[Norfleet]

Well, the best real use of Astrals early-to-midgame I've found is Acashic Records. The alternative being to save them for late game: All astral rituals of note tend to be fairly expensive, generally to the point of gross inefficiency compared to other gems: This can be partially understandable if the underlying assumption is that astrals (and fires) are the most readily available gem type for certain reasons popularly considered controversial.