Two more Herkimer Diamonds arrived in the mail today, both courtesy of eBay. I have come to the conclusion that I will get MUCH better prices via eBay than I could possibly get from the two metaphysical shops near me. It's a shame, really -- one of those shops seems to be under different management now than they were when I first got started, and their prices for stones have leaped up noticeably. In both of these places, surprisingly tiny Herkimer Diamonds (like 4 or 5 mm) were $40 and up. I don't have that kind of cash for a stone that small. Meanwhile, on eBay, I got three stones at or near 1 inch (25.1 mm) for a total of under $50 plus shipping, and they came right from the people who mined them in NY state.
Yeah, guess where I'm going to go from now on to get my Herkimer Diamond fix? Don't get me wrong, I'm all about spending money in the local economy when I can, but not when there's THIS much of a price/quality differential. <soapbox> Genuine Herks are pretty easy to spot, even in pictures. When purchasing online, look at the origin of the stone, and if it doesn't look like a Herk, keep searching. Some vendors are out there who either have no clue what a Herkimer Diamond REALLY is (and think they can label any double-terminated stone as such), or else they're trying to reel in the uneducated consumer by applying a Herkimer Diamond label to any stone. Believe me, the real deal will stand out, even in a photograph. </soapbox>
Anyway, something interesting happened when these two stones arrived. When I handled them I felt a little buzz like electricity. Did you ever plug something into an electrical outlet, and accidentally brush your finger on the metal prong while doing so? THAT kind of electricity-buzz. I was surprised, because I don't normally pick up PHYSICAL sensations from stone energies. I detect NON-physical feelings when encountering some forms of energy, but physical sensations are infrequent enough in my experience to be memorable.
I gave both stones my normal sound-bath ritual (see the Cleansing With Sound thread), to remove any jarring energies they've been exposed to between being mined and arriving here, and I am carrying all three Herkimer Diamonds on my person today (including the one that arrived a few days ago). I really feel them resonating with the upper Chakras. Fascinating.