Jet is not a mineral at all. It is wood, from ancient monkey-puzzle trees that fell into stagnant water around 180 million years ago and were pressed into a dense, velvety black material light enough to surprise you when you pick it up. It is warm to the touch, takes a mirror polish, and picks up a static charge when rubbed, which gave it the old name black amber. Queen Victoria made Whitby jet the fashion for mourning jewelry. In Spain it is azabache, carved for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago for nearly a thousand years, and across Latin America and the Caribbean a tiny azabache fist is pinned to a newborn's clothes to turn away the evil eye. At Plentiful Earth we carry jet as azabache hand amulets, as bead bracelets in two sizes, and as tumbled stones by the pound.
What You'll Find Here
Azabache hand amulets. One-inch carved jet fists, the traditional figa or mano de azabache worn by babies and adults for protection against mal de ojo. Ours are genuine jet, not plastic or glass.
Jet bracelets. Round bead bracelets in four-millimeter and eight-millimeter sizes. Genuine jet beads are noticeably lighter than onyx or obsidian, and warm quickly against the skin.
Tumbled jet. Polished pieces by the pound for pockets, grids, mojo bags, and altar work.
What Is Jet Used For?
Jet is one of the oldest protection materials in the world, found in Bronze Age graves and Roman amulets, and its use has hardly changed. It is worn to absorb ill will and the evil eye, carried during grief, and kept by the door or the bed. In British witchcraft tradition a necklace of jet and amber is the mark of a priestess. In Latin American folk practice the azabache is the first gift a baby receives, and the tradition holds that if the amulet cracks it has done its job and should be replaced. The deeper rites around it in Santeria and Espiritismo are best learned from practitioners within those traditions.
Jet is soft, 2.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale, and scratches easily. Keep it away from heat, perfume, and harder stones, and wipe it with a soft dry cloth. Because lore says it absorbs what it protects you from, many people cleanse it often, with smoke, sound, or a night on selenite rather than water.
Explore Related Collections
Jet sits with the other black protectors, black tourmaline, black obsidian, and onyx, all gathered under protection crystals. For the azabache tradition see evil eye protection and amulets and talismans, and browse the wider protection collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is jet stone?
Jet is a gem-quality form of lignite, fossilized wood from trees of the Araucaria family compressed over millions of years. The best-known sources are Whitby in England and Asturias in Spain. It is organic, like amber and pearl, not a mineral.
What is azabache?
Azabache is the Spanish word for jet. In Spain, Latin America, and the Caribbean it refers both to the material and to the small jet amulets, usually a fist, worn to protect against the evil eye.
How can I tell real jet from glass or plastic?
Real jet is very light, warm to the touch, and leaves a brown streak on unglazed porcelain. Glass is cold and heavy; plastic is light but smells of chemicals when rubbed hard or touched with a hot pin.
What does jet mean spiritually?
Protection, absorbing negativity, and comfort in grief. It is a root chakra stone and one of the traditional materials of European and Latin American protective magic.
Can jet go in water?
A quick wipe with a damp cloth is fine, but do not soak it. Jet is organic and can dry out and crack if wetted and dried repeatedly.
What should I do if my azabache breaks?
Tradition says a cracked or broken azabache has absorbed what it was meant to stop. Thank it, bury or discard it, and replace it with a new one.
