I ordered this deck to help combine my interests in crystals and in Tarot. It is a unique deck, consisting of photographs of the different gemstones. It's definitely unconventional, and not a deck for beginners, but it now serves a fun purpose in my professional readings. I ask clients to draw a card from the deck, and then explain the properties of the stone they drew. The results are very nice, many of the people draw stones that are special to them already! I recommend this deck as a novelty for collectors, and as a useful tool for readers to start off a reading with another deck. I do not think it is a good deck for doing a whole reading with, however.

I have been collecting tarot decks for the last several years. Although the decks are all considered "traditional" the themes of the pictures/artwork are sometimes not to my taste. This deck uses beautifully done photos of stones and gems with each photo showing outstanding examples of each stone often in multiple stages from natural to fully cut/faceted and finished.

Rocks and gemstones have always drawn my attention and this special deck includes not only the more traditional card interpretations but the influences of the stones pictured, matching rather well the stone to the card. I now have the deck at work and draw a card each morning, reviewing the stone and card interpretations then leaving it standing next to my computer monitor to meditate on through the day.

The deck so intriged some of my fellow employees that they got their own deck and get together on their break each day to draw a card each and discuss the stones in terms of what is going on in their lives.

It has been interesting to watch people who might have been intimidated by a "tarot" deck walk by and want to join the discussion, drawn by the stones and the stone lore being discussed.

The card titles state the name of the gemstone & the name of the corresponding card. The small booklet has excellent descriptions/keywords for the meanings. Since there are no standard tarot figures, it does take some time to learn the crystals. For people that find tarot unnerving- this should be an acceptable way of learning the lore of both. I also use them as a gemstone-only oracle because other oracles don't include as many gemstones. The 16 stones unique to this set are: silex(red jasper), purpurite, alexandrite, ametrine, gold, silver, iron, zoisite w/ruby, tiger iron, fire opal, copper, chalcedony, pink coral, dumortierite, platinum, & spinel. Note: coelstine is celestite/celestine.

I learned a lot from this useful kit. I enjoy the meditation tape and have found it to be very calming and energizing.This person's voice is very easy to listen to. My only complaint is that the meditation ends sooner than I really want it to! My solution is to have a second tape in the cassette player so I can deepen my meditation.

I RECENTLY ATTENDED A WORKSHOP ON CHAKRA BALANCING AND WAS INTRODUCED TO THE CHAKRA BALANCING KIT BY THE TEACHER WHO WAS USING IT AS A TEACHING TOOL. I WAS PLEASED WITH HOW QUICKLY I WAS ABLE TO LEARN HOW TO MEASURE THE CHAKRAS WITH THE PENDULUM INCLUDED WITH THE KIT. THE PENDULUM MEASUREMENTS RANG TRUE TO WHAT I BELIEVED WAS GOING ON IN MY PHYSICAL BODY. WHEN A CHAKRA WAS BLOCKED LOOKING AT THE CHAKRA COLOR WHEEL HELPED ME TO VISUALISE THE APPROPRIATE COLOR, THEREBY OPENING THE BLOCKED CHAKRA. I USE THE MEDITATION TAPE ON ALMOST A DAILY BASIS BECAUSE OF THE CLARITY AND ENERGY I FEEL IN MY BODY AFTER DOING SO. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS KIT TO ANYONE AS AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HUMAN ENERGY SYSTEM AND CHAKRAS.

I have read several of Velda Johnston's romantic suspense books and have found them quite entertaining. The Crystal Cat was one of my favorites. An intriguing mystery with good characters and lots of suspense. Good escape fiction.

"The Crystal Cat" by Velda Johnston is the first book I have read by her, and I am beginning to read her book, "The Silver Dolphin." This book had a wonderfully written plot and beautiful descriptions that your imagination can translate into many ways. The book is about a woman named Linda who marries a young man named Guy and they move back to her hometown where her mother was found drowned in a pool when Linda was six. Linda returns with Guy to Wessex and experiences many adventures that concern their marriage and personal lives. Linda runs into the town's so called "mayor" who is Peggy Crofton. Soon Linda learns some disturbing things from her past and her family history. Guy, at first, doesn't believe her, but the conclusion to the book it heart-stopping, heart-pounding reading. Way to go Velda!!

This was the first book I ever received and read concerning alternative healing (such as with crystals) and opened my mind at a very young age. I remember being nine years young in Golden, Colorado, when my great aunt gave me this book and my first crystal. To this day, I still use the chakra realignment exercise in the book, and have come very far since a decade ago. If somebody asked me specifically about THIS BOOK, I'd tell them to do themselves a favor and check it out. Spirituality doesn't have to be a chore, or a long, hard, tedious, boring search or task. I read and understood (and thoroughly enjoyed) this book at nine years of age, but that's not 'cuz it's a simple, basic book. However, it's a simple, practical guide of how to use the Earth's magic energy to vitalize your body, mind, and spirit. I thank Connie Church, and my great aunt, 'cuz this book was where the journey all began, 10 years ago.

This is the first and only book on chakras that awakened my kundalini. When you follow the Chakra Energy Balance Exercise with a Quartz Crystal on page 28, you are on your way to a wonderful experience, and with continued use, you can awaken your kundalini too.

This relatively short paperback (317 pages) took me a long time to read, because it was so packed with historical details, which I savored. This was the first work I read of this author, and since I really enjoyed her humor and descriptive ability, I definitely plan to read more by Deauxville. She certainly researched this period, and wove in the details quite well. However, I found it difficult to relate to the main characters, Emmeline and fitzJulien. I disliked both of them, which is the reason for 4 stars instead of 5. I wanted to tell them both to grow up and get over themselves. They seemed distant to one another, until the end. If we could give 1/2 stars I would give this book 4 1/2.

This is may favourite Maggie David/Katherine Deauxville book and so shocked it is not reprinted!! Get with it people. This is one GREAT historical. I am sure there are many readers out there that would LOVE to read this wonderful book!!

Emmeline needs to provide her ageing husband with an heir, so she is forced to send her servant out to find a suitable 'stud' and pay him to impregnate her. The servant, instead, brings her a knight, but she must conceive this night so there is little choice. She wanted a faceless man, that would give her a child and fade away. Instead, she gets a night of passion that haunts her.

She slips away in the morning not knowing the wonderful Knight's name, leaving him the monies promised. Only, he did not want the money, he wanted her and was furious she left in the morn. He knew nothing about her, so he had no way to trace her.

But as life often does, the circle comes around and ten years later the new overload, Niall fitzJulien, to whom Emmaline, now widowed, must swear fealty in her son's name, is none other than the man who fathered him. She prays to get through the swearing without him figure out his own son stands before him. She is not so lucky and now must pay the piper.

I always wanted to write, and there are a few really good books out there that inspired me to follow that dream. This is one of the books.

There are a handful of really truly SPECIAL books, that linger on in your mind and your heart. No matter the years, they are still vivid, rich in details and never fade, almost as if they become a part of you.

Thank you, Maggie, for creating this VERY SPECIAL book that so touches the heart.

I just bought this book recently for my five year old son. Wehave enjoyed reading it together several times. I have always foundthat Ruth Sanderson books are a joy to read and the illustrations are wonderfully done, and best of all there is always a lesson to be learned. I would highly recommend not only The Crystal Mountain, but also The Enchanted Wood by Ruth Sanderson.

If it were up to me, I'd make sure every single children's bookshelf had at least one of Ruth Sanderson's wonderful books. Her stories are simple, sweet, and yet thought-provoking, and her illustrations are clear, uncluttered and utterly beautiful. 'The Crystal Mountain' is no exception, and definitely up there as one of her best works.
As she did with 'The Golden Mare, the Firebird and the Magic Ring', Sanderson ingeniusly combines more than one fairy or folk tale to create a story that is both new and familiar. In this case she borrows from the Chinese story - 'The Magic Brocade' and the traditional Norwegian tale of 'The Princess on the Glass Hill', to tell the tale of Anna, a famous seamstress who has a dream that she is determined to create on her loom. When the beautiful tapestry of her Eden-like house and garden is complete, it is unfortunatly stolen away by the fairies so that they might make a copy. Anna is desparate to have her precious tapestry back and so sends her three sons Leon, Blaine and Perrin out after it. Though Leon and Blaine soon give up on their quests, Perrin journeys on with the aid of three magical horses till he reaches the Crystal Mountain, and the fairies within...
As the editorial review noted, it is not simply a mere 'happily ever after' finish, but ends on a note that lets one's mind drift on the possibilites, and for a nice change it is the female who decides her own fate (ie the Fairy of Red *chooses* to stay with Perrin, rather than him just carry her off) and the two elder brothers aren't punished for their sloth, but rather are forgiven.
Overall, this book is a must for fairytale lovers, a wonderful addition to a children's library and delight for those who love beautiful picture books.

An excellent place to start if you don't know very much about Crystal Reports. Can't wait for the advanced user's edition to come out!

I reviewed many books when searching for curriculum intended to educate our entire staff on Crystal Reports 9. We intend to incorporate Crystal Reports 9 in our custom software; therefore the software development "standards" department also had to approve the books. FastPlanet offers the most extensive, well-explained, usable books whether using the Quick Start or the Power User book. With minimal alteration, we were able to submit the books as a basis for a course to a local University. The University will instruct the course to our employees and provide a certificate of achievement from the State (certifying knowledge of product). I highly recommend this book. I am extremely impressed with the high quality of customer service offered to me by FastPlanet over the web, by e-mail and over the phone. What a GREAT company to deal with!

Just to let you know, since the photo is not included, the stones in this kit are gold tiger's eye & sodalite. The wheels in the mini-kits use different symbols than the larger Crystal Wisdom Kit (which has 3 wheels & 12 stones)

i got this book from a local bookstore - mainly because of the crystal which has captured my heart. going through the book gave me very special feeling - trusting it right from the very start. the book is in easy to read format and easy to understand and follow. anyone looking for an extra confidence would find by wearing the crystal. very informative book.

This is a GREAT introductory kit. The astrology & chakra info is superbly handled. Anyone who has experience with the runes or crystals may find some of their correspondences/keywords a bit off. There is a reference to a UK-based company (out of date address) that offers an extension set of 7 stones; but it is no longer offered. The 12 stones are small (about half to three-quarter inch size) but good quality. You may want to laminate the approximately 9" square cardboard wheels to preserve them. A new set "Power Crystals" ISBN: 1840134399 published by Grange Books combines all 4 mini-kits (5.5" wheels)

Everybody & anybody will has been fascinated by crystals should give this kit a try. There is so much to learn from it. Because of the organization the book it allows you to use the crystals the same way as Tarot cards. This kit is unique in including astrology(twelve houses), rune symbols, five elements, chakras, planets, and its own symbols on 3 different boards. Onto which you cast out crystals to heal, divinate, and also get immediate, direct answers. Even though it is packed with such information, it is demonstrated in a way that beginners can interpret. I recommend this kit to beginners, such as myself, who feel a strong connection to these long-lived crystals.