Follow Her: Finding Little Gems, Ritual Arts in Allston

While I rarely have the opportunity to travel outside of the US, traveling has always been a passion of mine. It brings new food, sights, and a plethora of fun stories and memorable experiences. As it has been for most of the world’s population, since COVID, my travel plans have been derailed. 

But, with the recent improvement in New England’s weather and temperatures clocking in at a solid 54 and windy instead of  23 and snowy, I’ve been trying to re-expand my horizons and upend my newly formed hermit-esc habits (while still being as safe as possible). To do that, I’ve switched out big cross country trips for little outings into my new home, Boston. One I embarked on recently was an outing to a store in Allston, Ritual Arts. To check them out, pop on the Green Line’s B track and head towards Boston College. My roommate and I went together and it was a 24-minute ride where you can find Ritual Arts at 153 Harvard Ave, Allston MA, 02134.

While a 24-minute ride sounds like a long time to be in an enclosed space, the T has never been crowded any of the four times I’ve taken it to Ritual Arts, or anywhere in the city for that matter. Some extra precautions that might take away your nerves are investing in disposable gloves while on the T and/or double masking.

But, if the T doesn’t suit you, there is a bus stop equally as close to Ritual Arts which my roommate and I took back to campus. The bus was even less crowded than the T and it had all the windows cracked which gave the compartment good airflow.

Ritual Arts is a store that’s exactly what you would expect, in the best way, upon hearing the name. Its sign’s design is fashioned in the style of tarot cards and an all-black storefront greets the eyes upon arriving. It would have reminded me of stores off the main street in Salem Massachusetts with its warm and welcoming clutter of wares if it wasn’t across the street from the Bubble Tea chain, Gong Cha, down the street from a Taiwanese Bubble Tea Chain, Tiger Sugar, and on the same block as Kung Foo Tea. (Really, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many bubble tea places within five minutes of each other even in China Town! Not that I’m complaining, if bubble tea wasn’t $5 or $6 per cup I’d be an addict, I love the tapioca pearls.) The dark storefront is broken up by huge windows displaying all manner of knick-knacks, from Tibetan Buddhist flags, statues, crystals, and astrology posters, the store draws you in with its mystique and has enough visual appeal to keep your eyes occupied while you wait. Besides the affordability of Rituals Arts crystals, the best part of the store is how covid conscious they are. Obviously, masks are required. But besides that, they have limited capacity so only four customers are allowed in at a time. While this means there is always a little bit of a wait to get in, after entering you don’t have to worry as much about social distancing while you’re perusing. And out of the four times I’ve been there the longest I’ve had to wait was 30 minutes.

Upon entering every customer is required to sanitize their hands and glove up. The gloves are what really made me feel comfortable in this place and it’s what keeps me coming back because I know a crystal is calling to me if when I hold it in my hand I feel it’s heat and vibrations. Because I pick out crystals based on how their energy plays off mine, it would be hard for me to choose a crystal without touching it. Ritual Arts understands this and it is precisely why they require their customers to wear gloves while inside the store. This protective measure allows for a customer to feel many different crystals while still staying safe and ensuring the workers don’t have to be constantly sanitizing everything that is touched.

In terms of the crystal selection Ritual Arts has a wide variety of options that is extremely good considering how small the store is. They have popular crystals like amethyst and rose quartz to lesser know ones like lepodite and zolite. If geometry of crystals is something that is important to you, the shop has a relection of tumbled stones, which some people believe give on low constant low amounts of energy, and raw stones, which give off sporadic bursts of more powerful energy. They also have crystal towers, spheres, and worry stones. If you’re the type of person who likes to wear your crystals instead of keeping them in your pocket or on your person than the first places you look should be their huge color coordinated selection of pendants or their more traditional beaded bracelets.

While I go there for the crystals and pendants, their selection of candles, incense, and burners is also a key feature of their store. The smell was one of the first things I noticed and loved upon the place when I entered. And if I didn’t spend all my money on crystals each time I went, oops, I would have invested in some incense and burners already. Don’t tell Res Life…

If you’ve ever been interested in crystals or the like but have been too intimidated and haven’t known where to start your journey I’d recommend taking a trip to Ritual Arts. All of their staff members are friendly, knowledgeable, and easy to approach. Though if you’re still not convinced you want to make the trek, despite their being multiple bubble tea shops within 5 minutes, you can check out Ritual Arts instagram. Although I will say the instagram, while effective doesn’t do the welcoming and uplifting vibes of the store justice.

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