Patience

This Afghan Jade hand-carved Elephant 75*35*112mm weighs 245g. It was hand-carved by Lawrence Riaz from Afghan Jade found in Pakistan.

The Elephant symbolises loyalty, memory patience, strength, spiritual guidance and wisdom. They are revered for their intelligence and exceptional memory. The elephant is often seen as the keeper of ancestral knowledge and spiritual wisdom. They symbolise the importance of honouring the past while moving forward. This extends to incorporating lessons learned and the preservation of knowledge for future generations. This makes the Elephant a powerful symbol of learning from experience, insight and reflection. These symbolic meanings derive from the Elephant’s capacities in remembering experiences, family members and paths.

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

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