You’re late for your dentist appointment, you have five minutes to unload the groceries from the car, the dog won’t stop barking, and your partner just informed you that your plans to hang out with their parents were moved up an hour. (Phew!) If this scenario sounds familiar and you’ve ever wished you could alleviate your stress instantly, you’re not alone. While there isn’t a perfect solution for relieving stress and anxiety, you might be surprised to find that calming stones could play a part in helping you achieve peace. Skeptical? We don’t blame you. It’s important to note that most of the evidence surrounding the effects of healing crystals is anecdotal, rather than scientific. That said, for those who do believe in the power of calming stones, the impact can be life-altering.

According to a few spiritual healers and crystal experts, calming stones can be a great way to recenter yourself and meditate, especially when the goal is stress relief or a sense of calm. “[We] are all feeling desperately out of control, and it’s because we’re not taught to actually trust ourselves,” says Jana Stern, a physic, spiritual guide, and astrologer. “…So crystals, for me, along with every other divination tool—[such as] astrology, oracle, [etc.]—are all about figuring out your own sovereignty and being in control of yourself.”

Ahead, experts share the most powerful calming stones, their properties, and how to use crystals to benefit your health.

What are calming stones?

Calming stones are a type of crystal regarded in the world of mysticism as holding unique healing abilities. Sadie Kadlec, a crystal expert and author of Crystals: Complete Healing Energy for Spiritual Seekers, says these are the stones “…we turn when we feel particularly out of balance, activated, and overwhelmed.” Kadlec continues, “They often embody qualities that anchor energy, soothe the spirit, and help us remember who we are.” Depending on your intents and desires, different crystals can be used to achieve a variety of goals. This might look like finding peace, harmony, and balance during a particularly tumultuous phase of your life or using the crystals to encourage spiritual growth and healing in the long term. Regardless of your intention, there are several ways to use calming stones. Some of the most popular include wearing the stone on a piece of jewelry, holding the stone in your hands as you meditate, or pressing it to a part of your body for spiritual healing.

What are the most powerful calming stones?

Multiple healing stones can target specific needs. According to Kadlec, however, trying to cite the most powerful is easier said than done, due largely to the fact that each stone holds a different weight for each individual. “Truthfully speaking, it’s impossible to say that one stone is more powerful than another when it comes to healing,” she says. “Where we each are at in life and what we are experiencing as individuals is highly unique. Therefore, the stones we would find most powerful are the ones attuned to the types of support we need at that certain point in time.”

For this reason, if you’re looking to embark on your own crystal healing journey, it’s important to get an idea of what type of growth or support you’re looking for in order to determine which stones are the best fit. With that in mind, experts shared a list of the most common and versatile calming stones to get you started.

Quartz

“Quartz is the base mineral of our planet. So it’s an all-healer,” says Stern. Clear quartz is known to have many healing properties, including cleansing negative energies and amplifying the energies of other crystals, making it a valuable choice to keep in your collection as you can pair it with other stones. Many crystals referenced on this list are a derivate of clear quartz, so if you’re unsure what you need, clear quartz is an ideal stone for getting back to basics, says Stern.

Amethyst

This gorgeous purple crystal is one you’ll likely recognize from influencers all over TikTok and Instagram. Amethyst is known to alleviate anxiety and stress and draw positive energy that repels depression and fear. Stern describes amethyst as “really such a gentle, sweet, loving kind of stone,” and it’s known to help activate spiritual awareness while balancing your mood.

Celestite

Celestite—also called celestine—gets its name from the Latin word for “celestial,” referring to the sky or heavens. This calming stone helps create emotional balance and clear negative energy. Holding the stone in your hands and focusing on your breath while meditating can activate its healing properties, and according to experts, the experience is often transformative.

Fluorite

Fluorite—not to be confused with fluoride—improves spiritual balance by absorbing and neutralizing negative energy. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, fluorite can help clear a negative mindset and help you achieve clarity so that you can better determine how to approach a situation that’s causing you stress.

Amazonite

Amazonite is ideal for encouraging spiritual growth and energy work, both of which can bring us back to our center and help us find a sense of calm. Because amazonite is thought to resonate with the heart chakra, it’s believed that working this calming stone can open the heart to the power of healing through unconditional love, says Kadlec.

Orange Calcite

Orange Calcite is known to support and enhance spiritual gifts. “Orange calcite [is great] for its creative and connective way of uplifting any discouraged perspective,” says Kadlec. It also amplifies the effects of other crystals—combining it with another crystal, or two can help foster a calming environment with the right pairing, such as green calcite to energize the mind and body, red jasper to assist with emotional healing, carnelian to help with motivation and energy levels, and iron pyrite to balance mental and emotional well-being.

Malachite

Known as the “stone of transformation,” malachite opens the heart to spiritual growth and absorbs emotional pain. Kadlec says even the stone’s visual is soothing: “…the gorgeous green swirls remind us that life is not static but ever-flowing and full of surprise.” While malachite is meant to aid in alleviating stress, keep in mind its energy is potent and very active, so it’s often used for deep energy cleaning.

Blue Lace Agate

“Blue lace [agate] is very, very ethereal,” says Stern. “It helps you to snap in with whatever is being communicated on those subtle realms, and it amplifies that sound and tunes everything else out.” Also referred to as the stone of communication, clarity, and confidence, this blue lace agate features a pastel blue hue that’s just as visually soothing as it is emotionally soothing. Blue lace agate is a must for those looking for a calm, serene crystal healing experience.

Moonstone

When striving for calm and stress relief, it’s possible to experience cloudy judgment and feel overwhelmed by the weight of our emotions. Moonstone is known to help focus your intuition and make you feel empowered when making decisions. It is also said to be capable of restoring your peace and facilitating you in establishing boundaries.

What calming stone brings peace and calm?

While plenty of stones are thought to bring peace and calm, if this is your primary goal, Kadlec suggests finding the source of disruption to determine the ideal stone for you. “I gravitate toward Selenite for its ability to help purify my thoughts and Kunzite, which brings me back into alignment with my heart,” she says. For experts like Stern, blue lace agate is a top choice when it comes to channeling peace and calm. “Blue lace agate gets everything around you to sort of dull the noise of what’s outside and what’s inside, to make space for the sound of whatever spirit is trying to communicate to you.” In other words, experiment with which stones bring you the most tranquility, and take note of exactly what effects the calming stones have on you mentally and emotionally.

What crystals calm anxiety?

While multiple calming stones can help alleviate anxiety, Kadlec has a particular favorite. “Instantly, my mind goes to Ocean Jasper. There’s nothing quite like it for anxiety,” she says. “The stones’ orbital patterns encourage a gentle wave-like rhythm within our breath that relaxes the body and soothes the heart. It’s also a particularly dense-feeling stone, and when held in the hands, it is reminiscent of a weighted blanket—very anchoring!”

“Often, the conflict is not between the crystals themselves, but the conflicting intentions we have assigned them.” —Sadie Kadlec, crystal expert

Stern advises, however, that you’ll want to know the specifics behind your anxiety before choosing a stone for yourself. For example, if your anxiety is brought on by overthinking or obsessing about the past, “…the idea with any of that is to ground back into the body into the here and the now—quartz is definitely helpful for that,” she says. Stern also advises that yellow stones such as citrine and yellow jade can bring you back into your power. If your anxiety stems from things out of your control, Stern recommends amethyst as a great option for a mind cleanse, too. “Amethyst is going to help you to clear the mind [and] what’s going on in the head. The idea is to get into the body and get the mind clear…those kinds of crystals are all really good to cleanse the brain.”

What crystals calm anger?

Again, there are no specific crystals that calm anger; rather, you have to find the crystals that instill that sense of serenity in you. “Anger is often linked to crossed boundaries of some sort,” says Kadlec. “The crystals I find most supportive for this are fluorite and prehnite. Both cultivate a sacred inner space where we are able to identify where our boundaries have been crossed while opening the heart to release the steam of our anger so we can process and address the feeling without being reactive.”

Stern, on the other hand, recommends carnelian to combat feelings of anger. “Carnelian is going to give you the power of your own creative forces. When we are living in anger, we’re obsessing over things that we’re not in control of,” Stern says. Carnelian, which is associated with the root chakra that allows you to feel grounded and take on challenges, can help empower you to take control of your situation and reaffirm your sense of agency in a given situation. Stern also recommends protective stones such as black tourmaline and obsidian jet, which can help you feel grounded and secure if you’ve been struggling with feelings of anger.

What calming stone is good for mental peace?

Mental peace may mean different things to different people, but for Kadlec, “…mental peace is when my mind is still enough that my inner wisdom can be heard.” If you’re trying to achieve this headspace, “hypersthene is the stone that quiets the internal chatter and calms any frenzied sensations,” she says. “Even a quick meditation with this stone brings me to that peaceful place.” Similarly, Stern recommends using amethyst and jade to achieve peace. “Amethyst is such a gentle, sweet, loving kind of stone,” she says. “There is a deep need for clarity of the mind when we’re seeking peace. Jade can [also] be nice…it’s a good luck stone…it makes you believe that [the good luck] is coming to you.”

What gemstone is good for emotional healing?

When it comes to emotional healing, Stern recommends doing some crystal work with malachite and calcite. According to Stern, the calcite allows you to be more in tune with your heart, while the malachite absorbs negative energy, even allowing some to recover from past traumas and have a fresh start. She notes that pink and green stones—which assist in bridging the gap between emotions and intellect—can also aid in creating emotional healing.

“Aquamarine is a lovely stone for emotional healing,” says Kadlec. “Not only does it bring the emotions back into balance and help us uncover their roots, but it also creates the space for us to feel our emotions freely. This is an especially powerful experience as so many of us repress our emotions, which further distances us from feeling at peace within ourselves.”

What crystals should not be together?

With so many crystals to choose from and all the energies associated, trying to determine what you need can be overwhelming. For this reason, we may sometimes buy multiple stones and try combine their healing energies to meet our goals. If you’re stressed about having the “wrong energies” due to buying stones that may clash, though, Kadlec points out that your intention when using the stone is what matters above all else.

“Every crystal has the potential to energetically work together so long as there’s an intention behind the crystal pairing,” she says. “Often, the conflict is not between the crystals themselves, but the conflicting intentions we have assigned them.” In other words, if we convince ourselves two crystals are going to clash then they probably will. To avoid this, Kadlec’s advice is to be mindful when you set intentions and remain open to how the crystals harmonize with you.

Stern agrees that your intentions are your guide, and being open to what you need can make all the difference. “I’m of the belief that, no, there’s no crystal combinations that don’t work if that’s what you need in any given moment,” she says. On that note, there may be places in your home where you don’t want to place certain crystals due to their energies. “[Certain] crystals in the bedroom can be awakening crystals, literally,” Stern adds, pointing out that crystals such as malachite—known for its motivational energy—may literally keep you awake if you place them in your bedroom. So, be careful where you store your crystals and keep an open mind when it comes to their properties and applications.

Do calming stones work?

Whether calming crystals actually work is up for debate. Many people turn to crystals for healing and balance. Some studies¹ show that people are open to using crystals if they directly benefit health, and it’s not uncommon for people to turn to alternative routes of healing, such as crystals, rather than relying solely on more conventional methods. Given the skepticism some have surrounding the validity of crystals and their spiritual and healing properties, though it’s easy to wonder whether calming stones truly work. Kadlec says that, personally, crystals benefit her life, though she knows it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

“I have always found crystals to be supportive when I’m looking for a sense of calm. There are, of course, certain practices or tools that work better for some than others.” Kadlec continues, “In my opinion, it never hurts to hold a crystal and take a deep breath. Sometimes, all we need is a piece of the Earth in our hands to bring us back to the present moment.”

Stern’s opinion? “They work as much as any other placebo works…Humans are elemental beings; we are made of the same elements as crystals are—as the stars are—and how we interact with other elemental beings, including other humans and spirits, is entirely up to us,” Stern says. “If you are somebody who doesn’t believe in crystals, that’s cool…I very much do believe that they work because I’ve seen transformations in crystal healings.” Of course, Stern adds that crystals work only as much as long as you are willing to accept responsibility and agency in your current situation. “…It’s really about doing the work underneath,” she says. So, crystals won’t magically fix your problems, but they may help alter your mindset in a positive way that impacts your approach to those issues.

Final thoughts

If you need to slow down and take a deep breath, these calming crystals are a great reminder to recenter your thoughts and ground yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed. This list holds only a few of the many crystals that can be used to promote calm and relieve stress. Once you find which ones align with what you need, you can use them by learning how to charge crystals and ensuring you take proper care of them.

If you are still wondering which stone is suitable for you, Stern offers this advice: “It’s really about trusting your intuition, and it’s about trusting that you’re on the right path, no matter what…The right stones will find you.”