The Moon Goddess and the Jade Rabbit
As tonight’s full moon marks the Mid-Autumn Festival (October 6, 2025), celebrated across China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea, families gather to honor the moon and share mooncakes beneath its luminous glow.
One of the festival’s best-known legends centers on Chang’e, the moon goddess, who drank an elixir of immortality and ascended to the heavens, leaving her mortal love behind. On the moon, she resides in a jade palace with her companion, the jade rabbit, who eternally pounds herbs to create the elixir of life.
In Chinese philosophy, the moon embodies yin—the feminine, reflective force—while jade mirrors those qualities: cool, balanced, enduring. It’s a fitting symbol for a stone that now shapes one of beauty’s most enduring rituals.
Why Jade? The Stone Behind the Ritual
Jade has been cherished in China for thousands of years, not only for its beauty but for its symbolic and energetic qualities. Its cool, smooth surface makes it ideal for gua sha, gliding easily over the skin while conveying a sense of calm and balance.
The Meaning of Gua Sha
Gua (刮) — “to scrape” or “to rub”.
Sha (痧) — refers to the reddish, millet-like marks that appear on the skin, or blood stagnation. It also describes minor “bruises.”
Together, the term literally means “to scrape away illness”—highlighting the therapeutic origins of the practice and its aim to restore balance and vitality to the body.
Gua sha tools come in a range of jade types and colors, from pale greens and whites to mottled gray or even lavender. They are typically made from less rare and less valuable varieties of jade, such as nephrite or Xiuyan jade (a type of nephrite). Many inexpensive “jade” gua sha tools are not genuine jade at all, but instead serpentine, aventurine, or other stones. Among true jade, the most prized is imperial jade—a translucent, vivid green jadeite with evenly distributed color. Imperial jade is rare, and likely never used for gua sha. Historically, it has been a symbol of status, wealth, and refinement. Most imperial jade comes from Myanmar, and its intense green hue and high translucency have made it one of the most valuable gemstones in the world, often showcased in necklaces, rings, and luxury jewelry sold at Sotheby’s and other auction houses.
While your gua sha is highly unlikely to be imperial jade, the connection to this storied stone underscores the cultural reverence for jade. Beauty, balance, and luxury, distilled into a small, practical tool.
From Myth to Modern Ritual
In traditional Chinese medicine, gua sha was used to stimulate circulation, release muscle tension, and move stagnant qi—the body’s vital energy. On the face, slow, deliberate strokes help promote lymphatic drainage, reduce puffiness, and enhance natural glow—all without abrasive ingredients or chemicals.
Jade’s naturally cool surface amplifies these effects, calming the skin and easing inflammation. Modern studies suggest benefits arise from increased microcirculation and relaxation of facial fascia, but the philosophy remains timeless: beauty through balance.
Today, jade gua sha tools are a fixture in clean beauty routines, valued not only for their tactile luxury but for their ritualistic, ingredient-free approach. Unlike creams or serums, the tool itself delivers no formula, just the calming discipline of mindful touch.