The Book Of Stones, Revised Edition: Who They Are And What They Teach

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Often dubbed the "crystals bible," this comprehensive reference guide to the spiritual and healing qualities of 455 sacred stones has become the go-to book for looking up the properties of gems and minerals. Each entry includes vivid color photographs for each stone to aid identification and to showcase its beauty, as well as listing its scientific information, its element and chakra correspondences, and the physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of each stone.Illustrated by gorgeously lit, clear color photos to aid quick identification, the book offers an illuminating alphabetical journey through the mineral kingdom, stone by stone. This new edition of The Book of Stones, the best-selling guide to some of Earth's most beautiful natural objects, is revised to include 76 new entries.The book begins with two introductory chapters detailing advice by authors Naisha Ahsian and Robert Simmons on how to work with crystals and stones--including the concept of crystal resonance and the scientific observation that living organisms (such as ourselves) are liquid crystalline structures. Each entry begins with the stone name and photo, plus its elemental and chakra correspondences, as well as keywords that indicate its properties. Next comes a description of the crystal structure, hardness, history, and known locations of each mineral, plus any relevant legend or lore from the past. Each author then offers their own take and personal insights on the subtle energy properties and spiritual applications of the stone. The entries conclude with summaries of the spiritual, emotional, and physical healing qualities of the stone, and an affirmation for evoking its potential benefits. The book's presentation is straightforward enough to make it an excellent introduction for beginners, yet the level of detail and the depth of research make it an invaluable resource for the most experienced stone practitioners.

Paperback: 560 pages

Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 2nd Revised ed. edition (March 10, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1583949089

ISBN-13: 978-1583949085

Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.3 x 10.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (377 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #15,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #4 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age & Spirituality > Divination > Crystals #6 in Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Rocks & Minerals #9 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age & Spirituality > Reference

Before you buy this book, do yourself a favor and have a look at the product catalog of the authors' crystal business, called Heaven & Earth. I was impressed with this book at first, but then I began to notice how many of the crystals are trademarked. Trademarked crystals seemed a little odd to me, and I can give them the benefit of the doubt if there are one or two, but apparently the authors are "discovering" these new crystals all the time. Keep reading the catalog and you'll find that a lot of these "new" (and as it happens, invariably rare and sold by the gram) crystals are regular, not so uncommon crystals with fancy trademarked names, some other variation of a manmade coating on an existing crystal, or even just glass. Have a good look at the catalog, because the purpose of this book is to convince you that you need the stuff in that catalog.Don't get me wrong; I believe in crystal healing and that's probably why this systematic exploitation of crystals and the people eager to learn about them makes me feel ill.I gave this book 2 stars because the photography is lovely and it makes a good doorstop. Please look for another book to buy, though.

I got this book because it was recommended to me by several friends and it is indeed a beautiful and informative book. However, I am totally disheartened and aggravated by the fact that Robert Simmons is trademarking stones. Is nothing sacred? For some reason, Monsanto comes to mind, and leaves me distrustful of his recommendations.

I will never forget the first time I saw this book. It was in the old Galactic Gateway's store and the gentleman behind the counter saw me mesmerized by it. I saw it as if it were a photoshopped picture with the blurry edges around it, slowly coming into focus and registering that there were PICTURES of stones on the front of this book.My experience up until this point had been books that were either text books on the composition of minerals, or Melody's work, while still a staple in my healing room, doesn't offer the colorful adventure that TBOS does.The book was on the highest shelf of course, and my arms were full of stones I was about to purchase. I had to turn my back and lay down all my treasures and I was sure that when I whipped back around ready to grab that book off the top shelf it would be gone. But it was still there, and I managed to get it into my hands and settle down in the corner in the floor to take my time savoring one of the most beautiful books I had ever seen. I brought the book home needless to say and like Melody's work changed the way I looked at the world, TBOS also had some influence on the direction that I have taken in my life.I carried this book around with me until it became dog eared, the cover was tearing, there are coffee stains on it, some of the pages have curled from moisture, my grandson laid his fudgcicle on it one day. This gives you some idea of how valuable this book has been to me. I would rush home to read about the stones I had purchased. I already knew the chemical makeup, I already knew the historical values, I already knew the gemlogical values, I wanted to know what people were using these stones for!This was the first book that I noticed focused on healing ourselves, then others. This book takes you through a journey of crystal healing like no other book can or has. It is almost as if Naisha Ashian kept a journel while meditating with each of these stones, and Robert Simmons kept his version. That is the beauty of this book, there are two versions to every stone. Everyone I know prefers one over the other, when I first started I liked Robert Simmons version better, as I worked on deeper layers and through more of my own personal experiences with these stones, I came to truly appreciate the facinating work that Naisha Ashian was doing with these stones.So many years ago, this book showed me that there was an entire industry that revolves around crystals and thier uses. With this book in tow, I have learned alot about this industry and have made decisions and formed many opinions based on the politics that surrounds this and later books on this subject. This book, with Melody's book ( to be reviewed next week), changed the course of my life, the direction of my path and the way I look at myself and others. I know I am not alone when I say that this work we call TBOS, is to date one of the most well known books on stones, even if it isn't the most accurate.Size and weight TBOS (2.5★)TBOS scores a little low in this category. TBOS is not only larger than the average book, it seems heavier to me than it should be. I know this is just a personal opinion, but in an age where our phones are sold by the oz., this book seems to be a bit cumbersom in some circusmstnaces. It will fit in a backpack, this is why I think it is heavier than it should be, I carried it around for a long time and finally shelfed it for TCB1 / 2 because of the portability issue. As far as using this book in the home, definitely a fun journey, A hot cup of tulsi tea, a warm blanket and Merlin on my feet while reading this book is a fun way to spend an afternoon.Organization TBOS (3.5★)I Love the way that this book is organized. It must be my gemini moon, but I really like having access to two different reviews on the same page. This book also organizes stone by the name. If you have looked at other books, you may see where they are categorized by mineral, this can make finding agate difficult if you aren't aware that it is a form of quartz. TBOS separates this out beautifully helping you to find your stone descriptions quickly and easily. The table of contents groups stones into categories and subdivides them into specifics. This makes it easy to find the different agates that are listed as well as hundreds of other stones that are subcategorized in the mineral kingddom. There is no index in TBOS, so there is no way to look up stones through keywords or illnesses, this is why I took points off, I do like being able to look up an illness and seeing what stones others have used, this makes TBOS a challenge to use in your healing room.Ease of use TBOS (3.5★)In my opinion, TBOS works kind of like a one way street, meaning if I know what stone I want to read about - and possibly know the trademarked name- it's great.. When I am looking for a stone to work with a particular issue, it is just too much research to go through the entire book glancing through the pages at key words when there are other books on the market that offer an index. However, I will say that I have been known to look up a keyword in another index, get the suggestions, then look them up in TBOS. This is one area where organization becomes critical, with no index in TBOS, it creates challenges with use as practical handbook in the healing room and that is the one reason this book recieved the scores it has.This book also offers very little relevent information for a crystal healer in the healing room, the experiences expressed here are personal expeiriences by two very gifted and talented individuals, however most clients that crystal healers work on are not as familiar with stone energies as these two, so it is much more subtle for clients.Presentation TBOS (3★)So I admitted that initially I believed TBOS to be the most beautiful book I had ever seen, and I still stand by the fact that it is one of the most beautifully illustrated stone books on the market. Presentation covers more than the illustrations, although they are a large part of it. Presentation also covers how the whole project comes together, the cohesiveness of the transition between subjects, the elements of design that are not limited to how the book looks but how the book feels. The pictures are amazing, however they are the stones that one would see in a museum, usually not sitting on a shelf at your local rock shop. This is the biggest 'ding' for this category, we all want to see amazing stones, but as a vendor, dealer and consumer it is no fun trying to please someone carrying around TBOS looking for an azurite that looks just like the picture.The next part of presentation is the feel, over time the realization starts to kick in that there is a slight marketing technique to this book. The mix of beautiful pictures, stones available only by one principal vendor, the exorbitant prices charged for these beauties that are written about within the pages of this book. The lack of resources on how to obtain your own stones becomes pretty obvious. All of these things effect how TBOS presentation score.Actual Content TBOS (2★)This is where I walk on thin ice. I admit I have used TBOS for years. I admit to being so excited when I found this book. I am no longer excited about the politics and marketing of this book and that is why the actual content score is so low. Many would disagree with me on this score and ask how I could possibly score this book so low when it has had such an impact on my life - in a good way!The answer is simple, after a few years learning the industry, selling stones and moving around taking classes as well as giving them, I started to form an opinion of this book and the others that follow, with few exceptions as marketing tools to sell Robert Simmons trademarked stones. There, I said it, sort of out loud.I won't go into details on my opinion of trademarked stones (I already have in another blog), and Robert Simmons was not alone in the race to TM as much as he could while it was effective. The TM's keep the consumer having to buy from the vendor who owns the TM, otherwise the exact same material purchased from another vendor cannot be called the same name, hence is not talked about in TBOS. Trademarked stone represent a large reason why TBOS scores low on content, but not the only reason. I have not picked my TBOS up in over 2 years. I no longer use it as a refernece, not just because it can be hard to find a stone by symptom, but because of what I call 'fluff'.Although both authors are very brilliant writers, I prefer to have a reference book tell me facts. This book tells some beautiful stories, some poetic journey's with stones, however there is little fact in this book. The trademarked stones confuse the facts when a crystal healer is honestly trying to find a stone. The work described in these books is not work that has been tried, true or tested by anyone other than the authors. Other books offer compilations of hundreds of experiences, yet this book offers us only two.Admittedly, to read the experiences of these two was life changing for me at a time when I needed it, however when I look back and see how many times I was on the hunt for merlinite only to find out that the prime material is called psilimelane, and it is much cheaper than merlinite, and not so hard to find, I felt very ignorant. I feel that a book should not leave me feeling ignorant, I feel a book should be up front and honest about the material in it, especially when it is marketing itself as THE reference book on stones. Many of the stones that are named in this book are identified through the trademarked name, leaving out what it really is, causing much confusion within the industry.This has also led to many 'new discoveries' of stones that are in this book as well as those that have followed. These 'new' stones are not new to earth, new to science, nor are they new to the industry. These new stones are simply old stones with shiny new trademarked names, great stories, and hgh prices -somebody has to pay for all that work right?Over time I have come to see TBOS as a fiction, a wonderful journey through some of the most beautiful pictures of stones, poetic descriptions that ignite the imagination. However as consumer, I am sadly dissapointed in the actual facts about the stones, thier uses and thier names.I do not refer to TBOS as a reference book on stones, I refer to it more as a beautiful journey through some very gifted writers experience using stones in a way others have not written about very well.Would I recommend this book to others- YES - with a disclaimer of what it isWould I re-purchase this book if the need arose - NOTBOS total score 2.9 ★

Rob Simmons certainly knew what he was doing when putting this one together. I love Naisha's entries, and Hazel Raven is a very well respected healer in the UK. Simmons also knows his stuff, and has compiled a convenient guide with photographs for each entry. Many stones included are exclusive to Heaven and Earth (The publisher/distributor of the book) and many have names that are unique to Heaven and Earth (mostly a marketing ploy...)The book is full of mineralogical data, photographs, diverse views, stones to use in combinations, and affirmations. I reccomend this to people that are moving away from the writing styles of the early writers and those like Melody; although they are wonderful, they may seem to esoteric or too impersonal. This book is very personal, although it does sensationalise a bit.

If you already do or are considering working with stones this book is a great resource. Lovely photos, great basic information, and the complimenting input from a male and female perspective is very useful. Their reads on the stones are right on. The only downfall is that there is no index in the back to cross reference the names of stones with. You either have to know the stone by the name they use (some stones have many) or match the photo up to a stone you have. With an index this book would be perfect. I also hope they release an expanded edition at some point because there are a few stones not represented that I would like to see.

I have many books on various metaphysical topics, including crystals. The Book of Stones is probably my favorite from my collection. It includes 2 objective resources for each stone, ways to use them, what stones they work well with, their structure, hardness and sources, and most importantly, pictures. I have too many books that don't have pictures, or they only have one and it is probably the least available form of the stone. I would also recommend Heal Yourself with Crystals by Hazel Raven as a complement to this book. It is not as detailed, nor does it include such a great multitude of stones, but it does explain layouts and combinations to use for specific dis-eases, such as headaches, insomnia, cellulite...

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