The Crystal Handbook

i have enjoyed reading many of "two-bears" reviews but found an error in one. in his review for "the crystal handbook" he states that " Blood Stob(n)e is not a quartz. It is a Heliotrope." bloodstone is a member of the chalcedony family which includes all jaspers and agates. chalcedony has the mineral composition SiO2, therefore it is a variety of quartz (silicon dioxide) often occuring with some iron and aluminum (the red jasper flecks). the name heliotrope is not a technical grouping or variety of stones, it is simply the folk name of bloodstone meaning" to turn towards the sun" for, in ancient mythology, it was thought to have the power to darken the sun. i am not writing to you to offend, however, i am a formally trained and educated geologist with many years dedicated to researching folk-names, uses, and chemical compositions of stones. i value accurate information as well as the corrections it takes to keep the education of all subjects (especially the sciences we rely so heavily upon) up to date and feel others deserve and desire such as well. this response is written in no offense, simply a freindly and professional correction.

This book has been around for years. It tends to sort by "class" of stone, which can be a problem, but otherwise it gives good basic information for the person who wants to start to work with crystals. This is a very good resource if it is combined with another; for example, if a person is working with Wiccan or Reiki healing, buy this book in combination with one from either of those sources OR read this first and then move on to more specialized instruction.

I wouldn't use this book as my only book if I was going to study Crystals and earth consiousness, but this book from my quick read look to be a inexpensive and good small referance to use on most any common crystal. I am very very skeptical on a lot of the information because the author does not give any referances and makes claims that are "watery" with out much definition, and I do not have the resources at the present time to verify its information. This book has a decent blurb on for instance Amythist... it would talk about its use in history and folklore, and also a good deal of its metaphysical properties. It is alphabetical by name, but not all of the crystals are not the best organised because you have to go to Quartz to get to Amythyst, or Tigerseye because these are Quartz crystals... but at the same time he has numerous other crystals that he says is in the "quartz family" for whatever that means. It is limited on how many crystals it covers, and it has very limited amount of information on what exactly you do with the crystal to actually "use" or work with them. But I give this four stars because in general it is a good little book and I do not regret buying it one bit. If you are looking for a really good book on the subject I would HIGHLY sugest a book on crystals by Maya Heath though her books can be hard to find. Blessed be.

This is an incredible resource you can carry around in a pocket when visiting rock shops.The ONLY crystal book I have read that is superior to this one is "Love Is In The Earth: A Kaleidoscope Of Crystals" by MelodyI did detect a few errors in this book.1. Page 20: "Natural gemstones do not lose their power with age or use."This is not so. I have seen Amethyst's, Labradorite, Smoky Quartz, Obsidian, Raindow Obsidian, Ametrine, etc; lose their coloration with use. 2. Page 42: the author states that Bloodstone is "Technicaly, it is a type of opaque Quartz"Blood Stobe is not a quartz. It is a Heliotrope.3. On page 125-126 the author discusses Tigers Eye, and Cat's Eye as if both stone are one and the same.This is not so. It's true that both Tigers eye, and Cat's eye are asbestos fibers in silicon dioxide; but the appearance, and price varies greatly.In Cat's eye the fibers are straight, and the stone is more eye like in appearance. This is a gem quality stone at gem quality prices!In Tigers Eye: the fibers are crumpled or twisted. I have picked up nice specimens of Tiger's Eye in four different colors as cheaply as 75 cents each!Implying that Cat's Eye and Tiger's Eye are the same stone is like saying that Peridot and Olivine are the same stone. Peridot is gem quality, and olivine is not. I bought a nice peice of Olivine for 50 cents.Over all except for these few pointsl this book is an excelent resource.

If you are already familiar with Crystals, but want more in-depth information on properties, legends, and histories, then this is a book for you! However, this book has no pictures, and only limited info. on using crystals.