Personal Facets A column by Jaya Saxena exploring emotions, the magical properties and promises of crystals, and the real reasons people seek their powers.

Black Tourmaline Is Supposed to Help You Set Boundaries—But What If You Go Too Far?

It’s easier to cut people out than to learn to differentiate between the chronically demanding and the occasionally needy. It’s war, we tell ourselves.

Sep 24, 2018
Citrine and the Cost of Happiness: How Conflating Money with Success Keeps Us All Trapped

If citrine is supposed to bring you abundance, what might it bring if you didn’t need so much wealth in our capitalist hellscape?

Aug 29, 2018
Obsidian and Finding the Truth Beneath the Surface

When we dress up, when we experiment, sometimes it’s because we are trying to discover who we are. But sometimes it’s because we already know and have nothing to hide.

Jul 23, 2018
Opals Are Said to Make Us Everything We Are All at Once, and There’s Nothing Scarier

I’ve been wondering what my edges really are, and finding they don’t exist. I feel myself shimmer with every conflicting thought.

Jun 25, 2018
The Rose Quartz Ceiling: When It Comes to Love, Men Are Praised for What Women Are Simply Expected to Give

When love and femininity are intertwined, only some of us are expected to do the job of loving.

May 16, 2018
Amethyst: When You Seek Balance at All Costs

Maybe telling ourselves we’re balanced, that we’re in control, is almost as good as the real thing.

Apr 16, 2018