Beckoning

This large White Jade hand-carved Cat 80*41*132mm weighs 642g. It was sourced locally and artisan carved exclusively for us by Lawrence Handicrafts. Lawrence has carved the Afghan Jade in the Maneki Neko style, which comes from Japanese culture. Maneki Neko can be translated as the beckoning cat and it is sought out for bringing good luck.

Afghan Jade is a form of Serpentine named after one of the main countries where it is mined. It is a dense cryptocrystalline mixture of serpentine group mineral. These minerals are mainly antigorite, chrysotile and lizardite. It contains impurities such as chlorite, ilmenite, magnetite and talc. Afghan Jade is used for carving. It is translucent to opaque, varying in colour from white, light to dark green and can also occur with yellow, black, brown, pink or yellow inclusions.

Colour: black, brown, green, olive green, yellow

Crystal system:

Location: Afghanistan, Pakistan

Rarity: common

Hardness: 6-7

Formula: Simple: NaAlSi₂O₆; More specifically: D₃[Si₂O₅](OH)₄ D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn

Other characteristics: Afghan Jade is technically a rock, rather than a mineral.

Mineral Class: Serpentinite

Chakra: all, Heart

Emotional: balance, compassion, love, relationships, soothing, tranquility, understanding

Mental/intellectual: clarity, decision, perspective, selflessness

Spiritual: chakra alignment, communication with animals, connection with Nature, growth, harmony, Kundalini awakening, meditation, transformation

Astrology: Libra, Pisces, all signs, Earth