The Uses of Moonstone

Moonstone is a translucent gem typically found in Sri Lanka, Brazil, Madagascar, India, Germany, Tanzania, Mexico, Australia and the United States.Moonstone, which contains potassium aluminum silicate, comes in varying colors and degrees of shimmer. There is powerful folklore associated with moonstone, and virtually every culture in the world has a belief about moonstone's unique healing capabilities. Of course, the use of gems is an alternative method and has not been clinically proven to replace traditional medicine.

Medicinal Benefits

• Moonstone may promote health during pregnancy.

  Because the moon is traditionally associated with feminine energy, folklore suggests that moonstone is especially good for conditions specific to women: menstrual cramps, infertility, hormone imbalance, and health during pregnancy. It is also rumored to reduce anxiety, enhance libido, promote healthy digestion, and detoxify the body.

Metaphysical Benefits

• Moonstone may help balance yin and yang energies.

  Moonstone has countless purported metaphysical benefits. While moonstone is strongly representative of the goddess or the divine feminine, it is also typically used for balancing male and female energies for people of both sexes. It stimulates intuition as well as dreaming and the psychic mind. It promotes courage in the face of change. Moonstone may reunite lovers who have fallen out and can increase self-confidence and sensuality. In general, it is a stone to promote a calm, peaceful mind, and to encourage faith in one's higher knowledge.

Jewelry-making

• Moonstone is a popular gem used in jewelry. It is the June birthstone, but it was also quite common as an engagement ring during Victorian times, due to the belief that moonstone could calm quarreling lovers or stir romance. Depending on the size and setting of the moonstone, jewelry can cost from ten dollars to the low hundreds. The rarer the stone, the more expensive the jewelry. Jewelry made with Sri Lankan moonstone, which is the most rare, can cost well over $1,000.

How to Use Moonstone

• Folk medicine claims that simply being present with the moonstone can heal illness and imbalance on the physical and metaphysical levels. To redeem these properties, one can wear the moonstone as a talisman around the neck, carry the stone in his pocket, or simply hold the stone during meditation or prayer. While making physical contact with the moonstone facilitates an energy transfer that has powerful healing potential, one can also place moonstone on his altar during a ritual to gain the same benefits.