The Orchiere Scrying Stone

The Orchiere Scrying Stone is the talisman of the witches' power and their connection to their ancestresses. It also acts as a stereotypical artifact of witches, something that, if found, would indict the women for practicing the craft. The stone, Morgan explains in the preface of the novel, is a crystal dug from a riverbank "by the grand-mere of the grand-mere of Grand-mere" (1). The stone seems to have a will of its own. It glows, warms and sometimes shows the witches scenes. "The scrying stone glowed red, flaring with light as if it burned within," Morgan writes (2). "It was a light reminiscent of the hellfire the Christians feared..." The stone does not respond to every witch in the same way. Grand-mere Ursule could use it to its full capacity, but later it refuses to respond to any of the women. Irene uses the...