serpent’s egg

serpent’s egg In DRUID lore, an oval crystal Talisman that enabled the casting of certain Spells and the counteracting of Incantations. According to the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, the Druids wore their serpent’s eggs suspended from their necks. The crystals were so-named because they were formed from the foam of slime of serpents having intercourse. The hissing of the serpents caused the ball of foam to rise into the air. The Druids, said Pliny, sought to capture them by catching them before they fell serpent’s egg 291 292 serpent/snake to ground. Pliny said they had to carry off their prizes on swift horses, for the serpents would pursue them. The trick was to cross running water, which stopped the serpents in their pursuit. The serpent’s eggs possessed magical powers that would enable the Druids to neutralize spells against them. Anyone who possessed a serpent’s egg would be guaranteed to win lawsuits and be “well received by kings.” Serpent’s eggs are also called Druidic eggs and Druid’s glass, or Glainnaider or Glain-nan-Druidhe, in Celtic tradition. One description of them says they were small glass Amulets about the width of a finger ring but much thicker, commonly colored green or blue, with some waved in blue, red, and white. See also EGG.

Further Reading:

• Spence, Lewis. The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain. Van Nuys, Calif.: Newscastle Publishing, 1996.

SOURCE:

The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley Copyright © 2006 by Visionary Living, Inc.