A Quest for why gemstones are used for healing

Abstract

It is believed that healing power of gemstones increases to the sense of well-being. But it’s unclear how it works. The aim of this study is to investigate the usage of the stones for therapeutic purposes by means of a survey. In this study, a face-to-face survey technique was employed to investigate personal reasons to use the gemstones for healing purposes. After 402 volunteers from various backgrounds were selected and asked them to answer 17 questions, the dataset was analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results showed that women are most interested in gemstones, because they are used for jewellery. The most popular healing stones were Agate, Amethyst, Ruby, Amber and Quartz. Their eye-catching colours together with their healing power that are promoted in social media, strengthen the perception that natural stones can be used for healing or therapy. Healing stones also give spiritual serenity, which is the most important positive effect on people. Some reasons that push people to seek healing from natural stones included hoping of cure, seeking alternative medicine, knowing what specific stones are used as healing tools, searching ways to relieve stress and also protecting against evil spirits. It is stated that people’s hope of cure strengthens the use of these stones as a healing tool.