"Crystal Intentions: Practices For Manifesting Wellness" by Lune Innate & Araminta Star Matthews (2019)

Crystal Intentions: Practices For Manifesting Wellness (2019) is an excellent resource for those who work with crystals for their healing potential. Lune Innate and Araminta Star Matthews cover a lot of ideas and concepts surrounding the practice of using crystals as an aid for wellness; ancient spiritual beliefs (such as the Law of Attraction) are discussed, as are the body's seven major chakras, the use of simple ritual (for ex. Pranayama breathing), and elemental philosophies (i.e. the five elements of Chinese medicine). Crystal Intentions covers a lot of ground - the subjects mentioned above are just a sample. For this reason I recommend the book as a reference guide as well as a beginner's introductory text to crystals.

As the title suggests, there is a special focus placed on the practice of infusing crystals with a specific intention by dedicating a specific crystal for a particular purpose. Throughout history, as Lune Innate and Araminta Star Matthews share, crystals have been assigned various meanings and functions, especially for the purpose of enhancing our emotional, social, physical, and spiritual well-being. They explain that because everything can be understood vibrationally - the way energy is always moving via miniscule particles such as atoms, protons, electrons, and neutrons - there is a way we can enhance our vibrational properties by way of using crystals intentionally. Though nothing ever is completely still (every object has a frequency), there are situations and experiences which can either raise our vibration or lower it. Put simply, you either get a bad vibe or a good vibe - but as Crystal Intentions illuminates, it's not that black and white.

There are ten chapters within the entire book and each one explains how the body and crystals can be used in sync with one another. In Chapter 3: Grounding and Centering to Self-Heal, Reduce Burnout, and Relax, mindfulness practice is explained in a way that correlates to the crystal:

"Grounding with a crystal connects you to the present.... most gemstones and minerals are sourced from the ground; even organics like Pearls, Jet, and Amber are connected to Earth in some capacity. In fact, 12 percent of the Earth's crust is made up of silicon dioxide or Quartz Crystal... perhaps this is why grounding with a crystal in each hand as you stand with your feet connected to the Earth amplifies your energetic connection, as though the crystals you hold are charged and generating a connection to the crystals beneath our feet in the ground below." (p. 42)

The book, while educational, is pleasant to read through as the text also includes plenty of exercises and little workshops to try throughout each chapter. But there is really a *plethora* of information to be found - such as crystals in connection with the zodiac to developing an awareness for projections (the emotional, social, spiritual, physical energy you or others place onto a person or thing) and knowing, intuitively, whether that is something that needs to be cleared or something that needs to be amplified.

Because the nature of such ideas is so abstract, I found it extremely refreshing to read a book that did not romanticize these phenomena but instead presented them as valid, potential ways to regain a sense of self in a world so bent on breaking that down. That being said, I would not recommend the book to skeptics, as crystals used in the healing arts only work if one is open to it without judgement. All in all, for anyone who respects Light Work and Light Workers or wishes to become one, Crystal Intentions: Practices for Manifesting Wellness is a fantastic place to begin.