Gemstones, the nine ratna of Jyotish

Where the nine come from, and what is disputed

The pairing dates from the medieval period. The Jataka Parijata, a Sanskrit text of uncertain date from around the fifteenth century, names ruby for the Sun, pearl for the Moon, coral for Mars, emerald for Mercury, pushparaga for Jupiter, diamond for Venus and blue sapphire for Saturn, then gomeda and vaidurya for the other two. GIA, the gem institute, puts the pairing itself earlier, at about the tenth century. The older gem chapters of the Garuda Purana and the Brihat Samhita deal with where gems come from and how to test them. Neither gives nine stones for nine planets.

The names are not settled either. For Jupiter, Ayurvedic texts name topaz as pushparaga, while the trade sells yellow sapphire under that name. For Rahu, old texts name zircon as gomeda, and the trade sells hessonite. For Venus, some lists substitute white sapphire for diamond. If a seller and a guide name the same stone, check which mineral each one means. Some guides also give stones to Uranus, Neptune or Pluto, which Jyotish does not use. That is Western practice borrowed in.

This is a tradition, and no test of it was found. No study found shows that a stone linked with a planet does anything for the person who wears it. The pairings are given here as tradition, and this page makes no claim about what a stone does.

Uparatna: what stands in for the nine

Uparatna has two meanings. In the classical Ayurvedic lists it means secondary gems, such as moonstone, sunstone, lapis lazuli, garnet and turquoise. In modern trade it means a cheaper stand-in for a principal stone, so that red garnet or red spinel, for example, is offered in place of ruby.

The modern lists are long, and they differ from one source to the next. The lists read for this page cite no classical text for their pairings. One retailer says substitutes work more weakly and should be larger, yet still advises the original for Rahu and Ketu. Another calls them secondary by definition. Nothing settles it, because nothing shows an effect from an original either. Each card in the catalogue names the substitutes most often listed for that stone.

How a stone is chosen, and why the sign is not enough

In Jyotish the choice begins with the whole birth chart, and the Sun sign alone does not decide it. Practitioners who choose from the chart commonly start with the planet that rules the rising sign, add the planets that favour the person and the period now running, and set aside the stones of the planets that rule the 6th, 8th and 12th houses. These are customs of practice, and they are weighed differently from one practitioner to the next.

Take someone with Gemini rising. Mercury rules the rising sign, so many guides start with emerald. Other planets are less clear, because several rule one house on the list to avoid and one that is not, as the table shows.

So even the first step has no single answer. Sources also differ on what to weigh at all: the whole chart, the needs of the present, or a Western month list. A different chart gives a different table. That is why a list by Sun sign, or a stone chosen by birth month, tells you very little about your own chart.

No test of any method of choosing a stone was found. Tests of chart reading in general are summarised on the Astrology page. Ask the person recommending a stone why this planet, why this stone and what else was considered. The answer is the substance of the advice.

Finger, metal and day: the customs, and where guides differ

No guide read for this page points to a verse for these conventions. They come from practitioners and sellers. The table gives the commonest answer for each stone, with the places where guides part.

Panchdhatu is a traditional alloy of five metals. Most guides say the right hand, though one gives the left for women with some stones, and another gives the left for pearl. The first wearing is usually timed to the planet’s day, as above. Some guides add a time of day, such as sunrise, and at least one names an hour to avoid. These are household choices, and whether they help is a matter of belief. In practice what matters is that the stone sits comfortably and the metal does not irritate your skin.

Weight: ratti, carat and a rule that changes with the guide

Stones are sold in carats, and Jyotish guides often speak in ratti. A carat is 200 milligrams. A ratti was a unit based on the seed of the gunja plant, and its modern value varies. A goldsmith’s ratti is 121.5 milligrams. The pakki ratti used for astrological stones is 182.25 milligrams, about 0.91 carat, and one retailer reports other values by region. Mixing the two units is an easy way to pay for the wrong weight, so ask for carats or grams in writing.

Then the rules for how much differ. Say the wearer weighs 60 kilograms. A rule of one ratti for every 10 kilograms gives 6 ratti, about 5.5 carats. A rule of body weight divided by 12 gives 5 ratti, about 4.6 carats. A guide that asks for at least 2 carats gives 2. One retailer gives a range of 5.25 to 7.25 ratti, about 4.8 to 6.6 carats, and says that no Jyotish text sets a rule tied to body weight at all. For diamond, one guide gives 0.4 to 1 carat.

No study found shows that a heavier stone does more, and a larger stone costs more. So the weight to choose is the one the reasoning supports and the budget allows, stated in carats.

Natural, treated, lab-grown and imitation: what the words mean

A natural stone formed wholly in nature and was then cut and polished. Much of what is sold has also been altered, and the trade has a word for each kind. The international trade body CIBJO asks sellers to disclose treatments before a sale and on the invoice, and says that phrases such as “natural treated” and “semi-precious” should not be used.

Sellers of untreated stones argue that treatment cancels out a stone’s effect, although they accept that heating sapphires goes back centuries. CIBJO and GIA say nothing about effect. They treat heating as long established and as something to be disclosed. No evidence supports an effect from any stone, treated or untreated, so the argument is among sellers. At the least, a buyer should be told in writing which kind a stone is.

Cracks, lines and small inclusions are common in natural stones, emerald most of all. They are not proof that a stone is natural or untreated, because treated stones show them too. A filler can also hide a fracture, so a clean look proves neither.

What a laboratory report shows, and what it cannot

A report from an independent gem laboratory is the usual way to settle what a stone is, because a laboratory-grown stone shares nearly all the properties of a natural one and the eye alone cannot decide. GIA calls its papers reports and says it neither certifies nor appraises.

Check three things before you rely on a report: that the laboratory is independent of the seller, that the weight and size on the report match the stone in front of you, and whether the report is included in the price or costs extra. Paper issued by the seller alone proves only what the seller says.

A report says nothing about your chart or about any effect. A seller who offers one as proof that a stone will work is claiming more than any paper can show.

The trial-period custom, and how to use it sensibly

Many guides advise wearing a stone for a short while before committing to it. The length they give varies: three to seven days, seven to eleven days, or at least two weeks. One guide has the stone worn in a temporary setting by day while you watch your sleep, mood, skin and events. No evidence shows that a trial can tell whether a stone suits you, because the things being watched change on their own. Its practical use is as a cooling-off period.