by Mark Havenner

Created on: May 29, 2007

As our culture moves more and more toward health and wellness, ancient healing arts have come forward. What many societies have been doing for thousands of years is only now becoming accepted in the western world. Acupuncture, shiatsu, yoga, aromatherapy, reflexology, and herbology are now commonly practiced. Modern medicine cabinets include Echinacea and Aloe Vera, bookshelves hold yoga instructional videos and insurance companies discount acupuncture sessions. With the exception of a small discourse, gemstone therapy has somehow been underestimated and has not seen the same rise as other ancient therapies. There may be many reasons for this.

Can Gemstone Therapy Be Taken Seriously?
The ritualistic uses and the therapeutic uses of gemstones have been often combined into a single stereotype. Those who wear crystals for protection or other philosophical and religious reasons are many times classified as superstitious and nave and subsequently, those who use gemstones for healing are classified as the same. This stereotype may be the result of the New Age movement and its emphasis on the ethereal aspects of gemstones, which, for many, requires a leap of faith. Our scientific minds have a difficult time accepting that a rock can do anything at all to a body except bruise it when thrown. Others have put blind faith into gemstones, not deriving their true functions nor finding credible resources for why they "protect" or "ground". People use Aloe Vera because it heals wounds and they use acupuncture because it releases energetic blockages, but they do not use gemstones because the definitions are faith-driven assumptions rather then "cause and effect".
Cynics may avoid gemstone therapy because it is too closely attached to ritual and faith, and there is no clear evidence of their successful functionality. These same cynics, however, use rituals in gemstones whenever they are married, coin a birthstone for their children, pass on heirlooms, or even decorate their homes. Diamonds represent the bond of marriage and ritualistically bless a couple for their life journey. Gemstones have an affinity to astrology and seem to attract people of certain months. Heirlooms are treasured more than most other possessions, notwithstanding their monetary value. Geodes and other decorative stones add a sense of serenity to a home. Even the popular art of Feng Shui recommends the use of crystals to direct energy in a room.
Our civilization comes from a long line of gemstone usage. Native

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