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Topic: Knowledge Center
Gem Therapy
By Katherine Stewart
Dazzling red ruby, scintillating sapphire, the sheen of polished platinum – we all know that gemstones and minerals look good. But are they actually good for you? The ancients certainly thought so. Now some modern medical researchers, along with a handful of adventurous healers, are beginning to consider the possibilities
THE LORE OF THE ANCIENTS
Humankind’s fascination with jewels is universal. Their rarity, durability, exquisite hues, and the play of light within them would alone have made them objects of desire the world over. They have long represented wealth and the privileges that it confers: prestige, security, and freedom. But their otherworldly beauty and resilience also inspires beliefs in gemstones’ metaphysical qualities of gemstones.
The lore surrounding these precious stones is as old as the hills in which they were forged. From Egyptian burial sites to the ruins of Ancient Greece, from devotional Indian art to manuscripts of ancientChina, from excavations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Americas comes evidence that gems have been used as adornment, currency, and weaponry for at least 20,000 years. Also from the ancients comes the idea that gemstones are valuable tools in casting spells, in attracting love, luck, and power, and in healing the body and spirit.
According to The Healing Power of Gemstones: In Tantra, Ayurveda, and Astrology by Harish Johari (Destiny Books, 1988), much research on the healing powers of gemstones was performed by the Tantrics – the practitioners of the science of Tantra, an ancient Indian philosophy that arose in opposition to some of the orthodoxies of the Vedic tradition. Many of those discoveries were recorded in Ayurvedic texts, including the Reg Veda, the Puranas, and other manuscripts. “Ancient scriptures from across the world have praised gems as powerful agents of energy that influence human fate and destiny, induce good energy, and expel negative energy that produces sickness, suffering, and psychosis,” Johari writes. “Gems are regarded as bringers of peace and happiness.”
An understanding of how gemstones are formed gives such theories a clearer shape. With the exception of pearls and coral, gems are formed out of minerals in the earth’s molten core, under conditions of extreme pressure and heat. All gemstones, therefore, are energy in crystalline form. Because they are composed of minerals that emit electrical charges, they absorb and transmit energy as frequencies.
The electromagnetic fields of gemstones, some say, can influence the environment in subtle ways, and may even have the power to sway human affairs. Through contact with the skin, a gemstone may bring about changes in energy, affect body chemistry, transform emotions, and even play a role in warding off sickness.
One of the concepts that emerged from the Tantrics was a nexus between gemology, astrology, and anatomy. The Tantrics believed that gemstones have associative ruling planets. Those planets in turn exert gravitational, electrical, and magnetic influence on the body’s different chakras, or energy centers.
Ancient Indian gemologists understood that white light is in fact comprised of seven primary colors, as well as two secondary colors: infra-red, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and ultra-violet. “These nine colors are understood to be the cosmic matrix and very essence of the nine planets; and it is through these colors that the planets radiate their energy and influence,” says Richard S. Brown, author of Ancient Astrological Gemstones & Talismans: The Complete Science of Planetary Gemology (Torchlight, 1996). “It is important to note that the wave length of light emanating from the colored-light emanating from the nine planets is believed to match those radiating from each planet’s corresponding gemstones. For example, the wave length of light emanating from the Sun is identical to that exhibited by a ruby – both are red.”
Brown and others believe that different jewels can strengthen and support different parts of the body, and therefore enhance various human qualities. As gemstones are said to constitute the most condensed form of concentrated color, color plays a key role in healing. Gems, they say, emanate the rays needed by each chakra to revitalize cells that are not functioning properly.
JEWELS, PLANETS, AND CHAKRAS
As aforementioned, the Sun is associated with the cosmic color of rubies and other natural red gems. Red color waves are hot, and are said to help cure diseases such as the cold, the flu, low blood pressure, and other illnesses said to be caused by too much cold or moisture in the body. Solar gemstones are also said to help banish depression and enhance feelings of courage.
The moon also has corresponding gemstones. Lunar gems are said to transmit the color orange – a color whose waves are cold and therefore useful in treating disorders caused by excessive heat in the body, particularly a stressed mental state. Gemstones ruled by the moon include natural pearl and moonstone.
With its corresponding color of yellow, Jupiter jewels such as yellow sapphire, topaz, and citrine are frequently worn to balance the endocrine system and are believed to help increase one’s fortune and enhance feelings of security. Green gemstones such as emerald, tsavorite, peridot, and green jade are governed by the planet Mercury; they can enhance psychic power, strengthen the nervous system, improve memory, and protect the wearer from envy of others.
PRECIOUS STONES
While linking of gemstones to the planets was a feature of this strain of Indian philosophy, other cultures had their own theories about the reverence of gemstones that were independent of such specifically cosmic connections. Special praise has always been reserved for sapphires, rubies, diamonds, and emeralds, the rarest and most valued of jewels
Early Christian philosopher Epiphanious extolled the medicinal properties of sapphires, which, he said, in powdered form would heal sores and boils. “It is written also in the Law that the vision seen by Moses in the Mount, and the Law given there unto him were made out of the Stone, Sapphire.”
In the Middle Ages, people believed that emeralds could restore sight and memory. They also believed that an emerald could change color if a lover was faithless, and could send evil spirits howling back into space. "The Emeraude passeth all grene thynges of grenesse," says one passage of medieval script, "the finest come from the flode of Paradyse terrestre."
Diamonds were highly prized during the Middle Ages, adorning the robes, thrones, and crowns of kings. Diamonds were believed to be an antidote to all poisons when worn on the middle finger, and were thus widely used in jewelry. But a diamond was also believed to be fatal if swallowed. In fact, powered diamonds were among the poisons (which also included sulfuric acid) administered to poet and essayist Sir Thomas Overbury when he was imprisoned in the Tower of Londonin 1613.
Rubies also posses a special place in history and lore. Of a virtuous woman, Biblical King Lemuel, of the Old Testament, famously said that her price is far “above rubies, for wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.”
Crystalline quartz is among the most abundant minerals in the Earth’s crust. There are numerous varieties and hues of this multifaceted mineral, including amethyst, citrine, onyx, jasper, and agate. But when most people hear the word “quartz” they think of rose quartz, which has a pinkish hue, or clear quartz, whose coloring ranges from a clear-to milky white. The word “crystal” comes from the Greek word “krystallos,” meaning ice or purity. Quartz is believed to enhance energy by absorbing, storing, balancing, and transmitting. It is said to channel universal energy, and crystals in the home or other spaces are thought to foster a sense of peace or balance. Because it amplifies energy, quartz is frequently used as a tool for meditation and healing. Elemis uses Quartz in the Pro-Collagen Quartz-Lifting range. According to Noella Gabriel, Director of Product Development for Elemis, “Quartz is a conductor and speeds up the skins response, carries the actives and the skin being a sensory organ it responds to this stimulus. It also speeds up cell turnover which is a key function in age maintenance.” When it comes to skin, due to its benefits, Quartz is just as precious as Diamonds.
Similarly, moonstones were also prized throughout history. The Romans, who thought the stone was formed out of rays of moonlight, believed its wearers would receive wisdom, riches, and success in battle.
Jade, too, has a rich and complex history. In China, the word for Jade means “most beautiful stone” -- indeed, in China, jade was believed to represent virtue, wisdom, and courage.
PRECIOUS METALS
No less valued than gemstones, of course, were precious metals. Most people know that they form the basis for currency, as well as providing durable and attractive settings for precious jewelry. But they also have important roles in preserving human health.
Gold is widely used in dental medicine, and gold injections have been used to fighting arthritis in certain types of sufferers for over 80 years. More recently, platinum, the purest and rarest precious metal in the world, has been enlisted by modern medicine in the fight against cancer. The Yale School of Medicine, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and other top research facilities are furthering knowledge of this unique ingredient’s uses as a medical tool.
At the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Baltimore Maryland, cancer specialist Dr. Gary Cohen says that platinum has been used since the 1970s to help treat ovarian and testicular cancers. Currently, platinum-based chemotherapy is being used to treat lung and colon cancers as well. “Platinum affects the DNA and RNA in cells,” explains Dr. Cohen. “Since cancer cells are more actively dividing than normal cells, the platinum destroys the DNA and destroys the cell.”
Topically applied, platinum is believed to have remarkable beauty benefits, tightening and hydrating the skin. At the Eau Spa at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach Florida, the Bejeweled Collection of facials pairs the anti-aging benefits of platinum with the healing properties of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Gemstone-infused elixirs are applied to the skin and imbibed by guests, and thin sheets of pure platinum are painted onto the face, reducing pore size, softening the skin and promoting healthy cell turnover.
While the Eau Spa’s Bejeweled Collection of facial and body treatments is unabashedly luxurious, it is also rooted in ancient philosophies as well as up-to-the-minute medical research. In fact, these carefully crafted rituals of renewal have their genesis in the work of Fredericka Fairchild, a Shelter Island, New York-based psychotherapist with degrees in religion, philosophy, and clinical psychology and who has extensive knowledge of both eastern and western mysticism.
Fairchild creates homeopathic elixirs, employed in the Eau Spa’s Bejeweled Collection, that impart the healing properties of various stones. Distilled in crystal bowls and sunlight during new and full moons in the tradition of Tibetan Medicine, each elixir is intended to balance the chakras and have specific nourishing effects on the mind, body, and spirit. Each formula alters a guest’s state of consciousness in a particular manner. For example, the Awaken Diamond formula, when imbibed or applied to the body, triggers neurological brain responses that lead to clarity of mind, enhanced memory, and focus. The ruby formula is increases the user’s state of motivation and stimulates feelings of inspiration.
Fairchild was inspired by the the yoginis of ancient Tibet, described in Buddhist texts as being in such a purified state of consciousness that they would eschew food and instead drink gemstone-infused waters to nourish themselves spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
“I don’t think we ever lose the knowledge that people have had throughout history;” says Fairchild. “It may go underground but will once again emerge whenever a culture is ready for it. The knowledge that we have in these waters is ancient, but we are actually ready for it again, and it is being brought into our time.”
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