Tink about It

Holey stones

 

Years ago, in my early days of walking the pagan path, I heard about holey stones for the first time. I thought they were called ‘holy stones’ until I heard the explanation: stones with one or more naturally formed through-and-through hole(s) in it. I was instantly intrigued by the idea, although I didn’t know anything yet of the meaning and uses.

 

I started looking everywhere. I love stones and have always collected them. Crystals, but definitely common stones too. Even as a child I already drove my parents nuts by taking home lots of stones. So I was used to look for stones, but I had an extra kind on my wishlist…

Years and years I have been searching, picking up stones, meticulously exploring every path, beach and the like, to no avail at all. Meanwhile I admired other people’s findings, varying from one treasured holey stone to hundreds of them. Everyone seemed to find them except me. But I kept looking, wanting to find at least one so desperately…

 

 

Almost a year ago I went out for a walk with my dogs. We took a path we had walked a zillion times before. I picked up a stick for one of the dogs when I spotted something in the corner of my eye. There, among other stones, was a beautiful stone with… a hole in it! I must have stared at it for at least a minute straight, the stick fell on the ground and I picked up the holey stone with a big smile on my face.  Holding my treasure with both hands, enjoying every side of it, my heart made a happy dance. Woohoo, I finally found a holey stone!!!  I was still getting used to the idea, when my eyes were drawn to another stone. Nooo, that couldn’t be true… but it was: another holey stone! To make a long story short: I found SEVEN holey stones that day. Here they are:

 

 

I heard it before from other people and it’s true: find one, and you’ll find more. From that day on, I keep on finding holey stones everywhere! In places I’ve looked before but never found any, new places, sometimes even without looking for them. They seem to find me now. So, if you haven’t found any yet: keep the faith, keep looking, don’t give up!

 

I call them holey stones, but there are a lot of names like hag stones, hex stones, witches’ stones, faery stones, Odin-stones (deriving from the Viking myth that the god Odin transformed himself into a worm and crawled through a hole in a stone to steal the “mead of poetry”), etc. 

They are believed to be special around the world.  Health, protection, seeing faery folk, meditation and other special powers are attributed to the holey stone. In parts of Scandinavia large quantities of ale poured through a hag stone were given to an expectant mother to ease birth pains. Celtic couples were handfasted through a man-sized holey stone to bless their union.  Dorset fisherman adopted the hag stone as protective charm against malevolent witchcraft.

Looking through a holey stone is like looking into another dimension; they are gateways or portals and can be used to scry through. It is said that fairies and other hardly visible creatures can be seen more easily through a holey stone. Look through a holey stone to the full moon and whisper your wish or spell through the hole. Tracing the holes can be very meditative. 

You can hang one near the front door, in the doorway or by the windows for protection. Keep one next to your bed to avoid nightmares.  Wear one around your neck for health and protection or hang a little one on your pet’s collar to keep it safe.

They also make great amulets. To give it extra power write the spell on a piece of paper, roll it up and put it through the hole in the stone. You can also use it in a dream-catcher or any other magical crafts project. Make a wreath of holey stones to hang up for decoration as well as protection.

If you have seven holey stones, you can make a powerful stone ladder: seven stones on seven knots in a natural piece of string.

 

 

 

To me, holey stones will always remain very special. No matter how many I find, each and every new one is a treasured gift.

 

Links & sources:

·         http://www.weepeeple.com/drawer/holeystonespage.htm – holey stone page with lots of info & pictures

·         http://www.pinterest.com/tinknl/holey-stones/ – my Pinterest board “Holey Stones”

·         http://ecoenchantments.co.uk/myspellsncharmspage.html – find the seven hagstones ladder if you scroll down this page

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hag_stone – Wikipedia

·         http://suite101.com/a/holey-stones-a46836 – an outdoor adventure writer about holey stones

·         http://www.ladyoftheearth.com/crystals/hagstones.txt – David Rankine about hagstones, from the book “Crystals: Healing & Folklore”

·         http://cauldroncraftoddities.blogspot.nl/2012/10/hag-stone-lore.html – hag stone lore