it was an unknown stone to magicians in the past . Shamans are another matter as it was used by native Americans, African witch doctors and the Australian Aborigines for healing purposes.

one thing about tourmaline is that when rubbed or heated it creates polarities where one end will be positive and attract things to it like dust ,ashes dirt,etc. and the other side negative. tourmalines are said to sing and they come in almost every color.

some of the ones are:

Black tourmaline: also called schorl and sometimes aphrizite. associated with Saturn and earth. it will absorb negativity. it is one of the most commonly used stones of protection during ghost hunting investigations. or with people who have hostile entities in their area. in addition it is an excellent stone to use against spell attacks. and when combined with a mica stone, it can send it's energy back to the sender.

Black tourmaline is good for grounding, centering, protection, purification and luck. often people described it of feeling well protected with even a small piece of it.

a general protective elixir. take a piece of black tourmaline and place it in water. leave in the sun for 12 hours or so.if you need it more than a week use an alcohol to preserve it like brandy or vodka. otherwise you will get mold growing in there. this can be used as a spray. this will provide psychic protection, releases toxic energies from emotions, mind and body. also good for cleansing a room. a Capricorn stone.

cat's eye tourmaline: helps with the imagination.helps to open ones sight to new perspectives, shows the special in everything.uses on the body include the nerves, the senses, the excremation and detoxification. helps the joints, the respiratory system and the head in general.

mushroom tourmaline: Mushroom Tourmaline is a botryoidal aggregate of pale pink tourmaline crystals and is found in the Palelni mine, Khetchel village, Molo quarter, Momeik Township, northeast of Mogok, Shan State, Burma . matches up to any stone when dealing with emotions and the heart. It is by far the best heart chakra stone found to date and seems to work well for blood disorders. since i's a form of pink tourmaline it might be assigned to Libra. as pink tourmaline is.

Watermelon tourmaline: (Rubellite/Verdite/Elbaite). this combination of red/pink and green is where the red is in the center and the green grows on over it. you have green and red/pink tourmaline and these grow together equally and are another type of tourmaline altogether. however some places will sell this combination as watermelon tourmaline. I keep at least one piece with me at all times.
This is thought to balance the male/female energies. Also for attracting love. Considered an important gemstone in subduing an over-active 6th Chakra. Natural Healers use Watermelon Tourmaline to heal the heart and emotions. Thought to reduce nervousness and anxiety. a Gemini and Virgo stone.