Buyer Beware

I've recently stumbled upon an online trend that sort of irks me. Not because I necessarily think that people are trying to be sneaky and get more money from customers, but because they either don't know the difference or they just aren't being specific enough. This trend, fearless readers, is the listing of citrine calcite.

Most of the time, if you see these two words in the same listing, you'll find the color of the calcite to very much resemble the abundant heat-treated citrine on the market. I think, for the most part, the majority of online sellers fall into this category. There likely are a few, however, that may be purposefully trying to confuse potential buyers so that they can charge natural citrine (the stuff that isn't heat-treated amethyst) prices for calcite that has that familiar attractive golden yellow color.

It is very rare for both citrine and calcite to appear in the same specimen. If they were, the prices would likely be in the hundreds of dollars range. Just remember to do your research before purchasing anything, especially crystals. And remember, if it seems to good to be true (price wise), back away slowly and let someone else take the plunge first.

5) Lepidolite

After a long and unforeseen break, I am back with the 5th crystal in my Crystals of Neophytes series.

One of my new favorites, Lepidolite boasts a beautiful coloring that will appeal to most men and women alike. This stone is one of the few that contains natural lithium which makes it great for persons dealing with depression. Because of that, it is wonderful for a variety of emotional ailments, including those dealing with ADHD. It can be used on the heart, third eye, and crown chakras.

Known as a transition stone, Lepidolite helps us to modify our energy patterns and leaves a sense of hope and positivity in the process. It is great for use in meditation and can also be used effectively in mojo bags for anything having to do with emotions, change, or to simply help one find balance. To use this in elixir form I suggest an indirect method of your choosing.

I don't suggest charging this stone in the sunlight because of the high probability of it fading. Instead, use smoke, sound, moonlight, or even placing it on a slab of selenite.

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: Crystal Guidance Oracle Deck

During my participation in Hibiscus Moon's 7-Day Oracle Challenge, I stumbled upon quite a few fellow participants posting their own videos on YouTube. One of them was Jen, who used a unique deck of oracle cards that she herself designed. I quickly purchased a set of my own and have been working with them pretty frequently from the day I received them in the mail. This is my review.

For the price of $25, I was able to obtain everything pictured in the photo above, minus the 7 chakra cards on the top right of the photo. I will have links on how to purchase and how to get more information at the end of this post.

Simply put, the photographs on the cards are beautiful. The designer used her own crystal collection when taking the photos which allows each image to show a good representation of the crystal specimen for identification. Each image is clear and crisp. These cards are a pleasure to look at.

While the box the cards comes in seems to be nothing more than card stock, the actual cards themselves are made with a sturdier material. They are playing card size which means that they fit comfortably in the hand and are easy to shuffle. When moving to Washington, the box bent slightly inward because I had it crammed into my carry on bag. The cards themselves were well protected however, which is the true purpose of the box. While it may seem flimsy it does its job well.

One of the things I really enjoy about the deck is the information presented just below the image. The first thing you will notice is that there is a word or phrase that is the essence of the card's message in relation to its crystal's energies. This makes using the cards without having to go back to the PDF guide easy. Instead of trying to memorize a bunch of information, users are able to use their intuition at this point, which I find useful in any tarot or oracle reading. The other two symbols are also useful.

The icon on the left is the chakra correspondence for the crystal. No more do I have to look through a book or try to remember which crystal goes with which chakra. Yes, I have 7 crystals that I use on a regular basis, but sometimes it is good to experiment with other crystals and even better that we use one that we drew in an oracle reading. The icon to the right is the elemental correspondence. I have found both of these icons to be accurate in my workings and I think you will as well.

I cannot suggest these cards enough. They are easy to use, easy to learn with, and a great way to utilize crystal energies on the go when you aren't able to bring your entire crystal collection with you. The cards themselves are durable and if they are properly taken care of, will last for many, many years.




To Order: Dragon Fae Creations Etsy
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