Serpentine
serpentine group (antigorite, lizardite, chrysotile)
The rock that forms when seawater cooks peridotite deep in the crust, California's state rock, the world's asbestos problem, and the crystal trade's most persistent jade impostor all at once. It is soft, waxy and mottled like a snake, which is the name and the entire symbolic apparatus. People carry it for grounding, transformation and protection.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Frequently dyed to deepen the green and sold under jade trade names — 'new jade', 'olive jade', 'Korean jade' are all serpentine, not jade. Some material is wax-impregnated.
Mineral facts
Hardness
2.5-6 Mohs
Formula
Mg3Si2O5(OH)4
Family
silicate
Where it comes from
China, Afghanistan, USA (California, Vermont), Italy, New Zealand, South Africa
What it is
The rock that forms when seawater cooks peridotite deep in the crust, California's state rock, the world's asbestos problem, and the crystal trade's most persistent jade impostor all at once. It is soft, waxy and mottled like a snake, which is the name and the entire symbolic apparatus. Handle the fibrous kind with respect.
What it is confused with
jadeite-jade, nephrite-jade, prehnite, green-aventurine, bowenite, chrysoprase
Mottled and veined green with a distinctive waxy-to-greasy, almost soapy surface and a slightly slick feel in the hand. Colour is patchy, olive, yellow-green and near-black in irregular clouds crossed by paler veins, sometimes with a faint snakeskin mottling that gives the mineral its name. Frequently much softer than it looks: a knife or even a fingernail may cut it. Some material shows fine silky fibres on broken surfaces, which is chrysotile and is the asbestos-form variety.
Commonly faked · check before you buy
How to tell
Softness is the tell, most serpentine is scratched by a steel knife (2.5, 5), while both true jades resist it (6, 7). Greasy feel and mottled clouding rather than fibrous interlocking texture. Any fibrous silky material should be treated as potentially asbestiform and not cut dry.
Frequently dyed to deepen the green and sold under jade trade names, 'new jade', 'olive jade', 'Korean jade' are all serpentine, not jade. Some material is wax-impregnated.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Serpentine is a silicate, 2.5-6 on the Mohs scale, and it is the stone traditionally carried when the problem is proximity rather than intensity.
You know what this one would do for you. You just don't have it.
Serpentine for every sign
Aries
Most of the jade in gift shops is this.
Most of the jade in gift shops is this. New jade and olive jade and Korean jade are all serpentine, which a steel knife will cut and real jade will not. The group includes chrysotile, white asbestos, so never dry-saw or sand the fibrous silky material. Polished carvings are safe to hold.
Taurus
A steel knife will tell you in a second.
The rock that forms when seawater cooks peridotite deep in the crust, and California's state rock. New jade and olive jade and Korean jade are all this, and a steel knife will tell you in a second. Never dry-saw or sand the fibrous silky material, which is white asbestos.
Gemini
New jade and olive jade are neither of them jade.
Anything labelled new jade or olive jade is serpentine, and neither of them is jade. A steel knife cuts most of it where real jade resists, and the surface feels faintly soapy in the hand. Some of the fibrous material is chrysotile, so nothing raw gets sanded dry.
Cancer
What happens when seawater gets into the crust.
Serpentine is what happens when seawater gets deep enough into the crust to cook peridotite. It is soft, faintly soapy, and it is the trade's most persistent jade impostor, sold as new jade in every second shop. Fibrous silky material is chrysotile, so never sand it dry.
Leo
Every stone sold as new jade is serpentine.
Seawater cooking peridotite deep in the crust produces this, which makes it California's state rock, the world's asbestos problem and the trade's most persistent jade substitute all at once. Waxy, soapy, soft enough for a fingernail. Never saw, sand or tumble the raw material dry.
Virgo
A knife cuts serpentine where both true jades refuse.
New jade, olive jade and Korean jade are all serpentine, and none of them are jade. A steel knife cuts it where both true jades refuse. Any silky fibrous material in this group is chrysotile, which is white asbestos, so nothing here gets sawn or sanded dry.
Libra
Sold as jade, and it has never been jade.
Serpentine forms when seawater cooks peridotite deep in the crust. It is California's state rock and the trade's most persistent jade impostor, sold as new jade or Korean jade, neither of which is jade. Do not dry-grind the silky fibrous kind, which is chrysotile.
Scorpio
Most of what is sold as jade is this.
The rock that forms when seawater cooks peridotite deep in the crust, and the group includes chrysotile, which is white asbestos. Polished antigorite carvings are safe to hold and raw fibrous material must never be sawn, sanded or tumbled dry. Most of what is sold as new jade is this.
Sagittarius
Anything labelled new jade or olive jade is this.
The rock that forms when seawater cooks peridotite deep in the crust, which makes it California's state rock and the world's asbestos problem at once. Anything labelled new jade or olive jade is this. A knife cuts it where real jade resists.
Capricorn
California's state rock and the world's asbestos problem at once.
Seawater cooking peridotite deep in the crust produces this, and it manages to be California's state rock, the world's asbestos problem and the trade's most persistent jade impostor at once. New jade, olive jade and Korean jade are all serpentine. Never dry-cut the silky fibrous kind.
Aquarius
Stop believing the jade labels.
Serpentine forms when seawater works into peridotite deep in the crust and cooks it, and the same mineral group contains chrysotile, which is white asbestos. Polished antigorite carvings are inert and safe to hold. Never dry-cut raw material, and stop believing the jade labels.
Pisces
A rock made by water getting in where it should not.
It forms where seawater works its way into peridotite deep in the crust and cooks it, which makes it a rock made by water getting in where it should not. Waxy and slightly slick in the hand. Do not dry-cut raw material, since the group includes chrysotile.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
earth
Planet
Saturn
Chakra
heart, root
Signs
gemini, capricorn, scorpio
What tradition says
In crystal lore, serpentine is associated with shedding old patterns and with kundalini and serpent symbolism; it is also, in practice, the most common substitute sold as jade.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Salt scratches it. Do not bury it in salt.
- Soft and easily scratched; keep away from other stones and keys. Water is generally fine on polished antigorite but avoid soaking fibrous material. Never dry-grind.
The serpentine group includes chrysotile, which is white asbestos. Massive polished antigorite and lizardite carvings are safe to handle. Do not saw, sand, drill or tumble raw serpentine dry, and do not handle fibrous silky material or breathe its dust. Do not make elixirs from fibrous specimens.
Common questions
What does serpentine mean?
Serpentine is carried for grounding, transformation and protection. The rock that forms when seawater cooks peridotite deep in the crust, California's state rock, the world's asbestos problem, and the crystal trade's most persistent jade impostor all at once.. Tradition links it to the heart, root chakra.
Is serpentine real or fake?
Frequently dyed to deepen the green and sold under jade trade names — 'new jade', 'olive jade', 'Korean jade' are all serpentine, not jade. Some material is wax-impregnated.. Softness is the tell, most serpentine is scratched by a steel knife (2. 5, 5), while both true jades resist it (6, 7).. Frequently dyed to deepen the green and sold under jade trade names, 'new jade', 'olive jade', 'Korean jade' are all serpentine, not jade.
Can serpentine go in water?
A short rinse is fine for serpentine, then dry it.
Common · olive green, yellow-green, grey-green, black-green, mottled with white
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
From the Grimoire
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works