Red jasper is a particularly striking variety of chalcedony. This stone is frequently featured in jewelry and carvings, and has been since antiquity.
Found all over the globe, red jasper is just as valuable to the world’s crystal healers and magic practitioners as it is to jewelers and stone carvers.
About Red Jasper
Jasper, in general, is a sort of catchall term for certain opaque silica-based minerals. In other words, this stone is essentially what would happen if quartz crystals weren’t transparent.
It can come in virtually any color, since its color is dictated by the chemical composition of the sediment in which it forms. The bright crimson of red jaspers comes courtesy of iron oxide in the crystal’s structure.
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Red Jasper Healing Properties & Benefits
Emotionally, red jasper helps instill courage. It also helps with stability, inner strength, and passion. It’s very useful for those who find themselves easily dominated or controlled by others.
Red jasper is a very fiery, earthy crystal. This makes it helpful for restoring or improving physical strength and vitality. It’s said to help detoxify the blood and liver, and act as a kind of tonic for the circulatory system.
This stone is also sometimes used during pregnancy to help ensure the growth of a strong, healthy fetus.
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Red Jasper Magical Properties
Red jasper is intimately tied to the physical body. It’s a stone of vitality, healing, strength, and energy. Because of this, it’s also used for grounding, despite its color.
This gem is frequently used as a charm for those who have very physical jobs, from warehouse workers, to massage therapists, to security guards.
This is the ideal stone to call upon for any spells or workings relating to recovering from illness, winning a physical contest, increasing strength, setting goals and following through, or boosting energy levels.
It’s also useful for those who want to increase their libido, or bring more passion to their relationship — when combined with love-drawing crystals and sensual herbs like jasmine, it can help attract an intense, passionate relationship.
Some use red jasper as a protective stone. In this case, it doesn’t serve the same purpose as other warding talismans. Rather than guard against the evil eye or baneful magic, it guards against physical threats.
Since it has such strong connotations of passion, red jasper can also be used to stimulate the metaphorical passion one has for their work.
It’s very useful for artists, writers, and musicians who feel less than inspired. Rather than just breaking through creative blocks, it helps bring back the user’s “spark.”
For those who work with chakras, this stone corresponds to the root chakra, Muladhara. This energy center is tied to basic survival and the physical body.
It’s also the first chakra, and the gateway to all of the others. Wearing or using red jasper near this area can help open and balance it, allowing energy to flow freely upward to all of the other chakras.
Red Jasper History & Folklore
The word “jasper” means “spotted stone,” through a very circuitous linguistic route. The English word comes from the Old French “jaspre,” which derives from the Latin word “iaspidem.”
This comes from the Greek “iaspis,” which comes from a very old Erythraean language. The word jasper has no relation to the name Jasper.
Jaspers are mentioned in several religious and mythological works, including the Christian Bible and the Nibelunglied. It’s said to drive away evil spirits and venomous snakes.
In ancient times, various jaspers were used to bring rain and stop bleeding.
How to Cleanse Red Jasper
Since red jasper is silica-based, it can tolerate a pretty wide range of cleansing techniques. This means that you’re free to choose whatever feels right to you.
Some helpful methods for cleansing Red Jasper include:
- Energy cleansing. This involves using your own personal energy to re-calibrate the crystal.
- Holding the stone in clean running water. For best results, use natural water from streams, the sea, rainfall, or snowmelt.
- Bathing the stone in an infusion of cleansing herbs. Make a tea of your favorite cleansing herb and fresh water, allow it to cool, and pour it over the stone.
- Fumigating it with cleansing herbs or incense.
- Setting it in the sun for a short period of time.
- Setting it in the full moon.
- Burying it in soil. If you do this outdoors, dig a shallow hole and mark it well. If you don’t have outdoor space, use a potted plant.
- Playing music, bells, chimes, tuning forks, or singing bowls.
- Burying the stone in salt. This should be natural sea or Himalayan salt.
- Burying it in dried cleansing herbs.
Some users find that it’s helpful to pass red jasper through the flame of a candle. Be careful not to hold it for too long, since it can get hot. Afterward, be sure to wipe away any traces of melted wax or soot.
Getting Started With Red Jasper
Red jasper is a very nice stone for beginners. It’s powerful, but supportive. If you ever find yourself in need of extra energy or courage, this is the gem for you.
Since this is a stone that works so closely with your own personal energy, you should take your time selecting it. Choose a supplier that sources their crystals from ethical mining operations.
Avoid picking the first stone you see, or one that’s just visually appealing. Pick up the jasper, handle it, and see how it feels to you. A good crystal should be comfortable to hold, and may even give you a mild tingling, buzzing, or pulsing sensation.
If you don’t feel anything, that’s okay! Some of these feelings will come with time and practice. As long as it doesn’t feel unpleasant, you can work with it.
When you get it home, cleanse it according to your preferred method. Crystals can have their energy altered by their environment, and cleansing helps return them to a more neutral state.
With your stone cleansed, you can begin using it. Hold it in your dominant hand, and visualize your intention. Send this energy into the jasper until you feel it can’t hold any more. It’s now ready for whatever magical, metaphysical, or healing purpose you have in mind.
As a protective stone, red jasper works best as jewelry or a pocket stone.
For emotional healing, you may wish to keep a tumbled stone in your pocket or bag, so you can discreetly touch or hold it. For physical healing, place the jasper on the body part most in need of healing energy.
Red jasper carries a strong, supportive, protective energy. If you need an ally to help you during spells or rituals, it can do that. If you need a way to tap into some emotional stability and strength during hard times, it can do that too.
Keep it cleansed and close to you, and it will never fail you.
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