Lucky Stones
Known as: Hag Stones, Witches Stones, Faerie Stones and holy stones.
I always wondered whether it was a trick of my parents to say that a stone with a hole through it was lucky so as to keep us busy as children on the pebbly beaches near to home, it worked…Trying to find them was never easy and the excitement when one was found was one of pure joy.
Well, as you will notice most designs possess just such a stone and it seems they have been treasured as talismans from as far back as Neolithic times. It is thought that to keep its full magical power it should be found by the possessor or given as a token of love.
These stones were considered to hold magical powers that would ward off illness and misfortune. Fisherman would carry them on board their boats to increase their catch and farmers would hang them on the doors of barns to protect their livestock.
It was thought that if you hung the stone on the bedpost it would protect you from nightmares and many were hung on the door of homes to protect those living there from evil spells cast by witches and if you look through the hole it will give you a glimpse of the ethereal world of faeries.
‘In parts of Scandinavia large quantities of ale poured through a hag stone was given to an expectant mother to ease birth pains.
An Arabic custom was to tie a hagstone around the neck of young camels to protect them from evil spirits and the evil eye.’
(From the book "Crystals: Healing & Folklore" by David Rankine, published by Capall Bann)
Inspiration
Please take a moment or two to read about the inspiration behind our gifts.
Message in a bottle
A message in a bottle has been part of our history since the first was thought to be cast by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus in 310 BC. Since then they have been tossed into the waves for science, as an S.O.S and as a way of sending a message to a loved one who was out of reach.
It has also been the inspiration for a book, film and song.
‘In 1914, British World War I soldier Private Thomas Hughes tossed a green ginger beer bottle containing a letter to his wife into the English Channel. He was killed two days later fighting in France. In 1999, fisherman Steve Gowan dredged up the bottle in the River Thames. Although the intended recipient of the letter had died in 1979, it was delivered in 1999 to Private Hughes' 86-year old daughter living in New Zealand.’
(Wikipedia)
© 2013 by Sea Inspirations