I first learned about this stuff from the game manual of Conquests of the Longbow. Knowing the spiritual properties of different minerals and gems got me past

I first learned about this stuff from the game manual of Conquests of the Longbow. Knowing the spiritual properties of different minerals and gems got me past the guard at the swamp monastery. And I haven't found it useful since. I bet someone could make some money by inventing a process to "re-naturalize" synthetic mineral crystals to make them look more like naturally-formed mined crystals. It would be unethical lucre, of course, but I might still be able to live with myself if I rationalized it as undercutting Goop, rather than just hoodwinking regular people. The only ailment you can't cure with bunkum is stupidity.