Stone Tiger's Eye...

(Tiger's Eye marbles)

Filled with layer after layer of rich browns, varying shades of yellow from lemon to honey, and hints of red, Tiger's Eye shows continual pattern variety from stone to stone.

('Rough' example of Tiger Eye)

It is a member of the quartz family, and is a part of the quartz group known as chalcedony's (made up of micro-crystalline or crypto-crystalline structures; variety of quartz whose crystalline makeup is only seen through high magnification).  It is primarily mined in south Africa and Australia, but it can also be found in India, Burma, China, Brazil, Spain, and the US.  (Some other interesting notes on quartz: it is any type of stone that is oxidized; quartz makes up 12% of the Earth's crust.)

I have always loved Tiger's Eye, and have had a number of jewelry pieces with stones inset/inlaid.  Jewelry is the most popular use of Tiger's Eye, but it also has a number of metaphysically based uses.

(Australian Tiger Iron)

Before I get to some of those I want to mention 'Tiger Iron', a multi-layered stone that is related to Tiger's Eye.  Tiger Iron is made up of Tiger's Eye, red Jasper, and black Hematite.  From the information I read on it, it looks like Australia is the chief producer of Tiger Iron.  It's quite beautiful.

(Tiger Eye Worry Stone, with triple moon design)

Now to the more metaphysical properties of Tiger's Eye.  It is the planetary stone for Gemini.   It is used as a talisman to protect from evil and illness. Need to make some changes in your life? Hold it for focus and grounding. This stone will help you to be practical, and it helps bring order from chaos. The beautiful warm gold of the stone signifies the ability to manifest, and the deep rich browns represent the energies of the Earth.  Thus the Tiger's Eye helps translate ideas into physical reality.

Tiger's Eye is said to be beneficial to the over all health and spiritual well being of the wearer.  Some specific healing effects are to night vision, to general wounds and bruises, various ailments of the digestive tract, and it is said to alleviate pain.

(Solar plexus Chakra)

The Chakra most closely associated with Tiger's eye is the Solar Plexus Chakra.  The soothing gold resonance of the stone works with the yellow of the Chakra to balance mind, body, and spirit.  When placed in the area of the solar plexus, tiger's eye stones can help release mental blocks and ease stress.  It can promote clarity of the mind.  It is also said to shield the aura from negativity.  Tiger's Eye imbues the wearer with the traits of the tiger:  courage, strength, agility, nobility.