Guest Post by Prasenjit Sarcar

Readers will remember Prasenjit Sarcar’s previous post on Rahu Mahadasha.

https://snehajha.com/rahu-mahadasha-the-dreaded-18-years-prasenjit-sarcar/

To those who are coming across his post for first time, he is a well-known Vedic Astrologer and Planetary Gemologist.
He can be reached at astrologykba@gmail.com and his Quora Profile is linked below.

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Since, readers are often confused about the usage of gemstones for astrological remedies, this post should clarify some of the most commonly raised doubts on the subject.

Gemstones are the most practically usable, most potent physical manifestation of the planet that it refers to. Wearing a gemstone literally means asking that planet to come and reside with you, 24×7, or as long as you are wearing the gem.

Now, just like human beings, each planet has multiple facets of its personality – good, bad, and ugly. And like humans, they will continue to manifest their characteristics, where ever and with whomsoever they are. So when you invite a planet to come and literally reside with you via their gem manifestation, they bring their entire persona, both good and bad, to you.

A gemstone simply amplifies or strengthens a planet’s holistic energy on the person wearing it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Astrologically, certain gemstones have been observed to be the most practical and potent representation of specific planets. Ruby or Rubellite/Rhodolite for Sun, Emerald or Peridot for Mercury, Blue Sapphire or Iolite for Saturn, and so on. Wearing a gemstone literally means having the raw energy of the concerned planet living with you 24/7.

Now gemstones have a singular purpose – amplifying or strengthening the planetary qualities within you. Wearing a gemstone does not turn an ill-disposed planet into a positive one. So when you invite the planet to reside on your own self (via the gemstone), you implicitly also accept both the positive and negative qualities of that planet to stay with you, continuously.

For example, if Jupiter is supposed to make you wise, helpful, and traditional via a Yellow Sapphire, it will also make you inactive, proud, and obese. With gemstones, you do not have the choice to accept only the goods and reject the bads. That’s because gemstones work unidirectionally like one-way traffic – it can only increase the strength of that planet.

But an increase in strength or becoming more powerful does not necessarily improve everything, all-around. In fact, there is always a tradeoff if you observe closely.

If a school teacher wins a municipality election and devotes himself to the service of the constituency, the community certainly benefits. At the same time, both their family and students suffer because this politician now has less time for their home and school, at the cost of public service. Similarly, if a knife-wielding local goon suddenly gets to possess a gun and goes about terrorizing people, the common man may suffer but the goon’s family gets greater security because no one will mess with them easily.

This is why recommending the correct gemstone is more of an art than an exact science. Gem therapy will certainly bring about changes to the concerned individual in most cases, but the extent and manner in which results will manifest need to be carefully considered. Balancing the trade-off holds the key.

Now coming to the question – “are gemstones suitable for every individual”, the brutally honest answer is “it depends”. And am not avoiding a direct answer because, in reality, several factors need to be considered before a gem recommendation.

1. Disposition towards Lagna Lord: The ascendant lord is the most beneficial planet in any horoscope. Since the ascendant represents the self or the individual, the recommended gemstone must always be friendly or favorably disposed towards the ascendant lord. In most cases, these are the trine lords, as the trines (1,5,9) share the same qualities.
2. Placement in the Horoscope: Ideally the planet should be prominently placed in the horoscope (Kendra or Trines) and not posited in the Trik or Dusthana houses under malefic influences. If a planet is heavily afflicted, wearing its gemstone (gaining strength) will also increase the affliction. It will not turn a bad planet into good just because it became powerful.
3. The Mooltrikon Sign: For any planet, the Mooltrikon sign is where it represents itself in its purest form. Now if the Mooltrikon sign of the said planet happens to be 6th/8th/12th from the Lagna or Moon, it will escalate major problems because the karakatwas of the negative houses also get magnified via lordship when the planets gets strength.
4. Dignity and Position: If the said planet is already exalted in the horoscope, wearing a gemstone cannot strengthen it further. The planet is already doing it utmost for the individual voluntarily and it hardly has anything more to give from its own end. Here, investing in a gem becomes a wasteful expenditure. This is also true for planets in the 11th house in some specific cases.
5. Retrograde and Combust: If a planet is heavily combust (by both declination and degree), the significations of the planet cease to exist. When retrograde, it becomes erratic and its qualities change – for good or worse. In either case, strengthening the planet via a gem is an experimentation because the only factors under control are lordship and placement. Here, wearing a gem could be a gamble, as it can give the most unexpected result !
6. Quality, Quality, Quality: I cannot stress this enough because this alone contributes more than 90% to failed gem therapy. Gemstones only work when they have certain minimal quality standards. A 5-carat sapphire or emerald worth Rs. 10,000 will give zero results. If budget is a constraint, a superior substitute (Upratna) or non-gem remedy is always preferred.Because gem therapy or Astro-gemology is an independent subject in itself, this space is grossly inadequate to address it fully. Hopefully, these basic pointers will guide you to an extent. Please feel to shoot additional questions and will be happy to address them.