Best books for smudging, candles and crystals?

QUESTION - Blessed Be, I was wondering what the best books were to learn about smudging, candles, stones and crystals were. I am very new to any of this and don't have anyone around to teach me. And are there any books on blessings? Thank you And Happy Yule!!

ANSWER - Generally in my experience I have found that locating information on pretty much anything to do with Wicca/Witchcraft is extremely easy. What is not so easy is making sure that your source knows what they are talking about and is giving you sensible and relevant information! Even a published book is no guarantee of any level of accuracy and of course when you factor in the fact that many magical practitioners have very different ways of doing things and often bring a lot of subjectivity into what they do, finding anything resembling a 101 guide can be very challenging indeed. I have recommended a few beginner books on the craft here and you may find these a positive starting point.

You seem very interested in crystals and one of the best books on this subject is still The Crystal Bible and its various sequels. It's a good introduction as to how to identify crystals and what the use the individual stones can be put to.

In terms of looking at smudging and blessing you could try The Smudging and Blessings book - it is very much an introduction rather than a comprehensive study but it should point you in the right direction.

One of the best ways to engage with other people, especially if you are a beginner to the craft and therefore building up your own knowledge is to join a forum. There are a good many forums around but for the sort of thing you are looking for I'd try Lucky Mojo which tends to provide a lot of hands on basics information that you will find useful.

Hope this helps!

Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Blessings-372870453

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