Ci Zhu Wan磁朱丸
Magnetite and Cinnabar Pill
Ingredients3 herbs
Indications
Heart and Kidney failing to communicatewith yang drifting upward: the Kidney below cannot hold, so fire and yang float up to disturb the spirit and the sensory orifices.
Clinical Manifestations
- Palpitations and insomnia with a restless, ungrounded feeling
- Tinnitus and hardness of hearing
- Blurred or dim vision with no structural cause found
- Dizziness from yang rising unanchored
- Restlessness in seizure-type disorders, as an adjunct
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Cinnabar omitted, as is now standard — keep Ci Shi 磁石 as the anchor and add Zhen Zhu Mu 珍珠母 for the settling action
- Marked Kidney yin deficiency — combine with a yin-nourishing base such as Shu Di Huang 熟地黄 and Shan Zhu Yu 山茱萸
- Dim vision predominant — add Gou Qi Zi 枸杞子 and Ju Hua 菊花
- Weak digestion, minerals poorly tolerated — increase Shen Qu 神曲 and take after food
Contraindications
Not for patterns of clear excess heat, and not for weak digestion unless the Shen Qu is increased — dense minerals block the middle burner. Cinnabar makes the classical version unsuitable for long courses, for pregnancy or childhood, and for anyone with impaired kidney or liver function; it must never be heated. Magnetite is also unsuitable for sustained use in the frail without periodic review.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Contraindicated in pregnancy. Cinnabar has no safe dose in pregnancy, and the heavy anchoring minerals are in any case avoided while pregnant; a cinnabar-free version would still need a specific indication and practitioner supervision.
Related Formulas
References
Source Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang 《备急千金要方》 · Tang
- 《备急千金要方》 — public-domain classical source.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— chapter placement and pattern analysis cross-checked.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.