To begin using your magical powers, you must first set the stage, the perfect environments in which to incubate your ideas. You’ll do this by building a stone shrine, your touchstone for daily conjuring and contemplation. By preparing your home and sparking your inner flame, you can clear away personal blocks and invite in the friendly spirits who will aid and abet your supernatural pursuits. It is of the utmost importance to have in your home a shrine or altar, a power center, where you can keep your stones and perform rituals and spells. This is your energy source where you can renew yourself and your spirits every day. The more you use your altar, the more it will build up energy, and the more effective your spells will be.

On a low table, place a white scarf and candles from each of the colors of the spectrum: white, violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, red, and black. Place them in the miraculous arching shape of a rainbow. Take amber incense and place it in a quartz crystal bowl at the center of the rainbow. Amber is good for creativity and healing and also contains crystalline grains of rock resin from Mother Nature. Keep a wand of sage or a smudging stick in a fireproof bowl or seashell on your altar and use it to clear the energy and sanctify the space every day.

Next, place symbols on the altar that reflect your personal power and spiritual aspirations. I keep fresh wildflowers in a vase beside a statue of a young goddess pouring water of wisdom, symbolizing Aquarius. I also have abalone shells, which represent my Piscean nature, aligned with a magnetite obelisk and a rock- crystal ball. Let your imagination run wild! Use religious icons and images or photos that have special meaning—whatever expresses your innermost spirit.

If you have an obelisk or pyramid on your altar, you can use it for manifestation by placing your desires and wishes on paper beneath the crystal.

Keep the basic principles of feng shui in mind and put prosperity stones in your far- left money corner, and romance rocks in your far-right love corner.

The crystals you select should be a completely personal choice. Browse your favorite lapidary or New Age shop and see what your are drawn to and resonate most with. Here are some crystals you can choose for specific spell work and energy you want in your life and environment:

  • For creativity: amazonite, aventurine, carnelian, chrysolite, chrysoprase, citrine, green tourmaline, malachite, yellow fluorite
  • For intuition: amethyst, azurite, celestite, lapis lazuli, moonstone, selenite, smoky quartz, sodalite, star sapphire, yellow cacite
  • For love: amethyst, aventurine, magnetite, rhodochrosite, rose quartz, twinned rock crystal
  • For prosperity: bloodstone, carnelian, citrine, dendritic agate, diamond, garnet, hawk’s-eye, moss agate, peridot, ruby, tiger’s-eye, topaz, yellow sapphire
  • For self-assurance: azurite, chalcedony, chrysocolla, green tourmaline, hematite, rutilated quartz, tiger’s-eye
  • For serenity: amber, aventurine, blue jade, dioptase, Herkimer diamond, jasper, kunzite, moonstone, onyx, peridot, quartz, rhodonite
  • For success: carnelian, obsidian, quartz, selenite, sodalite, topaz
  • For vigor: agate, aventurine, bloodstone, calcite, chalcedony, citrine, dioptase, emerald, garnet, orange calcite, ruby, topaz
  • For wisdom: emerald, fluorite, Herkimer diamond, moldavite, serpentine, yellow calcite