Selecting therapeutic gemstones
Gem therapy requires clean, high quality gemstones to work properly, and these are in most cases quite hard to identify and obtain. That is why it is recommended to leave the selection of appropriate gemstones to professionals. When it comes to considerations like shape, size and colour hue however, these are more flexible for the most part and can be selected according to personal tastes.
Even when properly selected however, the particular gemstone in question can sometimes be incompatible with the person and cause side effects. For this reason, a test period of at least 1 week is required to verify the stone’s compatibility. For information on how to test a gemstone for compatibility, please refer to the “How to wear therapeutic gemstones” section below.
When should they be worn and for how long?
Therapeutic gemstones should be worn 24/7 as their effect is cumulative and gets stronger over time. The only time when they should be taken off is when visiting a cemetery.
While the recommended gemstones can be worn throughout life unless otherwise specified, they will “anchor” their effect within a couple of years of constant use after which the problems they were meant to solve will no longer return. The gemstones will also get spent after several years of use, and will have to be replaced to restore their effects.
In rare cases, it is well documented that a gemstone breaks or is lost within weeks or months of its use. This is in fact not a bad thing as it usually coincides with an accident that was avoided or a serious problem that gets solved, hence the gemstone still did its job. In other cases, gemstones get lost for a while only to be found at a later date. It is still unclear why this happens.
How to wear therapeutic gemstones
Therapeutic gemstones work only when constantly close to the skin and never taken off. As such, they can be worn in rings, bracelets, armlets and pendants, but earrings and piercings are unsuitable for the most part. Prior to setting them in jewellery however, it is highly recommended to test the selected gemstones to verify their compatibility with the wearer.
During the testing period, the gemstone can be bandaged to the wearers arm, hung in a temporary pendant or even carried in the Pocket. It cannot however be kept in a locket, wallet or any other container with thick walls, as those will negate its effect. If desired, the gemstone can remain in such a temporary setting and work just as well as when permanently set in jewellery.
Setting therapeutic gemstones in jewellery
Jewellery made for setting therapeutic gemstone must be made with the correct metal for that particular stone, with every stone having specific metals which are best suited for its properties. It must also be made in such a way that the back of the stone is exposed to the wearer, otherwise the metal will block its effect.
Several types of gems can be set in the same piece of jewellery, as long as they are compatible with each other and with the metal from which they are made. In most cases gemstones are divided into two compatibility groups. The first contains Sun, Moon, Mars and Jupiter gems, while the second contains Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu gems. Gems within each group are compatible with each other but mixing groups is usually not recommended. In addition it is generally a bad idea to mix main and secondary gemstones together, as it often leads to side effects.
Appropriate metals for each gemstone type
Sun gemstones work best when set in 18k red gold or high carat gold (21k and up).
Moon gemstones work best when set in silver.
Mercury gemstones work best when set in gold alloys, brass or high carat gold.
Venus gemstones work best when set in silver, white gold or high carat gold.
Mars gemstones work best when set in 18k red gold, copper or high carat gold.
Jupiter gemstones work best when set in high carat gold.
Saturn gemstones work best when set in steel, silver or white gold.
Rahu gemstones work best when set in steel, exotic alloys or silver.
Ketu gemstones work best when set in exotic alloys, silver or copper.
How to clean and maintain therapeutic gemstones
Prior to use and every few months, therapeutic gemstones must be soaked in filtered water overnight. Appropriate water sources include wells, springs, and streams, as well as bottled water and reverse osmosis. They must also be soaked after high altitude flights (such as in pressurized airplanes), as those cause them to lose their effect.
For a more thorough cleaning, it is possible to rinse them with soap and water but harsher chemicals can damage certain types of stones and metals and are generally to be avoided. In addition, while normally the gemstones should remain on the wearer 24/7, they should be taken off prior to visiting cemeteries. If for any reason the gemstone was inside a cemetery, it is unsafe for further use and should be buried or thrown in a river or lake.