order to collect rocks, and were allowed to take home up to 15 pounds of rocks.
Today the Division promotes a respect for the natural environment through interpretive and educational programs. Not only does rock collecting in a public park contradict the principle of natural resource protection.
There is only one state park in the United States that permits rock collecting: Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, which has a 38-acre plowed field set aside for collecting. Nearly all municipal, state, and national parks prohibit the removal of natural artifacts from parks. The practice of rock collecting at the Park would need to comply with NMSA 1978, Section 16-2-32:
"A person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978:
A. cut, break, injure, destroy, take or remove a tree, shrub, timber, plant or natural object in any state park and recreation area, except in areas designated by the secretary and permitted by regulations adopted by the secretary, such regulations shall only permit the removal of a tree, shrub, timber, plant or natural object for scientific study or for non-commercial use by an individual as a souvenir, the quantity of material authorized for removal from any area shall be strictly regulated by park personnel in order to minimize resource damage."
If the Division were to continue to allow the public to collect rocks at the Park, the EMNRD Cabinet Secretary would designate a specific area and adopt rules pertaining to the collecting of rocks on Park property (such as the amount and location).
The once popular hobby of rock collecting has declined significantly since the 1960s. There are local businesses that cater to rock collectors and can guide or direct them to similar opportunities outside of the Park. Safety is also a concern with the public collecting rocks in the Park, as there are steep and unstable slopes that are becoming more hazardous as the collecting alters the stability of the hillside. There is also a concern that some visitors may go beyond the Park boundaries in their quest for rocks.
Park staff has already begun the transition away from rock collecting and will need to educate the public about the need to respect the natural resources. One crucial step is to modify all Park information (signage, brochures, website), so that this activity is no longer encouraged. All materials need to state that it is a prohibited activity. The namesake theme can continue through educational programs and interpretive information about the rocks that occur in the Park and the geology of the region.
Revise written materials by removing all mention of rock collecting and add a reference to the state statute which prohibits rock collecting on Park property.
Written and oral comments on the plan will be accepted. Comment letters can be dropped off at the park; mailed to P.O. Box 1147, Santa Fe, NM 87505; e-mailed to nmparks@state.nm.us or faxed to (505) 476-3361.
PLEASE, everyone reading this message, email, snail mail or fax a written comment in opposition to the proposed plan to discontinue rockhounding in Rockhound State Park. You have until April 18, 2011 to make comment, so please get on it today. Let's show the NMSPD personnel that rockhounding has not declined since the 1960s and the park should remain true to its namesake. Also, all you club members out there, please let everyone in your club know about this by mass email so we can get all rockhounds throughout this country engaged in the battle to save yet another of our fleeting freedoms. This may be in far away New Mexico now, but in your backyard tomorrow.
PLEASE HELP NOW BECAUSE THERE IS NO TIME TO WAIT!
Below is a link to a drafted response from Mike Streeter, NC Geologist and Rockhound. Feel free to use this draft as a response letter, Following will be a list of contact information to send responses to:
http://mcrocks.com/images-5/RockhoundStateParkPlanOpposition.pdf
Contact Information:
The Rockhound State Park Manager:
robertv.apodaca@state.nm.us
and the Regioanl PArk Manager:
rolf.hechler@state.nm.us
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez:
http://www.governor.state.nm.us/Contact_the_Governor.aspx
US Congressman Steve Pearce:
https://pearce.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
Deming Mayor: Andres Z. Silva
Phone: 575-546-8848
Email: asilva@cityofdeming.org
Deming City Council Member David Sanchez
Phone: 575-546-3155
Email: dsanchez505@msn.com
Deming City Council Member Linda Enis
Phone: 575-546-0333
Email: relex3@gmail.com
Deming City Council Member Joe Milo
Phone: 575-546-7385
Email: deming@cityofdeming.org
Deming City Council Member Bill Shattuck
Phone: 575-544-0455
Email: billshattuck@1stvalley.com
Luna County Commissioner Javier Diaz
Phone: 575-936-6446
Email: rjavier_diaz@lunacountynm.us
Luna County Commissioner Joe "Oleo" Milo
Phone: 575-546-0494
Email: joe_milo@lunacountynm.us
Luna County Commissioner Jay Spivey
Phone: 575-546-0494
Email: jay_spivey@lunacountynm.us
You have to go to the web site addresses to contact the Governor and US Congressman, but to make it easy for you to email all Deming City Government officials and Luna County Commissioners in one fell swoop, all you need to do is cut and paste the following list of email addresses into the address line of your message:
asilva@cityofdeming.org; dsanchez505@msn.com; relex3@gmail.com; deming@cityofdeming.org; billshattuck@1stvalley.com; rjavier_diaz@lunacountynm.us; joe_milo@lunacountynm.us; jay_spivey@lunacountynm.us "