#witch stone

A hag stone, also known as a witch stone, adder stone, holey stone, or eye stone, is a naturally occurring stone with a hole running through it, usually created by water erosion. These stones have been revered in folklore and magickal traditions for centuries due to their unusual appearance and the belief that they hold protective and mystical properties.

History and Lore

• Ancient Origins: Hag stones have been found across many cultures and continents. In Celtic regions, they were often associated with Druids and used in rites and protection rituals. The Welsh called them glain neidr or “adder stones,” believing they were created by serpents.

• Medieval Europe: During the Middle Ages, hag stones were believed to ward off witches, curses, and evil spirits. Farmers would hang them in stables and barns to protect livestock from being “hag-ridden” or attacked by malicious spirits.

• Maritime Tradition: Sailors used hag stones as protective talismans against storms and sea monsters. They would tie them to the rigging of ships or carry them as personal charms.

Uses

• Protection: Traditionally, hag stones are hung above doorways, tied to keys or bedposts, or carried as amulets to ward off negative energies, curses, or the “evil eye.”

• Seeing the Unseen: A common belief is that looking through the hole of a hag stone allows one to see into other realms—such as the fae world—or to spot spirits and magical beings otherwise invisible.

• Dream and Sleep Protection: Tied above beds, they are believed to prevent nightmares and protect against sleep paralysis or spirit visitation.

• Fertility and Health: In some folk traditions, hag stones were believed to cure illness or enhance fertility when worn close to the body.

In Magick and Witchcraft

• Tool of the Craft: In modern witchcraft and neopagan practices, hag stones are used in spells and rituals for protection, clairvoyance, and elemental magick, especially water and earth-based workings.

• Fae Magick: Hag stones are particularly potent in faerie lore, believed to be keys to fae sight or gateways to the otherworld.

• Charging and Consecration: Many practitioners cleanse and charge hag stones under moonlight, particularly during the full moon, to enhance their magickal properties.

• Divination: Some witches use them in scrying or as focus objects in meditative practices.

The hole in the hag stone represents a gateway or portal—a liminal space that bridges the physical and spiritual worlds. It symbolizes perception beyond the veil, spiritual insight, and protection through awareness.

Above are pictures of me finding all of them! 3 out out 4 were found at Presque Isle on Lake Erie, and 2 of those were found on the same day!

ADDER STONE

The name 'adder stone' is commonly applied either to a small stone with a natural perforation in it, or to a certain type of coloured, glass-like pebble which is fairly uncommon and consequently has all the virtues of the strange and unusual.

Prehistoric spindle-whorls turned up by the plough are also frequently so called by those who do not recognize them for what they really are.

Such stones were formerly prized as charms against evil and were used in cures for various human and animal diseases. According to tradition, they were generated by snakes who, at certain times of the year, congregated in large numbers, coiled themselves into a living ball and, while so united, emitted saliva which hardened into a stone. Because of their serpentine origin, they were widely used to heal adder-bites. Many stories are told of their efficacy for this purpose. One such tale, related by William Henderson in Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties (1879) records how a nineteenth-century Scottish labourer near Pitlochry was badly bitten by an adder. 'Severe pains came on,’ said Henderson's informant, 'and a terrible swelling, which grew worse and worse, till a wise woman was summoned with her adder's stone. On her rubbing the place with the stone, the swelling began to subside.' They also cured ague and whooping-cough, kept away nightmares if hung over the bed, and when carried about in the pocket, prevented eye-troubles.

Although their healing properties are not now much regarded, their use as luck-bringers and protective charms is not yet entirely extinct, and in some parts of Great Britain and Ireland such stones, especially those accidentally found, are still preserved and handed down as amulets.

I like to collect rocks and crystals whilst traveling. This is my collection.

Most of the witch stones and larger rocks are from my local Norfolk seafront which is also filled with pre-historic fossils. Norfolk has an abundance of flint as well which you can find whilst wandering around Mousehold Heath.

I have a small quartz from a slate mine in Wales. It's considered a waste material there and you can find huge quartz crystals lying around.

The smooth white stone is from Jamaica Beach in Lake Garda.