By Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.
The Nine Palaces relate to areas that we all seek to find a sense of peace and completion in our lives. The ancient system of Stone Medicine can help you have support in any of these areas you find challenging to cultivate peace and gratitude.
The Nine Palaces and Five Elements
The Nine Palaces of life are:
Health
Wealth (also called the Abundance Palace)
Prosperity (also called the Fame Palace)
Relationship (Love)
Children/Creativity
Career
Global (Travel & Adventure)
Knowledge (Wisdom)
Home
Each of the Nine Palaces correspond to a particular Five Element energy. To learn more about each palace and its Five Element correspondence, you can read Part 1 of this series.
My Personal Journey With Stone Medicine
When I first heard about Stone Medicine I thought it was rather ridiculous and not practical for my life or clinical practice as an Acupuncturist and Herbalist.
My interest and openness grew however when I was introduced to the history and clinical applications of this ancient form of Chinese Medicine by our teacher and 88th generation Daoist Master, Dr. Jeffrey Yuen. Following this introduction, I started to play around with the knowledge I gathered in the use of stones for some health challenges my family and I had.
I became amazed by the miraculous healing experiences I witnessed.
Needless to say, from that time on, my curiosity on the use of stones for healing grew and I began to submerge myself in learning about this esoteric yet potent form of medicine.
Historically, in Classical Chinese Medicine, stones were considered the most powerful form of herbal medicine as they have the most permanent effect on one’s healing.
With this said, I’ve gained not only a tremendous amount of respect for stone medicine, but a high level of reverence for the healing Spirit of these amazing pieces of nature.
Below I discuss how some common healing stones have been used historically to enhance these different areas we call the Nine Palaces to help you find a sense of peace and gratitude where you may be now struggling in your life.
Stone Talismans to Support You to Find Completion in the Nine Palaces
Use green stones that relate to the Wood element to increase a sense of well-being and give you support in the First Palace of Health. Green Jade and Green Aventurine can be held during meditation (15 minutes 3-4x/day) or worn daily as jewelry such as a necklace or bracelet (men wear on left wrist, women on right wrist) to support your health and well-being.
Sunstone is another important stone to support your Health Palace and although it isn’t green, its glistening orange color brings the power of the sun to brighten your day and help lift you out of the doldrums of negativity. It’s also a stone high in iron so it can help increase your Qi and immunity. So if you tend to feel fatigued or have a sullen and somber mood, keep a piece of Sunstone nearby or in your pocket!
Second is the Palace of Wealth & Abundance. The main stone to help you feel a sense of completion in your Wealth Palace is Lapis. Lapis strengthens your Liver blood to support your Wood energy and help you feel financially abundant. It’s a common stone used in jewelry and small specimens can be held or placed in your home to attract resources into your life as well. This can especially be supportive for women during their menstrual cycles when losing blood can leave them feeling empty with a sense of lack in their lives.
A beautiful blue-green Chrysocolla sphere
Another blood building stone is Chrysocolla, which is especially useful if you’re feeling irritable or angry about your circumstances related to this palace. Chrysocolla is a beautiful blue-green stone that can be held for emotional support, worn as jewelry or placed in your home to spread its energy throughout your environment.
The Third Palace is about Prosperity and Fame. Fame is about feeling recognized and acknowledged in your life while Prosperity is about feeling you have enough to share with others. Relating to the element of Fire, both of these attributes can be supported by the beautiful Amethyst crystal. Amethyst can be placed in any area of your home to accentuate the 9 Palaces and is also a common jewelry stone worn as earrings, pendants, rings, and bracelets. Another stone that is popular as jewelry to help activate this Fire based palace is Labradorite. Labradorite is a powerful talisman to gather your Yang Qi so it can vibrantly shine outward and help you attract attention and recognition. Labradorite is easily found as large specimens which can be used to help radiate vibrant energy into your work space or home.
The Fourth Palace is about Relationships and Love. If you feel challenged in terms of relationships and having enough love in your life, then supporting your Fire element with a stone talisman can support you to find peace and completion in these areas. Morganite is a very powerful stone used to attract love into your life in terms of a partnership. Rose Quartz is another popular stone that is used.
Morganite is commonly worn as jewelry so if you’re trying to establish a healthy, loving relationship, you might try wearing a bracelet, ring or necklace that contains Morganite. A small sphere of Rose Quartz on the other hand will help spread the vibration of love throughout your home. I recommend keeping a Rose Quartz crystal in your bedroom if you’re looking to attract a romantic relationship.
The Fifth Palace of Children and Creativity is also supported by Rose Quartz which is said to enhance fertility. Rose Quartz supports creativity by warming your Yang Qi to act on those creative impulses held within your heart. Another popular stone that makes beautiful jewelry to support fertility is Fire Opal. Wear it daily if you are trying to conceive a child.
Other stones that can be placed in your home to help activate the Metal element and help birth those creative ideas you’ve long held inside are Fluorite, Celestite and Gold or Silver Sheen Obsidian which can be found as lovely specimens that act as powerful intentional talismans. A system of Temple Feng Shui suggests placing these stones in the Northwest part of your home to support you in the palace of Creativity.
The Sixth Palace is your Palace of Career. Career relates to the Water Element and the colors blue and black. Dark Grey Moonstone is a lovely stone that can be worn as jewelry to support you if you’re having career challenges. Black Onyx is another common jewelry stone that can strengthen your Water energy and support you in your career.
Sugilite is one of the most powerful of all stones and is said to support the healing of all diseases. Sugilite is a beautiful dark purple stone that is said to help connect your Heart and Kidneys so you can realize the career path that fits your destiny. Wear Sugilite as a necklace or pendant so it can touch the center of your chest to resonate with your heart center. You can also keep a piece close to you such as in your pocket and place a small specimen on your nightstand to help you find clarity if you are unsure about the path to take in terms of your career.
Turquoise is a popular stone that can be worn for protection during travel.
The Seventh Palace relates to Travel, Adventure and Global Awareness. The popular stone used to help you safely navigate the globe in search of adventurous experiences is Turquoise, a very common stone used in jewelry.
The Eighth Palace of Knowledge and Wisdom relates to both the Water and Earth Elements. Black Obsidian is the stone that helps you go within yourself and bring out your inner wisdom. Obsidian is essentially volcanic glass so it can help your inner wisdom erupt and come to the forefront of your awareness.
Knowledge on the other hand is about attracting information from outside yourself, and White Jade was the stone used historically to support education and worn by the ancient scholars.
And finally, we come to supporting the Ninth Palace of Home. Home is about reconnecting with the Divine. Meteorites which come from the outer realms of space (Heaven) are used for supporting this purpose. Moldavite is one such stone that is becoming a popular jewelry stone used to help connect with the realm of Spirit so you can find peace within yourself wherever you are in this moment of time.
In Summary
Using the power of stones to support the Elemental energies related to each of the Nine Palaces is a simple way to help you move through the challenges in any of these areas of your life.
Though you may at first find the idea of using stones as talismen a bit too esoteric and unfounded on scientific “truth”, if you open your mind and give it a try, you may awaken to the magical mystery of this ancient healing system as it supports you to find gratitude in all areas of your life.
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is the Founder and Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a wellness clinic that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine & Japanese Meridian Therapy, a rare non-insertion form of Acupuncture. Salvador also teaches Qi Gong at the Dharma Studio within A Center for Natural Healing.