The History and Folklore of Jaspers

The jasper had great repute in ancient times as a rain-bringer, and the fourth century author of "Lithica" celebrates this quality in the following lines (King's version in his Natural History of Precious Stones, London, 1865.):

"The gods propitious hearken to his prayers,

Whoe'er the polished grass-green jasper wears;

His parched glebe they'll satiate with rain,

And send for showers to soak the thirsty plain."

Evidently the green hue of this translucent stone suggested its association with the verdure of the fields in an even closer degree than was the case with transparent green stones such as the emerald, etc. Another early authority, Damigeron, mentions this belief, and states that only when properly consecrated would the jasper do service in this way. (Pitra, "Specilegium Solesmense," Parisiis, 1855.) Jasper was also credited in the fourth century with the virtue of driving away evil spirits and protecting those who wore it form the bites of venomous creatures. (Epiphanius, "De XII gemmis," Tiguri, 1565, fols. 7, 8.) An anonymous German author of the eleventh or twelfth century recommends the use of this stone for the cure of snake bites, and states that if it be placed upon the bitten part the matter will come out from the wound. (Birlinger, "Kleinere deutsche Sprachdenkmaler," in Germania, vol. viii (1863).) Here the cure is operated, not by the absorbent quality of the stone, but by its supposed power to attract poison or venom to itself, thus removing the cause of disease.