Published July 2014 • Updated August 2024 • Read Time: 5 minutes
Mookaite Jasper is a gorgeous red and yellow Jasper mined only in Western Australia. It is found in the dry riverbeds of the seasonal waterway Mooka Creek. It’s name means “flowing water” in one of the three local aboriginal languages. Energetically this gem is tied to The Dreaming, the everwhen of Aboriginal Australian spirituality. Energetically it is calming and grounding, making it an excellent choice for meditation. It helps us to come to terms with aging, both for ourselves and for our elders, and can help us to connect with our own honorable ancestors.
Mookaite Jasper Healing Energy
Spiritual Healing Properties
Mookaite Jasper connects us with Australian Aboriginal spirituality, specifically The Dreaming (sometimes called the Dreamtime) a place beyond space and time where past, present, and future all meet and are one. Mookaite Jasper encourages us to be ageless in our thinking, neither young nor old, neither conservative nor liberal. It also helps us connect with our animal spirit guides and to develop our most ancient instincts.
| Vibrations | Mookaite Jasper |
|---|---|
| Chakra | Root, Solar Plexus and Third Eye |
| Element | Earth |
| Numerology | 6 and 8 |
| Zodiac | Aries, Taurus and Leo |
Emotional Healing Properties
Mookaite Jasper is a very emotionally perceptive stone. Like all Jaspers, it is a “supreme nurturer,” and in the case of Mookaite this means that it can help us to see the emotional patterns we learned as children and the patterns within our families clearly. We can then choose to continue those habits or release them as necessary.
Mental Healing Properties
Mookaite Jasper encourages us to be absolutely honest with others and even more importantly with ourselves. It awakens our intuition so that we instinctively just “know” what we need to do. Mookaite Jasper can be especially helpful when dealing with aging relatives or to help us become the Elder that our family and community needs.
Physical Healing Properties
Mookaite Jasper is said to help stimulate circulation and increase physical energy. It is also thought to strengthen the immune system, act as a detoxifying agent and soothe the nerves. It has been used to assist the sexual organs to help provide increased physical pleasure and fertility. It has been said to counter the physical effects of aging, making us look “ageless”.
Geology of Mookaite Jasper
Where does Mookaite Jasper come from?
Mookaite is a red and yellow jasper that is mined only in Western Australia.
Mining and Treatments
Jasper is typically mined in tandem with other precious and semi-precious stones in artisanal mines. Mookaite Jasper is the primary mineral mined at its small-scale mining location. The mining uses excavating machinery such as backhoes digging just below the surface of dry riverbeds. The mining takes places in wet white clay and is messy work, but is safer for miners than working in dry dust. The Jasper can be described as more opalized in some areas, and more chalcedonic. The former is brittle and difficult to mine, with the latter makes up most of the material found on the market.
All Mookaite is fully natural, enhanced only by cutting and polishing.
Australia
Mineral Family
Mookaite is a famous variety of Jasper and a Silicate mineral. Silicates are minerals which contain the elements Silicon (a light gray shiny metal) and Oxygen (a colorless gas). Together, these two elements form a tetrahedron – a shape similar to a pyramid – with a Silicon atom in the center and Oxygen atoms at each of the four corners. These tetrahedra connect with other chemical structures, in six different ways, to form various minerals and rocks. There are six main groups of Silicate minerals, and these main groups are further subdivided into secondary subdivisions, such as Quartz and Feldspar. The Quartz family can be further divided into two categories, macrocrystalline and microcrystalline, all of which can be colorless or appear in every shade of the raimbow. Macrocrystalline quartz has well-formed crystals that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye, for example, Amethyst or Clear Quartz. Microcrystalline quartz has crystals so small they can only be seen through a microscope. These are typically grouped together under the name Chalcedony, or it’s subcategories Agate and Jasper.
Mookaite is sometimes described as a chert, opalite or chalcedony. From a strictly scientific perspective, it is best defined as a silicified Radiolarite. Terms like “Jasper” are used in common language.
Mookaite Jasper’s energy works well with its family – other true Jaspers. Try it in combination with Bloodstone, Brecciated Jasper, Desert Jasper, Picture Jasper, Red Jasper, and Yellow Jasper.
Mookaite Jasper Formation and Crystal Associates
Most Jaspers are found in igneous rocks, but Mookaite are found in sedimentary rocks. It was formed when silica-bearing water permeated the existing rocks and begins to fill in little crevices and cavities. As the water flowed, it picks up an assortment of trace minerals which gives Mookaite its coloring and patterns.
Mookaite Jasper’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Dragon’s Blood Jasper, Outback Jasper, and Pink Opal.
| Mineralogy | Mookaite Jasper |
|---|---|
| Chemical Formula | SiO2 |
| Cleavage | None |
| Color | Red, Yellow, White |
| Crystal System | Hexagonal/trigonal |
| Form/Habit | Cryptocrystalline |
| Fracture | Conchoidal |
| Hardness – Mohs Scale | 7 |
| Luminescence | None |
| Luster | Vitreous/earthy |
| Mineral Family | Tectosilicates |
| Specific Gravity | 2.7 |
| Streak | White |
| Transparency | Opaque |
History of Mookaite Jasper
The name “Jasper” is a generic name given to any spotted or multicolored stone. It comes from the French word jaspre, which literally means “spotted or speckled stone” Some Jaspers are “true Jaspers,” meaning they are an opaque variety of spotted Chalcedony, like Brecciated Jasper. However, monochromatic chalcedony is often sold using the name Jasper, such as Yellow Jasper, as is multicolored chalcedony without spots, like Mookaite Jasper. The name Jasper is also given to a variety of spotted rocks, most often a form of Rhyolite, such as Ocean Jasper. Because so many different types of stones may be referred to as a Jasper, it is difficult to know exactly which stone is being referenced in ancient and medieval writings.
Mookaite Jasper was named after the Mooka creek in Western Australia where it is found. It is part of the Windalia Radiolarite, a sedimentary outcrop in the Carnarvon Basin. The Mooka creek is a shallow seasonal waterway that has frequently changed its course over the years, leaving behind many dry river beds. The creek flows north to south and empties into the Gascoyne River, which travels west to the Pacific Ocean. The word mooka means “running water” in one of the local indigenous languages. The Mooka river flows within the territory of three aboriginal tribes with distinct languages, the Maya, Payungu, and Tharrgari. Of these languages, two are extinct and the Payungu had only 2 speakers in 2015.
Additional References:
- Mindat.org, “Mookaite Jasper“
- Outback Mining, “Mookaite Jasper”
- Sorosora “Payungu“
- Wangka Maya Pilbara Language Center, “Tharrkari“
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