Someone asks this every week, and the honest answer has two parts: the tradition, and the thing the tradition is actually for.
Start with the sign, not the stone
In Chinese zodiac tradition each of the twelve signs has a stone tied to it, and each has a colour. The colour matters as much as the stone — it is what makes a pair of objects read as a set, and it is why we ask for your sign before we ask anything else.
The twelve
| Sign | Stone | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| Rat 鼠 | Garnet | Deep red |
| Ox 牛 | Aquamarine | Pale blue |
| Tiger 虎 | Amber | Amber gold |
| Rabbit 兔 | Moonstone | Pearl white |
| Dragon 龙 | Amethyst | Violet |
| Snake 蛇 | Jade | Jade green |
| Horse 马 | Topaz | Golden |
| Goat 羊 | Obsidian | Ink black |
| Monkey 猴 | Peridot | Lime green |
| Rooster 鸡 | Citrine | Citrine yellow |
| Dog 狗 | Rose quartz | Blush pink |
| Pig 猪 | Lapis | Deep blue |
How to use it
The stone does not do anything on its own. What it does is give a shape to something you were already carrying — a year that has been heavy, a person you think about on the walk home. You put it somewhere you will see it, and it reminds you.
That is the whole practice. We pair your sign’s stone with a red-string bracelet in the same colour, because a pair is easier to keep than a single object. See the Zodiac Guardian sets.
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