The most common crystal question I get asked is “what’s the best crystal(s) for protection?”.

Now what does that mean, exactly? In a nutshell, people usually mean that they’re looking for a crystal that can prevent them from being negatively affected by unwanted energy or influences.

It could be other peoples’ stress or emotional energy; ill-wishing, cursing, or psychic attack; envy, fixation, or jealousy; sorcery; malevolent spirits or spirit attachments; manipulation or abuse; a run of bad luck or ill fortune; or even the bad vibes of a room, house, building, plot of land, etc.

There’s generally a list of crystals I can suggest, but the truth of my experience is that not all protective crystals work the same -- what you work with very much depends on what’s affecting you and what you need.

This has to do with frequency: you want to be wearing or working with a crystal that’s tuned into the frequency of energy that will shield you from a specific kind of vibration or harm.

For example: if you’re an empath (someone who’s sensitive to other peoples’ emotional energy to the point that you internalize it and experience it yourself), there’s no crystal that’s going to make you immune to sensing someone else’s emotional energy, but you can work with a crystal to keep you from absorbing it.

If you’re concerned that someone’s using witchcraft on you, the best defense is working with a crystal that alters your energy signature so that the cursed energy can’t find its target.

Some crystals are great at deflecting energy, others are good for cloaking or blocking. Some can help you from being swayed by manipulation, others can transmute (shift/alter) the energy around you so that it’s rendered harmless.

Top 10 Protective Crystals & What Each is Good For:

1. Black tourmaline

Repels lower, harmful frequencies. If there’s one crystal I’d recommend in general for all-round protection, it would be black tourmaline. It creates the equivalent of an electrical force field around your aura so that lower vibes and psychic debris will bounce right off you. This is usually why it’s the most commonly recommended crystal for protection. Its weakness, however, is that I’ve found it only works for un-intentional energies – vibes that are being sent at you willfully and powerfully can penetrate, as can spirits and spirit attachments. Still, this is a good choice for a daily protective crystal.

2. Jet

It clears internalized emotional energy for empaths. As an empath myself, I’ve never found a crystal that keeps me from feeling other peoples’ energy (though I admit hematite comes close), and I’ve also never wanted my ability to be completely shut off. While it has its liabilities, being empathic is an incredible psychic gift. Jet absorbs energy more than it emits, so when you get hit with someone else’s emotions, if you’re wearing jet it will draw those vibes out of your system. You’ll still be in tune but you won’t have to suffer for it. Note: jet needs to be cleared regularly, sometimes several times throughout the day if it’s working hard, so bear that in mind or it will start to fall off you and break.

3. Labradorite

Shields against psychic attack, fixation and ill-wishing. Psychic attack can take on many forms, in this case we’re talking about people hating on you, gossiping about you, and fantasizing about/desiring your total, epic ruin. This also applies to people who are fixated on you as a love interest (and it’s unrequited), who want something from you (that you don’t want to give), and/or who are pulling on your energy to fill their own need, lack, or void. Wearing labradorite is like placing a shield or coat of armor over your heart chakra. It keeps you covered while you ride out what is essentially other peoples’ pain. I often suggest the addition of a heart stone, like rose quartz or pink kunzite, to add an additional buffer zone of compassion.

4. Fluorite

Cloaks your energy signature to avoid the effects of sorcery, psychic attack, or curses. If that sounds like total nonsense to you, then you’re lucky! Unfortunately, in my experience sorcery or “black magic” is real and does happen to good people. Essentially what fluorite does is cloak your aura so it takes you off the radar. The poisoned arrow being sent your way misses its target. The one thing with fluorite is that it only works in this way after you have had an energy clearing, either professionally, or from a heavy duty salt bath, purification rite, or fire ceremony. Your aura needs to be cleared for the fluorite to cloak you properly.

5. Blue Kyanite

Keeps people from f-ing with your head. This is a really important one for anybody who’s experiencing manipulation, coercion, bullying, lying, or the like. Blue kyanite helps you keep your head, and keep it clear of worried or anxious thinking, self-doubt or second guessing, and it also helps you to read between the lines and be aware of what’s really being communicated. Blue kyanite is so powerful in this way that it can even be beneficial in cases of brainwashing or cult influences. If you find you need extra help with this, add in hematite to hold your ground, and sunstone to maintain healthy boundaries.

6. Black Obsidian

Protects from fixation, sorcery, and ill fortune. Black obsidian matches the frequency of banishment, which is why it’s such a powerful crystal for witches, shamans, and magical workings that involve the breaking of curses, hexes, spirit attachments, returning of energy to its sender, and so on. It acts similarly to a banishing pentagram or pentacle, for those of you who are familiar with those symbols. If you feel like you’ve got a black cloud following you around, or if you’re veiled in dark energy, or have the keen sense that someone’s cursing you, it’s best to wear it 24/7 until such time as you resolve the issue. It’s also a powerful healer in that black obsidian helps you become aware of the shadow aspects of yourself that could be contributing to your situation.

7. Apache Tear

Transmutes negative energy. I learned this about apache tear when I was guided to make a charm of this crystal for my dog to wear (I was concerned that she was taking on some lower energy in my stead). Apache tear is often used in the healing of grief, sorrow, and trauma, as it slowly but steadily transforms the energy of those feelings and experiences into healing energy for the heart and soul. It functions in a similar way in response to lower, harmful, heavy, or dark energy, so it’s a great crystal for healers, hospital and hospice workers, first responders, healthcare practitioners, pets, children, or anyone else who feels they’re regularly being exposed to such vibes.

8. Infinite

Bolsters your own defenses by healing and strengthening your aura. Your aura (the energy field that surrounds your body) is part of your natural defense system. When you’re healthy, fit, have a sustaining spiritual practice, honor your boundaries and self-care needs, and maintain a generally balanced and positive state of mind, your aura will be strong, bright, and clear. You’ll find that you’re far less affected by negative vibrations when you’re in this state. Unfortunately, daily stress, bad habits, unhealthy lifestyle choices (especially taking recreational drugs, eating too much sugar, or binge-drinking), lack of sleep, illness, and/or negative self-talk or patterns of thought, can have a deteriorating or damaging effect on your aura. Enter infinite: it rapidly boosts your sense of vitality, wellness, and strength, while it repairs, heals, and strengthens your aura. It’s not always easy to find, but I consider it a must-have in your crystal collection.

Note: my piece pictured above is much darker than average.

9. Staurolyte

Protects against unwanted spirits and attachments. It is said that you should always wear a piece of staurolite (also known as fairy cross stone) when moving through the veils of time, space, and reality, as it helps protect you from unwanted or negative influences. I always wear a piece when doing journey work, channeling, while walking through graveyards, or when working with unfamiliar spirit guides for this reason, as it helps me to do so safely. While it helps to connect you with other realms, especially the realm of the fae, the iron in the stone also helps protect you from their dark elemental influences or magic.

10. Spirit Quartz

Diminishes fear, bolsters your natural defenses, and is good for house and land spirits. While I was last in NYC, I wore spirit quartz daily to help keep my aura strong and clear, protect me from negative energy, envy, and ill-wishing, as well as to keep me unaffected by the spirits that lived in the building where I was staying. The main strength of spirit quartz (also known as cactus quartz or fairy quartz) is it’s dampening effect on fear: it doesn’t completely dissolve your fear, but it relieves you of your fear’s influence. This is key, because when you give your power away to your fear, you’re also giving it to the cause. Fear has a debilitating effect on your psyche as well as your defenses. If you allow your fear to affect you, you’re opening the door to whatever wants to harm you. Wearing spirit quartz helps to shut that door and keep you in your power.