A simple stone engraved with the image of an eagle. Completely out of place on that secluded island in the river. The last time I made a discovery that was so irrationally out of place was when I discovered the peacock feather laying in the central fountain of the Gardens of Lisocea - the very same feather and event that set me on my path with Hera.
Neither of us have any love loss for Zeus whose symbol this stone is. And what a great opportunity is was to spin the unlikely event off into a wonderful tale and sympathetically fulfill a goal I had set some time ago to rob Zeus of his lightning bolt.
So, here we are.
The odds of me discovering this stone on that rocky island are astronomically against the odds. As pagans we simply cannot afford to write things off as coincidence. Not when we are dealing with the types of things and creatures we are getting involved with. This stone was stolen and placed on that island against all the logic in the world so that I would find it.
My first instinct when I found it laying there amidst the rocks was the Hera was up to something...again. So, I collected the eagle and brought it back to the altar room where it has rested until today.
I meditated and pondered over this stone for some time while I was waiting to attain another item I was "inclined" to be in need of. And, oddly enough, it did not take more than a couple of days for that item to arrive. Even though I had ordered it from a metaphysical supply store all the way over in England. They just happened to have what I was looking for by way of a supplier in Australia. The item I was after has literally been around the world. And that item is pictured here (right). It is a fulgurite crystal - a silica based crystal formed when lightning strikes silica rich earth and fuses it together to form a type of glass. A literal creation of the joining of heaven and earth, containing the metaphysical power of the lightning bolt.
I presented the fulgurite to Hera and left it on the altar for the past two weeks while waiting for the epiphany of what I was suppose to do next in this odd chain of events.
I wasn't entirely sure until this afternoon. What makes today so freaking special I have no clue. But I was lured into taking the fulgurite that I had attained and combining it with the eagle carved stone that Hera had stolen and placed on the island in the river.
So, I crushed the lighting forged crystal into a glittering powder using a mortar and pestle which caused the crystal to pop and try to shoot shards all over the place.
I had to keep one hand over the mortar while crushing the crystal with the other hand. After a few minutes of crushing and grinding I ended up with a very fine glittery dust.
After crushing the crystal into a fine powder, I took the eagle stone from the altar and I filled in the impression about half way with glue.
Then, I took the powdered lighting and poured it over the center of the stone, allowing the whole pile of sparkling dust to set into the glue itself and fill in the remainder of the indentation that the eagle carving makes.
I gently tapped the edge of the stone to knock off the dust that wasn't absorbed and held in place by the glue. Tapping off the excess allowed for more air and humidity to reach the soaked dust, making it to dry faster and become harder.
I took the excess lightning dust and placed it into a vile to keep on the altar for possible future use.
The eagle stone now infused with the lighting powers of the fulgurite crystal, I detailed the edges of the encrusted engraving and I hand carved a simple inscription on the back side of the stone - "For Hera".
And that is the story of how Hera and I stole the power of Zeus's lightning bolt.
