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What is Gemstone?
Gemstones and crystals have been used
through out history for everything from
adorning a shield or armor to aiding in the
healing process for everything from broken
bones to the plague and back again.
Different cultures have placed differing
values on each gemstones meaning in some
cases and in others it is almost amazing
that two cultures so vastly different could
come up with the same concepts.
If you have ever experienced the feeling of
spotting a special looking stone sticking out of
the dirt or laying at the waters edge, you
understand the mystical power these gifts of
nature have to communicate with us in non-verbal
ways, for the gemstone called out to you, asking
you to find it and take advantage of the healing
properties held within the mysterious gemstone
meanings. You may not yet know exactly what this
particular gemstone meanings hold, but even
without that specific knowledge, you already
know the stone is special.
A gemstone or gem is a piece of attractive mineral,
which—when cut and polished—is used to make
jewelry and astrological purposes. However
certain rocks, (such as lapis-lazuli) and
organic materials (such as amber or jet) are not
minerals, but are still used for jewelry, and
are therefore often considered being gemstones
as well.
Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in
jewelry because of their luster or other
physical properties that have aesthetic value.
Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a
gemstone. Apart from jewelry, from earliest
antiquity until the 19th century engraved gems
and hard-stone carvings such as cups were major
luxury art forms; the carvings of Carl Faberge
were the last significant works in this
tradition.
Gemstones are the purest and most concentrated substances
found in natural form in Nature. There are
hundreds of varieties in stones, greatly varying
in quality and availability. Gemstones are
usually used as remedial measure by wearing
them. Each gem is associated with one of the
planets. By having the gem in the proximity of
the body, the body is effected by it's
qualities. The effect of a gemstone is two fold:
- it enlivens the effects of the corresponding
planet in the chart - it purifies or worsens the
quality of the planet it relates to The first
type of effect is true of wearing or holding any
object that is related to a particular planet.
Wearing red clothes, driving a red car, or having red
furniture will enliven Mars. The same is true
for wearing a stone such as red coral. Whatever
planet the object or gem is associated with,
will become more active in life. For this reason
alone, the gems associated with malefics are not
recommended less often.
However, that planet may have very good lordships in the
chart which outweighs its natural malefic
tendency. For example for a chart with Cancer
Lagna, Mars is the yoga karaka, ruling the 5th
and 10th houses. Wearing red or wearing a red
coral will enliven Mars as well as these 2
houses, and will generally be favorable. The
second type of effect is dependant on the
quality of the stone. A stone that is of
inferior quality may enliven just that, the
lesser desired qualities in the planet! A pure
stone will help to "set the example" and will
introduce the body and mind to a coherent
expression of the planet in physical form. Just
like homoeopathic medicine can stimulate the
body through very small quantities of medicine,
a proper and pure gem can stimulate auspicious
manifestations of the planet. |
