Cinnabar Calming Pill

Cinnabar Calming Pill

Cinnabar 1 qian, coptis 3 qian, rehmannia 3 qian, angelica 3 qian, licorice 2 qian.

Cinnabar’s weight calms fear; coptis’s bitterness clears heat; angelica’s spiciness soothes blood (1); additionally, licorice’s sweetness is used to moderate coptis’s intensity; rehmannia’s moisture helps angelica where it falls short. Together, they nourish blood and clear fire, calming the heart and spirit. Conditions like palpitations, dizziness, and insomnia can be treated.

[Note] (1) Xu-xue: means to gently warm and circulate blood. “Xu” implies warmth.

[Comment] This formula originates from “Lanshi Mizang.” It treats the same conditions as the “Heavenly King Heart-Nourishing Pill”—yin deficiency and excessive fire, heart-kidney disharmony—but this formula also has the function of clearing heat, while the other focuses more on nourishing yin.