Moonstone: Benefits, Uses & Dosage

If your mood seems to rise and fall with the moon, Ayurveda has a stone it points you toward. Moonstone is the gem the tradition links most closely to the emotions and to the lunar cycle.

Moonstone, called Chandrakanta in Sanskrit, is a gray or white stone. It belongs to Ayurvedic gem therapy (Ratna Chikitsa), the branch of the tradition that uses stones as supports worn on the body rather than as medicines taken by mouth.

The tradition describes Moonstone as absorbing lunar energy, with a cooling quality that calms the mind. Its elements are recorded as Water, Air and Ether, and it is said to be closely related to the emotions and to the body's water.

Moonstone's uses in Ayurveda are energetic, not medical. Treat each one below as part of the traditional gem therapy framework, an adjunct to herbs, diet and lifestyle rather than a treatment.

Emotional Stress and Lunar Upsets

This is Moonstone's clearest indication. The tradition says that a person suffering from emotional stress who feels upset at the new or full moon should wear a Moonstone. Read more on our Moonstone for stress page and our stress hub.

Calming the Mind

Moonstone is described as calming the mind. Because it is tied to the emotions and to bodily water, it is traditionally chosen for people who feel emotionally sensitive and easily flooded.

Cooling Pitta

Its cooling energy is said to relieve Pitta, the dosha (body-mind energy) of heat and intensity. That makes it a traditional choice when stress shows up as irritability or a sense of burning.

Settling Vata

Moonstone is also said to relieve disturbed Vata, the dosha of movement, which in excess shows up as restlessness and anxiety.

Moonstone is worn, not swallowed. The tradition gives one clear method: set the stone in a silver ring and wear it on the right ring-finger.

Our sources record no internal preparation of Moonstone. If anyone offers you a Moonstone product to take by mouth, do not use it without close supervision from a qualified practitioner.

Our Moonstone for stress page covers wearing it alongside a wider stress routine.

Worn as a ring, Moonstone carries no physical risk in our sources. The one caution the tradition records is energetic: Moonstone aggravates Kapha, the heavy, stable, moist dosha.

So if your stress tends to look heavy, dull and sluggish, the Kapha pattern, the tradition says this is not your stone. Its cooling, watery character would add to the problem.

No ingested use is recorded, so do not take Moonstone internally except under a qualified practitioner's supervision. And a gem is never a substitute for professional care if stress, anxiety or low mood is severe or persistent.

Moonstone is a gem, so the useful comparisons are about how it fits alongside the rest of an Ayurvedic routine rather than herb against herb.

Because Moonstone is worn rather than taken internally, the main question for any group is whether its energetic profile fits, and our sources give no population-specific guidance.

Pregnancy & Nursing

No cautions are recorded for wearing Moonstone. Do not take any Moonstone preparation internally while pregnant or nursing.

Children

Our sources say nothing about children. Wearing is the only recorded use; never give a child any ingested gem preparation.

Elderly

The same rule applies as for anyone: Moonstone suits Vata and Pitta patterns and aggravates Kapha, so consider which pattern dominates.

Athletes

Our sources record no use of Moonstone for strength, stamina or recovery.

Moonstone is gray or white in color. This stone absorbs lunar energy. It calms the mind and its cooling energy relieves pitta.

Elements: Water, Air and Ether.

Moonstone is closely related to the human emotions and affects bodily water. If a person is suffering from emotional stress and experiences upsets at the new or full moon, he should wear a moonstone. Moonstone will relieve disturbed vata as well as pitta; however, it will aggravate kapha.

How to wear: Should be set in a silver ring on the right ring-finger.