Spirits and witches go together like sunlight and solar panels. The ability to work with them effectively can make or break our magic, but developing a relationship with the other side doesn't always come easy for everyone. Witches can work with the potent energies found in crystals, gemstones, and minerals to help them cross the hedge and build a better practice. This is my list of the seven stones (okay, there are actually thirteen on the list) that you should be working with if you are looking to boost your psychic abilities, make contact with spirits of all kinds, and travel the planes of existence.

1. Labradorite
A beautiful and highly prized stone known for aiding in manifestation, astral travel, dream work, and protection. The Inuit people believed that Labradorite was formed when the Northern Lights got trapped in ice. Labradorite is called, "The Temple of Stars" by some energy workers and is an excellent stone to work with to help understand and maintain purpose. Stimulating the Crown and Third-Eye Chakras, this crystal ally is also known for stimulating mental acuity as well as reducing stress and anxiety. To draw these beneficial properties from the stones, work with it in meditation, carry with you, or wear in jewelry form. Works best when touching the skin.

• Astrological Correspondences: Sagittarius, Scorpio, and Leo
• Other Associations: The Archangel Metatron, Spirit Guides, and the Elements of Water/Fire.

Labradorite is a particularly excellent stone to work with when you are reaching out to spirit guides, ascended masters, and the higher casts of angels. In addition to being one of the most stunning stones to look at available on the market today, it really wants you to gaze deeply into it, making it a fantastic stone for scrying. Communing with ancestral spirits is also made much easier with the aid of this stone and it can be placed on the ancestral altar to help translate messages form the dead.

2. Smoky Quartz
Smoky Quartz is a variety of Quartz closely related to Citrine and that ranges from a pale grey to deep grey or black. Smoky Quartz is not actually black but rather different shades of brown. It is highly sought after by metaphysicians due to its soft and subtle ability to remove blockages of the mind and heart, and is particularly good at helping one achieve deep levels of meditation and focus.

• Astrologically associated with Capricorn, Sagitarius, Aquarius, and Pisces
• Other associations: Archangels Raphael and Metatron, the Goddesses Hecate and Macha, and the Element of Earth/Fire.

Smoky Quartz is one of the best stones to work with when you are reaching out to tree spirits, faerie spirits, and ghosts that are stuck on our plane. Specifically this stone is useful when attempting to find a spirit that wants to talk to you, and therefor should be brought when investigating paranormal activity or seeking Genius Loci. Smoky quartz is also an excellent stone to have on the skin when channeling faerie and should be placed over the third eye when seeking to discern messages from the faerie realms.

3. Moldavite
Moldavite is a crystal ally that comes from a meteorite that landed in Moldova, Russia over 14.8 million years ago and is known for being one of the most unique crystals on the planet. Moldavite is prized for its incredible ability to speed up the process of spiritual evolution, increasing the rate of energy circulation within the subtle body, and connecting those who work with it to high-vibrational spiritual allies. Moldavite has a wide range of uses and is known for interacting with each practitioner differently. A powerful ally that works well with all other crystals and for activating all chakras, Moldavite it known for adding speed and resiliency to the spiritual and psychic processes.

• Astrological correspondence: All
• Additional associations: All angels and masters, the Gods Zeus and Sophia, the Fifth Element.

Moldavite is a very unique stone that has a very special set of properties that make it extra witchy. When on the skin it amplifies the will power of the magician and cuts through the psychic white noise that exists between the wearer and the spirit world. It is known specifically for its incredibly high vibrational properties that not only help us to raise our frequency but also more easily communicate with angels and channel their "divine will." This makes this stone particularly beneficial for those who perform exorcisms and banishments.

4. Selenite
One of the most popular stones used by metaphysicians today, Selenite is a member of the Gypsum family and though fragile, packs quite the energetic punch! Used most often to assist in cleansings, energy clearing, psychic development, and astral travel, Selenite has a long history of sharing its vibration with spiritual seekers of all kinds. Particularly, Selenite is a useful tool during past life recall or regression, warding off negative spiritual entities, and/or facilitating spiritual connections of all kinds. To draw these beneficial properties from the Selenite, work with it in meditation, carry it with you, or surround yourself with small pieces of it.

• Astrological correspondence: Taurus
• Additional associations: The Archangel Uriel, the Goddess Diana/Selene, and the Elements of Water/Earth

Selenite is helpful to us as we work with the spirit world because it removes psychic blockages and helps to correct the flow of energy between ourselves and the spirits with which we are working. Lower frequency entities are not likely to stick around when you break out a Selenite wand and it can be placed around the home to ward off these beings as well as malicious magic. What is perhaps the most surprising benefits of working with Selenite is its ability to help us maintain auric density and can assist in auric repair when worn.

5. Lapis-Lazuli
A sacred stone to the ancient Egyptians, Lapis-Lazuli has been a beloved ally for thousands of years and often contains traces of Pyrite. Known for its ability to help us make sense of deeper spiritual and philosophical concepts, find our place in the world, protecting us from psychic attack, and for elevating the psychic senses, Lapis is one of the most popular stones for practitioners to work with on the planet. It works well at activating all chakras, particularly the Heart, Throat and Third Eye, making it excellent at assisting the endocrine, muscular, and skeletal systems.

• Astrological correspondence: Sagittarius
• Additional associations: Archangel Michael, The Goddess Isis and the God Ra, the element of Fire.

Lapis-Lazuli is the stone to work with when seeking control over unruly spirit activity in a home or environment. Its ability to dominate the immediate surrounding area will increase your psychic power and impede the movement of other competing frequencies. This stone also makes a sturdy vessel for spirits of the friendly variety and can be fashioned into statues for this purpose.

6. Jasper
Jasper comes in many varieties, each possessing a unique set of abilities. All Jaspers carry with them the energetic properties of wholeness, completion, and deep connection. Known for their ability to help us embrace solitude and the search for inner knowing, Jaspers are also particularly good at helping us make sense of the often-confusing road of life. They also aide in all forms of astral or psychic flight and are known to boost the natural abilities found in each of us. Balancing the yin-yang energies of the body, this stone is also a powerful ally for healers and artists. Jasper stimulates all chakras.

• Astrological correspondence: Leo
• Other associations: Archangels Haniel and Sandalphon, the Goddess Bona Dea, the Fates, and all Elements.

6.1. Ocean Jasper
In addition to the properties shared by all Jaspers, Ocean/Orbicular Jasper is particularly beneficial for those who work with the needy, handicapped, or lost. It aides the digestive processes in the body as well as breathing and naturally stabilizes/supports energy within the body. When working with spirits, Ocean Jasper helps specifically with the dead who don't understand they are dead or who are stuck on our plane. It facilitates the "crossing over" of the spirit by helping it to understand the circumstances surrounding its state of being.

6.2. Red Jasper

In addition to the properties shared by all Jaspers, Red Jasper is particularly beneficial for those who work against oppression of any kind. It aides those who are in fear of danger find safety and is known for helping us remember dreams. Red Jasper is particularly helpful when dealing with demonic spirits or any other spirit you with to employ for low-magic. It is known for its ability to aid the magician's strength of will power and for adding density to the frequency of that magician, placing them on top.

6.3. Picture Jasper
In addition to the properties shared by all Jaspers, Picture Jasper is particularly beneficial for those who work with past-lives, hypnosis, trance, and the realms of the mind. It is also known for helping those who have heavy responsibilities carry the weight when it feels too much. Picture Jasper is particularly helpful when traveling the spirit worlds as it can be used to both speed your travel time as well as to help you retain the information shared with you there. It can also be used to help channel spirit beings from any plane and should be kept on the spirit altar to help stabilize mediumship abilities.

7. Tourmaline
Tourmaline comes in various colors, most notably Blue, Black, Brown (called Dravite or Root Beer), Green, Pink, and Watermelon. It is a highly protective stone with a long history of keeping those who have it close safe from physical and spiritual harm. In general, all types of tourmaline will assist in the production of life force and the manifestation of higher-ideals and harder-to-reach goals.

• Astrological correspondence: Capricorn, Virgo and Libra
• Other associations: Archangels Michael and Raphael, the Goddesses Manat, Hecate, Diana, and Isis, as well as the Elements of Fire/Earth.

7.1. Black Tourmaline Black Tourmaline is known for being particularly protective against harm or malady and is an excellent crystal ally for those who are recovering from any form of ailment that weakens the physical or subtle bodies. Black Tourmaline is also known for bringing balance to the mental and physical worlds. When working with the spirit world Black Tourmaline has a long history of protecting magicians from both demonic forces as well as the dark spells that usually come with them. In addition to its incredibly protective properties this stone is also known to stimulate the production of psychic life force and when worn on the skin can be a fierce ally when discovering the internal psychic world.

7.2. Pink Tourmaline
In addition to properties shared by all tourmalines, Pink Tourmaline is particularly attuned to the vibrations of love, will power, and truth. Stimulating the Crown and Root Chakras, this stone is ideal for those who are seeking ultimate love and strength. When working with the spirit world, Pink Tourmaline will assist in the introduction to spirit allies from the Angelic and Faery realms. It should be programmed to do this and then placed in a magical center around the home.

7.3. Brown Tourmaline
In addition to properties shared by all tourmalines, Brown Tourmaline is particularly attuned to the vibrations of healing and alignment on all levels. Stimulating the Root and Heart Chakras, this crystal ally is a perfect companion for those who are recovering. Specifically, we can work with Brown Tourmaline to help us meet Genius Loci and other spirits related to the earth and mountains like Trolls, Gnomes, and Elves.

7.4. Green Tourmaline
In addition to the properties all tourmalines share, Green Tourmaline is known for being a vigorous healer of the physical heart, helping those with heart related or blood-pressure related ailments, and for increasing success regarding things you feel passionate about. Green Tourmaline makes an excellent addition to crystal grids that seek to bridge the worlds of the dense physical plane and connect to the Faery realms. It can be worn to attract these spirits to you as well.

7.5. Watermelon Tourmaline
Watermelon tourmaline is a rare and hard to find tourmaline that has the vibrational properties of Pink, Brown, and Green Tourmaline. In spirit work, Watermelon Tourmaline is an incredibly powerful ally, especially when working with spirits that are hard to find. Wear Watermelon Tourmaline to attract spirits of all kinds to you and place in a wand to gain the ability to command them. Place on the altar to assist in any type of spirit communication, or place in the bottom of a bowl of water for scrying.

There is no way I could have listed every stone that helps us as we explore the spirit world and our propensity to work with it. This is just a short list of my favorite stones for this purpose that are easy to find and shouldn't break the bank. For more information on working with spirits, check out my new book, The Witch's Book of Spirits.