TCM Properties

Traditional Use

Anchors and calms the Spirit - used for restlessness, insomnia, palpitations, and agitation when a heavy settling mineral is needed.
Calms the Liver and subdues Yang - classically chosen for dizziness, headache, tinnitus, or blurred vision when Liver Yang rises upward.
Opens the ear orifices and brightens the eyes - one of the classic mineral medicines for tinnitus, hearing decline, and vision dimness associated with Kidney deficiency.
Aids the Kidneys in grasping Qi - extended to deficiency-type wheezing or breathlessness where the Kidneys fail to hold Qi downward.

Calcining and quenching make Ci Shi easier to pulverize and safer to decoct by reducing grit and lowering the burden of geological impurities.
The processed form preserves the same therapeutic identity as Ci Shi while making the mineral more practical for real clinical use.

Ci Zhu Wan (磁朱丸) - classic formula in which Ci Shi joins cinnabar to calm the Spirit, settle floating Yang, and benefit the eyes and ears.
Er Long Zuo Ci Wan (耳聋左慈丸) - tinnitus and hearing-loss formula lineage using Ci Shi to connect Kidney deficiency treatment with the ear orifices.
Ci Shi with Dai Zhe Shi or Shi Jue Ming - mineral combinations used when severe upward disturbance causes dizziness, tinnitus, and irritability.

Me & Qi presents Ci Shi as a classic heavy mineral that anchors the Spirit, subdues Yang, opens the ears, brightens the eyes, and helps the Kidneys grasp Qi.
Classical sources cited by Me & Qi repeatedly connect magnetite with tinnitus, deafness, dim vision, and the broader Heart-Kidney or Liver-Kidney axis.
PREPARATION NOTE: Duan Ci Shi is not a new herb but the clinically prepared magnetite form, used because raw ore is too hard, impure, and difficult to reduce to a useful medicinal powder.

Magnetite (Fe3O4) - the core ferriferrous oxide mineral underlying Ci Shi
Iron ions within the mineral matrix - part of the ore's redox and trace-mineral profile
Trace geological elements such as manganese, chromium, titanium, strontium, and arsenic - variable impurities that make quality control important
Magnetic mineral structure - the defining physical quality used in classical identity testing

Modern standalone pharmacology on Duan Ci Shi is limited, but quality-control work confirms that magnetite carries variable water-soluble iron and heavy-metal burdens depending on source, supporting the classical emphasis on strong processing and authenticated sourcing (PMID 22007535).
Current research interest around Ci Shi is weighted more toward mineral identity, impurity profiling, and preparation science than toward modern single-herb clinical trials.
The classical therapeutic niche for tinnitus, dizziness, and insomnia continues to survive mainly through formula-level use rather than isolated contemporary pharmacology.

Use without a true pattern of agitation, rising Yang, tinnitus, or Kidney deficiency-related upward disturbance
Long-term unsupervised use of crude mineral products

Only properly processed medicinal magnetite should be used because raw ore may contain arsenic and other heavy-metal impurities
As a dense mineral, Ci Shi is traditionally pre-decocted and processed rather than swallowed casually as raw powder
Dedicated modern drug-interaction data are lacking, but mineral medicines should be spaced from absorption-sensitive oral medications
MSK page not found - drug interaction data not available from Memorial Sloan Kettering integrative medicine database