I’m finishing up research on Medieval sacred stone.. This includes the Renaissance uses of stones of all kinds (even stones like gall stones and kidney stones). People used them for the purpose of religious worship (including all Abrahamic religions), healing, and protection.
Not-so-Medieval Sacred Stones
The stones you see in the picture are a string of raw amber my grandmother brought back for me from Częstochowa, Poland. She made a pilgrimage to see The Black Madonna of Częstochowa 30 years ago and returned a very different woman after that experience. They carried so much energy in them that I locked them away and lost track of them until recently.
What Magic Does Amber Have?
According to the lapidary, amber or Cymbra as it was called is thought to be engendered from the breath of a whale. The beast is found at the bottom of the sea and the mouth of rivers. It guards the virtues of the body, sharpens the memory, and banishes sorrows.
In The Thousand and One Nights, a fountain pitched all sorts of stones into the sea. Fish swallowed them and spit them back out as amber.
Pliny offered us a fanciful creation story. He stated that nature produced amber by the sun’s rays that would leave it behind as they struck the ground at the end of the day.
Folk medicine uses it yo tranquilize the mind.
Its role in Woman On The Wall
Amber along with many other stones plays a key role in Woman On The Wall. The Sibylline Chronicles are full of magic seals and stones that cause chaos. I am really excited about sharing more about this aspect.
Medieval sacred stones are so interesting and worth exploration. My obsession with them will last a long while and I am sure I will find more reasons to dig in.
More on that soon.