Every page is a visual feast! A wide variety of specimens. The back flap is a double-sided tear-out casting board of the compass & astrological layouts that opens out to 11x11. (serene tans & blues) For each stone, there are sidebars on color, hardness, composition, qualities, chakras; personality, energy; & the text breakdown is Myth & History, Spiritual & Healing Properties, and Divinatory Interpretations. There are specific interpretations for each stone in each position of the compass board(8 directions + center) and the astrological board(12 houses/signs). *The only other book I've seen that goes into such detail is The Crystal Wisdom Kit(which includes the stones- only 12). The more hard-to-find/expensive stones are flint, celestite, selenite, topaz & rubellite IN lepidolite. There is only a 4 sentence paragraph stating that runes & bone oracles are examples of the 2nd type of casting: where each item has a specific meaning to be related to the pattern of items around it. If you want rune-based layouts look at The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Runes. The other method uses the I Ching & geomancy (again- no details) as examples. Scrying & pendulum dowsing are included. The resource directory lists 6 US suppliers and 3 UK suppliers.
It's a beautifully put-together book filled with color photos, drawings and charts. It discusses how to select your personal stones, stones for the day or event or other purposes. It also discusses each stone's history, origins, use, spiritual and divine interpretation, chakra relationships, etc.
What distinguishes this book from another gem book in my mind is that the author has shared her insight of each stone in a meaningful and concise way. It's in a way like getting a psychic reading. It tells you what kind of person you are and what state of mind you're in. Very entertaining and quite accurate.
I think the book is a good value for the money. It's printed on thick, glossy paper, filled with good information, and can serve well as a good coffee table book also. Everyone will find something interesting in there at a party or meeting, and if you keep it for your viewing only, it will be like a collector's item.
