Skip to main content
Menu
StudioBlessed websites and codeThe DeckWard of Moons tarotGrimoireEvery spell, cataloguedTarotDraw a readingTonight's SkyMoon, signs and hoursGarageMobile mechanicCustom SpellRequest one made for youCall to book(951) 904-2477
☎ (951) 904-2477
Protection

The Hag Stone

Also called holey stone, adder stone, witch stone, fairy stone, glain neidr, Hühnergott

A pebble with a natural hole worn through it, hung by a cord over a bed, a door or a stable to keep away nightmares, witches and bad luck.

TraditionBritish and northern European folk magic
RegionBritain, especially coastal England and Wales; northern Germany; Russia
EraMedieval to 20th century, with Roman references
Moon◐ Any moon
DayMonday · Moon
ElementEarth
Difficulty●○○ Simple
TimeA walk on the beach, then 10 minutes

Tonight's moon is read when the page loads.

The working

  1. Look for a holed stone on a shingle beach or stream bed where collecting is allowed. Folklore says a stone you find yourself is stronger than one you buy.
  2. Check that the hole goes right through and was made by water, not drilled.
  3. Rinse the stone in salt water and let it dry in the sun.
  4. Thread the red cord through the hole and tie it with a firm knot, saying what the stone is to guard.
  5. Hang it above your bed for bad dreams, behind the front door for the house, or near a pet's bed or a car key.
  6. If you like, look through the hole once on a full moon; old lore says a holed stone lets you see fairies or things hidden.

Take care: Taking stones is banned on some beaches and protected coasts, so check local rules and take only one. Hang the stone where it cannot fall on a sleeper and keep cords away from cots and small children.

Versions across time and place

i

The cure for the mare

Elizabethan England · 1584

Scot records a charm against the mare, the night spirit that sat on sleepers' chests. A holed stone was hung over the bed or in the stable, where horses found sweating and tangled in the morning were thought to have been ridden by witches. Thomas Blundeville's horsemanship book of the 1560s pairs a hung stone with a Saint George charm.

Uses: holed flint, cord, nail over the bed or stall

Recorded in: Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), as cited in Wikipedia, Adder stone
ii

Glain neidr, the Welsh adder stone

Welsh and Scottish folklore · Roman report through 19th century

In Wales the stone was said to be made by a knot of snakes, especially on May Eve, and in Scotland it was called Druids' glass. Pliny described a serpent's egg prized by the Druids that had to be caught in a cloak. Many surviving Welsh adder stones are actually glass beads.

Uses: holed stone or glass bead

Recorded in: Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XXIX; Marie Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales (1909)
iii

Hühnergötter, the chicken gods

North German and Russian farmyard custom · 19th and 20th century

On the Baltic and North Sea coasts holed flints were called chicken gods and hung in henhouses. In Russia the related kurinyi bog guarded hens against the kikimora, a household spirit blamed for harming poultry.

Uses: holed flint, henhouse nail

Recorded in: Wikipedia, Adder stone

History

Holed stones carry a dozen regional names in Britain alone: hag stones, witch stones, fairy stones, adder stones, glain neidr in Wales and milpreve in Cornwall. The belief that they came from serpents goes back to Pliny the Elder, who described a stone prized by the Druids. From at least the 15th century, English households hung them over sleepers and horses to keep off the nightmare, and Reginald Scot printed such a charm in 1584.

The custom lasted into living memory. The folklorist Edward Lovett described holed stones hung on red ribbon in Surrey and Sussex in the 1920s, and Steve Roud's dictionary of English superstitions records them still kept for luck in the later 20th century. Most real hag stones are flint, holed by water or by burrowing sea creatures, which is why they turn up so often on chalk coasts.

Sources

  1. Adder stone (Hag stone) · Wikipedia contributors, 2026
  2. The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland · Steve Roud, 2003
  3. The Discoverie of Witchcraft · Reginald Scot, 1584

Related spells

Tonight
●○○

The Rowan Cross and Red Thread

Scottish Highland and Lowland folk custom · 17th to 19th century

Two rowan twigs bound into an equal-armed cross with red thread and placed over doors, byres and cradles to keep witches and fairies out.

◐ Any moon3 versionsProtection
 Tonight
●○○

The Witch Ball

English household folk custom · 18th to 19th century

A hollow glass sphere, often colored or silvered and sometimes filled with glass threads, hung in a window to catch, dazzle or trap evil spirits and ill wishes before they enter the house.

○ Full moon2 versionsProtection
 Tonight
●●○

Witch Marks and the Daisy Wheel

English vernacular building custom · c. 1550 to 1750

Compass-drawn flowers, interlaced lines and Marian VV marks scratched near doors, windows and hearths to block evil from entering a building.

◐ Any moon4 versionsProtection

Want one made just for you?

Tell us what you need and we will craft a custom spell, charm or reading for it. Or call to book a reading or a road blessing in person.

Request a custom spell☎ (951) 904-2477
← The Acorn CharmThe Hamsa Hand →
☎ Call UsTranslate