Stones of the Seven Rays is a concise text that focuses on the Theosophical teachings of 19th and 20th century occultists, HP Blavatsky, Manly Hall, C. W. Leadbeater and Alice Baily. This particular book is an English translation of a French text by Alphee Jean-Paul Bertrand. Stones of the Seven Rays is based upon the Theosophical idea that the human soul is constructed from a seven ray matrix, and the seven rays correspond to natural phenomenon that connects us to certain sacred gems through chakras.
I found the first two chapters interesting as they touched upon Theosophy and how it corresponds with history, and how it intersects with various Eastern religions. The deeper I got into the book, however, things seemed to change. It became evident that Coquet was interjecting opinion and stating it as fact. The tip off came when I didn’t see citations in these areas to back up his research. I went online and did some checking and found out I wasn’t the only reviewer who noticed this.
Page 142, where Coquet discusses a certain sacred mala, is an example of his interjecting opinion as fact. He also makes some peculiar comments about the Cross upon which Christ died. Although I have to admit there probably enough fragments of the Cross to construct a dozen “original” crosses, I really didn’t see how that had any bearing on the topic at all and made the scholastic research done look dubious. I also noticed the text was sprinkled with racist comments, especially anti-Semitic ones against both Jews and Muslims. The most glaring incident occurs on page 145. This passage regards the pillaging of a sacred Hindu site by an Arab emperor which is highly charged with racist statements. The passage is made stranger in that it doesn’t seem to belong there. I read the passage several times and the commentary simply doesn’t make sense.
Another error I found was in regards to the Buddha who lived and taught Dharma forty years after his Enlightenment. This is well documented and a historical fact and the reader can find plenty of information about that online. Coquet, however, states that the Buddha passed into Nirvana 25 years after he was enlightened. He also makes some strange comments about the use of the Vajra. I understand this is a Theosophical text and not Buddhist and things are probably done differently. I’m okay with that. But I wish Coquet would have made the distinction clearer.
The second half of the book is where the real treasures lie. This is a very nice compendium of the sacred stones, how they correlate with the Hindu chakra system, discusses the mineral qualities of each stone and the ray it connects to, and how to access that power for healing. It is also lavishly illustrated with pictures of some of the most beautiful gems on Earth.
The second half of the book also mentions substitutions you can use—because lets face it, not everyone can afford diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, etc.,--but most people can afford their substitutes. Coquet makes it clear that diamonds are better for accessing the powers of the first ray than rock crystal, but it is still workable. This section is spot on in research and the information presented is clear and easy to understand.
I admit that the first part of the book didn’t resonate with me but the second half made up for it. There is good information in the book, and it is citied, so the reader won’t have to mine too hard to extract the gems from the rocks.
~review by Patricia Snodgrass
Author: Michael Coquet
Destiny Books, 2012, English Translation
339 pages, $24.95
