Belemnite

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

A Belemnite is the fossilised remains of the now extinct squid like creature of the same name; their modern relatives are the squid & cuttlefish. Generally speaking, the fossilised part must often found is the elongated bullet-shaped "guard" (technically the 'rostrum'), which was located in the tail of the Belemnite to provide defence & balance.

The word "Belemnite" itself is thought to derive from the Greek "belemnon", meaning an object shaped like a dart or javelin.

Belemnites In Folklore

Old folk belief held that Belemnites were the remains of thunderbolts, hence the various local names, such as "thunderbolts", "thunderstones" & "thunder-arrows". It was these stones that were believed to kill people when struck by lightening & it was thus held that the stones could only be found where the lightening had struck the ground. On the principle of sympathy, these stones were thought to protect their bearer from being struck by lightening, this being a common belief in the Middle Ages.

Belemnites, on account of their shape, were also known as "Devil's Fingers" & "St Peter's Fingers". Besides their power to ward lightening, they were said to protect one from the malefic powers of witchcraft, stave off the nightmare & to act as a ward against demons. They were also regarded of having great healing virtue, being curative of a wide range of illnesses, but especially stomach-aches, which could be cured by scraping off a little of the stone & then swallowing it. Others still believed the healing powers could be accessed by immersing the stone in water & drinking it or using it as a wash (see also potions). Traditionally, witches have also used these pointed fossils as keppens.