#thoughtsatthewitchinghour

[prairiewitchy]

thoughtsatthewitchinghour

replied to your post

“Do you believe that extinct animals/plants (perhaps those even...”

The Shepherd's Crown - a fossilised sea urchin - was used as a protective amulet see: http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/fossils/echinoid.htm They're found in archaeological sites ranging from the paleolithic through to Early Medieval.

For yesterday’s anon, thought I’d bring this out of the comments. From their source:

In England, echinoids have been called Sugar Loaves, Fairy Loaves, Shepherd's Crowns and Pixies' Helmets. They look rather like small round loaves of bread. They were used as charms to help the baking of bread. It was thought that fairy loaves protected families against witchcraft, so they always have bread. They were once frequently displayed on the windowsills of Sussex cottages as good luck charms, to protect the cottage from being struck by lightning, or for predicting rain (this could be true, as moisture present in the atmosphere may condense on the fossil first). They were also supposed to keep milk fresh. Another name for echicoids was eagle stones, as the marks on them resemble claw marks.