Stones with naturally occurring holes in them have many uses in magic all over the world. In England they have been used for protection and luck as well as in medicine. Holed stones are known by many different names, In England they have been and are known by numerous names such as Hag stones, Witch stones, Serpents'/Snakes' eggs, Adder stones, and Lucky stones. For the sake of clarity, I will be referring to them as ‘holed stones’.
Luck and Protection
Holed stones are used as amulets for protection against Hags, witches, faeries, and other spirits, when they are used in this way they are referred to as hag or witch stones. People would hang a holed stone above the door of their home or barn, and sometimes passageways within the home. People would also keep a small holed stone in a pocket for luck and protection.
Holed stones have also been known for being lucky, being worn around the neck for luck or tossed over the shoulder after spitting through the stone's hole to grant a wish. It was also said that is a person tied a holed stone to their house keys, those who resided in the home would be prosperous.
In communities where fishing and/or sailing was common the use of holed stones for protection was common, tying them to the bows of boats or inside of smaller rowing boats for protection while at sea. Holed stones were also used to protect against drowning, Christopher Duffin (2011) writes, “The coxswain of the Ramsay lifeboat [during 1929], also a fisherman by trade, always wore a small discoidal [holed] stone around his neck, threaded with copper wire. The amulet, passed down through three generations of fishermen, was credited with preserving the life of the wearer through terrible maritime circumstances.”
Medicine
As these holed stones protected against hags, witches, faeries, and other spirits they would often be used in medicine, as magic was often thought to be the cause of illness.
One of the illnesses holed stones were used to treat is ‘hag-riding’, in the book A Dictionary of English Folklore it is defined as “a frightening sensation of being held immobile in bed, often by a heavy weight pressing on one’s stomach or chest […] In folklore, it was thought of as a magical attack, though whether by demonic incubus, ghost, harmful fairy, or witch varied according to place and period.” (Simpson & Roud, 2003) Today hag-riding is understood to be sleep paralysis. To treat hag-riding a holed stone would be hung above the bed of the sufferer or, if the sufferer is an animal, placed in a stable.
This belief applied to both humans as well as other animals; hag stones were often used in the treatment of ill livestock. In Lancashire holed stones would be tied to the back of cows to protect them from all forms of harm, “self-holed stones, termed ‘lucky-stones,’ are still suspended over the backs of cows in order that they may be protected from every diabolical influence.” (Harland and Wilkinson 1873).
Sources:
Thwaite, A.-S. (2020). Magic and the material culture of healing in early modern England [Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.63593
Jacqueline Simpson & Steve Roud (2003). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095941856
Vicky, King (2021, November 11). Hag Stones and Lucky Charms. https://www.horniman.ac.uk/story/hag-stones-and-lucky-charms/
Pitt Rivers Museum, Accession Number: 1985.51.987.1 https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/item/prm-object-239947 (c) Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, Date Accessed: 21 January 2024
Adams, Thomas, fl. 1612-1653., 2013, A commentary or, exposition vpon the diuine second epistle generall, written by the blessed apostle St. Peter. By Thomas Adams, Oxford Text Archive, http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12024/A00665
Christopher J. Duffin (2011) Herbert Toms (1874–1940), Witch Stones, and Porosphaera Beads, Folklore, 122:1, 84-101, DOI: 10.1080/0015587X.2011.537134
Photo source:
Harland, J., & Wilkinson, T. T. (1873). Lancashire Legends: Traditions, Pagents, Sports, & C. With an Appendix Containing a Rare Tract on the Lancashire Witches, & C., &c. G. Routledge. https://archive.org/details/cu31924028040057
File:Hag Stones (8020251781).jpg. (2023, February 2). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 04:11, January 26, 2024 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Hag_Stones_(8020251781).jpg&oldid=729610598.
I love you Virgin Mary i love you folk catholicism i love you gnosticism i love you archons i love you cosmology i love you occultism i love you druidry i love you english folk magic.
made a marigold garland at the request of my mom, and put one of the leftover buds under my pillow 🌼!
marigolds are used in english folk magic for protection against the evil eye. garlands of the flowers strung over the front door also help to deflect curses and negativity. for personal protection, you can carry a flower with you or place it under your pillow.
Inspired by old English folklore of the ancient blue-skinned hag Black Annis, who was said to live within an earthen cave in the Dane Hills of Leicestershire. I have joined with artist Devin Forst to bring the chill and dark of Black Annis to you all! There is a dark and wintery quality to this tea blend, appropriate for a long and eerie winter’s night…companioned by the hag brewed up from Devin's imagination for your delight and torment.
Anise seed, mint, and bergamot swirl together for a highly aromatic and appropriately wintry top note that is grounded in rich black tea and the light slightly floral quality of oolong. Butterfly pea flower and cornflower give us her characteristic blue tinge to the blend that fade as they brew, like the light fades on those early winter nights.
Im baptised Anglican. But it wasn't ever about the Church.
It was about me. The Holy Spirit. Sophia. Jesus.
About me finding myself. About learning /attaining Gnosis. About seeing God, the Gods, in my own way. It was about Marian Consecration. About love and peace.
how do you find information on English folk magic? I'm really struggling to find information for free.
hey anon! sorry this response is so late. i’ve been quite busy.
you can find a lot of books — especially older ones on folklore — on sites like archive.org and project gutenberg. if they aren’t there, there’s always the option of using libgen (although if you can avoid pirating and just buy it, this helps out smaller authors).
youtube videos, websites (like apotropaios), and academic articles (i use JSTOR to find these) are also great options! a couple youtube channels i really like are the redheaded witch and the oak witch.
i am happy to provide a more in-depth list with links to resources, but that would take me a lot longer. i hope this helps in the meantime!
Old English flash cards ready to work on, paintbrushes out to finish customizing my latest rosewood knife, time to catch up on Hazbin before the finale.
Short entry today. I’m currently reading two books. One of which I’m taking notes on Google Docs, the other one I will go back and take notes on. I will provide links to PDFs of the book. Both links are Google Drive links that will give you an interface to view/read the book.
The Cunning Man’s Handbook: The Practice of English Folk Magic 1550-1900, by Jim Baker
My notes on this book (not finished, actively working on)
The Book of English Magic, by Phillip Carr-Gomm and Richard Heygate