Let's talk tektites, more specifically impactites. These are glass pieces formed from a meteorite impact. These could be made directly from the heat of the impact or residual radiant heat. Since they are created from an impact, the pieces go flying and are found across a large area. One of the most famous is moldavite, which is from an impact in Moldova, and has a distinctly greenish color. The green color of moldavite is the result of aluminum compounds in the earth that got absorbed into the silicates when the impact occurred. However, moldavite is really expensive because of it's popularity, and because of it's popularity, restrictions have been placed on mining this mineral. It's so popular there is a market for fakes.
The great power of moldavite is it's connection to the heavens, it's formation being the result of a meteorite impact. But there is nothing particularly special about moldavite that other impact tektites don't have. An emerging popular substitute to moldavite is Libyan Desert Glass, which has a citrine color, a brownish to greenish yellow (pictured). These you can get in much larger pieces for a much lower cost than moldavite, and they pretty much have the exact same spiritual qualities as moldavite. They pretty much are just like moldevite, including minute bubbles and ripples on the surface. The only difference is it isn't green, i.e. it doesn't have traces of aluminum oxide in the silicate crystalline structure.
Unlike moldavite, there is a much larger quantity of Libyan Desert Glass between Libya and Egypt. It is a lot easier to find, and therefore less destructive to the environment to mine for... in fact, it barely needs to be mined, unlike moldavite which needs extensive mining. Furthermore, it has been used for thousands of years, from tools to sacred objects. It has been deemed as useful as obsidian and as sacred as lapis lazuli.
So if you're looking for something like moldavite but isn't as expensive or as likely to be a fake like moldavite (there are still black markets for fakes, but less of an issue than moldavite), consider Libyan Desert Glass or almost any impact tektite.
Franklin
