Most famous for shades of cool green, jade crystal has been prized by various cultures around the world for thousands of years. The stone is associated with life force, harmony, love, healing, and other wonderful qualities that it can inspire in your life.
Jade stone is mined in various countries, and it is readily available. However, the stone’s hardness and its esteemed position in the Chinese market are some of the factors that have pushed up prices in recent years.
Curious enough to learn more about this auspicious stone? Find out all about it below.
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What Is Jade?
It can be easy to think of jade crystal as “that green stone,” but there’s more to it. For starters, two different minerals are known commonly as jade. Those minerals are nephrite and jadeite. What’s more, the stones’ color is not limited to shades of green.
Nephrite is a calcium magnesium silicate with a hardness of 6 on the Mohs scale. The mineral is commonly found in Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, Russia, Taiwan and the U.S. You can find it in a variety of colors including shades of green, yellow, black, brown, grey, and white.
Jadeite is a sodium aluminium silicate with a hardness of 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale. This type of jade stone is commonly found in Burma, Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, South America, Turkey, and the U.S. In addition to green shades, jadeite is available in black, brown, grey, lavender, orange, red, white, and yellow.
The easiest way to tell the difference between nephrite and jadeite is to tap the stones with a hard object. Nephrite will produce a chime or note, but jadeite will not.
What Is The Meaning Of Jade?
The themes of eternity, harmony, high moral standards, and goodness have often been found in the different meanings given to jade crystal over thousands of years. The Chinese, Egyptians, Maori, and Aztecs held the stone in high regard, as it was a symbol of wisdom that often was associated with the dead.
Some of those ancient cultures even buried jade objects with the deceased. In some burial customs, the green stone represented the heart.
Benefits And Healing Properties Of Jade
Jade stone may be the answer if you want to bring more love and balance into your heart and your life. Regardless of whether your stone is nephrite or jadeite, it has powerful, outward-flowing energies that promote healing, nurturing, replenishment, and emotional support that can help you tap into a higher love.
The growth-inspiring effects of jade are alluded to by the stone’s most famous color, namely green. Light or dark, the shades remind us of mother earth and her healing energies, to which the stone has a strong connection. Wearing the stone can mingle those energies with your own energetic field, which makes it a fabulous option if you live in an urban environment and do not have easy access to natural spaces.
In addition to bringing its own wonderful energies into your life and the space around you, jade crystal has the ability to transform negative energies into positive ones that promote joyfulness and love. Calming and harmonious, the stone also can help you heal from emotional and physical injuries and illness.
What Chakra Is Jade Good For?
The most common color of jade crystal, as well as its properties, make it an excellent stone for supporting your fourth chakra. Known as ‘anahata’ in Sanskrit, the heart chakra is the energy centre that represents compassion, empathy, forgiveness, and love.
The chakra also acts as a bridge between the lower three chakras associated with physical processes and the material realm, and the upper three chakras associated with wisdom and the spiritual realm. Anahata chakra is visualised as a green lotus flower with 12 petals. Wear or hold a piece of jade near your heart to help unblock and balance the chakra.
How To Use Jade?
You can use jade crystal in various ways – on your person, in your home, and even at the office.
The easiest way to keep the healing and nurturing powers of the stone close to you is to wear an item of jewelry made from it, such as a pendant or bracelet, or to keep a small jade stone in your pocket.
Using the stone at home or at the office to cleanse the space and attract good vibrations is just as easy. All you need to do is place a jade ornament where you can see it. If you want to position it according to feng shui, avoid placing it in the north or south of the room. The other directions are better.
If you want to use jade in conjunction with other stones that support and amplify its properties, use it with other green gemstones, rose quartz, and agate.
How Do You Activate Jade Crystals?
Cleanse your jade crystal to begin the process of activating it. Although the stone does not store negative energies, cleansing it can help you to imbue it with intentional energy and love.
Rinse the stone under cool, clean running water. A fresh spring, stream, or river is best, but the kitchen tap is as good an option as any if it’s the only one you have. Dry the stone with a soft cloth and leave it on a windowsill where it will be bathed in moonlight overnight.
The following morning, hold the stone in your right hand and visualise it being filled with your positive energy.
Is Jade Expensive?
The price of jade stone depends entirely on the quality of the sample in question. Burmese imperial jade, which is a jadeite, is the most expensive type because of its color and quality. Other types of jade are less expensive. The price of jade items also depends on the amount of work that went into creating them. A simple cabochon of one of the less expensive types of jade should be cheaper than a statue or vase made from the same stone.
Where to Buy Jade Online?
There are plenty of places to buy this gem online. From specialty online shops to online giants like Amazon.
Our recommendation is to browse Amazon first to get a sense of prices, variety, and quality. Then do a detailed comparison online. Another specialty retailer is TinyRituals, which only sells gemstones of grade AA or higher.
What Color Jade Is Best?
The jade crystal color that is best for you depends on what you want to use the stone for. Choose green stones for longevity and well-being, white stones for calmness and clear purposes, red jade for joy and love, black stones for grounding and protection, yellow jade for positivity and good fortune, and lavender stones for serenity and greater connection with your higher self.
In Taoism, darker green jade stones are believed to have stronger energies, and those that are lighter in color or translucent are thought to have gentler effects.
How Can You Tell If Jade Is Real?
The popularity and price of jade crystals make it a stone that counterfeiters are happy to fake. Calcite, prehnite, quartz, and serpentine are some of the semi-precious stones that often are used to fake the real deal. Some counterfeiters even use plastic.
Jade has a particular lustre that you won’t see in stones such as quartz or serpentine. Whether nephrite or jadeite, jade also is much harder than the stones used to counterfeit it. Check for stress fractures or repairs in which broken pieces have been glued together – if you find any, the stone probably isn’t jade.
Why Do The Chinese Wear Jade?
Jade crystal is one of the most auspicious of all stones in Chinese culture. Not only is the stone thought of as being alive, but it’s also seen as a mineral that bridges the realms of earth and heaven, thanks to its earthy colors and heavenly luminosity.
The heavenly connection, as well as the stone’s associations with wisdom, harmony, and longevity, make it one of the vast nation’s most popular gems. Add a jade stone to your collection today!
Chermaine’s journey into the world of gemstones and crystals began as a child, collecting shimmering stones on family vacations. Today, she’s a certified gemologist and spiritual healer, intertwining the physical beauty of jewels with their metaphysical properties.
Chermaine has traveled to mines in Africa, marketplaces in India, and spiritual retreats in Bali, always seeking to deepen her understanding.