Red Jasper
Opaque chalcedony coloured deep red by hematite.
- Family
- Chalcedony
- Formula
- SiO₂
- Mohs
- 6.5 to 7
- System
- Trigonal
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Science
Jasper is chalcedony with so much included material, often twenty percent or more, that it is opaque. In red jasper that material is hematite. It takes a high polish and has been used for tools, seals and buildings for as long as people have shaped stone.
- Mineral
- Chalcedony (variety)
- Formula
- SiO₂
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Mohs hardness
- 6.5 to 7
- Specific gravity
- 2.58 to 2.64
- Refractive index
- 1.530 to 1.540
- Lustre
- Waxy to vitreous
- Colours
- Red, Brick red
Composition
SiO₂. Made of Silicon, Oxygen, with trace Iron responsible for colour.
Origin
- India
- Brazil
- Madagascar
- Australia
- United States
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Among the most abundant ornamental stones on Earth.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Red Jasper sits at 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale. It will scratch glass and holds a polish in daily wear.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Root
Element
- Earth
Zodiac
- Aries
- Scorpio
- Virgo
Planets
- Mars
Properties
- Stamina
- Grounding
- Stability
- Endurance
Lore
The Egyptian Book of the Dead prescribes a red jasper amulet, the tyet or knot of Isis, to be placed at the neck of the deceased.
Norse legend gives Siegfried's sword a jasper hilt; Native American traditions treat it as the blood of the Earth.
- NameFrom the Greek iaspis, 'spotted stone'.
- AgeBanded iron formations of jasper and hematite are up to 3.7 billion years old.