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BOOK REVIEW - Dunwich's Guide to Gemstone Sorcery: Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals,
and Divination
Author: Gerina Dunwich
Trade Paperback, 221 pages
Publisher: New Page Books
Publication date: July 2003
ISBN: 1564146723
Reviewed by Randall Sapphire
The back cover of Dunwich's Guide to Gemstone Sorcery: Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and
Divination claims that this book "provides you with everything you need to know for transforming
yourself into a sorcerer or sorceress of gemstone magick". Why are people paid to write nonsense like
that on the back of books? This thin book certainly does not tell you "everything you need to know"
about gemstone magick. This type of marketing hype may turn some serious seekers away from this
book, It would be a shame if it does as Dunwich has written a very nice introduction to the lore and
magical use of precious and semi-precious stones.
After a short introductory chapter on the author's experiences with gemstones, Dunwich moves right into
the practical with instructions on preparing stones, using stones with altars, on the magical uses of stones
for people who design their own spells, and a good number of spells and rituals using gemstones in the
next two chapters. The fourth chapter is an alphabetic list of stones and their uses in amulets throughout
history and around the world. Next is a short chapter on healing with gemstones, complete with short
rituals. This is followed by information on creating gemstone elixirs and potions for healing purposes.
The seventh chapter talks about birthstones and other ways stones are associated with astrology. The next
chapter is a whirlwind introduction to a number of different methods of using gemstones in divination.
Chapter nine talks about cursed gemstones using the Hope Diamond and the Koh-i-Noor. This leads into
the final chapter on the folklore of gemstones.
The book does not end with the last chapter, however, as there are about 50 pages of additional material.
There are six appendixes: a daily calendar of stones, stone correspondences, two on the stones associated
with Pagan deities, gemstones and the Tree of Life, and gemstones of the Wiccan Sabbats. Theses
appendixes are followed by a list of places to get stones, a bibliography, and an index. If you are looking
for all the information in the book on a specific stone, the index makes it easy to find.
While Dunwich's Guide to Gemstone Sorcery: Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination
doesn't live up to its back cover marketing hype, Dunwich has written a decent and readable introduction
to gemstone lore and magick. If you don't have anything else on your shelf on the subject, this book
would be a nice basic reference on the subject.
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