Moonstone: Unveiling Its Benefits, Selection Tips, and Unique Charm

What are the benefits of moonstone? What are the key points in selecting moonstone? How to determine moonstone quality? Did you know that besides white moonstone, there are also gray and blue moonstones? This article will introduce moonstone energy, compare the benefits of moonstone, gray moonstone, and blue moonstone. If you want to understand the unique charm of moonstone, this article is all you need!

I. From Solidified Moonlight: The Moon Goddess of the Gemstone World – Moonstone

Moonstone is a favorite among many semi-precious stone collectors. Its most charming aspect is that when light enters the crystal, moonstone refracts a soft, layered halo. Common colors include blue, white, and orange, with rich colors that never tire the eye. Let’s introduce this charming crystal to everyone!

1. Understanding Moonstone

Moonstone (also known as the Lover’s Stone) is one of the birthstones for June. It belongs to the feldspar family, composed of orthoclase and sodium feldspar. The two crystal species stack together to form thin film-like layers, which is why moonstone can refract beautiful halos.

This soft and beautiful light and shadow atmosphere, giving a sense of peaceful times, has led many cultures to associate the meaning of moonstone with feminine charm and real moonlight, producing many romantic moonstone legends.

For example, ancient Romans associated moonstone with the youthful moon goddess Diana, believing that wearing moonstone jewelry could bring love, wealth, and success. The Indian myth is even more lovely, believing that moonstone is composed of solidified moonlight, a tangible form of moonlight.

In Indian chakra schools, moonstone corresponds to the crown and brow chakras. When the crown chakra is imbalanced, it can easily make us emotionally agitated. Moonstone can help us balance crown chakra energy, let go of negative emotions, and calmly observe our inner selves, allowing the wisdom of life to function normally.

2. Beginner’s Mistake: What’s the Difference Between Labradorite and Moonstone?

Labradorite is often called “gray moonstone,” so some people, even merchants, easily confuse labradorite with moonstone. These two crystals belong to the feldspar family and have partially similar chemical structures, but they are not actually the same crystal. Moonstone is potassium feldspar, while labradorite is plagioclase, and their optical effects are different. Their relationship is more like that of oranges and tangerines.

The crystal appearance of labradorite is grayish, and the biggest difference between the two is the crystal clarity of labradorite. Labradorite crystals usually have obvious black spots and black crystal lines, which are characteristics that moonstone doesn’t have.

Additionally, Africa also produces a type of rainbow moonstone, which appears as a white semi-transparent crystal and refracts orange and blue luster. When it was first discovered, it was mistaken for moonstone. The international GIA has confirmed that rainbow moonstone is a type of transparent labradorite.

Want to know more about the benefits of gray moonstone and rainbow moonstone? Feel free to read this extended article on labradorite!

II. Artificial vs Natural Moonstone: How to Identify Genuine Moonstone?

Due to the high popularity of moonstone in the market, many businesses use materials such as chalcedony, glass, and plastic to imitate and produce cheap artificial moonstone.

To identify artificial moonstone, you can pay attention to 3 key points:

1. Dull and uniform color: Artificial moonstone has a more uniform and dull color, while natural colors will be more uneven, with natural variations in depth.
2. Unnatural halo: The halo of imitation crystals is usually very consistent, with the same angle, while each natural moonstone has a different halo angle, an effect that is difficult to imitate.
3. Clear crystal but cheap price: Moonstone crystals usually have cotton-like or foggy inclusions. If the crystal is very clear with a strong halo, it might be jewelry-grade moonstone, but the price generally won’t be too low. If the price is only a few hundred dollars, you need to be cautious about its authenticity.

III. 3 Things You Must Understand Before Buying: Moonstone Benefits, Color, and Quality

1. Moonstone Grades

To distinguish the grade of natural moonstone, we can judge from 3 angles:

• Weight: The larger the crystal, the heavier the carat weight, the higher the price.
• Halo strength: The stronger the halo, the higher the grade. Generally, a beautiful ice-blue halo will be higher grade than white. If you encounter a cat’s eye effect, it will also be more expensive due to its rarity.
• Crystal clarity: The fewer impurities and cracks inside the crystal, the higher the clarity and grade. However, not every color of moonstone is evaluated for clarity, mainly blue moonstone. The industry generally calls white semi-transparent crystals “cream body,” while high clarity, almost completely transparent is called “glass body.”

Based on these 3 conditions, moonstone grades can be roughly divided into mineral grade and jewelry grade. Some top-quality gem-grade moonstones are also called collection grade, with prices showing multiples of difference, ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands.

2. Moonstone Colors

Moonstone colors are mainly dominated by white moonstone and blue moonstone, which are the familiar white or semi-transparent crystals that refract white or blue halos. Among them, blue moonstone produced in Sri Lanka has the best quality and is most popular in the market.

But in fact, moonstone has many color variations. Besides white and transparent colorless, crystal colors also include gray, yellow, orange, brown, green, and other rich choices. And moonstones from different origins have different crystal and halo colors.

For example, Madagascar often produces black moonstone, with a black crystal base flashing white light; while India produces soft and beautiful orange moonstone, with a light orange crystal base refracting a soft halo.

Except for blue moonstone, other colors of moonstone have different structures, so clarity is generally not considered. The focus is on color brightness and halo strength.

3. Moonstone Benefits

✨ Enhances Temperament Moonstone energy is very gentle and can soothe the soul, bringing a sense of calm. Long-term wearing of moonstone can increase feminine grace, alleviate impulsive and irritable emotions, which is very helpful for personal improvement.

✨ Guards Love Moonstone is called the “Lover’s Stone” and can guard love. It is believed to soothe emotions, help couples communicate, resolve misunderstandings and conflicts, maintain a romantic and mature relationship, and is also a good choice for a token of love!

✨ Increases Good Love Luck By improving personal temperament, moonstone can help add charming and gentle allure, making good prospects unconsciously attracted to your temperament. Therefore, many people wear moonstone love jewelry to help themselves find a suitable soulmate.

✨ Reduces Negative Energy Moonstone can help people get out of overthinking emotions, alleviate restless moods and reduce negative speculation, and it also has some help with falling asleep!

🌈 Different Colors Correspond to Different Chakras

Different colors of moonstone correspond to different chakras. For example, blue moonstone and white moonstone correspond to the crown chakra, helping to calm the mind and stay away from busy rhythms; orange moonstone corresponds to the solar plexus chakra, increasing self-confidence; green moonstone corresponds to the heart chakra, increasing luck and reducing low moods; black moonstone helps maintain calmness, enhance intuition, and is not easily emotionally blackmailed.

IV. What Are the Taboos of Moonstone? Common Q&A About Wearing Moonstone

Can you sleep while wearing moonstone? Can you bathe while wearing moonstone? Can you wear moonstone during menstruation? These are questions many beginners are curious about. Here we’ve compiled 4 small questions related to wearing moonstone.

1. How to Care for Moonstone?

Moonstone is a type of natural mineral gemstone. If not properly cared for, its color may gradually become dull. Fortunately, the care method for moonstone is the same as for general minerals. You only need to pay attention to the following 3 small points to keep your beloved collection beautiful forever!

• Avoid collisions: Moonstone has a hardness of 6-6.5, belonging to medium-soft minerals. It’s recommended to avoid collisions with hard objects when wearing. After wearing, put it in a zip-lock bag, preferably stored separately.
• Avoid contact with chemicals: Common chemicals in life may erode the surface of moonstone, such as hot springs, cosmetics, shower gel, shampoo, and other products. Therefore, it’s recommended to remove moonstone when bathing and soaking in hot springs to avoid damaging the mineral.
• Avoid exposure to sunlight: Exposing moonstone to sunlight is one of the most taboo things, because long-term sun exposure may damage the crystal structure, affecting the gem’s luster and weakening the beautiful halo.

2. How to Purify Moonstone?

For those who are more sensitive to energy, it’s generally recommended to do demagnetization and purification for moonstone when you just bought it home, or after wearing moonstone to places with complex populations and full of negative energy. Common purification methods are the following two:

• Moonlight purification: Nature is the best way to purify crystals. Since moonstone is not recommended to be exposed to sunlight, the best purification method for moonstone is to wait for the full moon, place it by the window for more than 30 minutes, letting moonlight restore the energy of the moonstone.
• Crushed stone demagnetization: If you’re in an urban area and can’t find a place with moonlight due to environmental limitations, you can also use crushed crystals for demagnetization. Place the moonstone still or bury it in crushed stones for half a day, which can also restore the energy of the moonstone.

3. Is There a Difference in Moonstone Benefits Between Left and Right Hand?

Regarding whether it’s better to wear moonstone on the left or right hand, there is currently no scientific basis for a correct answer, and different belief systems have different opinions. For example, traditional Chinese Taoism advocates “left in, right out,” suggesting that crystals are better worn on the left hand, while Indian yoga believes that moonstone affects the chakras and has little to do with the left or right hand. Therefore, it’s recommended that everyone can wear freely according to their own beliefs or feelings.

4. Can You Wear Moonstone During Menstruation?

Yes, you can! Moonstone is often considered to help with weight loss and increase fertility, so it’s also suitable for women who are preparing for pregnancy or are pregnant, and it also helps alleviate discomfort during women’s menstrual periods.

If you have female friends who are preparing for pregnancy, you can also give moonstone as a gift, giving them the beautiful meaning of “wishing you good pregnancy” and spiritual support!