Since the dawn of time, simple boulders have been worshipped as the embodiment of a god on earth.  These are termed fetish stones and are almost invariably completely natural.  Generally, these stones are worshipped where they lie, though some are moved and legends attach to how the fetish stones came to be at their current location.

The holiest stone of the Hebrews was called Beth-el [dwelling place of deity].  It was kept in the temple of Zion in Jerusalem.

Size doesn’t seem to be particularly important. A sacred ‘Songline�?of the Warramunga tribe of northern Australia was disturbed when the mining town of Tennant Creek removed a 30-ton boulder at a rocky outcrop known as the Devil’s Pebbles Aboriginal protests compelled them to replace it in 1981; whilst pilgrims coming to Mecca in search of benediction visit a small black meteor, Ka’aba, the holy stone of Islam. which, they believe is the right hand of god on earth.  It is attended by priests, known as the Sons of the Old Woman.  To obtain blessing, the stone must be circled widdershins [anti-clockwise], against the normal passage of the sun, perhaps because it generates some kind of energy or resonance.  In contrast, Buddhist pilgrims walk around their sacred Stupas in a clockwise direction, going with the natural flow of earth energy*, along the path of least resistance in keeping with their peaceful beliefs.

The ancient British, particularly the Celts were much inclined toward this kind of worship and several laws were passed during the Christianisation of Britain and Europe, outlawing the worship of trees, rivers, wells and stones.

Beneath the feet of the statue of Apollo at Delos in ancient Greece lay the simple uncarved fetish stone worshipped long before the statue existed.  This unimpressive looking rock was not disregarded when the new statue was carved; rather, the statue was erected to show the true nature of the fetish stone. Elaborate carvings were often made of the gods as civilisations progressed, but the most ancient totems and fetishes, often rude stones, were always considered to be the holiest and the truest earthly manifestation of the deity.  In Achæan Pharæ there stood 30 squared stones, each named after a god and worshipped as such.

According to Greek myth, when Rhea married Cronus, father of the gods, Heaven and Earth warned him that his fall would be brought about through his children.  In an attempt to avoid his fate, Cronus swallowed them as they were born, causing Rhea great grief.  When she came to give birth to Zeus, she substituted a stone for the baby, which she wrapped in swaddling bands.  Cronus swallowed it and the child was raised secretly.  When Zeus grew up, he forced Cronus to disgorge his children.  The stone, swallowed last, was brought out first.  Zeus set the stone at Phylo in Delphi [the temple of the womb], where it was revered and covered with wool wrappings on certain feast days.

Another stone cut in a rough pyramid shape was worshipped as Apollo.  The Argives worshipped a large stone they called Zeus Kappotas and the Thespians worshipped a stone they called Eros.  The list goes on and on.  In each case, these sacred stones were very humble rocks indeed �?granite, sandstone, or similar.

Perhaps the oldest example of a stone valued in such a way was discovered in 1925 deep inside a limestone cavern inhabited by Australopithecus africanus around three million years ago.  It is a piece of red jasperite about the size of a duck egg which is thought to have originated in a streambed twenty miles away.  The pebble was still in its natural form, with no evidence of any attempt to carve it, except by the water action of the stream.  On one side is a representation of a modern human face.  This remained in museum archives until Raymond Dart, a palaeontologist with a flair for psychometry came across it whilst working through the store.  He looked at the human like face, smiled, and inverted it.  Another face appeared of a man with a low brow and heavy chin with a grin so broad that it was obviously a characature of Australopithecus.  We have no way of knowing whether this ‘face changing�?stone was venerated, but it was clearly treasured.

 Fetish stones are not always pretty, but continue to be revered today by those sensitive to their purpose, and, with the growing interest in the Old Gods, this is likely to continue far into the future.