Cinnabar is a major mercury ore and so needs careful handling. You should wash your hands after holding Cinnabar. Here it is in Quartz, so is relatively stable but it is still best to take care and it should not be used to make an essence in the traditional way.

There are few red minerals, and Cinnabar is the lovely raspberry colour in the white. It is very energetic and transformational, so is a good energy to bring in if you feel stuck and ready for a change.
Cinnabar is said to aid communication but I don’t have experience of this myself.