Simon and Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones


Book Description

"Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones" provides both the connoisseur and the casual collector with a compact, easy-to-use volume describing more than 100 rare varieties of minerals whose beauty and mystery have possessed our imaginations from time immemorial. More than 450 brilliant photographs accompany profiles of each gem, covering such aspects as appearance, physical properties -- density, hardness, refraction -- occurrence, and how to judge quality and value. Additional sections describe the process of cutting gemstones and the techniques professional gemologists use to evaluate a stone's weight and optical properties. Detailed and comprehensive, this book is essential for anyone interested in the study of gems and precious stones.




Rockhounding for Beginners


Book Description

Go on an outdoor treasure hunt and enjoy all nature has to offer with this field guide to rockhounding, perfect for armchair geologists or anyone headed out on an adventure! Geology meets treasure hunting with this field guide to rockhounding! If you’ve ever kept an interesting rock or shell, bought a polished stone from a gift shop, or even just enjoyed a ’gram of a really cool crystal, congratulations! You’ve already experienced a rockhounding adventure! Rockhouding for Beginners shows you how to take your rockhounding to the next level, providing everything you need to know from tips for finding local sources for really cool finds to techniques for safely cleaning, cutting, polishing, and caring for the best samples. Complete with full-color photos to help you identify each rock and mineral wherever you find them, this guide has all the rockhounding information you need whether you’re ready to get down and dirty or simply want to learn more from the comfort of your couch.




Stone Medicine


Book Description

A comprehensive manual for using crystals, gems, and stones to address physical, emotional, and spiritual health conditions • Includes an extensive Materia Medica detailing the healing and spiritual properties of 200 crystals and stones based on Classical Chinese Medicine • Explores the role played by the color of each stone, its Yin and Yang qualities, crystalline structure, chemical composition, and topical and internal applications • Explains how to make stone and crystal elixirs, wear stones as healing jewelry, use them in massage and energy work, and cleanse and recharge them • Based on the oral teachings of Dr. Jeffrey C. Yuen, a Taoist priest from the ancient lineage of the Jade Purity School (88th generation) masters In addition to herbalism and acupuncture, Chinese Medicine has a rich tradition of using stones as medicine, passed from generation to generation for thousands of years. In this comprehensive guide and extensive Materia Medica, Leslie J. Franks presents the Stone Medicine teachings of Dr. Jeffrey C. Yuen, an 88th generation Taoist priest from the ancient lineage of the Jade Purity School, which dates to the Han dynasty, 206 BCE. Detailing the therapeutic properties of 200 gems, stones, minerals, and crystals, Franks begins with an extensive look at 15 different forms of quartz, followed by chapters on transformative stones, protective stones, nourishing stones, source energy stones, and alchemical stones. She explains the physical, emotional, and spiritual conditions each stone can treat and how their color, form, hardness, and energetic qualities affect us according to Chinese Medicine. She discusses how to make stone and crystal elixirs for internal and topical use, how to charge quartz with the healing properties of other stones, how to cleanse and recharge a stone after use, and how to combine stones to create healing formulas for individual conditions. She explains different techniques of wearing stones as healing jewelry and how to use them in massage and energy work. She examines the chemistry and sacred geometry of crystal structure, revealing how the minerals contained in the stones affect our physiology by supporting our Jing (Essence); by nourishing Qi (energy), blood, and fluids; and by clearing Wind, Cold, Damp, and Heat conditions that can lead to disease. Including a thorough primer on Traditional Chinese Medicine and backed by modern scientific research, this book explains how stones access our deepest layers, vibrating ever so slowly, to initiate deep lasting change.




Gem Identification Made Easy (5th Edition)


Book Description

This colorful book offers you a window into the world of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most amazing people of the twentieth century. You will learn about Gandhi’s life—from his time as a student in London to his work for equality in South Africa and India—and his methods of peaceful, but not passive, resistance to injustice.




The Book of Stones


Book Description

Published in association with North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California.




First Nations Crystal Healing


Book Description

• Explores the properties and healing uses of 40 important crystals and stones, including quartz, Herkimer diamond, amethyst, and citrine--the coyote stone • Explains how to spiritually prepare to work with crystals and how to purify and care for them, including how to establish right relationship with a crystal • Details safe and effective healing techniques, including how to make crystal essences, how to program a crystal, and how to purify the energy centers or perform a healing treatment with clear quartz crystal Crystals and stones come from Mother Earth, and indigenous medicine people have been using them to help and to heal for millennia. Their techniques, although simple, have proven effective through the innumerable healers who have handed down these teachings across the generations. With the permission of his elders and teachers, Luke Blue Eagle shares the therapeutic and spiritual use of crystals as taught in the traditions of First Nations tribes. He offers guidance and teachings designed to spiritually and energetically prepare you for crystal healing work, detailing the connections between the five elements and crystals as well as the energetic properties of different colors as they manifest in stones. He explains how to purify, care for, and protect your crystals, including how to establish right relationship with a crystal and perform a consecration ceremony for a new gemstone. The author explores the properties and healing uses of 38 important crystals and stones, including Herkimer diamond, amethyst, and citrine--the coyote stone. He provides safe and effective healing techniques that include how to make crystal essences, how to program a crystal, and how to purify the energy centers or perform a healing treatment with clear quartz crystal. Presenting an authentic guide to First Nations wisdom for working with the teachers of the mineral kingdom, Blue Eagle shows that, by forming respectful relationships with crystals and stones, we can not only amplify healing energies and intentions but also bring ourselves back into harmony with Mother Earth.




A Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals


Book Description

Describes hundreds of minerals and lists their geographic distribution, physical properties, chemical composition, and crystalline structure.




Gemstones


Book Description

Unearth a treasure trove of knowledge on over 130 gemstones from around the world. Learn how gemstones are formed and how to recognize them by their unique qualities and colors. It’s a wonderful book for beginners, students and gemstone-enthusiasts that includes the latest scientific research and specimen classification. Handbook of Gemstones is filled with all you need to know about the fascinating world of gemstones — cut and uncut stones, organic gemstones and precious metals. Inside, you’ll find: • Fast facts for quick reference, including chemical composition, hardness, gravity, luster and reflective value. • Photo close-ups of key details and highlights of distinguishing features. • Illustrations of faceting and shapes popular for each gemstone. • A detailed introduction to everything a beginner gemologist needs to know, including how gemstones form, the different properties, crystal shapes, faceting and the history of gems. Everything you ever wanted to know about gems Delve into the one-of-a-kind characteristics, colors and attributes of more than 130 gemstones with this compact visual guide. For easy classification, each stone’s entry includes annotated photographs to highlight distinguishing features and concise details about the attributes of gems. Designed for beginners and experienced collectors alike, this gemology book explores what gemstones are, how they are classified and how to identify them by their physical and optical properties. It also shows you how they were fashioned and imitated throughout history. Learn the differences between varieties of cut and uncut stones, organic gemstones and precious metals. It includes a glossary for many more technical and scientific terms, and over 800 high-quality photos of gems, making it the ideal gift for any budding gemologist! Love what you’re seeing? Check out other titles in the series! The DK Handbook series is an incredible collection of titles that fascinate curious minds. Other books include Rocks and Minerals, Dinosaurs, and Prehistoric Life, and Stars and Planets.




The Alchemy of Stones


Book Description

• 2021 Coalition of Visionary Resources Gold Award • Reveals that those who love and work with crystals and stones have been intuitively following the path of spiritual alchemy • Provides meditative practices with specific stones to go with each stage of the alchemical transformation process as well as other tools and techniques • Includes an illustrated dictionary summarizing the spiritual qualities of more than 375 different minerals, crystals, and gemstones The Alchemy of Stones presents an inspired breakthrough in Robert Simmons’ thirty-five year career of exploring and revealing the spiritual qualities and potentials of minerals, crystals, and gemstones. This holistic, Earth-based framework for understanding stones and their energies initiates readers into an alchemical worldview that leads to spiritual healing, transformation, and transcendence. Engaging readers step by step, Simmons provides guidance on discovering and harnessing the three human powers of intention, attention, and imagination, each a crucial component for meeting and working in harmony with the energies of the Stone Beings. Simmons also introduces us to the Divine Feminine intelligence known as Sophia, or Wisdom. The Stone Beings are her emissaries, and through relating and co-creating with them, the healing and redemption of ourselves and the Earth becomes a reality. Offering an illustrated dictionary of the spiritual qualities of more than 375 different minerals, crystals, and gemstones, Simmons also explores in depth what he calls the Four Cornerstones of the Alchemy of Stones: Moldavite, Phenacite, Azeztulite, and Rosophia. He discusses the stages of alchemical transformation and provides meditative practices with specific stones to go with each stage. He also explores how to work with stone mandalas, crystal body layouts, gemstone elixirs, and Orgonite energy devices and details powerful techniques for working with stones. Woven throughout are Simmons’ personal stories of the pivotal mystical experiences that triggered his capacity to feel stone energies and led him to develop his relationship with the stones, revealing how this work can open minds and awaken hearts. Lavishly illustrated, The Alchemy of Stones is an invitation to a journey of enlightenment, transformation, and spiritual metamorphosis aligned with the path of our living, conscious Earth.




Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones


Book Description

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones provides both the connoisseur and the casual collector with a compact, easy-to-use volume describing more than 100 rare varieties of minerals whose beauty and mystery have possessed our imaginations from time immemorial. More than 450 brilliant photographs accompany profiles of each gem, covering such aspects as appearance, physical properties -- density, hardness, refraction -- occurrence, and how to judge quality and value. Additional sections describe the process of cutting gemstones and the techniques professional gemologists use to evaluate a stone's weight and optical properties. Detailed and comprehensive, this book is essential for anyone interested in the study of gems and precious stones.