common names are fossilized sunshine.

Lots of info on this stone and one of the oldest stones used in magic or ritual. Basically this stone can be used in almost any spell work . amber talismans and jewelry have been found in Stone Age archaeological sites, as well as in ancient burial chambers. It has been used by ancient civilizations for 10,000 years. It helped track ancient trade routes, and is documented in literature and the mythology of many cultures, and was referred to as "northern gold" and "sun-daughter's tears". The old Greek name for amber was “elektron” - amber rubbed against wool or silk becomes electrically charged! amber was used extensively by the romans for protection.
Amber is called "hu po" in Chinese and it means "tiger spirit." It is used for babies who cry a lot at night. In this case it is crushed and boiled in decoction at put into the babies bottle. The name here comes from the quality of amber being able to strengthen one's spirit or 'shen' as this is called in Chinese. amber when used externally is very useful for relieving anxiety . Treats insomnia, palpitation, and excessive dreaming in adults. Used with other herbs to treat PMS, coronary heart disease.

Metaphysical: Projective energy; associated with the Sun and the elements of fire and Akasha (spirit). Amber is also associated with the Earth Mother and a symbol of life.Worn to enhance beauty and attractiveness or to make oneself feel beautiful. Amber stimulates happiness, attracts friends and companions to the lonely. Increases ones enjoyment of pleasure. Amber is considered a general protector of health, especially for strengthening the eyes. It is used to relieve or cure existing conditions such as deafness, earaches, headaches, asthma and insanity. Amber is also used to promote business success and stimulate money flow.
, strength, luck, calming for hyperactivity and stressed nerves, finds humor and joy. amber when used externally is very useful for relieving anxiety

Legend says that Amber was believed to provide magicians and sorcerers with special enhanced powers.

A legend surrounding Burmese Amber mentions that when a tiger dies his spirit turns into amber. For this reason it is treasured by locals for they feel they take on the spirit of the tiger and the tiger becomes thier guardian

Helps remove energy blockages, strengthens physical body. Excellent for enhancing altered states of consciousness. It's said that amber helps with the pain of teething with infants .Amber is also good for Nervous and Bronchial complaints.It gives vitality and enthusiasm

when burned in incense it will smell like a combo of pine and myrhh. Amber is a petrified tree resin that is at least 3 to 4 millions of years old. anything younger is called copal.
Dominican Amber 15 - 40 million years old

Mexican Amber 22 - 28 million years old
Baltic Amber 28 - 54 million years old
Lebanese Amber 120 million years old
Saxonian Amber (there is debate if this is the same as Baltic Amber or not, age wise it is identical)
Burmese Amber -100 million years old
Borneo Amber 80 million years old
there is also a New Jersey Amber but not sure how old jut very rare.

the colors of amber varry as they are about 256 varieties of it. most common is the golden color. and sometimes they have inclusions of dirt, other plant matter(as amber itself is plant matter) or insects trapped in it.

yellow to orange amber responds to the 3rd and 2nd chakras


reconstituted amber. This is supposed to be amber that is melted into a percific shape like a bear or someother figure. most of this is just plastic or acrylic with dye or will have just a little bit of melted amber in it. amber is usually warm to the touch and usually when rubbed with wool or silk ,it builds up an electric charge.

The British Natural History Museum discovered that a bee preserved in amber thought to be one of the oldest known examples of this particular species was in fact a fake and probably no more than 150 years old. Evidence of this nature; that even the best can be fooled should alert all collectors to the possibility of being misled or simply cheated.


There are a number of simple tests which can be carried out on amber to check its authenticity.

When examining a specimen you should try at least 3 of the following methods detailed here. If the item in question fails any one of the tests, it could well mean the piece is not true amber.

HARDNESS
Amber has a hardness on Mohs scale in the region of 2 - 3. Using appropriate scratch sticks it should be reasonably straightforward to test the sample under question.

HOT NEEDLE
Heat a needle point in a flame until glowing red and then push the point into the sample for testing. With copal the needle melts the material quicker than amber and emits a light fragrant odor. Amber when tested does not melt as quickly as the copal and emits sooty fumes.

SOLUBILITY
Copal will dissolve in acetone. This test can be done by dispensing the acetone from an eye dropper onto a clean surface of the test specimen. Place one drop on the surface of the test piece and allow to evaporate, then place a second drop on the same area. Copal will become tacky, amber will remain unaffected by contact with acetone.

UV LIGHT
Copal under a short-wave UV light shows hardly any color change. Amber fluoresces a pale shade of blue.

FRICTION
Rub the specimen vigorously on a soft cloth. True amber may emit a faint resinous fragrance but copal may actual begin to soften and the surface become sticky. Amber will also become heavily charged with static electricity and will easily pick up small pieces of loose paper.

TASTE
taste the amber specimen after washing it in mild soapy water and then plain water. While it is unknown to me if a distinction between copal and amber, you could identify plastics and other common substitutes because of their unpleasant or chemical taste. Amber has hardly any taste at all. from a good source it is considered a non destructive method of differentiating between amber and certain other substances often misleadingly labeled amber.

FLOTATION (Specific Gravity)
Mix 23gms of standard table salt with 200ml of luke warm water. Stir until completely dissolved. Amber should float in such a mixture and some copals together with various plastics sink.

INCLUSIONS
Infrequently amber contains Flora or Fauna inclusions. Correctly identifying the trapped Insect or plant should be an excellent indicator of a pieces authenticity. Most inclusions from ancient amber are of species which are now extinct or significantly changed.

POLARIZED LIGHT
Place the suspect piece of amber between two sheets of polarizing glass or plastic. (Kokin Filter Systems which sell lens accessories for cameras sell such products). Rotate one of the polarizing lenses slowly through 360 degrees. In the body of the amber a display of rainbow colors should cycle through the transparent parts of the material. This is due to interference patterns being induced in the polarized light because of the internal strains and stresses within the amber itself. My general experience with this method is that genuine amber and copal always show these color changes, where as some acrylics, polymers and certain plastic do not. Amber which has been drilled and then later filled with a contemporary inclusion and resin also reveals its self via the clear disruption of the color display. Essentially; an amber piece which does not show interference patterns is unlikely to be true amber.

the most important thing was finding a reputable dealer .
good sources to check out:
http://www.ambergallery.com/Is_it_real_amber_/is_it_real_amber_.html

http://www.ambericawest.com/real_amber.html

reconstituted amber. this is amber but it is melted and reshaped. often they add plastic or acrylic to it.


Green amber:Usually natural green amber is greenishyellow. If it is not this (which is a bright sparkling green color) color then it is a good chance it is color enhanced and should be treated as a regular amber in which you find in most metaphysical books and websites.

if it is indeed true green amber then it is good for healing and energizing the body. Also a stone of manifestation, as with most or all green stones ,it brings wealth and prosperity to the wearer, empowering them with success. Green amber clears the heart chakra(again usually with most green stones).

beware of green amber, as most of it on the market in fact is petrified rubber tree resin.