Editorial Method
How this dictionary is made.
A reference is only as good as its honesty about what kind of claim it is making. This page is the single place that honesty is written down.
The four claim lanes
Every entry separates four kinds of statement, and each is labeled where it appears:
Mineral identity. Chemistry, crystal system, hardness, formation, and locality. These are scientific claims, checked against mineralogical references (Mindat, RRUFF, the IMA list) and cited to peer-reviewed literature where available.
Tradition. Where a belief or use comes from: the culture, the period, and the practice, named specifically. Tradition is presented as tradition. We do not present lore as laboratory fact, and we do not debunk a practice people have carried for centuries. Attribution is the respect.
Practice. How practitioners work with a stone or herb today: somatic anchors, breath, placement, ritual. Written from forty years of sanctuary floor experience and labeled as practice, not prescription.
Evidence. Where research touches the territory (touch, color, ritual, attention), we cite it with its limits named. "Studies suggest" means studies suggest. Crystal work complements care; it does not replace professional healthcare.
Citation verification
Scientific citations carry a DOI only when the DOI's registered title and authors match the citation; we verify against the DOI registry itself, not search results. Pre-DOI-era works and books are cited without one rather than dressed up with a wrong link. Sources are tagged SCI, HIST, or LORE so readers can see the lane at a glance.
Corrections
When we find an error of fact or attribution, we correct the entry, not the record of having been wrong. Found one? Write to info@crystalis.com and it goes to the top of the queue.
Accessibility
This dictionary is meant to be readable by everyone: semantic headings and landmarks on every page, alt text on imagery, WCAG AA contrast as the working floor, and no information conveyed by color alone. If anything here is hard for you to read or navigate, that is a defect, and we want to know: info@crystalis.com.
What this site is
A practitioner-curated reference of stones, herbs, and correspondences, with the science labeled as science and the tradition honored as tradition. It is not a medical resource, and it never asks you to outsource your judgment. The shine is yours.