Gem of the Week: Serpentine

Serpentine is often used in waking up your personal energies and opening your Chakras. This helps your energies flow in a clean natural way. Serpentine also helps heal illnesses of the heart and lungs. Serpentine comes in multiple shades of green and brown usually in a 'scaly' pattern giving it it's name. 

    

Serpentine has been used as a decorative gem for thousands of years. It's name is derived from the Latin for 'serpent rock'. Soil with high concentrations of Serpentine is usually toxic to plant life as the stone has high levels of elemental metals. Generally, Serpentine is more valuable the more pure the color is with less flecks of other colors. Light lime green Serpentine is also rarer than darker shades. In Ancient Rome. Serpentine was used to ward off evil and dark arts as a stone of the goddess Hecate (the goddess of dark magic). It was also said that a Serpentine chalice would shatter if the contents was poisoned.