Myths, knowledge and the young science of gemstone healing

About gemstone healing:

Besides their obvious magic and beauty, gems have a vast heritage of healing power. All cultures, religions and times valued gems to prevent illness, misfortune, and to positively influence the spirit of the wearer.

From the shamans of American Indians to the astrologers of Hindu cultures, from the headmen of the Celts to the ghostmen of the Aborigines, they all have used stones to cure, heal and protect.

Formerly a secret that was passed on from generation to generation, this knowledge has now become a worldwide movement which, across languages and cultures, is dedicated to the re-enforcement of our spiritual self-consciousness.

How does a gemstone heal?

I sometimes get asked: "How could a gemstone possibly heal a sickness?"

People who quickly dismiss the old wisdom of healers with contemptuously raised eyebrows, either think science can (or should) explain all there is, or they have never been really sick (despite, or especially because of modern medicine).

To start with, a gemstone influences the light pattern of your body and the energy of your aura. Depending on your constellation, your karma or your walk of life a color might be too dominant or underrepresented in you and thus disturb your inner balance. Keeping the colors of your aura in a state of equilibrium is important for your ability to keep off negative thoughts and add positively to your karma.

Though we have yet to understand the connection between color and the human brain, quantum physics has come up with a first notion of how colors may influence us on a atomic level.

Here are the basics, as far as we understand them today:

Matter is not as solid as it appears to us. In fact, matter can also be understood as energy stored in form of particles
All energy reveals itself in different wave forms such as heat, light or radiation.
Color too is a wave form. A gemstone may thus be seen as stored energy (matter) of a certain wave length
Human emotions and physical processes are based on energy and information, which also is transferred in wave forms
Hence, colors may have a direct physical influence on the human mind and body

Boldly summarized we can see the following equation, or dimension:

"Matter = Energy = Waveform = Color"

The fact that gemstones combine the most durable matter on earth and the most intense colors, may explain their universal influence and their outstanding position in mythology.

Equally important, a gemstone helps you to focus and stay in the present moment. Not to be troubled by an imagined future (which we can not control), nor to be burdened by a past (which we can not change) is the path to happiness and health.

Gemstones are not touched by time. A gemstone is the most eternal physical matter we know. The moment you look into a real gemstone, time stands still and the world ceases to trouble you. Try it.

Nothing is as satisfying as the timeless look into a gemstone, except meditation. Gemstones teach you that time is relative or even an imagination of the mind.

However, in my personal opinion, gemstone healing is best combined with other traditional healing concept such as yoga or acupuncture.

Change and healing do not come from the outside alone, but must also come from within. A gemstone will support a disciplined and focused self development, but it will not replace it.

Embedded in a spiritual learning process, gemstones are a powerful healing tool leading to an enhanced self-perception and healthier body awareness.

Live skillfully and with compassion. Compassion for yourself and all that is connected to you.

Life is too short to be in a hurry.

Three basic rules for healing stones:

1. For Jyotish colors to become part of your aura the stone must be of good clarity. In terms of grading they should be free of inclusions or slightly included. Too many inclusions disturb the transmission of rays and create an undesirable effect.

It is better to sacrifice size than clarity if you have a budget to mind. Exceptions are cat's eye and moonstone which are included but reorder light into the eye effect, red coral and pearl which have captured organic not cosmic energy. Furthermore hessonite shows swirls that are not inclusions but a unique internal structure.

2. For gemstones to transmit planetary colors and energy they must be natural. A healing gem needs millions of years of tectonic pressure, earth rays and planetary energy to capture the energy that it needs to heal or protect.

This rules out all lab-created, flux grown, flame-fused gems or any other commercial side products. Synthetic gems are created within days or weeks and are not effective as Vedic gems or healing stones whatsoever.

The same counts for treated stones like London blue topaz, citrine and most sapphire. In the best case treatments condense a process that requires millions of years into minutes of artificially heat or irradiation. In most cases treatments just mimic a natural process in his outcome and in the worst case a treated gem might be even harmful for your health.

Time is an essential part of all cosmic energy. If a gemstone has not had the time to absorb energy he will not be able to transmit it. Be aware that most red coral has been treated too.

Gemtrader have reported of healers who (hands-on) picked the untreated stones out of a parcel of mixed sapphires. This is quite a miracle, because an ordinary gemologist needs years of experience and thousand of dollars of high-tech equipment to test a gem on treatment.

We had a similar experience when we did Reiki on our stones. The Reiki-women (though she knew nothing of gems, and we didn't say anything) sensed a different energy level between treated and untreated stones.

In fact, the energy emitted by our untreated stones was so strong, that she nearly fainted sometimes. But when we smuggled in a treated sapphire, she hesitated, looked up, and asked:

"What is this?"

3. Furthermore one should be conscious of the karma connected to a gemstone. Healing stones shall not, unlike most gems, be tortured from earth or the people who mine them.

We cannot expect to cure ourselves while destroying nature and harming others or future generations.

To summarize: A healing gemstone...

... is very slightly or not included (except cat's eye, moonstone, pearl and coral)
... is not synthetic or treated in any way
... has not caused harm to nature or humans

To decide for a Jyotish gemstone you may consult a healer or an astrologer. They will prescribe you one or several gemstone varieties that positively influence your color balance.

If you practice the art of skillful living you will know how to use a gem to stay in the moment.

Ask us if you need advice on choosing a healing stone.

Indian astrology goes much further and cures physical illnesses with gemstones. If you are interested in this topic, here is a comprehensive introduction into traditional Indian gem astrology including an alphabetic list of common diseases, their traditional gemstone remedies. (1 rattu is 0.9 carat)

Learn more about gemstone therapy and medicine by visiting the Gemstone Therapy Institute.