Epidote

Epidote is a silicate mineral with a pistachio-to-forest-green colour that seems to glow from within. It is a complex calcium aluminium iron silicate, crystallising in the monoclinic system, and its name comes from the Greek word epidosis — 'increase' or 'addition' — a reference to the unequal angle of the crystal's termination planes. The colour deepens with iron content, and the best specimens come from Austria, Norway, Pakistan, and the American Southwest.

The mineral grows in metamorphic and igneous rocks, often alongside quartz and feldspar. It does not carry the long written history of some stones — no ancient cups, no bishop's rings — but it has spent decades in the mineral trade on the strength of that colour alone: unusual, dense, and difficult to mistake once you've held it.

The tradition links epidote with the heart chakra, which sits at the chest in the yogic map of the body. It falls under the earth element and pairs with the zodiac signs Gemini and Libra. In the intention register it sits with energy and vitality, healing and wellbeing, and abundance — all of which, the tradition suggests, are matters of quiet, consistent tending rather than single gestures.

The practice here is unhurried. Place the stone somewhere you'll see it through the day — a desk, a windowsill, a pocket — and let it serve the way a knot in a handkerchief does: a physical prompt to return to an intention you set in the morning and might otherwise lose by noon.

Below: tumbled epidote, jewellery and rough specimens from our catalogue. For those drawn to the green of deep forest and the slow work of the earth.