African Emerald

(A - fruh - kn EM-uh-rald)
Main Origins:
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Egypt.

What is African Emerald?

3 carat untreated african emerald on models hand. Image Source: Facebook | Gemtag Khan
Image Source: Facebook | Gemtag Khan

African Emerald is an incredibly precious gem. It requires a combination of rare elements and just the right environmental conditions in an exact location, taking millions of years to form within the earth. 

African Emeralds are a varied group of Emeralds found in different African locations, most notably and recently in Zambia. Intensive mining operations remove multiple grades of raw Emerald in relatively large quantities. African Emeralds can naturally display superb clarity, needing minimal treatment.

Like all Emeralds, African Emerald is a variety of Beryl with a hexagonal structure. The elements that give this precious gem its range of stunning greens and blue-greens are the combination of Chromium, Vanadium, Iron, and the rare metal Beryllium.

It has a profoundly loving energy that helps us connect to our true nature and fully opens our ability and capacity to give and receive love. Emerald stimulates love for our Earth, family, friends, intimate partner, and self-love.

Did you know almost all Emeralds undergo treatment? Emeralds are infused with oil as this treatment fills the fissures and cracks that present within most specimens. Oil-treating Emeralds improves its clarity and durability.

African Emerald Metaphysical Properties & Benefits

Contemplating the energy and meanings of African Emerald ruling chakras, elements, planets, and numerical vibrations can help us better understand this crystal’s metaphysical properties and benefits.

African Emerald impacts many chakras, but its primary influence is within the Heart Chakra. Emerald activates this energy center and expands our experience of divine love. It aligns us with love that is loyal, pure, and joyful.

This crystal’s impact on the Heart Chakra also leads to emotional healing and a greater sense of compassion and empathy for all living beings. It is a stone of personal, intimate, earthly, and universal love.

The main ruling element of the African Emerald is the Earth. The metaphysical benefits imbued by this element are nurturing, nourishment, abundance, intricate beauty, grounding, and physical presence.

The ruling planets of the African Emerald are Venus and Mercury. Venus encourages us to focus on themes including beauty, the wisdom of love, grace, charm, beauty, creativity, pleasure, and attraction.

Mercury brings a sense of growth, intelligence, communication, freedom of truth, and honesty. This energy embodied within the African Emerald leads us to pay close attention to, appreciate, and communicate with our inner self and loved ones.

Numerical vibrations that empower African Emeralds are 4 and master number 11. 11 aligns this crystal energy with divine energy. It is a reminder that we have constant access to infinite life-source energy and can choose to be awakened, refreshed, and inspired by this power. 

In numerology, 4 denotes loyalty, passion, devotion, and working together in harmony. It encourages positive heart-based action as it is associated with the fourth chakra, the Heart.

The best feng shui directions to place African Emerald are in the Center or the East. The Center is symbolic of the heart of a space, and it is related to health and vitality. African Emerald can also be placed in the East, which is related to family and new beginnings.

African Emerald Healing Properties & Benefits

Divine Self-love

  • African Emerald will help you connect to the source of divine love and help you see that you, too, are sacred and worthy of your love.
  • Gift yourself an African Emerald crystal that you hold every day and repeat 11 self-love affirmations or list and appreciate 11 things you love about yourself.

Loving Relationships

  • A true sense of connection with the divine self that African Emerald inspires allows a deeper level of love in all other relationships to naturally grow and blossom. It positively impacts friendships, familial bonds, and partnerships, as well as your relationship with a group, the collective, or nature.
  • Practice a metta meditation directing loving thoughts and blessings toward a specific relationship or person daily. Delve into this practice and give each person you love or the Earth your fully focused divine love, and hold your piece of African Emerald to amplify this.

Intimacy and Domestic Bliss

  • African Emeralds can bring passion, devotion, fertility, and divine play into your intimate relationship. This stone can bring contentment, refreshed enjoyment, and grace in the natural roles you embody as partners.
  • Presently, keep a piece of Emerald in your home, gift a piece of Emerald to your partner, or better yet—both wear a piece of African Emerald. Over time, this crystal will assist you with attuning to the frequency of divine love and acceptance of the natural flow.

Longevity and Vitality

  • The loving energy of this crystal is restorative and energizing. Its green has a fresh, vital color of spring foliage, and its vibration can guide us toward a state that allows for longevity and complete natural wellness. 
  • Practice meditation that is focused on your breath and the energy of your African Emerald every day. Meditate until you feel connected to your life force energy, the Earth, your body, and other people.

Harmony

  • Emerald is a high vibrational crystal that opens the Heart Chakra, which helps us to attune to a state of harmony within and with all around us. It helps us to experience a harmonious relationship with spirit, life, nature, and people.
  • Activate your African Emerald by holding it and repeating the affirmation: I live with harmony and grace, with an open heart.

African Emerald Spiritual Properties & Benefits

A couple enjoying a sweet silhouette during sunset.

Heart-Based Service

  • African Emerald energy works from the core. It guides you to take care of yourself to the level you can overflow and offer your service to other beings and the Earth from a space of true joy, love, devotion, passion, and willingness.
  • Create an altar space with all your favorite things and include an African Emerald. Honor your devotion to self-love, contemplate what you can contribute to others or the world and what gives you joy. Plan tangible ways that you can embody being of service.

Natural Abundance

  • Again, the heart-centered and natural earthy energy of the African Emerald leads to the benefit of abundance. The energy of abundance reflected in nature and true love can increase abundance in all aspects of your life.
  • Hold your Africa Emerald every time you remember to or want to, and affirm 11 things you are grateful for in that present moment. This will elevate you to a higher heart consciousness of appreciation, gratitude, and abundance.

Spiritual and Emotional Growth

  • As African Emerald offers you many benefits, it will likely lead you on a journey of healing and growth in order to deeply embody these ideals. This is a powerful yet nurturing and patient gem. It encourages spiritual and emotional development.
  • Embrace your relationship with yourself, others, and life with love. Practice breathwork while wearing or holding an African Emerald to help you regulate and integrate during significant growth.

Attracting True Love

  • African Emerald’s properties, that are so closely linked to the Heart’s, make it helpful in attracting or manifesting love into your life. 
  • Activate African Emerald for this purpose by repeating this affirmation four times: I love myself and allow myself to experience true love from others. Wear this crystal often.

Beautification

  • Emerald is a stone of inner and outer beauty. It is also a stone that is often imperfectly beautiful, as most completely natural Emeralds can be heavily “flawed.” It inspires feeling and radiating beauty through self-love and living as an embodiment of divine love in all interactions.
  • Wear an African Emerald crystal, and every time you notice it, take a moment to appreciate your beauty, the beauty of the person you are with, or the beauty in nature.

Side Effects of African Emerald

  • Deep Empathy: As the African Emerald fully opens the heart, this can lead to a tangible increased empathy for all beings. This sensitivity will balance as you completely integrate the energetic guidance of your crystal.
  • Vulnerability: If your experience has been very different, the side effect of Emerald can initially feel as if you are being too vulnerable and open with others and life in general.

African Emerald Meaning: What Does African Emerald Symbolize?

two hands forming a heart

The meaning of the African Emerald is “True Love.”

Emeralds have also been called “the Stone of Successful Love” and “the Stone of Wisdom.” This crystal symbolizes love in all its expressions, from divine love, spiritual love, self-love, love for the Earth, love for all humans, love for family, love for friends, and true romantic love

The meaning of this stone revolves around living life from an open heart. This allows one to experience an increased depth of beauty, emotion, and connection. African Emeralds encourage devotion to authentically living in love, in a way that nourishes yourself and all beings.

One of the most ancient sources of Emerald in Africa can be traced back to Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra was said to have greatly appreciated these mighty and beautiful gems. Because of this, African Emeralds are also symbolic of beautification and self-love.

In present-day Africa, Emerald continues to symbolize abundance, love, growth, devotion, inner wisdom, vitality, and harmony. African Emerald is set into stunning and powerful jewelry pieces and often gifted as a symbol of commitment and a message of true love. 

Types of African Emerald

  • Common African Emerald: Green to green-blue Beryl forms in different locations around the African continent. They can be opaque, translucent, impressively transparent, or heavily included. Common African Emerald is a stone that signifies true love.
  • Mottled African Emerald: It has patches of different tones and opacities of deep green to green-blue. Mottled African Emeralds are financially less valuable but have many energetic benefits, including improving relationships.
  • Dendritic African Emerald: Various shades of green Emerald that contained tree-like patterns. Dendritic African Emeralds will deepen your connection and love for nature.
  • Bright African Emerald: A slightly lighter and brighter green than typical darker emerald green, it can be bright pure green or bright bluish-green. Bright African Emerald inspires heart-centered communication.
  • Olive Green African Emerald: A darker, slightly yellow-green stone that varies in transparency. Olive Green African Emerald improves your luck and increases abundance. 
  • Dark Green African Emerald: A rich forestry green Emerald. Darker Green African Emeralds are a stone that activates the Heart Chakra.
  • Bluish African Emerald: A variety of Emerald that is almost a blue similar to aquamarine, but more tinged with green. It is an excellent stone for improving communication within your relationships.
  • Blue-Green African Emerald: These Emeralds are green with a hint of blue. They can vary in lightness, darkness, and transparency. Blue-Green African Emeralds are common in Africa, and they encourage both emotional and spiritual growth.
  • Clear African Emerald: A gem-quality variety of African Emerald that has near-perfect transparency and minimal inclusions. It can be green or blue-green. Transparent African Emeralds symbolize loving devotion.
  • Cloudy African Emerald: A green African Emerald with milky or frosty cloud-like inclusions. This can be due to color variation or tiny fissures within the crystal. Cloudy African Emerald inspires healing of emotional trauma.
  • No-Oil African Emerald: African Emeralds that have not been treated with oil. These green gems are rare and are usually the highest quality specimens with naturally near-perfect clarity, as they don’t require treatment. No-Oil African Emeralds are a fine statement and a valuable expression of love.
  • African Emerald in Black Matrix: Emerald in many shades and variations of green form within a Black Mica matrix, creating a beautiful contrast. African Emerald in Black Matrix is beneficial for grounding and protection.
  • Treated African Emerald: Most Emeralds, including African Emeralds, need to be treated with oil to improve durability and clarity. Treated African Emeralds are well accepted and offer the same heart-opening benefits as any other Emerald.
  • South African Emerald: Deposits were first found in the Transvaal. Usually, these Emeralds range in green color and are mostly flawed, or included but can feature unusual prismatic forms. Among all other Emerald benefits, South African Emerald will help you to tap into natural abundance.
  • Zimbabwe Emerald or Sandawana Emerald: Zimbabwean Emeralds can vary. Sandawana Valley in Zimbabwe is known for producing smaller bright green African Emeralds. Connecting with Zimbabwean Emeralds energetically will increase your vitality.
  • Tanzanian Emerald: Grass-green Emerald that can have a slightly yellow or blue tint. They are often included with Mica, Quartz, Apatite, and Orthoclase. Tanzanian Emeralds inspire love and connection within both platonic and romantic relationships.
  • Zambian Emerald: Emeralds from Zambia can be heavily included, but this is also considered to be a location that produces some of the finest eye-clean clarity of green to blue-green Emeralds. Zambian Emerald resonates with the frequency of divine and infinite love. 
  • Nigerian Emerald: These are usually blue-green Emeralds and can be found with various colors of Beryls, Topaz, and Smoky Quartz crystals. Nigerian Emerald encourages the expression of truth and love.
  • Madagascan Emerald: They are often bluish-green but can vary and include other minerals, such as mica and typical inclusions of color zoning and fractures. Madagascan Emeralds are great to work with when seeking to embody a state of self-love.
  • Mozambican Emerald: These green Emeralds can be included with Brown Mica or Pyrite. Mozambican Emerald guides us to notice the beauty and abundance of nature.

How to Cleanse African Emerald

a hand holding a pile of soil

  • Mantras: Hold your crystal and chant the Heart Chakra seed mantra YAM 4 times to energetically cleanse and attune your African Emerald.
  • Moonlight: Place your Emerald out under the night sky for an entire evening of moonlight at any phase in the moon cycle to cleanse it.
  • Earth: Wrap your Emerald in a natural fiber cloth and bury it under the soil for up to 4 hours.

FAQ

Is African Emerald Rare?

Yes, African Emeralds and all Emeralds are considered rare as they require particular geological and environmental conditions and take millions of years to form. Gem-quality Emeralds that are fully transparent and pure green are the rarest.

Can African Emerald Get Wet?

Yes, Emeralds can be in the water for short periods, but avoid soaking pieces that are heavily fractured or untreated.

Are African Emerald Safe in the Sun?

Yes, Emeralds can be in sunlight for a limited period of less than 48 hours. This is because the heat from prolonged exposure can damage fractured pieces or degrade the treatment on certain stones.

How Can You Tell if African Emerald is Real?

The best way to tell if an African Emerald is real is by gemological testing. You can also gain information on the gem’s location from a reputable seller and observe the colors, formation habits, and rock types that it forms in, as well as the clarity or inclusions within the stone.

What is the Difference Between African Emeralds and Colombian Emeralds?

African Emeralds are varied but known to be higher clarity specimens, typically lighter and have a more blue or cool green tone. Colombian Emeralds are more often a deep pure green and form within Black Shale through different geological processes as opposed to how African Emeralds form between igneous rock and pegmatites.

How Do You Take Care of African Emeralds?

To care for your African Emerald, keep it away from high heat. Clean it using pure water or a very gentle soap and water with a soft cloth; properly dry the crystal after cleaning. 

Is African Emerald Expensive?

Yes, African Emeralds that display exceptional clarity can be very expensive. Gem-quality pieces can cost up to $1000 or more per carat when untreated.

Which Finger to Wear an African Emerald Stone?

African Emeralds should be worn on the little finger or the ring finger.

When to Wear African Emerald Stones?

Wear African Emerald when you are ready to embrace love in your life. You can wear it to attract love and to strengthen your relationship. If your loved one has gifted you an Emerald, wear it as often as possible.

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