Review: The Book of Crystal Spells

It would be possible for me to walk into a bookstore and come out with half of their Pagan section (or New Age, since we're relegated to a fad instead of being an actual religion in the eyes of most bookstores). It would be great for the learning aspect, which I consider an important part of living life, but not so easy on the bank account. That means I have to be selective with my purchases and I tend to rely a lot on online reviews. When I saw this book on Lewellyn's upcoming titles I knew that I had to get it, which is what I did.

I've never heard of Ember Grant, but the premise of her book, The Book of Crystal Spells - Magical Uses for Stones, Crystals, Minerals...And Even Sand, was of interest to me. I'm a crystal junkie, this much is known by all that are close to me, and I tend to collect books on the subject almost as much as the crystals themselves. I've been interested in crystal magic for quite some time and have used it with successful results in the past. For that reason, and because of my sense of curiosity, I knew I had to have the book. I'm so thankful that it turned out to be a good read and a valuable resource that I will likely refer to again and again.

The book has ten chapters and contains a lot of useful information. Even as an admirer of Judy Hall, I must admit that a lot of current books on the market tend to feature the same information that she has in her works, so I was pleasantly surprised to find her name and titles missing from the author's bibliography. Instead, she used a variety of other research materials combined with her own experience, making this book a great tool for anyone interested in crystal magic. Even better is that the majority of it isn't redundant and not available in any other book that you could buy.

This book is less about crystal healing and more about spellcraft via crystals, so if you're looking for the latter you'll be surprised. While the author herself admits there is overlap between the two, such as using crystal grids and elixirs, and meditating with the crystals, the two are just as equally different from one another. This book gets to the nitty gritty (no pun intended) of using your own energy, pairing it with crystals, and using the enhanced product to bring about change in the world. Crystal healing is similar, yes, but also not quite the same.

The Book of Crystal Spells features some of the usual subjects, such as cleansing and empowering crystals, but it also delves into newer waters that some people may not think of exploring. One of those is using sand, which is given an entire chapter. It's a subject that I didn't give much thought at all to before this book, but now I find myself looking at it in an entirely different way. Is there anything more you can ask of a book?

Another gem (pun intended) of this book was the association with numerology. My eyes have been opened to numerology before but through this chapter I was able to calculate my life path number and pair them to crystals. Many of them were ones that I've used before though I was saddened to see some of my favorites missing from the list. Which is okay, in the long run, as we all have different crystals that speak to us throughout our lifetimes.

I could go on and on about the positives of this book, but I feel I should touch on a couple of the negatives. The first isn't much of a downside for most people, but as a lover of ametrine, I was a little bummed to find no references to it in this book. I tend to think of ametrine as a crystal that is more than just the sum of its parts, so it would have been nice to see it featured here in some aspect or another. To those of you that couldn't care less about ametrine, you likely won't miss it.

My second issue with the book is kind of a double edged sword. I enjoy using rhymes when it comes to my spells. I find they set the tone and help me with my focus. Also, if I do say so myself, I seem mysterious and powerful as I wave my hands over crystals and candles and chant some rhyming couplets. But I have to be honest here as some of the chants are a little hokey and a few are just downright silly. All in all, I would only consider using about 40% of those given, but I also tend to write my own spells anyway.

This book is geared to a beginner to crystal spell work. Even experts at the subject will find some use here, even if it is just the appendix. This thing is loaded with useful information including Platonic Solids descriptions, associations by season and day of the week, and even important details in relation to the color spectrum. All in all, get this book. I don't think you'll regret it one bit.

Review: Hibiscus Moon's Gem Elixir eKit

If you are a frequent visitor to Pagan and Wiccan channels of YouTube then you may have heard of Hibiscus Moon under the screen name of Phanie12. She describes herself as "an author, workshop creatrix, teacher, mystical goddess & crystal junkie who LOVES teaching about crystals." I just like to think of her as a genius.
After being curious about her crystal classes and Crystal Healing Certification Program I pointed my browser to her website and Facebook page. Hibiscus Moon provides incredible learning opportunities on a variety of crystal subjects through both her website and YouTube and it becomes evident that she enjoys every bit of it. How can a guy like me not be swept in by that?

My mind was filled with information about crystals and these things called crystal and gem elixirs. I was able to use the wondrous Google to expand my knowledge on the subject but I knew deep down that I wouldn't have a complete picture of what a gem elixir was until I bought the Gem Elixir eKit. I am so very thankful that I did and I am prepared to share why. By the end you'll want the eKit too.

The eKit doesn't contain chapters and to be honest the thought of not having a table of contents kind of threw me at first. I wondered how someone could fill an ebook with so much information and not have any way to organize the information so that it could be easily found. Then I began to explore through the sections and less than half-way in I realized that a table of contents wasn't necessary. The information was organized in such a way that the topic on one page led or evolved to the information on the subsequent pages.

It wasn't an ebook full of chapters with information on dozens of topics jumbled together. I quickly learned that this was an ebook full of an evolving guide about the subject and the steps involved for planning, developing and using these incredible elixirs. Filled with color photos and more than eight videos on how to make these elixirs, this eKit is more than just a text guide on the process. This kit gets you in to the nitty-gritty so that anyone invested in this process can see how it is done and learn by watching what someone has achieved through their own trial and error. What a treat!

Another treat is the MP3 meditation that can be used to help charge and activate your elixirs to your specific needs. Think of it like focusing on the intent of the elixir and using your own natural energy to carry the purpose into the elixir. Featuring Binaural Beat technology, this MP3 helps listeners using headphones more easily enter an alpha brainwave state which makes the programming that much easier. Best of all, it is easy to listen to and relaxing.
My favorite section had to be the different methods used to amp up crystal and gem elixirs. They can be potent on their own thanks to the vibrational resonance of the crystals, sure, but why not add a little oomph if you can?

There were a handful of easy ways to jumpstart the energy of an elixir giving it far more power and because of that, a greater healing effect for those that use them. On a side note I was also thrilled for an opportunity to purchase a large bottle of vodka because I've been told that I have a baby face. Even as I climb up in years I always get carded for alcohol and since I'm not much of a drinker I always enjoy having people think I'm younger than I am whenever I can. The vodka, in case your wondering, is a way to stabilize the energy so that it can be stored for a much longer period of time. See, I wasn't just bringing up vodka for the heck of it!

Hibiscus Moon is a talented writer and is able to easily deliver information in a way that makes a person forget about the actual learning process and just enjoy the fun in it all. I am excited to try out her recipe for her coveted Negativity Neutralizer Spray and hope to have the final shipment of the needed items within the next few days to get started. I greatly encourage you to check out Hibiscus Moon and everything she has to offer. You will not regret it, I promise.