G E M S T O N E   M E D I C I N E

Gemstone Medicine

Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by the brilliance and beautiful colours of gemstones. Priests and kings adorned themselves with them to underline their social position. Magic and healing powers were and are again attributed to them today. Gemstones were used in Shaman rituals and in Indian medicine. Today, they still play an important role as "birthstones", which supposedly belong to the respective sign of the zodiac. In India, wearing "one's" precious or semi-precious stone is still a widespread tradition today.
In all major Western cities, one can find shops which sell esoteric items and offer gemstones. In the gemstone books offered, one can find information about the effectiveness of certain stones, which may even be used to change one's personality, e.g. beryl is said to render someone tolerable. Detailed instructions are also given for the treatment of certain diseases. Rock crystal is said to help with thyroid dysfunctions, jasper with heart problems and agate with epilepsy. Gemstone medicine is often used for "self-healing". Generally, whole stones are placed on the body. Powdered stones or even homeopathically diluted solutions are rarely used.

In her "Physica", Hildegard von Bingen describes the application of various stones, especially those also mentioned in the Bible. But the authorship of this part of the "Physica" remains questionable. Some representatives of Hildegard's medicine have, however, contributed to the fact that this form is presented in a distorted way and misused by esotericism. It should be mentioned here that precious stones are indeed found in the Bible, but only as jewellery or as symbols.

Nowadays, religious, naturalistic and esoteric ideas are mixed in the medical use of gemstones. Hildegard medicine holds the view, which was widely spread in the Middle Ages, that gemstones are products of the fourth day of creation and as such are connected with the healing work of the Creator.
Then one finds the naturalistic view that gemstones, as their growth lasts so long, bear special powers that can only be beneficial to man. They purify water, plants grow better, and thus their healing effect is also confirmed.

Then again, the ideas of the New Age are predominant. The "energetic power" of thoughts could "programme" the stones. These, when placed on the body, supposedly open the "energetic channels" in the sick person, through which the "positive", "healing" information is then absorbed by the body. Special energies are said to unfold at the chakras, which, according to the Indian concept, represent the seven energy centres of the body. Gemstones are also placed in water to enrich it with "cosmic energy". These solutions are taken drop by drop for certain conditions.

Because of their electromagnetic properties, gemstones are also used in modern technology. The various explanations of the healing effect of gemstones range from medieval religious ideas, according to which gemstones by their nature are enemies of evil and can therefore only do good, to pseudo-scientific views that attribute their effect to electromagnetic fields and radiations which are supposed to balance "disharmonious information" in an illness, to the purely magical practices of New Age, in which positive thoughts are transferred to the stones and as such exert their healing effect.

Risks

Wearing gemstones is harmless, but in case of insufficient diagnosis, and if correct medical treatment is not given, there is a risk of health damage.
For the Christian, there are also spiritual dangers, which are always present where one enters the playing field of New Age. Many of the recommended practices, however, are not justifiable neither scientifically nor from a Christian perspective.