The model for the amphibole and pyroxene structures based on close-packed oxygen layers intro-duced by Thompson is investigated systematically. It is shown that different features of it can best be understood in terms of three different symbolisms: the O and S rotations of tetrahedra; the A,B, C stacking notation for close-packed layers; and the c, h notation for the relationship of close-packed layers to their neighbours. The possible stacking arrangements and their space-groups are derived systematically. Relationships between the close-packed, fully rotated, model and the extended chain model are discussed, and some important drawbacks in the former model are pointed out, especially in connection with real amphibole structures.