#jewitches article

For those seeking spirituality, crystals have become almost synonymous with mystical wisdom, but almost exclusively through New Age lenses. The New Age amoeba functions through appropriation and assimilation into itself: take from a culture, dilute the meanings, apply generalizations, mix and blend with other appropriations, spit back out. It is therefore not surprising that so many are shocked by the presence of wisdom surrounding stones in Judaism; after all, the mystical 'Judeo-Christian' entity envisioned by the New Age carriers of crystals often decry how devoid of magic and 'true spirituality' Judaism is. Of course, Judeo-Christianity does not exist, and precious stones have existed as an important part of the Jewish spiritual ecosystem since the time of the Exodus.