As we turn the page of the calendar to December, we come to the final chapter of the year and the last article in the twelve foundation stones series. With the election just behind us and the winter holiday season ahead, it is fitting that this month’s article features chrysoprase, a healing green gemstone that soothes the senses, opens the heart, and promotes tolerance.

Ancient cultures across the planet believed in the healing energy of crystals, incorporating them into their medicine, rituals, and daily spiritual practices. The power of gemstones has been recognized in many religions and religious texts, and Christianity is no exception. You can find over a hundred references in the Bible to the use of stones, and perhaps the most interesting one is found in the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation is an enigmatic read, filled with visionary accounts of the end of the world and the second coming of Christ. The final two chapters, 21 and 22, are said to metaphorically describe the heavenly realm, and it is where we find mention of a future holy city. This city made of gold was described as having twelve stones in the foundation.

What are the Twelve Foundation Stones?

Revelation 21:19–20 reads, "The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst."

There’s debate among experts today about the accuracy of this list of foundation stones. This is because the ancient names of gemstones don’t correspond with our modern mineral classifications. Instead of categorizing gemstones based on their crystalline forms and composition, like we do today, in ancient times stones were named based on their color, place of origin, or how they were used.

The International Gem Society published this list of the twelve foundation stones as the one they believe is the most accurate and correct version: garnet, amethyst, jasper, diamond, emerald, agate, turquoise, carnelian, chrysolite (peridot), beryl, topaz, and ruby.

Each article in this series will cover the geological properties, historical uses, and metaphysical qualities of one foundation stone. This month’s article is a deep dive into the tenth foundation stone, chrysoprase.

Chrysoprase: Chrysoprase is a prized and rare variety of chalcedony, which is a microcrystalline form of quartz. Its color ranges from light mint green to apple green. The green color comes from trace amounts of nickel in the stone’s matrix. If the chrysoprase has a deeper and more vivid green color, it has a higher nickel content. The paler green chrysoprase stones have lower levels of nickel.

Chrysoprase is translucent to opaque. The translucent chrysoprase stones are not typically clear enough to see through, and the opaque ones do not allow any light to shine through. Chrysoprase has a vitreous (glass-like) to waxy luster. It has a hardness of 6.5 to 7. Chrysoprase’s hardness, smoothness, and striking green color make it a popular choice for use in jewelry, carvings, and sculpture.

Chrysoprase is mined today in the United States, Brazil, Russia, Australia, Poland, Tanzania, and Madagascar. The highest quality Chrysoprase comes from Queensland, Australia, where it is called Australian Jade. While most chrysoprase will fade over time when exposed to sunlight, Australian Jade retains its green color when left out in the sun. Chrysoprase is listed as a May birthstone and an 18th anniversary stone.

Historical Uses

The name chrysoprase is derived from two Greek words that describe the radiant green color of this stone: chyrsos, which means golden, and prason, which means leek. Chrysoprase is called the stone of Venus. Perhaps this is due to its apple green color, which is the fruit associated with Venus. Ancient Greeks assigned chrysoprase to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and it has also been associated with Vesta, the Roman fire goddess of family, home, and hearth.

Chrysoprase is one of the oldest semi-precious gemstones utilized by ancient civilizations, with a history of use going back 7,000 years. Artifacts and jewelry have been discovered from ancient colonies in the Indus Valley and India, dating back to at least 5,500 BC. Ancient Egyptians regarded chrysoprase as a stone of good fortune, rebirth, and protection. They included it in tombs of the royal class due to a belief that it helped to escort the pharaohs into the afterlife. Ancient Egyptians also made scarab carvings out of chrysoprase, which were placed next to the hearts of the dead during the mumification process.

As a Greek legend goes, Alexander the Great attributed his military success to a chrysoprase he wore on his belt during battle. One day he was bathing in a river when a snake bit the stone off his belt and carried it into the depths of the water. After the unfortunate loss of his chrysoprase, Alexander the Great was never victorious in battle again.

In medieval times, it was popular to make carvings of bulls out of chrysoprase, which paved the way for chrysoprase to become a Taurus gemstone. The bull is the symbol of the Taurus zodiac sign, which is ruled by Venus. During this era, it was believed that putting a chrysoprase in the mouth would confer powers of invisibility, and it was a strategy used by people convicted of crimes to not be caught, found, and punished. Another belief in the Middle Ages was that chrysoprase would change color in the presence of poison.

In the 1700s, chrysoprase rose in popularity when extraordinary deposits were found in Poland. Frederick the Great of Prussia and Queen Anne of Great Britain used chrysoprase to adorn their palaces, crowns, and furnishings.

Metaphysical Properties

Chrysoprase speaks to the heart of modern crystal enthusiasts due to its pleasant green ray energy, which promotes balance, calm, healing, and grace. It is a beautiful antidote to the stress and frenzy of these times.

Chrysoprase is energy medicine for the heart chakra and the emotions. Its soothing frequency allows the heart to feel safe enough to open, expand, and feel. Chrysoprase exudes a compassionate energy that helps you face, process, and heal old emotional wounds and trauma. It allows you to find forgiveness and grace and to reframe the past from a higher spiritual perspective. It heals a broken heart, attracts love, and prepares the heart for new relationships.

Chrysoprase also has a calming and stabilizing quality, perfect for quelling a racing heart and mind. It is known to relieve stress, panic, anxiety, overthinking, and anger. It has a positive, uplifting vibration that can assist you to rise above and move through depression and grief.

Chrysoprase helps you with self-awareness, wisdom, and ego issues. It deepens meditation and can awaken the psychic senses, especially clairsentience and clairvoyance. Working with chrysoprase can escort you to a unity perspective, so that you realize that you are one with the divine, the earth, humanity, and all of creation. This level of awareness can help you to have greater understanding, love, patience, and tolerance for others.

Chrysoprase is also a stone that can bring you back down to earth. It opens a heartfelt connection with nature, the devic realms, and elemental beings. This promotes a greater sense of grounding, balance, and well-being. Chrysoprase can also open you to greater levels of abundance and improved manifestation power through its activation and healing of the solar plexus chakra.

Chrysoprase has a profound healing effect on the physical body. It is known to promote detoxification of the liver, gallbladder, and kidneys. Chrysoprase has been worked with to boost fertility and support the healing of the reproductive system. It has been recommended to treat the circulatory system, especially high blood pressure and heart palpitations. Chrysoprase can boost the immune system, helping to speed up the recovery of colds, infections, and viruses. It can balance the digestive system while improving eye and skin conditions.

Chrysoprase shines its balancing green light into the foundation of the heavenly city, uplifting and soothing our world-weary systems with its restorative light. Together, the twelve foundation stones create a beautiful crystalline template, inspiring us to reach for and develop their divine qualities within ourselves.