A review by ashleyg101
The Illustrated Crystallary: Guidance and Rituals from 36 Magical Gems & Minerals by Maia Toll

5.0

When you come across books with titles like this, it can usually go one of two ways: purely scientific OR a book about symbolism and using the subject of the book, with some science thrown in. In this case, it is the latter, and I appreciate that. If you have read The Illustrated Herbiary by Maia Toll, you will have an idea about what is in The Illustrated Crystallary. This isn't a book solely about the science of each crystal; it's about how to use them in your own world: "This book will introduce you to the stones' medicine so you can begin to recognize their harmonies for yourself...Use this book for inspiration and confirmation." Toll begins the book with an introduction to crystals and the science behind them, and then branches out into the more esoteric use of crystals. Rather than finding a pretty stone and setting it on a shelf, she asks the reader to find communion with the stone, to meditate on it, to include it in free writing, and bring it into your life. She then describes 36 crystals, minerals, and gems (she does give an explanation of the difference, which I appreciated!) with descriptions of each stone from the Mohs hardness scale to the usage of each stone, rituals you can complete with the stone, and exercises you can do if the stone speaks to you. This is all accompanied by the same gorgeous illustrations seen in her other books. I really enjoyed this book. I know a lot of people think using crystals are nonsense, and they do have a bad reputation, but if you're interested in learning about the structure of them, how to use them in your life, or you just enjoy beautiful illustrations, I highly recommend this book. I would suggest buying this as a physical book as the illustrations are not at their best on a phone in kindle format.
Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC.