BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Pagan Want to introduce myself

How do I use my stone -- well, very rarely. we actually use it the same way my parents did -- it is a very cool shelf of an outdoor fire pit, where we have spent a lot of wonderful summer evenings as a family and with friends. Occasionally, if I feel a very strong need to pray for something, I do it there. I sort of talk to it and stroke the trough. Sometimes I put a candle on it and say a little prayer/wish. that's pretty much the extent of it. Any small thing I've done for a friend pretty much entails using the firepit as much as anything else, but its pretty magical just having the stone right there. Sulverna - I do not know what culture/point in history it originated, but I suspect Celtic and I suspect VERRY long ago. It is an almost exact replica, but much smaller of the one that is at America's Stonehenge, in Salem, NH. I have been there, and that is a huge one. I climbed down and touched it, like I touch mine, and I felt such a vibration my hand was numb the rest of the day, which I found totally exciting. I got it from my parent's house, grew up with it next to their fire pit, but never knew/figured out what it really was til I was an adult and cleaned it out by running my fingers down it, clearing of pine needles and dirt and lo and behold, look here, there is a drainage trough also and just went "whoa... holy cow" basically. lol I don't know if my parents had no idea or if they just didn't want to scare us little kids. I suspect the latter and they pretty much knew. My dad told me once it was for "making barrels in the old days" and I questioned him because that made no sense. He offered nothing else, lol. Size is about 30 inches long by about 24, I'm guessing as I am inside right now. It appears to be a type of shale as it looks really old and layered - it has flecks of mica in it... it looks very much like a granite but so old that it has thin strata. But I am not sure! My understanding is that is was dug up at my parent's house -- I grew up in a circa 1690 saltbox -may have been one of the oldest houses in new england, I have heard. I can recall as a child diggin in the yard and digging up an arrowhead here and there. Didn't think much of it -- didn't everyone dig up arrowheads in the yard?? Oy!!! *knocks head*

Welcome to the forum twisted kilt, whilst it seems you got off to a shaky introduction, im sure it was just a misunderstanding as I have found this forum a great place to interact.

I didnt know even that these stones even existed til i read your posts! So thanks for teaching me something new

Right! Now I understand what you are talking about!

It sounds like you have a stone attuned to the Element of Fire, and possibly the Salamanders (fire elementals) This would explain the rapid response to spells - particularly when you use candle magick.

I'll have a look at the art of cooperage - barrel making - and see what the trough might have been used for. My first instinct is that it was either used for shaping the barrel or soaking staves to make them more malleable for shaping into the finished article

Having looked at the "American Stonehenge" I can see where you might have got the idea it was a sacrificial stone. Current theories are that there were no sacrifices of people or animals at Stonehenge and that the stones that have been misinterpreted as sacrificial altars over the years were torn down by the Romans or by storms. . The idea of sacrificial stones at the site is not a new one, but has always been hotly contested. .

It sounds like you have a lovely altar-type stone that has been attuned to the Fire Element and totally unsullied by anything having been killed on it which makes it ideal for rituals. You may even want to incorporate the other elements to empower your spells and rituals.

When you say Celtic do suspect it was brought over during "colonial times" or are you a fan of the theory of earlier Atlantic crossings? Although to be fair it could just as easily of been made by Native Americans, especially if you were finding arrow heads in the area as well. Either way that it really cool rock and you should consider yourself luck to have it.

I looked up the magical properties of Mica for you, I hope you find the info useful.

"Mica has reflective qualities to recognize flaws and see them with love. It is used to improve visions and clarity in mysticism. It is said to help eliminate negative personality traits by helping one recognize them. Mica is said to enhance flexibility in all realms and also assist growth in those areas. It is used to diminish anger, hostility, and nervous energy. Mica aligns energy of the body and releases blockages of energy within the body. Physically, mica is used in crystal healing and folklore to reduce hunger when fasting, insomnia, mononucleosis symptoms, dehydration. It is also said to provide energy and purpose."

Checked again and it looks like I had the wrong site for "American Stonehenge"(!) This looks like the right site. Interesting quote though



Will have to see if there are any photos of the table to compare and remote dowse.

Does it look like any of these ?

It would still make sense though as lye is a very 'hot' chemical

Yes, it looks like some of those, and it is at the one at Salem, NH -- I just looked on my photobucket for the photos I have, but didn't have any luck finding it -- I will post it when I find it. I agree with you, my use of the term "sacrificial stone" is just what we have always called it because we had an elderly friend who knew something about these things and sure enough, he firmly believed it was a blood funnel... but I do not know this for sure. I certainly hope not! That just makes it even more awesome in my eyes if that were true, though having my dad be right in barrel making would sort of disappoint me on the other hand. LOL //. You may even want to incorporate the other elements to empower your spells and rituals.// this is one reason I am here, I want to learn more things like this. I sort of 'freelance' in what feels right, and more times than not I find I get results. Though this isn't something I would say I do on a routine basis I would have to admit that compared to my neighbors and community I do this way more than any of them. LOL Sulverna, thank you so much for your insights on MICA. Found it fascinating and I have a bit of a thing for geology -- I guess I really am just drawn to the ancient and the basic on the earth. I want to say that I am interested in everything you all know in these interesting areas -- I've been looking for a window into these arts for a long time and I have finally taken a step toward learning more.

Researching on some chemical sites the lye-extraction hypothesis looks ever more likely. Most of them say the same sort of thing summed up by the quote:



Which makes it ideal for the extraction of lye used in soap making

For a really exhaustive overview you can check this site . Translated from the Chinese it gets a little weird in places but that stops it from getting boring.

Still an excellent altar stone though - and very thoroughly cleansed!

Hey Twisted Kilt! Welcome to the BellaOnline forums.

Thanks! I still can't find my photos on photobucket... not sure if they were deleted - sheesh. So I'll look on my other computer this weekend and upload them again -- have a good weekend, all.