Which book is better to get first?

[Phoenix]

I have the opportunity to get either Cunningham's book on crystals, or Melody's Love is in the earth. Which one should a person get first?

[Dakini]

I'm not familiar with Cunningham's book of crystals, but I've had Melody's Love is in the Earth for several years. IMO its a very informative book the only thing missing is pictures of the various stones. Hope this helps some. Blessings Dakini

[Bryher]

I have to agree, for me, Melody's is the crystal bible. It gives fantastically in depth information on any crystal you could possibly imagine (and plenty you can't) and she regularly publishes updates so you know you have the latest information if you buy the latest addition. Also, she gives great information anout crystal meditation, elixirs etc at the beginning. It's expensive, but it's money well spent.

[Minderwiz]

There's also a supplement to Melody - the Kaleidoscopic Pictorial Supplement Z - which does have the pictures in!

I agree that this is the definitive series - though the emphasis must be on the word 'series' and of course it depends on how seriously you want to get involved.

[Kyrielle]

Melody is definitely more complete. The infuriating thing about her book is that many things are unclear. A lot of it is written in inflated, archaic, or obtuse language, and sometimes I read a passage and think "WHAT??"

But it is very interesting, and I use it frequently. I just use it alongside my other stone reference books as well.

The Cunningham contains fewer stones, and omits or glosses over some stones I consider necessities (look at his entry on citrine). But it was written before some stones such as charoite were discovered, and at a time when little was known about some of the newer stones such as sugilite. It has a good selection of lore on most of the major stones, and contains practical suggestions for using stones from a Wiccan point of view. It is also clearly and straightforwardly written, and is less expensive than the Melody.

I would recommend Cunningham first, to get a good grounding in the basic lore and ways of working with stones. Then get Melody and integrate the two. But do get both books, eventually.

-- Kyrielle