Sympathetic magic and moonstones and it’s alright

January 22nd, 2023

I was a witness to a very interesting and rather disturbing conversation lately at work. It was not so much a conversation as a monologue with listeners just politely nodding and keeping their mouths verbally shut and physically agape at the same time. A serious and well-adjusted and seemingly hard-core realist coworker was telling us about her moonstones and how they help her to get easy seven hours of sleep a night no matter what is going on in her life or with surrounding issues at work and the world and how without them she would be a mess.

Apparently, it is a thing — I remember that she told us that there are stones (sapphires and amethysts and others) that have special properties to help our bodies and our minds to relax and rest at night. They need to be placed at special places around the bed and around the room, and they need to be connected to the actual body by a bracelet which is made from receiver stones that need to be worn at all times. Special fragrant candles need to be used as well for the totality of the experience. Oh, and those stones have to be charged monthly — by placing them outside during the full moon.

That is a bunch of bunk and I don't believe any of it.

And as I have seen on the faces of others who were politely nodding as we were listening to it they thought the same but no one dared to say anything. Which was the good and correct thing to do. As much as I don't believe that stones charged by moonlight can help our bodies and minds in any way except as in a placebo effect, I don't think there is any harm in believing in it and using it as a daily ritual. That is the thing — it is not the stones or any other magic happening. It is the ritual to which we assigned a special meaning that helps us. I have my sympathetic magic rituals as well, although not so elaborate as moonstones, so my surprise hearing about it and disillusionment toward my coworker were misplaced. We all have our special rituals, some that we share with others, some extremely personal and individualistic. They all have the same reason, to reassure us that as long as we do things in this particular way, or with those particular items the result of those actions will be positive and expected. Those rituals are needed to help us to will the belief into reality, by something that we want to believe in. No harm in that at all no matter how silly it might look to the onlookers — as long as it stays our private ritual and there is no pressuring others to do the same.

Whatever gets you through the night, it’s alright, it’s alright —