Crystal Stokes, owner of Crystal Visions, comes from a long line of proud Romani women who have the same gift — the gift of healing. Seven generations deep: reading, listening and helping. Stokes proudly shares that her daughter was born with the gift and is currently honing her craft and helping with clients at the age of 14. “I look at my practice like I’m a dentist, I’m a dentist for your soul. If you don’t go in for a cleanup every once in a while, you’re going to have a lot of work to do,” says Stokes.

Q. What is your clientele like? What are some of their common concerns?
A. You get people calling wanting to know about their boyfriends or wanting to know about their careers — that’s fine, that’s the easy stuff. Then you have people calling up saying they want to end their lives. I’ve had a few over the years. You have to take yourself out of the equation and realize it’s not about you — they’re not coming to you, they’re coming to the light that you possess. As long as you connect to that light and realize that their creator is sending them to you because they feel that there’s something in you that can help them. I talk to them, I pray with them, I meditate with them and tell them all the reasons why they shouldn’t take their own life.

Q. How do you deal with emotionally heavy readings?
A. I have to do all the things I tell my clients to do. I fast, meditate, cleanse my chakras, sage my house, light my candles and wear my own crystals. I’ll get sick otherwise. I have to connect to that higher source — our spirit guides — and the creator himself who can heal me.

“if you feel something telling you in your tummy that something isn’t right, listen to it”

Q. What has kept you in the practice?
A. To be honest, there were times in my life when I didn’t want to do it anymore. I was tired of the stigma, I was tired of the negativity that comes along with it. I was tired of proving myself, and I still am. That’s why I’ve been trying to evolve my practice too, and only read for people on a referral basis.

Q. I imagine it wasn’t always easy.
A. No, absolutely not. I started out doing readings for $5 at a flea market booth. I would go out to psychic fairs, I would go out to festivals to promote what I do — you get heckled. “I don’t believe in you,” “You’re from the devil,” “This is evil, I’m going to pray for you.” I said, please do, I will accept anyone who prays for me — but before you pray for me, please don’t judge me, because the same creator who put you here put me here too.

Q. Can people sense the presence of a bad energy on their own?
A. This is what I like to tell people: “Your guts belong to God.” It might not sound logical in your head, but if you feel it in your gut, your stomach chakra is connected to your emotions so your emotions and guts are connected to God/Spirit. So if you feel something telling you in your tummy that something isn’t right, listen to it.

www.crystalvisionsreader.com

photo by carlos a. pinto