Setting goals and New Year's Eve go together like peanut butter and jelly. But, TBH, sometimes I wish I could just grab that PB&J and run, because setting lofty goals can be hella stressful. It can be overwhelming to expect ourselves to change our ways overnight just because we're entering a new calendar year. So, if you're having trouble laying out plans for yourself in 2019, it can be helpful to try to boil things down to just a few main areas. And if you want to get a lil' witchy about it, using crystal healing for 2019 goals can add the perfect mystical boost to your New Year's Eve intention-setting rituals and make self-improvement all the more magical. Plus, who doesn't want to pre-game for NYE with their crystals? Doing crystal rituals to support your intentions are a super chill and magical way to close out this year and step into the next.
Many people believe that crystals carry energy and that working with them can help align us with their frequencies, which is the basis behind crystal healing. Many people also believe that crystals can be programmed with your personal intentions, allowing you to work with them even more closely to reach your goals. Bustle spoke with holistic healer and business and success mentor Allison Braun about effective ways to use crystals in 2019 goal setting rituals, and she shared three of her go-to crystal rituals for New Years Eve that will help even crystal newbies launch their 2019 goals off the ground in mystical style.
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All three of Braun's rituals are designed to incorporate any or all of the following crystals, based on what your personal vibe and intention is. She suggests the following:
- Citrine for any creativity, financial prosperity, and abundance related goals.
- Rose Quartz for any love, relationship, intimacy, beauty or connection related goals.
- Red Jasper for any health, energy or productivity related goals.
- Lapis Lazuli for any speaking, communication, leadership or affluence related goals.
- Additional crystals are recommended for specific rituals as noted below.
Whether you're focused on your business endeavors, love life, or just upping your self-care, crystals can be a super helpful tool to call on when it comes to making that magic happen. Here are three fun and magical crystal rituals to use for the new year that Braun has shared with Bustle, and all harness the crystal energy perfectly to support your goals.
Ritual #1: Feel-Good 2019 Goal Setting
Along with a new year often come new year goals, but no one wants to pressure themselves too hard and turn it into something negative and stressful. "This ritual is designed to support you in setting fulfilling, feel good goals for the New Year," explains Braun. Make setting goals an intentional and magical experience by doing so using a crystal ritual instead.
What you'll need: One to three of the aforementioned crystals (one for each goal); a candle; pen and paper; arborvitae or wild orange essential oils (optional).
What to do: Think about your top goals for the new year and what energy you'd like to see in your life. Focus on that feeling, and let it guide you in creating your ritual space. "Wherever you plan to do the ritual, see how you can bring that feeling in," explains Braun, who gives a couple examples. "Want to feel more spacious? Clear all clutter (including extra furniture) and anything that isn’t absolutely essential. Want to feel more joyful? Perhaps you have some particular songs or playlists that you know bring you joy."
Once your space is set, prepare your ritual area. If using essential oils, either diffuse them or use them in an oil burner. (Braun suggests arborvitae for grounding and abundance, and wild orange for uplifting and joy.) Focus on your intention, light your candle, and place a drop of essential oil on the bottom of each foot to ground you in your wishes.
Now that the ritual has begun, it's time to refine your goals and boil them down to between 1 and 3 main intentions. "If you were to reflect back a year from now, what are some of the things that you’re most grateful you felt, did, experienced?" Braun asks. You can pull these feelings from any area of your life: Career, relationships, health, finances, spirituality — whatever calls to you.
To find your true goals, Braun suggests asking yourself why each goal is important to you, in case there is an deeper desire lying beneath the surface that could indicate your more genuine underlying goal. For example, if your goal is to make a higher salary, ask yourself why. Is it because there's a specific vacation you'd like to take? Or is it that you want to buy a home? Get to the root of your goals and write each of them down clearly on your piece of paper. "Personally I like to add 'or something even better' at the end of each to leave room for more than what I can currently imagine right now," shares Braun. Select a crystal for each of your goals, and hold it in your hand as you speak your true intention aloud, programming it into your crystal.
Once you have your goals written down and have programmed your crystals, it's time to create an action plan. "Use your gut instinct/intuition/internal guidance to answer the question: What’s the most important action for me to focus on to reach this goal?" advises Braun. "These will likely be very simple and easy to ignore or pass often as 'too easy.' Don’t make the mistake of not doing them because [of this]. The key is bold, fast, and consistent action." Now, commit to a time in your schedule to take these small actions toward your goals, whether that's a daily, weekly, or monthly plan. Pencil it in, and be ready to stick to it.
Now, safely set your written list of intentions and actions beneath your burning candle and surround it with your crystals of choice. Put one drop of your chosen essential oil onto the paper. "This is where you get to practice trust," explains Braun. "You’ve now scheduled in your key guided action steps. The rest is about holding the vision while being unattached to how it happens." Re-light or replace your candle as needed through the year, and use this space as an altar where you can revisit and adjust your goals throughout 2019.
Ritual #2: Creating A Crystal Support System in 2019
Perhaps you're already really into crystal healing, or maybe using crystals for more spiritual purposes is one of your 2019 goals. Either way, if you plan to work with crystals for the new year, this ritual is the perfect way to kick things off and program your crystals to support you from the start. After this ritual, they'll be ready to work with all year long (with a few proper energy cleansings here and there, of course).
What you'll need: As many of the aforementioned crystals as you'd like; pen and paper; any other spiritual tools you'd like to bring into your space to create a mood (such as candles, incense, or calming music).
Additional suggested crystals: For this ritual, Braun suggests using any extra crystals that call to you to support you in the new year. Go wild with it! You can use what you already have, or look into getting some new 2019 crystals. "Use your ... intuition to feel into which crystals you’re drawn to use (if you don’t know much about them, you can research what they are most commonly used for after)," shares Braun. "Or, research to see which [additional] crystals are best for your common themes and pick a few out to use."
What to do: Begin by asking yourself what you truly want in 2019. Braun suggests guiding yourself with the following questions:
- What are some of the feelings you want to experience?
- What are the tangible goals you have for your business, finances, relationships, health, and spirituality?
Write down whatever intuitively comes to you, then look for common overarching themes or feelings (such as confidence issues, a need for creative expression, a desire to be more productive, or topics pertaining to love and passion). These are the themes you'll want to use your crystals to work on.
Now it's time to program these intentions into your crystals so they're ready to work with. "Put on some 'mood music', light a candle, and take some sweet, spacious time to really feel your vision for the New Year while holding the crystals or placing them around you," advises Braun. "Set the intention that these crystals will be a part of your support system throughout the year that you can keep coming back to when you need those reminders, courage, energy, confidence, creativity, or little positive kicks in the pants to keep going." This ritual should be a fun way to connect with both your desires and your crystals — and it indicates the kick off to many more crystal rituals that can help you reach your goals.
Ritual #3: Career & Business Growing For 2019
A lot of people's goals for the new year center around their business and career paths. If that's true for you, this crystal ritual is going to be super helpful. "This ritual is designed to support you in bringing closure to the last year as well as stepping into the New Year prepared to have your business grow with more ease," explains Braun.
What you'll need: Two of the aforementioned crystals of your choice (one that represents the last year and one that represents the new year); a candle; pen and paper; arborvitae or wild orange essential oils (optional).
Additional suggested crystals: Clear Quartz to amplify energy or intention. "It protects against negativity, and helps you connect to your higher self," explains Braun. "Perfect to hold either the intention of releasing the last year or holding the vision for the new year."
What to do: Start by setting up your space. Braun advises reflecting on how you want to feel in your business endeavors for the next year. Inspired? Energized? Creative? Abundant? Affluent? Spacious? Connected? Bring that feeling into your space in whatever way feels right, as described in ritual #1.
To begin your ceremony after setting up your ritual space, diffuse or burn your essential oils (if using) and put a drop on the bottom of each foot to anoint yourself and ground you in your intentions. Then light your candle to begin.
Think about the past year of your life career-wise and how it's looked and felt. Think also about what you'd like it to look like in a year's time. Once you've done some silent reflection, Braun asks you to write your answers to any of the following questions about your 2018 business endeavors (no need to use all of them — just choose what feels most useful).
- What were your biggest successes of the year?
- Did you reach the main goals/focuses that you had set for this year? Why or why not?
- What programs/offerings/services were the most enjoyable and easy for you to deliver, and why?
- What programs/offerings/services were the most profitable?
- What clients were your favorite to work with and why?
- What projects did you complete and which are unfinished?
- Do you still want to complete them, or do they need to be released?
- What didn’t work well (programs, clients, etc.) that you know you need to release?
- What do you already know needs to change about your business for the New Year?
- What do you already know needs to change about how you show up for the New Year?
Next, focus on your hopes for the upcoming year instead of what's already happened in 2018. Use what you've learned in 2018 to help inspire you. Braun suggests asking yourself: What do you most want to experience and feel? What are your focuses for this year and why? Write those things down.
Now comes the most important part: Boiling all of this down into your singular career or business vision for 2019. Write it down in detail. Describe what your ideal situation looks like and feels like. Describe what you're doing, who is with you, what events you're attending, what projects you're working on, what you're celebrating, and what your day-to-day schedule looks like. Envision yourself clearly experiencing this success.
Once you've visualized and described your intentions, it's time to work with your crystals. "Hold [the stone you chose to represent 2018] while intending to release anything from the last year that wants to be released," instructs Braun. "Then take that stone somewhere (ideally bury it or put it in moving water, [or] if you’re somewhere frozen you can place it under a tree — ideally somewhere off your property) and release it."
Now, move onto the stone you chose for 2019. " Hold [your other stone] while holding your vision for the next year," instructs Braun. "This stone can be placed on your desk, kept in your pocket or held whenever you need to be reminded of that vision all throughout the New Year."
"[Y]ou can complete the ritual by blowing out the candle, and if you haven’t yet, bury stone 1 and place stone 2 in your special spot," shares Braun. At this point, you'll have released your baggage from the last year via your 2018 crystal, and your intentions for the new year will be programmed into your 2019 crystal, so you'll be able to easily continue working with it anytime you take steps to reach your goals.
