Crystals and Astrology

I was sitting in a cramped grading lab in Bergen, staring through a loupe at a piece of amethyst that looked like it had been dyed in a vat of grape soda, when I first realized how much nonsense people buy into. The salesperson was spinning some yarn about how this specific stone was the … Read more

I spent six years in a grading lab, staring through a loupe at the microscopic inclusions that tell a stone’s true history, so I have a very low tolerance for expensive, airy nonsense. I see people online selling “moon-charged” kits for ridiculous prices, acting as if the lunar cycle is some kind of high-voltage battery … Read more

I spent six years in a grading lab staring through a loupe, and if there is one thing that gets under my skin, it’s the way the market tries to sell “moon magic” through overpriced, glass-filled junk. You’ll see shops claiming you need a specific, high-priced specimen to make your new moon practices and the … Read more

I spent six years in a grading lab, staring through a loupe at inclusions in sapphires, and if there is one thing I learned, it’s that people will try to sell you a story about almost anything. I see it all the time in the crystal shops—glossy brochures claiming that the moon phase you were … Read more

I spent six years hunched over a microscope in a grading lab, staring at inclusions that told more truth than any salesperson ever could. I’ve seen enough “miracle” stones to know that most people are being sold a bill of goods when it comes to prosperity crystals. There is a lot of noise out there—people … Read more

I spent six years in a grading lab, staring through a loupe until my eyes ached, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that a stone doesn’t care about your LinkedIn profile. I see so many people getting lost in expensive, flowery catalogs, convinced they need a specific, high-priced talisman to fix their … Read more

I’ve spent enough time under a loupe to know that most people selling “relationship crystals” are just selling expensive pebbles and a lot of vague promises. You’ll see shops claiming that a specific rose quartz will magically fix a failing marriage, but that’s not how geology—or life—works. When you are choosing a stone with the … Read more