Astrology is essentially a study of man’s receptivity to planetary influences that will affect him for good or ill. The horoscope is a map outlining a person’s strong or weak receptivity to the harmful or beneficial radiation’s due to the different planetary placements throughout his or her life. It is important for people to overcome the common misconception that the planets directly project malefic or beneficial influences. It is rather our karmic receptivity to the electromagnetic radiation that the planets stimulate. Many astrologers don’t explain this mechanism of karmic accountability clearly in their astrological explanations.

The ancient rishis of India discovered through their own “super-conscious experience” that Creation could be explained by the study of light and its more condensed manifestations, such as matter; in essence, they agreed with the biblical symbolism in Genesis. It is only in recent times that the rishis’ views of seeing everything as consciousness is being discovered in Western quantum theory and wave mechanics* over five thousand years later.

The seeming separation between these different forms of vibratory manifestation (matter and light) can be bridged and rearranged to man’s benefit using a variety of methods guided by the hand of wisdom. They were the first to suggest introducing remedial agents into a person’s electromagnetic field to counteract a wide host of inconvenient situations, weaknesses in personality and character, and obviously a whole host of other karmic possibilities. The rishis understood that gems, particularly of the required weight and purity, are a potent electromagnetic aid and instrument for strengthening our constantly changing, electromagnetic-karmic signature.

Gems are one of the most effective of these bridges, primarily because they work on the principle of electromagnetic radiation transfer, the means by which we absorb cosmic energy and they don’t wear out with time.

Jesus testified that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Paramahansa Yogananda explains on page 572 of his classic Bhagavad Gita interpretation, “God Talks With Arjuna” (published by Self-Realization Fellowship)

“That man’s body does not depend only on external sources of life force-distillations from breath, oxygen, sunshine, solids and liquids-but also on a direct inner source of cosmic life that enters the body through the medulla, flowing then to the subtle centers in the brain and spine. In man, the medulla is spoken of as “the mouth of God” because it is the chief opening for the divine influx of cosmic vibratory life force, the “word” that then flows “out of the mouth of God” (the medulla) to the reservoir of life energy in the brain and the distributing centers in the spine.”

There are many kinds of cosmic energy flowing in the ether. Just as we need the full spectrum of vitamins and minerals for the proper maintenance of the body, so we also need the whole rainbow of beneficial vibratory radiations that are available. Ayurvedic gems work to enhance or supplement this rainbow of radiations. A person’s receptivity to the needed planetary “nutrition” (radiating cosmic frequencies in the ether) is often deficient-condition commonly amplified with old age, physical or mental stress, and disease. The natural response of such “nutritionally deficient” people is to behave and think in a way similar to the correct interpretation of their horoscope as well as to attract situations-often very painful-that the planetary placements indicate. In order to improve the situations, the most powerful method-that requires the least effort and is complimentary to other remedial measures that lessen or nullify this weakness in absorbing the full spectrum of cosmic energy-is the transferring of beneficial electromagnetic radiation’s from specific gems to the body, by wearing them in firm contact with the skin.

The beneficial effect of gems can be felt dramatically by some, and not at all by others. There has been a great deal written about their efficacy as a propitiatory karmic instrument. But because of my experimental research, as well as years of customer experience and feedback, I am not in agreement with a lot of the claims being made. Many have been misleading, exaggerated, or arrived at unscientifically; while many others bear true testimony to experience. And that experience, in all cases positive, is that the wearer either feels (or knows!) that the gems in the bangle help to strengthen him/her in the karmic battle of life. Such benefits, in essence, are why people wear gemstones.

*One form of quantum physics is wave mechanics. It originated in the suggestion that light consists of corpuscles as well as waves and the consequent suggestion that all elementary particles are associated with waves. Wave mechanics is based on the Schrodinger Wave Equation describing the wave properties of matter. It relates the energy of a system to a wave function, and in general it is found that the system (such as an atom or molecule) can only have certain allowed wave functions (eigenfunctions) and certain allowed energies (eigenvalues). These functions and energies are part of the electromagnetic radiation table.

Navaratna Bangle Designs

I find it quite amusing to see many different websites claiming to have gems so reasonably priced.

To deliver the same sales lines that these businesses do is something that over the years I have decided to stay away from.

I travel overseas generally twice a year. My last trip took me to seven countries in ten weeks.

It was no holiday going to the mines and cutting centers to get unadulterated, un-enhanced gems. Different countries have the best source of supply for the best quality gems and I have to visit these places to make my quality gems affordable.

With the volumes I buy, and the endurance it takes to get to some of these places, I can afford to offer my gems at much more reasonable prices. But I really don’t want to enter into this accolade. In reality, customers go to where they are attracted to. It’s a karmic thing. Some resonate to the repetitious assurances of salespeople who make great claims to be intuitive, psychic or whatever. Others will believe blindly that a particular gemstone is the best, most stunning , sattwic, cut crystal, this side of Mars.

Some dealers will abuse their knowledge of astrology in order to convince a person to buy a certain gem that they just happen to have in their stock. The list goes on and on.

But it is really up to the individual. We don’t even have the time to list our stones on the web. We are generally very busy and don’t spend much energy on advertising or promoting. We have two full time jewelers here on location and if I could find more quality people to do this kind of work I would hire them immediately.

Most of our orders come from past clients who have, without financial motive, enthusiastically recommended us. Its that simple. We have an extensive range of gems that I have acquired in my travels, and I will buy back any stone at full price if a person wants to upgrade a stone . The gems that get traded in do not get resold, but go into a donation kitty used for cancer patients, monastics, etc.

But getting back to the question of the best price, many gem sellers point their clients away from the less expensive substitute gems. This is something that I really object to. They often tend to sell gems that are not so easy to locate in order to imply that the rarity of the gem has something to do with its effectiveness. One example of this is the Zircon, which can be bought inexpensively, but is virtually always heated and is generally not available in the jewelry stores; hence its marketability by an astrological gem seller.

The approach we favor is to purchase the original gem types that the rishis recommended and then trade up if a person’s budget is less than their ambitions. It may take a year or more of balanced trade back procedures, but the final navaratna instrument will last many years and be passed on as a wonderful heirloom.

NICK IN SRI LANKA
HUNTING FOR UNHEATED UNPROCESSED NATURAL YELLOW AND BLUE SAPPHIRE CRYSTALS FOR FACETTING.

The first step in getting a bangle is to have your personal horoscope and planetary gem analysis prepared by our detailed astrological software program. You will need to fill in your birth data on this page Gem Analysis. You will then receive a free fascinating 16 page explanation of your karmic pattern. This is a reflection of your karmically based electromagnetic resonance pattern to the planetary radiations, and will detail a customized formula for which gems can counteract your weakened receptivity to the beneficial planetary radiations. The written explanation will list which gems are the most helpful to wear, down to the gems that are not as important..

The placement of all nine planets are evaluated in your chart and astrological gem recommendations are made in order to help balance your karmic pattern. Feel welcome to also send this free planetary gem analysis and horoscope to any friend you think may benefit from its introspective insights.

When you are ready to order, or if you have any questions, please contact us using the form on our contact page, or just send us an email to askastrogems@gmail.com requesting a quote along with the list of gems and their weights that have been recommended. I usually prefer that the interested prospective client also send the full horoscope they have received so that I can further analyze their horoscope and evaluate the recommendations in light of the stage of life they are in. To do this you will have to send it directly to askastrogems@gmail.com If this is not something that is of interest to you I suggest you read this page on the website summarized-explanation on how astrological gems mitigate negative karma. 

Just so you can be sure you have sufficient information to decide about whether this type of blessing is important or not for you.

As you can see from these photos, the bangles have expandable spring links, so that when you flex your arm, the bangle expands, for maximum comfort. The upper arm is the best place to wear the bangle, because it gives the gems maximum skin contact, and the bangle is out of the way.

The saints and sages of India advocated that the best remedial agents for happiness, and its evolutionary peak-Enlightenment-are: wisdom-guided self-discipline, improving one’s character, correct behavior, yoga meditation (especially with the use of pranayama), devotional worship, prayer, and other life-changing disciplines. This wise advice still, and always, is true. However, added to these were some unusual agents that are unconventional in Western thinking. The interesting thing about these other remedial agents are their passive characteristics. It doesn’t take any effort to wear a gem (or gems); it doesn’t take effort to use herbs or wear metal bangles. Neither does it take effort to have a pujari priest do pujas for you (for planetary pujas I strongly recommend the pujas offered from the Ammachi Center).

What the rishis stressed, above all else, is that an intelligent person interested in his/her evolution should make it a life study to enthusiastically pursue the aids towards enlightenment to use all the information on his “life-map” in order to reach his or her goal.

Well, people are naturally pulled toward different individuals for karmic reasons. Here are some intelligent questions one needs to ask oneself before making a discriminating decision in regard to investing a large expense:

• Is the gem dealer trained in being able to detect gem-enhancing treatments?
• Are they certified in this science regarding the specific stones you may want to buy?
  Will they give you a money back guarantee, no questions asked within a stated period of time, if you find the purchase not competitive or unsuitable?
• Do they offer an ongoing service of buying back the gem if you want the luxury of trading up?
• Do they specialize in this field and have an enormous stock to select from?
• Are they passionately interested in testimonial evidence and feedback so that they can discriminate amongst all the seeming contradictory claims by authors who haven’t had extensive experience in the field?
• Have they laid bare their understanding experience and operational manner in writing for you to analyze and be educated by?
• Do they have a variety of designs to offer that stress reliability, durability and comfort?
• Are they stressing the beauty of the jewelry rather than the actual benefits of the gems for karmic mitigation?
• Are they aggressively trying to sell to you or respectfully leaving you alone to make up your mind?

Many gem dealers harp on about selling to you at very competitive and affordable prices. They almost seem to be shouting from the tree tops that theirs is the best deal. Sometimes they may have a good deal on one stone but not the rest. I simply can’t be bothered with harking on that I try to make my business ultra competitive. I rather, as far as possible, itemize the prices of my gems and hope that potential customers will evaluate them. Quality is always something that is very hard to describe by the written word, so often a customer has to spend the time viewing a shipped item and use the money back guarantee if they are not happy. I am much more interested in lessening my negative karmic bank balance than my financial bank balance. This is probably why I was the first to research the navaratna in the West and make it into being a viable service offered to the general public. I am also the first to evaluate and experiment with the lower cost navaratna crystals as well as the facet cut stones. Financially this is definitely not a business move but one of providing better service. A few are trying to copy me and though it is a compliment in regard to multi-gem bangles, they have nothing like my degree of quality gems or extensive experience.

One point I would like to stress regarding astrological gem dealers is that if they are paying a commision to the astrologer, you should ask them about this. It is becoming a very common practice that astrologers get paid commissions for recommending clients to gem dealers. This is unethical, if the client is not aware of this unwritten agreement. I have a lot of information on this subject, and don’t want to go into it in great detail; except to say that when I started doing astrological gemstones, many astrologers approached me for a business arrangement. Generally it was five to ten percent (some wanted more) and, though I entertained the concept, and did initially pay two commissions to one astrologer, I quickly came to realize that even though they could save me advertising costs and were definitely helpful to my business survival, it was obviously unethical not to tell the client. The payments in question were very small and I did not pass them on in the cost of the orders, but I would not, regardless, have got into the situation if I had not been mistakenly persuaded by the sentiment of my peers (gem dealers and astrologers) that it was such a common practice. I haven’t had any referrals from that astrologer since I stopped paying secret commissions and can leave the reason why to logical supposition. This is a practice that will eventually become very unpopular within the astrological community. It will attract scorn and justifiable ridicule upon it which is sad as it is meant to be a spiritual science. It is extremely widespread here as well as in India. But, rest assured, any astrologer who recommends me will not be paid a commision by me. I will be very willing to give them generous terms on gemstones, should they want some for personal and family use, but I will not pay cash, or send checks, as a paid commision for business they have sent my way. It’s as unethical as a doctor recommending pharmaceuticals because he gets kick-backs from the manufacturer.

I don’t believe in the corrupt practice that has developed in India of astrologers selling gemstones. History has shown it to be a conflict of interest that, because of all the questionable dealing, has also badly sullied the good name of Jyotish (the study of light). I’m very adamant about that. If an astrologer can’t stand on his/her own two feet as an astrologer, then by all means sell gemstones; but get out of practicing astrology. Many astrologers have been repulsed from investigating remedial gems because of their justifiable suspicion and disdain for what they have seen other astrologers do in regard to promoting them. Personally, I feel it is a remarkable individual who has the time to travel the world acquiring gems at their source, cutting out the middle men and offering an efficiently competitive service, and still have the time to keep up the practice of astrology. Few industries are as smoke-screened as the jewelry and gem dealing industry. I will be listing astrologers who I don’t have a business relationship with when I have fully evaluated their skills and integrity in this arena.

In India, some astrologers are not paid when they give a reading, but they would then sell the gemstones or the herbs to the client as a remedial measure. In more recent times they often arrange commissions from a highly recommended jeweler. In this arrangement they would get his payment. The subject of astrologers selling gemstones hinges on whether they become just another middle man in the process of pricing up the stones. If that is the case, they are not really helping the client. I certainly couldn’t keep competitive prices if I didn’t spend several months a year visiting the world’s mining areas of gem supply to get very reasonable prices through dedicated purchasing of high volume for low price.

Even if the astrologer has an extensive selection of stones to offer the client, is it safe to assume the client will get the best gem for his prescription? Let’s put it this way-if an astrologer has six different yellow sapphires in stock, does he recognize the different gemological indicators for detecting heat treatment? Will he compromise his recommendation in order to sell you one of his lesser quality stones? If he only has certain sizes available and cannot readily get other sizes, it would be too tempting to compromise the weight recommendation or the color tone recommendation. It’s a full-time job searching for ayurvedic astrological gems. I travel the world several times a year purchasing stones as close to the source as I can to get at the best price and quality range I can find. This is a very big part of my service, and if I also practiced astrology I don’t think there would be enough hours in the day.

I explain to people repeatedly that gemstones don’t have to be as expensive as some people make out. I’ve seen many gems worn in India, and they are often of extremely low quality, yet the people who wear them swear by them. I definitely don’t advise low quality stones, but there is an unfortunate tendency among some astrologers to instill a fear in people that the stone has to be absolutely perfect. The potency of gemstones is not derived solely from their appearance but from their weight, matrix and source. For example, I advise wearing a red coral even if it’s not symmetrical, even if it has a color blemish on it. I definitely advise wearing a tumbled-polished hessonite garnet, even if it’s not symmetrical even if there’s a tiny inclusion upon it, rather than not wearing one at all. Part of this purist attitude has developed from the increasing greed in the gem industry. Absolutely perfect gems are often many times more expensive than those of average quality and hence are much more profitable to sell. This situation creates the impression that gems are always extremely expensive, which is not true. And I do not approve of people being coerced by financial considerations into acquiring “substitute” stones. This commonly occurs and seems to throw logic to the wind that the similar colored stone is so dramatically different in all its scientifically measurable properties and hence must have a very different rate of electromagnetic frequency. Wearing stones as ornaments requires a much different rationale than purchasing them for astrological or karmic mitigation.

The cost of recommended gems will of course vary from person to person. Gems may be bought singly to strengthen the weakest placement in a chart, or augment an already strong position. More advisable is to obtain a combination of gems, ideally the nine stones which constitute the navaratna, a gem bangle designed to provide optimum support and mitigation. Gems are appraised according to purity, carat weight, and symmetry. Cost does not always mean that the added expense translates into a noticeably better effect. The decision providing the gem acquired is still of excellent quality should be the discriminative responsibilities of the individual’s budget.

Additionally, I offer a service where people can always upgrade their gemstones and sell the lesser quality or smaller stones back at full price, providing that it’s that stone type that they wish to trade in to upgrade. Upgrading means buying a better stone which is more expensive and by logic, more effective. This is an exceptional service, and it is done by keeping the detailed invoice of the gem’s cost and weight.

An often quoted statement is that it is inadvisable to wear gemstones of poor quality. This is a definite consideration. However, I would like to stress, I have traveled in India eight times in my life, and I have seen an enormous number of astrological gemstones being worn. It’s a very poor country, and the people have a very low price threshold in regards to affording precious stones. Yet they they seem to swear by even eye visible included gems. I do not agree that included gems can hurt individuals as much as some gem dealers or authors (or both!) have expressed. Wearing the wrong stone can do harm. And this is very minimal with some stones and noticeable with others, this subject will be gone into at some length later. Astrologers can often disagree about which stone a person should wear first. This is another reason why I am so fond of the holistic approach to wearing the full nine gem bangle and getting the whole rainbow of desired frequencies enhanced.
India’s semiprecious gem market is alive and well and prolific in amethyst, citrine, lapis lazuli, iolite, etc. However, I do not buy precious stones in India except chrysoberyl catseye, simply because they are less expensive to acquire in other countries. Unless you are an experienced gem buyer, I do not recommend buying the more expensive gems in India. I have witnessed many disappointed individuals who have brought me material for appraisal. and identifications.

If you go to three different astrologers, it’s quite common to get three different opinions on a host of remedial measures. Hopefully there will be a tendency to agreement, but, when it comes to the selection of individual stones there are different systems of recommendations—different schools of thought that astrologers follow. Some astrologers promote obtaining one gem to offset a particularly weak aspect of a person’s horoscope; others advise a few stones or encourage enhancing stronger placements in a chart. Astrology is a very complex science. There is much room for error and opinion, and I keep stressing to my prospective clients that the rainbow is the complete divisible reflection of light. And a navaratna represents this reflection in the gems varied frequencies. I’m not a great believer in solving problems with the use of one or two stones. Over the years I have experienced problems with people who just get a few stones, and with all nine I have received fantastic feedback from the more holistic multi-stone approach. Gems are limited by their size, they are limited by their capacity to help. Because I strongly believe gems are limited I am trying to overcome this limitation by making the most potently beneficial instrument my research can validate. It’s important if you are spending a lot of money to get the full spectrum of electromagnetic vibrations that your karmic pattern can make use of as it cycles through its many variations of karmic (electromagnetic) requirement.

If you are really going to endeavor to get the full degree of cosmic nutrition with the use of gems, then it has become my conclusion that the simplest, most effective tool is the navaratna (nine gem bangle.). It is a fallacy that these stones have to be cosmetically appealing. Nor do they have to be symetrical. Definitely, the mind prefers a cosmetically appealing stone, but I am getting fantastic support and feedback for the crystals that I’m setting, mainly because they are so large and inexpensive. Sufficient carat weight is also vital. I can get very good weights because the client can afford the full navaratna. Although it’s a very demanding process to find good quality crystals in all the different recomended ayurvedic astrological stones, that is something that this business is dedicated to offering. It is definitely not the high end part of the market as crystals generally are about one sixth the cost of the faceted gems, but I am trying to make a navaratna that will get you from A to B, whether you go there in a Model-T Ford, or, a Rolls-Royce. And, if I had negative results with my lesser cosmetically appealing quality stones and crystals, I would definitely not continue to pursue that course of action. Please remember I far prefer positve karma than a fat bank account. And ideally faultless gems are always the best, but weight is the major consideration.

This is a common and quite significant question. There is in the minds of many people a misunderstanding between the terms synthetic, laboratory grown and natural gems. I am the only person that comprehensively offers laboratory grown crystals in emerald and ruby varieties and so I have made an exacting study of their nature. I also sell natural rubies and emeralds and understand their chemical indices. The trade practices act concerning Thomas Chatham and the jewelry industry asserts that if a crystal is grown in a laboratory, as a crystal, it is actually a laboratory grown crystal.

Synthetic gemstones, on the other hand, is a term applied to materials that have been melted, but that do not have a symetrical atomic lattice similar or identical to a natural gemstone. Synthetic sapphires and rubies outnumber lab-grown sapphires or rubies by a margin of well over ten thousand to one . But this does not stop the retailers from commonly promoting their synthetics incorrectly as lab grown. The laboratory growth process can take up to a year for a ruby. There is no evidence to suggest that when a ruby grew near the magma-flow of the same size, it didn’t take the same period of time. The very, very important factor to consider is that the laboratory grown rubies are not enhanced or heated to change their color or melt or dissolve their inclusions.

If you have had the time to study the trade magazines on the gem industry, you will realize that there is an extremely high incidence of rubies that are heat-treated, and you cannot always tell, or see evidence of this process. Very, very often if the gemologist can not find evidence of heat treatment, the gem is certified as natural. It’s simply not provable. This is why if you send the same batch of rubies to several different laboratories, they will come back with different conclusions as to whether they’ve been heated or not. A Gemological Institute of America’s report appearing in their official magazine corroborates this observation. My personal experience demonstrates the comparison between natural and laboratory-grown gems. I recently purchased, on behalf of a client, a four-and-a-half carat emerald for ten-and a half thousand dollars. We bought it at the cutters, in, of all places, India. I submitted it to a GIA for a laboratory report. To this I added my own appraisal. They matched; it was a natural stone, oiled, of particularly good value for its depth of color and clarity. Significantly, it didn’t have the depth of green of the laboratory-grown emeralds that I have available for forty to fifty-five dollars a carat.

Due to many such experiences, I strongly stand by the laboratory grown emeralds. One of the main reasons is that I’ve had many people wear natural emeralds, and then transfer to the laboratory-grown emerald crystals cut, faceted material, and those who compared both stones, definitely preferred the results they got from wearing the laboratory grown. I am openly ridiculed by other gem dealers and astrologers who have not had the same extensive observation I have and thus request the reader to analyze all the scientific data in the scientifically measurable qualities chart in the booklet between the crystals of different origin.

An Interesting story about laboratory grown emeralds

About ten years ago I was being aggressively challenged by some in the planetary gem community over my insistence that laboratory-grown emerald crystals were an excellent substitute for their naturally formed cousins which are more expensive and typically pale and included. The matter had reached a peak of fervor and no matter how much I employed pure science to point out how identical at the molecular level the two differently-sourced crystal gemstones were, my opposition would not agree with me.

For years I patiently endured these attacks behind the armor of my testimonial research and scientific inclinations. I was quite aware that, as the first person to tackle openly the old traditions with scientific logic and modern crystal growing technology, I was likely to get some flak, to put it mildly.
Some vendors were very upset that I could damage their strong emerald selling incomes. Others just plain refused to see that if we can grow excellent organic tomatoes in a laboratory greenhouse with the right environment of sunshine, soil, and pure water, then the laws Mother Nature somehow will oblige if we create a perfect laboratory environment for growing emerald crystals. (That could sell for only $40 dollars a carat.) Please remember that common synthetic gemstones are not in the category of a genuine laboratory gemstone crystal as they are not made using an authentic, slow crystal growing process.

I continued to respond to the criticism with emails respectfully explaining my logic. Still I was banned from joining certain astrological societies, etc.

I had always wanted to ask a living master as to whether I was right or wrong about this, but never thought it would happen. Unless I could ask an avatar in the body like Swami Sri Yukteswar or an Anandamayi Ma, I felt this argument was never going to attain complete closure in my mind. This pressing issue was deeply important to me. Even though I was convinced, still I had to admit the possibility that in my human fallibility I could be in error.

An avatar is a being on Earth who, like Buddha or Christ, is one with the universal creative spirit and well beyond any kind of intellectual constraints. At the time there was only one living avatar on the planet to whom I could perhaps take this question, to confirm once and for all whether I was right about the karmic effects of laboratory grown crystals. The avatar was Amma and it came about that I was finally able to get her opinion.

On a visit to her San Francisco ashram near San Ramon, I took a lab grown crystal cluster with me. I have had the privilege over the years to work with Amma’s charitable gift shop and knew Swamini Amritakrishnaprana quite well, who is her full time personal assistant. I gave the emerald cluster to Swamini and asked to her to give it to Amma.

I didn’t feel the need to explain my request to Swamini as I had had many previous experiences with Amma where She knew my concerns before I voiced them and answered them without unnecessary conversation. Swamini handed Mother the emerald cluster during the darshan program, and I let the matter rest until late afternoon the next day.

When I saw Swamini then, she told me that something very unusual was happening. She said Amma is given jewelry and other gifts all the time during darshan and constantly passes them on to her assistants, later to be sold to raise money for her charities. But Swamini was surprised to notice that Amma kept the emerald cluster next to Her during the program and seemed to be playing with it. Afterward She took it to her room and even had it at the breakfast table the following day. Swamini said that she had never seen Amma do this before.
The next day Amma told Swamini that this emerald material is very good and should be included in the on-tour gift shop as an astrological stone for Mercury. When Swamini told me this, she couldn’t have realized how happy I was to find validation for the Astrogems approach to certain laboratory grown gemstones. Since that time Amma’s gift shop has been promoting and selling laboratory crystal emeralds as the favored Mercury stone to buy, and has asked me about the best source of supply.

Sometime later I told this story to one respected astrologer who strongly differed with me on the matter, and his reply was half right. He said that there many charlatan spiritual posers in India, and she had to be one of them. I share his healthy skepticism, but my deeply personal and profound experiences with Amma meant I could not disagree more with his assessment of a saint he had not had the pleasure of meeting.
Of course I would prefer to sell faultless natural emeralds if it were practical. But at over a thousand dollars a carat for what I consider to be suitable emerald material, I don’t feel the extravagance is worth it unless the client has abnormal wealth.

With individual stones, some astrologers say you should take off that particular stone at the end of the dasha that it’s representing-the planetary period where that particular planet is the most influential. I feel that such advice is an economic betrayal of the reason for spending so much money on the stone. I advise my clients never to take off the navaratna except when essential.

Generally, I don’t advise my clients to take the bangle off because noble metals shouldn’t trigger an airport censor, nor should the gems. You shouldn’t take the navaratna off when you are having a shower. It helps to keep it clean. If you swim a lot in a heavily chlorinated swimming pool it is true that the pearl can lose it’s luster and be damaged by excessive chlorine. This discoloration will take a few months of swimming pool dipping , so there is no immediate necessity in taking it off.

For reasons of concern for security, I definitely wouldn’t recommend wearing an exposed navaratna in a precarious foreign country like Central Africa or some parts of South America. The more you take off your ring and put it on the sink the more likely you are to forget to put it back on and to lose it. The more you take off the navaratna the more likely an opportunity will be created for its theft or loss also. For this added reason, I advise my clients not to take it off. It should be so comfortable that they don’t even know that they’re wearing it, except for the feeling of well-being.

Physically it should not be tight on the arm. It should be very comfortable; ergonomically designed to flow with the shape of their arm and smoothly stretch with the expansion of the muscles.

Vedic astrologers have extensive skills in analyzing the planetary deficiencies that need strengthening in the chart. They have for the most part selected their substitute system based on the less expensive and far more readily available gems. As yet, I have not read what I consider an authoritative source for deciding what the substitutes are and how well they work. I am satisfied that the primary gems came from the rishis, but who decided upon the substitutes? Edgar Cayce recommended gems and stones to individuals but his non Vedic gems were never specifically prescribed for a single planetary focus.

I have a deep respect for his legacy. But, unfortunately, though I have read his pioneering work many times, his reference to substitutes is not covered. I have had my chart done many times and when it has come to the area of substitute gems the advice has been very wide and varied. Though astrologers can differ widely on which stone to recommend as a substitute, this is not to say that the stones are not highly beneficial. My first Vedic astrologer strongly recommended that I get a blue topaz. As a gemologist I already knew that natural blue topaz is so rare it is virtually non existent on the market. What he didn’t know was that he was advising that I wear a topaz that had been nuclear irradiated with gamma rays which had changed its electron structure in such a way that it will trap the blue rays of light in the spectrum. Neutron or electron bombardment is also common to change Topaz color. The US Customs has often in past years turned back blue topaz coming from Brazil because it had a too high radioactive reading with their Geiger counters! As I had this reading in India, and having traveled that land widely, I have never seen a blue topaz there that has not been enhanced by radiation.

Citrine is often advised instead of yellow sapphire. Very few realize that most citrine is smoky quartz or low quality amethyst that has been heat treated in a Brazilian kiln to turn it yellow. Golden topaz often shares the same procedure. Many times I have seen people wearing laboratory grown amethyst or quartz thinking it naturally occurring. Goldstone has been recommended as a substitute, being a misnomer it is in fact always glass with copper filings in it and does not exist naturally. A diamond is 140 times harder than its next hardest neighbor, a white sapphire, yet some recommend it as a diamond substitute. White sapphire is very often heat treated to melt out inclusions. Doesn’t it make sense that it would be closer to the influence of a light yellow sapphire? So you see there is a definite need to clarify the knowledge influencing these substitute recommendations. When time allows, I look forward to doing a research project using some very high-tech computers and biofeedback machines to help indicate substitutes. But time as always waits for no one.

Many people disagree with my stand concerning the laboratory-grown crystal emerald and ruby, and instead promote their dubious and not universally accepted substitutes. There is an immediate reaction that these gems are man-made. But this is not the case. The laboratory is the environment that allows the gem crystals to grow using Divine Mother Nature’s laws of creation to develop. Is there really that much difference between a wild-grown vegetable and one grown in a laboratory greenhouse? I try to bring my detractors to analyze the scientifically measurable similarities that one can refer to on the charts. If you try to compare the substitutes tourmaline or peridot to an emerald using the same scientifically measurable characteristics on these charts, you will find that these stones have few similarities. They do have a green color range. And of course color is important. But of far more importance is the crystal habit. The difference of the crystal is as pronounced as the pyramid is to the cube. And that is how I relate to the differences in substitutes. This is not to say the tourmaline or the peridot are not wonderful gems to wear, but I question whether they actually come close to harmonizing with the planetary radiations they are supposed to replace.

What I try to do when a client wants the gem but can not afford the high price is get the same stone with a good weight and clarity, but tumble polished. True, it certainly doesn’t look as attractive, but primarily we are aiming at an instrument of karmic mitigation, not just cosmetic appeal. I sell substitute gems but feel happier when the client has both sides of the story.

I do, but my goal is not to compromise too much and therefore lessen the focus of the remedial gems I am trying to offer. I deeply advise further reading of Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda. He wrote that, unless the required weight is secured, the remedial influence is not attained.

With some gems you can. Very often it is the cut that makes a gem expensive. When stones are faceted there is an enormous amount of wastage, sometimes as much as 80%. You, the end user, pay for this . Consequently the important priorities are the weight, clarity and color. This is why I sell uncut high quality crystal material with polished or smooth sides, when available. Sometimes an inclusion that is barely visible to the naked eye will also tumble the price down.

Without electricity our bodies are dead and all electricity and energy has a frequency vibration. That electricity leaves at death and becomes our astral body. So we are much much more electrical than physical.

Paramahansa Yogananda said all our past thoughts, deeds and actions are recorded vibratorily in our chakras awaiting stimulation by planetary or astrological resonance to manifest as a karmic return at a later date or life.

All planets have gravity and magnetospheres as they orbit in the solar system.

Their powerful magnetosphere constantly sends out radiation which is diluted in different ways depending on other planetary movements and house location, that find almost zero resistance while travelling through the vacuum of space. These planetary radiations coming to the earth permeate our electrical body and depending on the karmic recordings of past actions in our chakras will or will not resonate and electromagnetically manifest a cosmically predetermined karmic symmetry.

Certain planetary gems or crystals are unique in that like magnets they have an alignment of the electrons.

Multi gem bangles can act like breakers in an electrical circuit that can supplement, modulate and transfer vibratorily a benign frequency to our electrical body and in turn greatly lessen our complex negative karmic signature, that would otherwise resonate to harmful planetary radiations.

While eliminating or mitigating our tendency to experience negative karma, they also uplift the vibratory signatures in the chakras to attract more positive karma. Once the planets have moved through a destructive or difficult cycle (transit) in our horoscope, that predestined karma cannot return or lurk for a later time. Yogananda wrote in a chapter he called “Outwitting the Stars” from the brilliant spiritual classic “Autobiography of a Yogi”.

” By a number of means – by prayer, by will power, by yoga meditation, by consultation with saints, by use of astrological bangles – the adverse effects of past wrongs can be minimized or nullified……”

This condensed explanation is not made up by Astrogems but summarized from words by Swami Sri Yukteswar and Paramahansa Yogananda via the brilliant spiritual classic “Autobiography of a Yogi” and other books written by them.

For a more in depth explanation please visit “What the Yoga Masters have to Say” at www.astrogems.com

Many astrologers advise white sapphire for Venus as a substitute stone for the diamond. I feel that if the client is really serious about getting an affordable and correct electromagnetic gem for Venus, then it has to be a diamond crystal, as so far I have not found any Puranic text advising white sapphire. I suspect the unethical practice in India of astrologers selling white sapphires for Venus influence began as a consequence of not having any diamonds for sale. They suggested white sapphires as being the next best thing. There is no evidence from any illumined sages that white sapphires are viable substitutes for diamonds. And thus, as it is not referenced in the Vedas by the rishis, then individuals sincerely interested in improving their magnetic karmic pattern should not be swayed by the cosmetic appeal of the white sapphire. There are also other concerns I have over white sapphire.

My experience has been that, of all the sapphires, it is most difficult to detect heat treatment of white sapphire. Its crystal clear quality prevents several gemological procedures from detecting the violent heat-treatment process, potentially in excess of 1600 degrees Celsius. So common is the practice of heating the milkier sapphires to clear transparent white (97% with stones over two carats), that I am reluctant to guarantee any white sapphire. Often when heating yellow or blue sapphires to bring up the color, they go the other way and turn crystal clear. These falsified gems are then sold as white sapphires.

I sell many uncut diamond crystals of two carats and over which possess all the desired electromagnetic properties as an alternative which offers substantial savings.

Often people who have heard my reasoning on laboratory-grown crystals still retain reservations about whether or not to get a stone acquired by mining.

If I had the time to show them examples of the convincing numerous and glass fracture-filled rubies that sell for enormous prices (over six thousand dollars for the better quality two carat stones), they might quickly decide against the natural rubies. During my life, I have spent several years in Asia. Over the last seven months, four months have been spent in Asian countries where I visited the same gem producing areas I have been going to over the years. This gives me the opportunity to cut through all the hype about gems and find out what really is coming out of the field. I spend long periods with professionals who know how to enhance gems artificially but do not declare this unless they know they can not get away with it . Their attitude is that they have kids to raise and the westerners are so wealthy anyway, what does it really matter!!!!I know there is a lot of lab-grown ruby floating around in Thailand because of my conversations with the owners of the few ruby growing labs in the world. They have told me how much they have sent in the past year and, trust me, it does not show itself as lab-grown when mixed in with the heavy trays of uncut rough ruby. The fact is that if a ruby is heated to near melting point, there will be no remaining inclusions to show evidence of heat treatment, simply because they have been dissolved into the gem. A gemologist has no information to prove is has been super-fried. Most gemologists cannot detect heat treatment in perfect stones with glass filling, due to the cost of the equipment and time to really scrutinize the gem. The gem dealer will emphasize that the source he obtained it from is highly, highly reputable. If that satisfies you, then let your karma roll from there.

Should you be so bold as to purchase a natural ruby I strongly recommend you get it independently appraised for detection of heat treatment at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California. Often when the mined sapphire is extracted, it can be a black purple or pink color with a deep, blue vein that, when heated to almost melting point or just over, will turn the stone into a red or pink colored ruby! But you can imagine what it’s done to the new ruby’s atomic crystal lattice. Often gemologists may guess at a ruby’s treatment, but again I ask you to take it the Institute, or save you income and acquire a much less expensive ruby that still grew using the laws of mother nature.

Myanmar’s Other Ruby
This is part of an article on heat treatment of ruby taken from a scientific publication published by the Gemological Institute of America.

Mogok is not the only active ruby mining area in Burma. Stones from the Mong Hsu (pronounced “Maing Shu”) deposit, located northeast of Taunggyi in myanmar’s Shan State, first began appearing in Bangkok in mid-1992. Since then they have completely dominated the world’s ruby trade in sizes of less than 3 carats. While Myanmar has taken steps to control the trade of Mong Hsu ruby, much of it manages, nevertheless, to make its way straight to the northern Thai border town of Mae Sai.

The Mae Sai ruby market is located in Ruby Lane, where upwards of 500 people engage in selling Mong Hsu ruby, mostly rough with a few cut stones making an appearance. Perhaps 50 kilograms of rough on a given day is displayed in the market; no doubt much more is stored and viewed under guard behind closed doors.

Before heat treatment, the Mong Hsu ruby is certainly an ugly duckling; most pieces look like sub-cabochon-grade rhodolite garnet. This is mainly due to the crystal’s unusual blue cores. Heat treatment removes the blue, as well as any silk, leaving the final product a rich, clear red.

The Mong Hsu ruby’s biggest liability is the practice of glass infilling in surface cavities and fractures. Kenneth Scarratt, Lab Director at the Asian Institute for geological Sciences, confirms that virtually every stone over one carat that is sent for testing comes back with the objectionable comments that evidence of glass filling has been found. Some dealers lose so much money due to glass filling that they stop buying Mong Hsu ruby altogether.

It is common practice to use borax (borosilicate) during burning. Many Thai oven use fossil fuels, such as diesel, or even charcoal. Such fuels create a reducing atmosphere that adds, rather than subtracts, blue. Borax is said to help neutralize the atmosphere created by fossil fuels.

A simple solution is to use an electric oven- addition of certain gases can produce the desired atmosphere even with the stones burned dry and without chemicals such as borax added to the crucible. But electric oven are more expensive and old habits die hard; thus the prevalence of cheap oven and glass-filled rubies.

There are a few treaters who burn dry, but if the quantity of glass-filled rubies is any indication, they are the exception. Thus traders are left to their own devices – either trying to remove the glass by soaking the gems in hydrofluoric acid (HF), or, when that fails, trying to convince gemologists and jewelers that glass infilling is an “acceptable trade practice.”

Meanwhile, consumer demand continues to fuel the trade in Mong Hsu ruby. According to Bangkok dealer Mark Smith, most Mong Hsu ruby weighs less than half a carat. Stones in the 1-1.5 carat retch up to $1,500 per carat.

In Thailand’s Chanthaburi market, Mong Hsu rubies as large as five carats are occasionally seen, and Smith himself has purchased a couple of stones over three carats for $2,500-$3000 per carat.

his is from November/December 1996 Trade Journal Colored Stone

As they undergo enhancement, rubies are heated at temperatures as high as 2000 degrees Celsius and packing silica, aluminum, or borax. The first two substances have been widely rejected, but borax, used as a cleansing agent in glass manufacturing, has gained general market acceptance, primarily because it enhances the clarity of the stone by entering fissures and either masking or partially mending them.

An example of heated-treated ruby.
The dark violet color on the left
is the natural ruby.The light red
color on the right is the side that
has been heated.

The crux of the problem lies in the amount of residue contained in the stone. A lack of clear-cut classifications in the enhancement process has resulted in increasing dissatisfaction over the last two to three years among Japanese buyers, who were unwilling to purchase heat-treated gems that had undergone fracture filling. This dissatisfaction has snowballed into a growing lack of consumer confidence in Thai products in a market that commands 20 per cent of Thai gem exports.

Discussion of this matter at the most recent meeting between a delegation from the Japan Jewelry Association (JJA) and the Thai Gem and Jewelry Traders Association (TGJTA) in March 1996 failed to produce any real progress and instead left both sides adamantly defend their positions. “[The Japanese] don’t want borax used, but we believe it helps the stone,” said Thanan Maleesriprasert, manager of the TGJTA. “exports to Japan have fallen, but consumers must understand that all stones must be treated or there are no good colors. The Japanese are creating a problem because they want a stone that they cannot find, and when they realize this they’ll come back to us,” said Thanan at the meeting, championing the opinions of heat-treatment facility owners in Chanthaburi.

In contrast to the Japanese market, the report will probably not make a big difference to traders from the United States. According to Banker, the U>S> market is generally characterized by mass quantity and prices that the consumer assumes reflect the type of treatments that the stone has undergone.

The report from AIGS is considered by many the most positive step in the last three years to clarify market requirements. But although agreement on classification of heat treatments has been reached, the use of borax still pits the dealers against the buyers. Chanthaburi heat-treatment facilities owners, with vested interests in maintaining strong business ties with Japan, claim that even if borax were not used, they would have to use other chemicals which would produce other residues., and the issue would start again from square one.

Most people do, some don’t. It will depend on your sensitivity. If the majority of people didn’t, I’m sure I would not still be in business. I certainly felt the difference, and many clients say it is extraordinary how much the bangle does for them. I noticed a definite boost in my concentration and vitality. And I took on much less stress from pressures and irritations of life. The responses I have received cover such a wide spectrum of experience. Since it is difficult to briefly pass on the endorsements, I recommend you read my Testimonials page.

Just as copper is reputed to lessen the pain and tendency for arthritis, so the nine different Ayurvedic gems counteract a far greater range of mental, physical, environmental and spiritual adversities. I take a great interest in my feedback and have gleaned a unique fund of experience to go by when I advise gem selection

Simply put, these planets, though significant are not considered to have strong enough radiations. For balance and simplicity, to understand the complex system of Vedic astrology they are, by comparison to the other primary planets, considered to be a much lesser influence

There is no doubt the jewelry is more appealing with the gems touching from the pointed side. There are many things that I do that are not the best from an aesthetic standpoint. Primarily the reason is that again and again my feedback from clients is that they feel more well-being from the bangle when the gems are set with the greatest available skin contact. Those that have tried the gems both ways generally express increased well-being when the gems have the table side down. From a crystal point of view there isn’t a top or bottom to most faceted gems. Naturally if a client specifically wants the gems set face side out, I will do it. As long as they at least know what my feedback is. Again I would like to stress that my main focus is on an instrument of negative karmic mitigation as well as enhancing positive karmic tendencies. It’s not just jewelry. It is because of this that I have not got side tracked by making bangles with the smaller gems that one sees so often in India which, by comparison, I feel do very little.

Not necessarily, Gems are recognized as having varying degrees of strength relating to their color, tone and clarity. The weight can be more for certain gems like pearl, coral, emerald, hessonite garnet, diamond and yellow sapphire. But blue sapphire, ruby, and chrysoberyl catseye should generally not be as large. In my experience if they are well balanced by another gem with an opposite quality (hot, cold or neutral) an even stronger improvement is forthcoming.

Just as great Saints have often said “Thoughts are things,” I like to stress this further by adding that things are thoughts. Matter is a manifestation of Gods consciousness that reflects His/Her various thought forms. Gems however have an unusually strong potency to transmit this consciousness. Every substance and thought has a magnetism that attracts or repels. It is difficult for many to do a paradigm shift and think of themselves as swimming in a complex matrix of magnetism attracting or repelling multitudinous variations of pleasant or painful karmic experience. Gems merely dilute the harmful lower vibrations we have set up in the past. And I would like to stress, I don’t do regular jewelry – I only sell Ayurvedic Astrological Jewelry because of my passion from seeing how much good it can do.

Thought is a vibration of consciousness. Matter is a less rarefied condensed vibration of God’s electro-magnetic consciousness. High quality gem materials can be atomically geometric transmitters of beneficial thought forms when touching the skin. Thought to a large degree attracts and repels our karmic tendencies. Transfer of high vibrations or thought forms can occur by humble appreciation of absorbing the vibrations of holy places of pilgrimage, communing with Divine Mother Nature in her gardens or anywhere and contemplating the words or photograph of a true saint. These are some of the ways that help move the mind towards joyward union with the soul. Gems are but another tool in the quest.

A “starter bangle” is a concept where the client acquires only as many gems in a bangle as she or he can afford at the time of initial purchase. Sometimes I will finance the purchase of a few of the more expensive gems (such as the Diamond, Yellow Sapphire and Catseye) in order to reduce the trouble of having the bangle returned so often for each new added gem on a pay-as-you-go basis. I am reluctant to do loans on just two or three of the less expensive gems, if that is all the initial starter bangle consists of. I would much prefer seeing the client initially get at least four, five or even six gems on the starter bangle, as this provides a reasonably financable sum. And, ideally, the client should have at least five or six gems to begin to feel the real synergistic power of the bangle. Naturally, the best first step is to get a remedial gem analysis done by a capable Vedic astrologer, in order to find out the client’s most needed gems.

I know of several Vedic astrologers that I have no financial arrangements with (i.e., no commissions or other forms of kickback). The astrologer is paid twenty dollars for the gem analysis, which comprises a full-page report recommending the gems in the order of their helpfulness to you and advising how each one would benefit you in relationship to the unique characteristics of your horoscope. This money can be sent to me with the time, date and place of birth, with a contact address and phone number, and I will arrange to fax or send the page to you and also keep it on file for future reference.

If your are fortunate (as determined by your gem analysis), the less expensive gems will be the ones that can help you the most. The least expensive gems are the Pearl, the Red Coral, the unfaceted lab-grown Ruby crystal, the tumble-polished Hessonite Garnet and the lab-grown Emerald (see “Cost of Gems” on this website for respective prices). Other less expensive stones are the “substitutes”, such as the white topaz ($6 per carat) in the place of a Diamond and the amethyst instead of Blue Sapphire. I have most of the gem varieties in uncut crystal-form which, though a lot less cosmetically appealing, many people seem to enjoy wearing very much for the considerably reduced expense (see Costs of Gems page).

Each spring link costs $18 per link. And we also put in spacer, “OM” links (which cost 7$ each) as “place-holders”, for the yet-to-be-filled later gems, to reduce the number of spring links needed and, thus, keep the initial cost down. For the maximum degree of comfort each bangle should have from four to eight spring links, depending on the arm size.

Overall, a starter bangle can be purchased starting at about $500, using three of the least expensive gems. The price would naturally be higher if starting with more gems, or if they are more expensive gems (i.e., higher cost per unit weight). We prefer not to spend too much time on paperwork, packing and shipping and, thus, encourage the client to purchase at least three hundred dollars worth of gem(s) at each stage of development toward completing the nine-gem bangle. We also provide the much needed service of buying back any initial gem(s) at full, original price as a “trade up” to better quality gems of a similar type, whenever the client wishes. However, this is done at our convenience and discretion and generally it is better if you can arrange to visit the showroom for such exchanges. For long distance transactions of this kind, postage and packing is always charged, and no responsibility is taken if a package is sent without any arrangement or prior notice.

Even with starter bangles, a ten-day return, full purchase refund policy is activated at the time.

General Bangle Pricing

When people ask me how much a nine gem bangle costs, I generally give the following ballpark figures:

Full nine gem bangle using mostly uncut gems and a White Topaz for Venus, including all silver and setting costs: $1500

Full nine gem bangle using mostly uncut gems and a Diamond for Venus, including all silver and setting costs: $2400

Full nine gem bangle using mostly faceted gems, including all silver and setting costs: $3000 – $4500

Full nine gem bangle using mostly faceted gems, set in gold: $4000 – $5900

Bangle Example # 1

This person was budget conscious, so we put together a bangle that contained a lot of uncut stones for maximum benefit at minimal price.

Uncut Diamond: 2.00 cts @ $275 per ct = $ 550

Our high end uncut diamond normally cost $330 per carat. This one had a few minor inclusions to help bring the cost down to $275 per carat.

Uncut Yellow Sapphire Crystal: 2.24 cts @ $ 55 per ct = $ 123

Normally when dealing with uncut stones, we like to go with bigger stones, to compensate for small imperfections that tend to be found in uncut material. A 2.24 carat uncut stone is small, but this person had a very strong Jupiter and this stone was particularly clean.

Uncut Blue Sapphire Crystal: 6.30 cts @ $ 45per ct = $ 283

This is a good size for an uncut stone. This Blue Sapphire had a very deep blue color and at $35 per carat, this person could afford to get a big one. The outstanding feature of this stone is the deep blue color which unlike 99% of most faceted deep blue stones is definitely unheated as a friend of mine in Australia that owns the sapphire mine supplies me directly. These crystals are bought for there flatish shape that allows for a comfortable and large skin contact which allows for maximum electro-magnetic radiation’s transfer.

Chrysoberyl Catseye: 2.05 cts @ $260 per ct = $ 533

A top of the line Chrysoberyl Catseye can go as high as $410 per carat. And even then I have some extraordinary specimens in the milk and honey variety that leap past the $750 a carat range. Though this price is dictated by fashion and rarity and not the quality of the gems homogenous catseye phenomena.

Once again, because this person was budget conscious and had a strong Ketu, we chose a low carat, mid-range stone.

Red Coral 2.55 cts $70 total = $ 70

Mars is this person’s strongest planet, so he did not need much coral. He got a small piece with a deep red color. Often we have clients who have a well placed coral but still express weaker mars indications like sensitivity to the cold. Lack of physical energy. I like to stress that as we get older our receptivity to planetary energies gets severely weakened and this is part of the condition for many . However for remedial strategy to combat this a coral necklace is wonderful tool to experiment with to evaluate its often dramatic usefulness. It can be worn for a few days when one feels low on energy or is combating a cold winter and removed when summer is flying its warm colors and are fitness is coming around.

Natural Seawater Pearl 6.18 cts $250 total = $ 250

Normally pearl is only around $100 total, but this person happened to fall in love with a high end piece and wanted it despite his budget. Sometimes people are drawn to certain stones.

Ruby 5.00 cts @ $ 48 per ct = $240

All of our laboratory-grown ruby crystal are flawless and $25 per carat. 5 carats is an average size.

Emerald 10.50 cts @ $ 40 per ct = $ 420

The emerald is laboratory-grown as well, also flawless. 10.5 carats is on the large size for an emerald. Most people get around 7 or 8 carats.

Hessonite Garnet Uncut 5.70 cts @ $ 15 per ct = $ 85

This person chose an uncut hessonite over cut because of the incredibly low price of uncut compared to faceted. (Faceted hessonite costs between $90 and $120 per carat for flawless weightier material.)

Silver Gem Setting $25 per piece times 9 pieces = $225

Expandable Spring Links $18 per link times 6 links = $108

Bangle total $2,887

Bangle Example # 2 – Gold Bangle

When a customer gets a gold bangle, we make no profit on the cost of the gold. We charge only what it costs us to have the material cast.

Bangle Example # 3 -Budget Bangle

Diamond: No Diamond

This person opted to go with a White Topaz instead. The Diamond is much more powerful than the White Topaz. This person got a Topaz first, then later upgraded to a Diamond. White Topaz sells for $8 per carat for larger stones. In the case of any upgrade, we will buy back all substitute stones at full price.

Yellow Topaz Crystal: 6.90 cts @ $15 per ct = $ 103

Yellow Topaz is a powerful stone that many people prefer to the Yellow Sapphire. It is also less expensive in its uncut form.

Uncut Blue Sapphire 2.47 cts @ $45 per ct = $111

This was a very good quality, natural, unheated, deep blue sapphire.

Chrysoberyl Catseye: 2.90 cts @ $60 per ct = $174

This is an incredibly low price for a Chrysoberyl Catseye. The stone was of mid-range quality.

Red Coral 7.60 cts $65 total = $ 65

This was a good-sized coral. Because the piece was of a more pale color, we were able to bring down the price.

Pearl 5.98 cts $80 total = $ 80

This was a high quality piece.

Ruby 6.6 cts @ $ 48per ct = $316

Uncut laboratory-grown ruby crystal. All lab-grown ruby is superior quality.

Emerald 7.10 cts @ $ 40 per ct = $284

Laboratory-grown faceted Emerald. Like the ruby, it is all of superior quality.

Hessonite Garnet Uncut 9.20 cts @ $ 15 per ct = $138

Tumble polished, high quality stone.

White Topaz 6.76 cts @ $8 per ct = $54

All White Topaz is of superior quality, but it is not nearly as powerful stone as the Diamond. The hardness of the diamond is over 200 times harder than a topaz. A great part of the lifeforce in a gem comes from its hardness and size. It is considered to be a Venus stone, but our experience has shown that this is by no means a comparable gem to the Diamond. As stated earlier, the person later upgraded to a Diamond.

Silver Gem Setting $25 per piece times 9 pieces = $225

Expandable Spring Links $18 per link times …4 links = $ 72

Bangle Total = $1622

Bangle Example # 4 – High End Bangle

Every stone on this bangle was the highest possible quality.

Uncut Diamond: 2.39 cts @ $380 per ct = $908

Faceted Yellow Sapphire: 3.90 cts @ $375 per ct = $1462

Faceted Blue Sapphire 2.65 cts @ $370 per ct = $ 980

Chrysoberyl Catseye: 2.35 cts @ $410per ct = $963

Red Coral 6.60 cts $180 total = $ 180

Natural Seawater Pearl (Keshi) 6.98 cts $250 total = $250

Uncut Ruby 8.72 cts @ $48 per ct = $418

Emerald 10.14 cts @ $ 40 per ct = $405

Faceted Hessonite Garnet 4.65 cts @ $ 90 per ct = $418

Silver Gem Setting $25 per piece times 9 pieces = $225

Expandable Spring Links $18 per link times 9 links = $162

Bangle Total = $6371

Yogananda said that in order for metals to have a pure astral light, they have to be in pure elemental form. With gold, the purest we can work with is 22kt. Those that have worn a gold bangle, having transferred the gems from a silver one, say that they feel a lift to their physical strength and well-being.

I do not credit sterling silver with being nearly as effective as pure silver, but structural integrity is more essential . I cannot have my bangles falling apart down the road. Yogananda said that silver has a similar electromagnetic radiation as the moon. Gold is for the sun and copper for Mars. However metals are more for the body and are not as powerful as gems are on the mind.

White gold is too diluted, and though we do work in it, I do not recommend it over yellow gold. I try to do what I find works, because a lot of astrologers seem to have this pet attraction for recommending white gold. Lets look a little deeper:

There are two types of white gold. Both look the same, both are 18kt, but read on. One is 75% gold, 15%Nickel, 5%copper, and 5% zinc. Zinc and Nickel are not noble metals, nor metals that conduct the body’s static electricity well.

The other type of white gold that we can do is 75% gold and 25% palladium. Palladium is presently (Nov. 2001) over $800 an ounce. Not many casting jewelers like to work with it, because of the low profit margin. I would prefer the palladium alloy but when we tell them the price, most clients opt for 22kt gold, which is either done in 92% gold, 4% silver and 4% copper (all noble metals), or a mix of 90% gold and 10% silver. Therefore, although white gold looks like polished silver that does not lose its shiny luster, I do not feel it is as beneficial to wear as 22kt yellow gold.

Lab grown diamonds, if large enough, generally sell on the market as naturals. Only if they are grown with tell-tale characteristics do they enter the market as lab-grown. Otherwise there is no way GIA (Gemological Institute of America) can tell the difference.

Debeers sponsor GIA in order to convey an impression of professional infallibility with their great research and empirical analysis. What they don’t advertise or bring attention to is the fact that lab-grown diamonds can be grown without clear cut distinctions between naturals.

GIA focuses on all the characteristics found in lab-grown diamonds that don’t make the mark of natural quality, however high quality laboratory diamonds can be grown that do not show these characteristics. Its that simple. The best lab-grown diamond crystals are very expensive and not worth the cost compared to the similarly priced naturals.

The important difference between a conventional ring and an Ayurvedic Astrological ring is that with an Ayurvedic ring, the gem has direct contact with the person’s finger. Generally, I’m not fond of rings because I don’t think the apex of the gem is the best part to be touching the skin. In the picture below, you can see how a pearl or coral can be set to press into the finger. This is not as efficient, however, when the apex of a facetted gemstone touches the finger. If you have a magnet and try to lift a metal object using a only its corner, not enough magnetism will be transferred to lift the object. But if a large surface area of that same magnet is used, it will easily lift that same metal object. I believe it is the same with the electro-magnetic radiation transfer of gems. Sometimes a bigger gem may not be as beneficial as a smaller one that has a much larger skin contact area. Before gems were affordable, astrologers would recommend only one gem to wear. That tradition has continued to this day, even though gems are much more plentiful and affordable now. We recommend the nine-gem Navaratna arm bangle, because all too often people tell us that although they like the look of a ring, they don’t feel much benefit. But clients are contstantly impressed by the bangle, with its large skin contact area.

Feel welcome to print out this drawing if you’d like to use it to show a local jeweler. We often recommend that you get measured for a ring locally and supervise the setting and design of the ring in person. We have sold many gems to clients who have had their rings made in their local town.

Those having a Vedic Astrology reading for the first time may wonder why their horoscope is different, the planets can be in different houses, and will usually even be in different signs. Vedic Astrologers use the sidereal zodiac, which is a zodiac based on the stars in the heavens. For a Vedic Astrologer a particular point in space in reference to the fixed stars marks the beginning of Aries. Western astrologers use the tropical zodiac, which is based on the equinoxes.

For a Western astrologer, the position of the Sun when it crosses the equator on the first day of spring is the beginning of Aries. Every year, however, the position of the Sun as it crosses the equator is in a slightly different place in reference to the fixed stars and galactic center. After several hundred years this creates a sizable difference from the Vedic Zodiac. Right now this difference is almost 24 degrees, which means that most of the time all the planets in the Vedic horoscope will be in a different sign then in the Western horoscope; they will be in the previous sign. So if you Sun is in Taurus in Western astrology, chances are it will be in Aries in Vedic Astrology. After about 25,600 years the position of the Sun on the first day of spring will have moved backwards a full 360 degrees to return to where it was about 25,600 years ago. In about 12,000 years the difference between the Vedic (sidereal) zodiac and the Western (tropical) zodiac will be 180 degrees!

Vedic astrologers usually divide the zodiac into the houses in a slightly different way then do Western astrologer. In fact, Western astrologers also divide the zodiac into the houses differently, so if you go to a different astrologer there is always a chance that one or a few planets may actually be in a different house then you are used to. The best thing to do is to not be to concerned about that, let the astrologer do his job, whatever system he is using is the one that he is used to and will do the best job with.

Different astrologers recommend gemstones along different lines. Your Astrogems Gem Analysis lists your gems in order of importance from the one that will reduce the suffering and difficulty in your life the most, to the one that will reduce the suffering and difficulty in your life the least. The planets that are doing well in your horoscope will indicate the good things in your life that are already a source of happiness. The planets that are not doing well will indicate the things in your life that are a source of trouble or misery, so by wearing the stones for those planets, the things that are a source of unhappiness can improve.

Some astrologers like to recommend gems primarily for the good planets in your horoscope, in order to augment the good in you life. But we think that happiness is primarily the absence of misery, more then having more of what you already have, so recommend gems that will heal the troubled planets. If you find a stone in your gem analysis that that the gem analysis says will support something that you want to augment, then you can make that gem a priority.

This is correct for many years. We would get our clients analysed by a well renowned Vedic astrologer who then offered to build a detailed program for analysing the complex yogas and aspects in the chart for making the correct astrological gem recommendations in order of importance to the wearer.

With the astrological gemstone weight recommendation service is also a free natal chart that we email, as well as accurate breakdown of the dasha and sub dasha periods that the individual is passing through. Other useful information like ones Birth Star (Janma Nakshatra) are also included in case one wants to pursue karmically remedial pujas as well. Usually after you complete your birth data in the application form for your free horoscope, it gets emailed to you almost immediately.

And if you send this horoscope to me at askastrogems@gmail.com and request a quote it should be emailed to you within two days. If you accept the quote, I am happy to spend a short time discussing your horoscope to evaluate the best remedial path forward with gemstones and Puja’s. Sorry but I am too busy to read horoscopes for those who are not interested in getting an astrological navaratna bangle.

Your personal customised vedic horoscope is an excellent introspective tool to analyse what has happened to you in your life and the forces that have brought you to where you are. One of the most powerful tools for softening the negative karma in one’s life is to integrate remedial instruments and measures to lessen your personal karmic resonance with negative planetary movements. Obviously without lessening the benefits of the more harmonious strengthening orbits. Very often individuals feel that their life is going well in their younger years and sadly when they get older only then realise that they are much more prone to suffering from planetary radiations that can be more harmful. I do not have access to the horoscopes as I believe each individual may want complete privacy until they decide to send it to me for a quote.

This is correct for many years. We would get our clients analysed by a well renowned Vedic astrologer who then offered to build a detailed program for analysing the complex yogas and aspects in the chart for making the correct astrological gem recommendations in order of importance to the wearer.

With the astrological gemstone weight recommendation service is also a free natal chart that we email, as well as accurate breakdown of the dasha and sub dasha periods that the individual is passing through. Other useful information like ones Birth Star (Janma Nakshatra) are also included in case one wants to pursue karmically remedial pujas as well. Usually after you complete your birth data in the application form for your free horoscope, it gets emailed to you almost immediately.

And if you send this horoscope to me at askastrogems@gmail.com and request a quote it should be emailed to you within two days. If you accept the quote, I am happy to spend a short time discussing your horoscope to evaluate the best remedial path forward with gemstones and Puja’s. Sorry but I am too busy to read horoscopes for those who are not interested in getting an astrological navaratna bangle.

Your personal customised vedic horoscope is an excellent introspective tool to analyse what has happened to you in your life and the forces that have brought you to where you are. One of the most powerful tools for softening the negative karma in one’s life is to integrate remedial instruments and measures to lessen your personal karmic resonance with negative planetary movements. Obviously without lessening the benefits of the more harmonious strengthening orbits. Very often individuals feel that their life is going well in their younger years and sadly when they get older only then realise that they are much more prone to suffering from planetary radiations that can be more harmful. I do not have access to the horoscopes as I believe each individual may want complete privacy until they decide to send it to me for a quote.

 Well obviously I am not authorized to speak for the society Yogananda spent the better part of his incarnation training disciples to carry on. As an SRF member I can venture some observations and allow you to conclude your perspective. Yogananda recommended to certain individuals that they would benefit from wearing a three metal astrological bangle. It is made of three wires of pure gold, silver and copper and is sometimes called (in very bad taste) the Yogananda bangle. Tara Mata, one of his leading disciples, once mentioned in an old edition of East West magazine that gold represented the sun, silver the moon and copper was for Mars.

So right here we have three planets and not the vibratory representations of nine. However metals seem to have a different influence to gemstones. We all know that metals have conductive properties and it is presumed by some that the three metal bangle is especially useful for conducting excessive static of certain types of electricity in the body. Swami Sri Yukteswar wrote in “The Holy Science” that we have five different types of electricity in the body. And on this front I feel that the bangle is a good mechanism for helping to balance out these electricities. Yogananda also mentioned that the astral light of pure metals was beneficial to the wearer. One would assume based on the term astral light that the benefit is not just of the conductive influence but also of the radiating electro magnetic effect. It is interesting to note that those who seem to have physical challenges are the ones that have had the bangle recommended to them over the years by senior SRF monastics. And that SRF is very careful not to allow a slavish attraction develop to the need in getting a bangle. 

To read details on how to aquire a three metal bangle click here.

Because they can be very expensive, it can be an awkward thing to recommend.
For example if only one member of the family is in SRF, and say for instance this person is the breadwinner with other financial responsibilities, if they purchase the three metal bangle their spouse may differ assertively that the college education fund for their son should take precedence, etc. Hence it is easy to see why the organization may be obliged to take a very neutral stance on the issue of the usefulness of the three metal astrological bangle so as to not confuse the science of karmic benefit with the personal family issues of the member.

Swami Sri Yukteswar wore an astrological nine gem bangle. It is referenced in Mejda when Richard Wright was asked to guard his body after his mahasamadhi. It has been said that he also asked Yogananda to wear one and that he did so out of obedience to his Guru. However it is well known that Yogananda was very critical to the fatalistic influences of following astrologers as so many of them in his experience were not able to inspire people to change but more inclined to make them blindly inert, too accepting of their karmic pattern.

He never mentioned it that I know of, but I am sure he also would have observed the commonly corrupt practice of astrologers benefiting from selling gemstones via third parties and milking their clients in other such unprofessional ways. As certain practices seem not to die out very readily!

But back to the issue of difference between the bangles. I personally wear both and have observed via the nearly two thousand clients that we have made nine gem bangles for, of which a few hundred have also worn the three metal bangle, that there is a distinct difference between them.

When people wear the three metal bangle sometimes it may heat up as it takes on their electrical field. This is an interesting phenomena that I have observed in several testimonials. I have personally done biofeedback monitoring exercises with very sensitive computer software and noticed that the graphs show my electrical meridians to be more balanced and stronger when wearing it. So I am very happy to have mine and definitely feel it helps me to be more strong and protected, etc.

One story I heard was of a fellow getting blood poisoning in his hand and seeing the dark blood condition spread up his veins towards his shoulder. However when the dark blue color spreading up his veins got to his bangle, it stopped and couldn’t get past it. The doctor seemed to get very excited and called the other doctors to witness the strange phenomenon.

Paramahansa Yogananda wrote a letter to Rajarsi Janakananda encouraging him to wear a three metal bangle and his explanation is very interesting.

It would be a major political hot potato for SRF to promote in any manner the nine gem bangles. They are pricey and it is an area where trust in the integrity of the jewel seller is tantamount. Thus it is a field rife with opportunism, strong opinions, and misinformation.

On our website we go into excessive detail in order to be sure the prospective client does not have unrealistic expectations. And it is for this reason that when I discuss the benefits of bangles I mute testimonial feedback I get from some of the more enthusiastic clients in order to tailor down the expectations. Having said this. The nine gem bangle very clearly works on both the mental and physical bodies. However it is supposed by many that it has far more karmic mitigating influence in the psychological area than the physical.

I would like to give an example here. When Paramahansa Yogananda wrote in the Autobiography of a Yogi.

“By a number of means – by prayer, by will power, by yoga meditation, by consultation with saints, by use of astrological bangles – the adverse effects of past wrongs can be minimized or nullified.

Just as a house can be fitted with a copper rod to absorb the shock of lightning, so the bodily temple can be benefited by various protective measures. Ages ago our yogis discovered that pure metals emit an astral light which is powerfully counteractive to negative pulls of the planets. Subtle electrical and magnetic radiations are constantly circulating in the universe; when a man’s body is being aided, he does not know it; when it is being disintegrated, he is still in ignorance. Can he do anything about it?

This problem received attention from our rishis; they found helpful not only a combination of metals, but also of plants and – most effective of all – faultless jewels of not less than two carats. The preventive uses of astrology have seldom been seriously studied outside of India. One little-known fact is that the proper jewels, metals, or plant preparations are valueless unless the required weight is secured, and unless these remedial agents are worn next to the skin.”

One will notice that he referenced that the rishis had discovered jewels as being the most effective mechanical method for mitigating karma of all different physical materials. But why is this and how have we seen it to be true?
Well obviously anything physical has limitations and the same is the case with gemstones.

When I sell a bangle that gives mahasamadhi I shall definitely be surprised! Testimonial feedback is the main tool we use as only consciousness can measure consciousness. The seat of all suffering is in the mind. The source of all karma is how the mind reacts to circumstances. Without the ego mind there can be no attached karma.

The electromagnetic radiations of the gemstones touching the skin seem to lessen the impact of how karma attaches itself to the mind.

I have hundreds of examples but will relate one I heard last week from a new client. She worked in an office in New York. She had a supervisor that seemed to relish his authority a little too much and abuse it to the degree that he would be very rude and intimidating. He would even shout and be somewhat abusive. And though she had great, very high paying job offers elsewhere, she didn’t want to leave as this job was close to home and she had so many close friends there. She noticed that for the months before she got the bangle, the once or twice a month that she had to interact with this individual she would go home and take the unpleasantness of the experience with her and dwell on it in a depressed and uncomfortable manner. Usually it would be over before she got to bed but it would still make her evening unpleasant.

After she got the bangle she was very surprised to notice that this fellow didn’t seem to get her goat as much and that she certainly didn’t let if faze her after she left the office.

This is a classic example of how karma works. We think so often that it is what happens to us when if fact it is how we react to what happens to us and this is the what the bangle seems to change by degrees.

I have never extensively heard this type of testimonial feedback from wearers of the three metal bangle. So obviously they must work in different ways.

For more information on the three metal bangle sometimes recommended by Paramahansa Yogananda please click here.

A great way to get further understanding on this subject is to read the page called: What the yoga masters have to say

This is a conundrum many astrologers would like to ignore. However the art of astrology based on birth time is still relevant. It is just another measure of an astrologically auspicious event. When a person does not have an accurate information about his or her birth time, an astrological rectification is done. This is achieved by analyzing significant events in the person’s life. Accidents, travel, marriage, children, death in the family, relocation of home, promotions, changes in employment, and illnesses are all examples of details an astrologer would use in a rectification. This is a well established science and many books cover this subject. It can be argued that the birth event is such a powerful and significant karmic development that it must have a direct relationship to the actual time of conception. Many believe that the time of birth is also in karmic continuance with the time of conception, and that astrology as an art form has defined and refined itself around the birth event.

When one is endeavoring to find the best solution for karmic remediation with gemstones, one should realize that at best Astrology is still a mathematical and intuitive subject practiced by sincere but inadequate persons who are not of the consciousness or understanding of Swami Sri Yukteswar, or any other great sage. I do not know of a living consultant astrologer capable of defining the time of conception based on birth time. In light of this, I decided many years ago after getting many different gemstone recommendations that were not in agreement with each other, that it is best to wear all the available planetary gems as electromagnetic vitamin supplements to one’s karmic pattern. It is my belief that as long as the doshas of the gems are in a good talismanic balance, i.e. hot with cold stones etc., the most powerful instrument for this purpose is a holistic nine-gem or multi-gem bangle.

Often our clients discover the need to adjust the size of their bangles as their weight fluctuates or their exercise habits change. Adding or removing one of the expandable spring links is an easy operation.

Below are three drawings of the underside of a sequence of spring links. In Figure 1 the flat plate of one spring link has been bent up by about a quarter of an inch. (In the drawing the angle of the plate is slightly exaggerated.) Because the pure silver spring link is made from a soft metal This “mouth” of the link can be opened with a knife or even a strong fingernail.

Below are three drawings of the underside of a sequence of spring links. In Figure 1 the flat plate of one spring link has been bent up by about a quarter of an inch. (In the drawing the angle of the plate is slightly exaggerated.) Because the pure silver spring link is made from a soft metal This “mouth” of the link can be opened with a knife or even a strong fingernail. 

With the plate up like this, the sliding U-bar joiner can pass through so that the links can be uncoupled (Fig. 2). With the desired number of links in place and the U-bar re-coupled, the mouth can be closed again by pressing the plate down with finger pressure (Fig 3).

We advise clients to purchase an extra spring link with each bangle in case their arm size should change in the future. The bangle should fit comfortably enough that the wearer is generally not aware of it on the arm. For better comfort most clients wear it with the gem section of the bangle touching the inside part of the arm.

Another description to evaluate is the youtube short video we made to show how a spring is inserted into the spring link