Philip's Crystal Blog

The Tucson Gem Show is the biggest crystal, gem, rock, mineral and fossil show in the world!

It is a massive event that almost takes over one side of the city of Tucson, Arizona and several outlying areas. To give you an idea of the scale - and that's completely impossible unless you're there to experience it - in the UK a mineral show may have 30 - 80 exhibitors.  In Tucson there are around 50 shows (yes, fifty!). There are dozens running at the same time. Some run for over 3 weeks whilst others are only on for a few days. They are held in 5* hotels, motels, resorts, exhibition halls, tents both small and large... very large... very, very large with some "tents" covering several acres!  The smaller shows have around a hundred exhibitors and the 5 largest have over 1,000 exhibitors in each! 

A few years back, when there were (only!) 35 shows running, someone worked out that if you went around all the shows and spent 5 minutes at each exhibitor, you didn't sleep, eat, or stop to buy anything, then it would take about 5 weeks to go round and see everything. Most of the shows are only on over 2 weeks and I do need to sleep, eat and stop to buy crystals!!

It really is amazing!

So I can hear you thinking "How do you decide which shows to go to?" That's really easy with experience. I've been going to Tucson since 1999 missing only a couple of years. This will be my 21st Tucson Gem Show trip! I have my favourite shows and have made a few dealer friends over the years who I like to spend some time with and find out what's happening around the planet in the rock and crystal world. Then there's always a new show or an old show that's moved to a new location. Sometimes it's confusing when the hotel a show is in changes its name or franchise too.

One such example is the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show which is named after the hotel it's held in. Before it was the Pueblo it was called the 4 Points show because it was in the 4 Points Hotel, until it changed hands - that's the hotel not the show - and became the Pueblo Hotel. Then a few years back the hotel changed its franchise again and became the River Park Inn. But, this time the show kept its name. So the Pueblo Show is in the River Park Inn... Hope you're following... So now the Pueblo Show, which was in the Pueblo Hotel which used to be the 4 Points, is at the Ramada Tucson Conference Centre (formerly River Park Inn - yes sorry the hotel has been taken over again!) which used to be the Pueblo Hotel, from where the show takes it's name when it changed it from 4 Points what seems like many years ago!! AAAARRRGGGHHH!!! You see the challenge. Also, another challenge is having to walk around in the Arizona winter sunshine, whilst it's mostly cold and snowing and raining and windy and wintry at home, having to look at the most beautiful and unusual things on this planet. Work, work, work... Life can be so tough ;-) Seriously though, the weather can be extreme. Tucson is in the Sonoran Desert, Blazing hot sun in the day, freezing at night, Literally.

I'll be travelling 5,281 miles... each way...
But also remember that I am actually working and will probably spend 80% of our anual budget for stock in 14 days!

We're happy to take special orders. So please feel free to let us know anything you'd like in the way of crystals, fossils and Native American goods and we'll try and find whatever you want.

Fully equiped with face masks, suntan cream, lots of water and ready to rock and roll!

New Moon Meditation, a taster of Philip Permutt's Crystal New Moon Meditation Workshops held almost every New Moon at The Crystal Healer in St Albans

www.youtube.com/embed/-uBLwkgG65k" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen>

We're running a Crystal Reiki workshop on 27th March. We haven't run one for a few years so now's the chance to experience this fantastic day!

Crystal Reiki with Anne Village Saturday 27th March 10.30am - 5pm
One of the original formalised systems combining crystal healing with Reiki. Over the years more and more Reiki practitioners are drawn to crystals and start to integrate them into their therapy work and everyday lives. This one day workshop is designed to give a greater understanding of crystals and their links to Reiki. With practical healing sessions and self healing exercises throughout the day. You will also have a Reiki attunement to your level of Reiki. £55

Surprisingly this is a question I am often asked! :-) Of course the real question is which crystals will help fertility and the answer is simple. There are 3 crystals that will definitely help: chrysocolla, moonstone and rose quartz. And the advice is always to work with all three together. They work in different ways and you never really know the reason, unless it's a serious physical one, in which case we can't really help facilitating pregnancy, but can still help you come to terms with your situation.

Chrysocolla works on both physical and emotional levels, moonstone on hormonal balance and emotions and rose quartz on mental and emotional balance. When there's no medical reason why you can't get pregnant there is always an emotional issue which may be concious or not. In fact, it's common for you to have absolutely no idea what the reason is. Trust the crystals and as I said, work with all three thither as they are all working slightly differently.

I've also seen great success with Reiki and reflexology too, especially when combined with crystals.

A customer's just come in with three crystals and asked this question. The details are not relevant, but no there is nothing BAD about any crystal. What is important is that these crystals felt sticky or grungy and needed cleansing. You can always tell when a crystal needs cleansing, it looses it's sparkle, fades, feels sticky or just doesn't feel right. This is because they are picking up energy that you don't need. Not necessarily negative or bad (there's no such thing as good or bad anyway!) The easiest way to cleanse most crystals is with running water. Avoid doing this with water soluble crystals :-) Sage smudge sticks, frankincense, sunlight, moonlight and sounds such as those from Tibetan cymbals or bowls are alternatives. See http://www.thecrystalhealer.co.uk/epages/thecrystalhealer.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/thecrystalhealer/Categories/Info1/Info1g for more info.

I have a new stock of Chrysanthemum stone and wondered if anyone's worked with it and what they've found? I've found that this crystal is great for moving forward when you feel stuck. More information and products at http://www.thecrystalhealer.co.uk/epages/thecrystalhealer.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/thecrystalhealer/Products/09chhe01