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Cura x Cura

Zi Shi Ying紫石英

Fluoritum · Fluorite · Fluorspar

Herbs that Calm the Spirit 安神药《神农本草经》

Overview

Violet fluorite — calcium fluoride, chosen for its purple colour and used as a heavy, settling mineral. Sweet and warm, which is unusual for this group: most spirit-settling minerals are cold, and this one settles while warming. It anchors a restless heart, warms the Lung so that a chronic cough stops rising, and warms a cold womb in the treatment of infertility and cold-type period pain. Being a mineral it is crushed and decocted ahead of the other herbs.

Nature & Flavor

Sweet · Warm

Channels

Heart · Lung · Kidney

Typical Dosage

9–15 g in decoction
紫石英Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

4 core actions

  • Settles the heart, calms the spiritPalpitations, fright and restlessness with insomnia, particularly where the agitation sits on a background of coldness and depletion rather than heat.
  • Warms the Lung, directs qi downwardChronic cough and wheezing of the cold, thin-phlegm type, worse in cold weather and on lying down.
  • Warms the palace of the wombInfertility and delayed, painful periods attributed to cold in the uterus, with cold lower abdomen relieved by warmth.
  • How it is preparedCrushed to coarse grit and decocted 20–30 minutes before the other herbs; the calcined and vinegar-quenched form is used in some traditions to make it more friable.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Zi Shi Ying

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Palpitations, fright and insomnia of a cold, deficient constitution
    - Chronic cold-phlegm cough and wheezing
    - Infertility and dysmenorrhea attributed to cold in the uterus

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

InsomniaPalpitationsChronic coughInfertilityDysmenorrhea

Contraindications

Cautions

Warm and heavy: not for restlessness or insomnia arising from yin deficiency with flaring heat, and not for a cough with thick yellow phlegm. It is calcium fluoride, so it is a short-course herb — cumulative fluoride exposure is the reason not to keep it in a formula for months, and it should not be given to children other than under specific practitioner direction. Being a mineral it burdens a weak Spleen; stop it if the appetite falls away.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Not used during pregnancy — it is prescribed to warm a cold womb before conception, not once a pregnancy is established.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing《神农本草经》(classical source, public domain).
    2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
    3. 《中华人民共和国药典》.

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.