On the Rocks
The rocks we find in our local spaces can be powerful allies in our magical and spiritual practices. Priestess Aileen shares some of her own local stone companions.
Like many of us, I’m sure, I had a tendency to take home ‘pet rocks’ from the beach as a child. At the seaside, I was – and still am – generally to be found wandering at a glacial pace, head and eyes down, scouring the shore for treasures, rather than running about on the sand. My mum was constantly finding shells, stones and sand in my pockets (and also, to her dismay, in her washing basket!). Nothing much has changed, I’m afraid – around my house there are dog-poo bags* filled with rocks and sand, and as soon as I open them I am flooded with energy and remembering (and I know exactly where they all came from!).
Some of my locally-collected rocks are particularly special and I’d like to share them with you here. I must confess from the outset – I am no geologist, I simply like a pretty rock. I do work with them intuitively and I know which stones are happy to come home with me and which must be left where they are. Here, I will tell you about some of the lovely beings I have found on my travels and the energies they share with me. You can see them numbered on the picture below – each of these normally sits on an altar but I’ve brought them together specially for this article, almost as a wheel of local stones.
First on the list are two examples from Cerridwen’s Lake Bala and it goes without saying that, as a Priestess of Cerridwen, these are particularly special to me! Both of these were found while I was in Bala for initiation as Her Priestess at this time last year. (See No. 1).
At special places on the shores of the lake, you can find these wonderful ‘Cerridwen’s Fingers’. They are the most wonderful pieces – mine always feel warm and soft, somehow, to the touch, as if Cerridwen Herself is gently touching my hand and guiding me. If I need a very special connection to Her, then I work with the finger you see in the photo. I have a small quantity of finger-stones and use them in grid-work and also as wands – they are ideal for that and it really helps to remind me that Cerridwen guides and is with me in all that I do.
You will see next to the finger a very special piece – it is a Bala lake hag stone. Freshwater hag stones are particularly special; I have just three and the other two come from Loch Eck in Scotland which has many physical similarities and connections to Lake Bala.
I found this on our very first trip to Bala shores as a pre-initiatory group of Priestesses-in-hope. Hag stones are always a sign of connection with Goddess for me; I remember taking those first steps beside the Lake and looking down as usual. I was filled with pre-initiation shadows, worrying about being accepted, all of the usual insecurities. I was looking for Cerridwen’s Fingers, actually, and couldn’t find any at that point, which worried me even more. Then I saw this hag stone instead and I remember crying silently with absolute joy. It was one of a number of mini-initiatory experiences which make up the whole of that incredible, indescribable journey of becoming Her Priestess.
Next on my little wheel of local stones come two more hag stones (No.2). These come from Kintyre and are characteristic of the rocks which shape the wild shores of my ancestral lands – red sandstone and agate. The top of the two, red sandstone, is very closely connected with ancestral energy and healing of all kinds. Sandstone also helps me to cope with change. It is soft and pliable, easily shape-shifting, yet it retains a constancy of character at its core. It is a comforting and reassuring stone to work with.
The other hag stone here is a broken agate and it has three holes each leading to a central chamber within, where you can just see the mysterious translucent agate depths. This is a piece that I work with rarely, because it has a very powerful magical energy and its three routes to a hidden centre always add another dimension to any energy that I am looking to call in or work with. I also love the fact that it has a rather plain and ordinary exterior but if you look more closely you see that very mystical interior.
Just below you can see a rather pretty little slate hag stone which comes from the Isle of Luing (No. 3). The island is renowned for its ancient slate quarries and its beaches have black sand as a result. Whenever I hold this little stone, I am taken back in time to those black shores and I am reminded of the power of women working together. This little stone was naturally formed on the beach rather than in the quarries; it holds the energy of the women who tended the homes, the land and the shores, while their menfolk were deep in the quarries. If I need a reminder about personal resilience, this is the stone I reach for.
We go round the wheel to another Scottish island – this time, the magical isle of Iona. My first visit there was quite challenging; I lost one of my bags, my purse and my phone en route and ended up there for three days with very few personal items. I did, of course, have everything I needed, and the loss of my purse meant instead of spending money I spent more time on the beach finding, rather than purchasing, my own little pieces of Iona marble that you can see at No. 4.
There are countless legends about these incredible green stones – they are called many things including Druid’s or Serpent’s Tears. Their magic comes from the green serpentine which shoots and crackles through them so wonderfully and, if I sit with these for a while in contemplation, it’s not long before they carry that magical energy into the air and atmosphere around me. Sometimes I am guilty of thinking of my everyday environment as being not magical enough – these little stones very quickly help to put me right on that score! These are often used in Kundalini practice also to awaken and stimulate that energy in the mind, body and spirit.
At No. 5 we have a ring stone, or wishing stone. This one comes from Dunoon, where I grew up. It’s large and comforting to hold and has a number of rings which go right round it. Some people call these wishing stones and use them, of course, to make wishes when they find them. For me this stone helps me feel encircled and connected – it has a strong mothering energy and if I am ever feeling alone or disconnected then holding this for a while reminds me that I am part of a big, beautiful, loving circle which remains unbroken. Tracing the rings with my finger and saying aloud a little mantra like ‘the circle is forever unbroken’ or similar helps to reinforce that.
No. 6 is a stone that has a practical use on my altar very often – it has a little natural cauldron in it and I use this as a tiny offering vessel for Cerridwen. It will hold tiny crystal chips, herbs, other tiny stones (like the one you see in the picture) or any other small offering. It always sits in front of my Cerridwen figure and I feel very grateful to have found it on the shores of Loch Fyne close to my home.
I am sure that geologists have a proper technical name for what you see at No. 7 but I call it a ‘mother hag stone’. Again, I only have two or three of these and consider them to be very special. It is a hag stone which still contains the little ‘seed’ stone which, along with the power of the water and the air, has worked the hole through. Both the seed and the mother stone shape and form each other. These to me are incredibly special reminders that Cerridwen holds me, holds each of us, very securely. She is the magic, the gateway; the work that we do is always within Her.
I wanted to make a special mention of the two stones at No. 8, in the centre of my wheel. These are not local to me, but they are local stone gifts from two of my beloved Priestess-sisters. The large piece of white quartz has come all the way from Italy, carried by Priestess Eilan. Next to it is a beautiful little stone from the shores of a lake in the USA, gifted by Priestess Kate. Both of these were gifted at our initiation in Bala and they sit on my altar where I can see them every day. They remind me of our ongoing connection and I will work with both of them, in conjunction with my own local stones, when I particularly want to bring in the energies of our worldwide Cerridwen Kin.
My final piece, at No.9, is not a stone as such, but is again something I work with daily in a simple but powerful way. It’s a piece of broken tarmac, old road surface. Tarmac may seem solid, rough, uninspiring, but it is in fact a great example of shapeshifting and transformation! It’s undergone many changes and processes to become what it is now, and it incorporates many different ‘ingredients’. I keep it on my altar and say a simple protection spell over it every day, holding it gently in my hand and asking Cerridwen to keep my loved ones safe as they travel across the tarmac each day going about their business.
It’s well known that I absolutely love my pretty, shiny crystals, but I also couldn’t do without my lovely local stones. I’d love to know more about the treasures you find where you live.
*If, like me, many of your pockets now have holes worn through from carrying home too many rocks from the beach, then dog-poo bags are an ideal substitute. You can get compostible/sustainable ones – and you can reuse them in these circumstances!
With love and blessings, Priestess Aileen.
Aileen initiated as a Priestess of Cerridwen in October 2022, by the shores of Lake Bala. She lives on the wild west coast of Argyll in Scotland. You can find her on Instagram at @crone_in_training or on Facebook at @Sounds Fyne
