Dalmatian Jasper

Dalmatian Jasper is a variety of jasper — a dense, opaque member of the quartz family — distinguished by a cream to pale grey ground and irregular black spots. The spots are inclusions of black tourmaline, which gives the stone its striking contrast. It takes a good polish, which is why you'll most often see it tumbled and smooth: the spots show best on a clean surface.

Jasper has been cut and carried since antiquity. The name comes from Old French jaspe, from the Latin and Greek for a green-striped stone — though the word drifted over centuries to cover any opaque, patterned variety. Jasper appears in the Breastplate of Aaron in the Book of Exodus, one of twelve stones named for the tribes of Israel. Dalmatian Jasper is a younger naming, following the old convention of naming spotted stones after animals — tiger's eye, leopard skin jasper, and this one for the white-and-black dog.

The tradition keeps it close to the root chakra. Jasper is an earth stone by nature — literally, silica dioxide laid down in sedimentary layers — and the associations follow: grounding, steadiness, the feeling of solid ground beneath the feet. Black tourmaline's protective quality in crystal tradition adds a second register. In the zodiac it belongs to Gemini; the pairing makes sense if you think of what a rooted stone offers a sign that tends toward movement and scattered energy — a place to come back to.

The tradition's quiet suggestion is to give the stone a role in a practice, however modest. Set an intention in plain words — steady, present, unhurried — and let the stone keep it in view. A stone in the pocket, on the desk, or beside the bed works the way a bookmark does: it marks the place you want to return to.

Below you'll find what the catalogue holds in this register — tumbled stones, palm stones, and jewellery for the root and the earth.