Carving in Stone: Washington National Cathedral (U.S.)

Living in Washington D.C., much of what happens is already recorded in history. However, there are parts of the City that still hold their mysteries close. One of those places is the Washington National Cathedral (Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.)

 Dedicated in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt, this Gothic Cathedral has been continually worked on by various stone carvers and masons, ever since. Officially finished in 1990, the Cathedral is still being labored on, since there are grotesques and gargoyles still be carved. Also, after the 2011 Washington Earthquake, they have endeavored to repair the damaged done to the Cathedral.

 Throughout the many years, the stone carvers developed a deep sense of intimacy and connection to the Cathedral itself. As Master Carver Vincent Palumbo noted, “The sculptor creates it (the work), but we give it life. When we carve it in stone, that is the resurrection.” Many of the carvings around the building reflect this closeness. One gargoyle depicts Master Carver Roger Morigi as the devil with his stone working tools, while another one is of a mushroom cloud coming out of his head. Both are in reference to his bad temper. (People who do not know this, often think that the mushroom cloud is a commentary of the modern age.)

 Other signs of the intimacy between the Cathedral and the stone carvers are the numerous carvings of their exploits. One grotesque shows Palumbo in a truck with a flagpole. This memorialized the time when he hit the Cathedral’s flag pole with his pick-up truck. At the north side of the nave, there is a flying buttress that remains uncarved. This is to commemorate in stone the death of Stone Carver Joseph Petti, who died there, when a scaffolding gave way.

 The stone carvers share the story of a fellow carver who worked there in the 1950s. He commuted daily from Baltimore, Maryland to Washington D.C., and therefore few people had met his family. When his wife died, he wanted her to be buried in the Cathedral. (Other people who had been interred there were President Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller.) He asked the Dean of the Cathedral Francis Sayre if his wife could be also. After being told no by the Bishop, Dean Sayre offered his apologies to the stone carver. Dean Sayre said that the man told him that it was already taken care of. According to the Dean, the masons had mixed the ashes of the wife of the stone carver into the mortar. She holds several stones together atop the south transept. Rumor has it that after the earthquake, she and the stones are still intact.

 Although Dean Sayre verified authenticity of the story, several elements make it a legend. The names of the stone carver and his wife are unknown. When the Dean was asked about the story, it was forty years after the fact. Furthermore Dean Sayre only stated what he surmised. Palumbo, who was interviewed about his long tenure at the Cathedral, told many stories, to the reporter, about specific people. The ashes of the stone carver’s wife was not one of them. Also, the legend of mixing of the ashes of the dead into the stone mortar is a story often told about other cathedrals as well. Whether it is true or not, it remains a testament to the closeness and love of the stone carvers for their Cathedral.

 Works Used.

Meyer, Graham, “Mysteries of the Washington National Cathedral.” The Washingtonian. September 2007. Web. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/arts-events/mysteries-of-the-washington-national-cathedral/.

 Ringle, Ken, “Carving Out a Niche at the Cathedral.” The Washington Post. 18, November, 1999. Web. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-11/18/101r-111899-idx.html.

 Washington National Cathedral Official Web Site. Web. http://www.nationalcathedral.org/.

Elemental Scavenger Hunt: Water

Mussel Shell: I have a small shell that I picked up from a nearby stream. In this steam are shells from other fresh water shellfish. For me, shells, whether they are fresh or sea water ones, represent the essence of water. These animals open and close their shells with the ebb and flow of water.

Fossil Shark Tooth: Parts of the park that I visited were underwater in prehistoric times. Shark teeth abound for those who look carefully. As rulers of the seas, sharks ably demonstrate the fierce power of water.

Duckweed: Growing in ponds, duckweed provides oxygen for the animals that live there. It also offers places for fish and smaller animals to hide from the predator frogs and turtles. Water, in ponds, often obscures the other worlds that lie below.

River Stone: Worn smooth stones wash up from the local rivers and lie on their banks. Smoothing the rough edges of hard rock through time is something that water does well. Within these river stones is the quiet power of water.

Sand: Also associated with water is sand. Like river stones, sand aptly demonstrates the patience of water. Originally consisting of rocks, sand is the result of the waves repeatedly crashing various rocks together. In addition, sand moves like water, constantly shifting and changing, never remaining the same.

Basic Divination: Working With Various Types

When I worked with various types of basic divination, I had several problems. First was the mechanics of setting them up to do divination. Two was trying to eliminate personal bias from each method. Finally I had to cope with their lack of accuracy.

In setting up water divination, I had to find a shallow bowl to place the three pieces of paper into. Unless the slips were tiny, they overlapped in the bowl, where I poured the water in. This mattered since the one on top would float to the top first. Also this divination was messy to do repeated times.



Since it was late fall, I could not find a daisy or dandelion as required by flower divination. Therefore, I decided to use roses, which I could easily obtain. During the process of doing this type of divination, I discovered that you could mathematically predict the answer. If you have several roses to choose from, all you need to do is count the petals. So achieving an unbiased outcome was problematic.

Throwing dice was also problematic. Procuring the dice was difficult. For some reason, throwing the dice for me was also difficult. Again my bias would crop up in throwing the dice. It may seem unlikely but if you are skilled enough, you can manipulate the dice to give you the outcome you want.

Stones and coins also had their problems of bias. You could not prevent it from cropping up. If you wanted a certain answer, odds were great that you could achieve it. Along with the bias was the accuracy problem. I had to learn to ask questions of subjects I knew the most about. If divining is to ascertain an idea of the future, then these methods failed since they were inaccurate about unknown things. (I failed miserably in predicting the outcomes of various sports teams.)



Divination by stones seemed to suit me best. I could set up a Roman-style of divination. (I practice Roman bird augury.) The choices of “Yes, No, and Maybe” could be transformed into “Yes, No, The Gods don’t care”. The “Maybe” stone offered a sense of latitude that was missing in the others.

Dowsers claim that divining attunes you to your subconscious which in turn is linked to the collective universes. Since I understand that, I could view stone divination in a different light. Setting the question up allowed my subconscious to free itself of bias. I could do stone divination, and not worry about the accuracy. My rate of correct predications was seventy percent, which I considered to be accurate. Therefore I would use stones frequently as a form of basic divination.

Dragon Jewels: Single Stone Casting

In the month of recording daily casts of the stones, no one crystal predominated. However, patterns did develop over the weeks. For the first half of the month, tiger eye dominated, while citrine took the lead for the second half. Ruby and moonstone only showed up once or twice.




Tiger eye (of Earth and Gaia, the Mother Earth Dragon) wanted me to focus on my financial affairs. During this slow time in my business, I had to make important money decisions. Supporting tiger eye was snowflake obsidian (of Saturn and Grael, the Mistress of the Night.) This stone elder counseled me to make the best of what I had. Appearing once, Ruby (of Mars and Freyeth, the Flame Lord) told me not to feel so helpless.




Citrine (of Mercury and Rai, the Thunder Lord) re-enforced the fertility aspects of tiger eye. Citrine gave me clarity to transform my thinking. Moving outside of myself, I sought more vending opportunities. Once tiger eye’s role was done, citrine directed me to what I to do next.

Checking the daily casting against my journal showed no particular pattern of advice from day to day. However, the stone elders wanted me to remain flexible, and to listen to all of their counsel. The elders wanted me to use my head, and work more on developing my talents. Amber (of Uranus and Ayahz, the Master Healer) stressed change. Aquamarine (of Neptune and Tiamaat, Mistress of the Waters) asked me to look for hidden advantages.




My conclusion is that the daily guides represented the ups and downs of life. In statistical language, they were “noise”. However, basic trends (themes) did emerge. The daily casting is useful to determine if an elder is knocking at your door. Otherwise, it is useful in hindsight to understand each of the elders and their messages.

Crystal Jewel Divination

I do many types of divination. Depending on the occasion, I use the Runes, Ogham, or Tarot. In doing Roman rituals, I use traditional Roman methods for animal divining. (I watch what the animals are doing.) For personal readings, I use the Runes or Ogham. In readings for others, I use the Tarot or oracle cards.

Depending on the season, I also employ different methods of divining. For example, in winter, I cast stones. Because winter is the season of introspection and quiet, I can hear voices of the stone elders without distraction. When they sing, “pick me”, I take the stones from a pouch. Then, I “throw” them and watch where they land on a layout of compass directions. (Each direction has a meaning: North-spirit, East-mind, South-body, and West-emotions.) Then I ask each elder what they have to say to me. The stones tell me through their colors, shapes, and how they twinkle. I enter their world, and hear their songs.

I do not consider one form of divination “better” than another. I see whether they are appropriate to the occasion. For example, in a Roman ritual, Norse Runes are inappropriate, since the Runes are closely tied with the Norse Gods. For general readings, the Tarot or oracle cards are acceptable.

The form of divination that works best for me also depends on the season. Winter is the best time for me to do crystal divination. I prefer doing the Ogham in the fall, when the trees are actively changing color. Spring and summer are for animal and plant oracles.

Lapis Lazuli

When I work with the stone elders, I do not have favorites. They all have wisdom that they impart to me. However, if I was to choose one, it was would be the lapis lazuli, with her deep blue color and flecks of gold. Because of lapis’ deep gold aura, I can sense the difference between her and sodalite. When I hold this elder in my hand, I feel waves of soothing calmness come over me. Lapis soothes my feverish mind.

I am not surprised that ancient people also held lapis in high regard. The Egyptians viewed this stone elder as sacred to Maat, the Goddess of Truth and Balance. Meanwhile, the Romans carried lapis for courage and protection.

When I hold a lapis, I am anchored at the place where present meets the past and future. Moreover, this elder transports me to the nexus of time and space. With lapis’ assistance, the Universe opens her secrets to me, there.

In my conversations with lapis, she whispers to me the wisdom of the ancestors and the honor of the past. Then, this elder connects me to the future and the hope it contains. Finally, she unfolds the beauty of the present before me. Later, as I reflect on my experience, I begin to understand the truths that lapis tells me.

When I work with lapis, I can feel a deep healing within myself. In addition, my energies become better aligned. I feel my depression lifting as lapis flashes her gold at me. The glorious blue of lapis with the flecks of gold invites me to explore the world of beauty. While holding lapis, I feel that I can do anything, since I am now a part of the Universe.

Discovering that lapis is the stone of Jupiter (the Sky Father) and Tiamaat (the Mistress of the Cosmos) makes me appreciate her more. I feel that this elder combines the powers of the Cosmos and the Earth into one. My further experiences with lapis have been of connecting with both Jupiter and Tiamaat.

Dragon Jewels

Choosing the Dragon Jewels was easier than selecting the bag they reside in. I do stone casting, but wanted to use the class parameters. Therefore, I asked each of my crystals, who of them would want to be part of the Dragon Jewels casting set.

Although I prefer working with fluorite, laborite and malachite, they told me that they were not interested in divination. However, the other crystals did give me their permission to use them, except for the amethyst. He wanted me to find a one to be dedicated to Dragon Jewel casting.

My method of choosing Dragon Jewels is to listen for them. I am hard of hearing but I can hear their humming quite clearly. When I go into a rock shop, if one is calling to me, I will hear a low hum. As I approach, the crystal will start to sing. When I see the stone, they will sparkle. Holding the crystal in my hand, I feel a tingling. This is how I chose the new amethyst.

For me, each Dragon Jewel has a different character. The small but mighty ruby is intense. The pale, yellow amber whispers of ancient suns. Full of pep, the snowflake obsidian jumps into my hand. Pushy aquamarine insists on being first in everything. He told me that He was the Godfather of the Dragon Jewels. Aloof tiger iron quietly shimmers just inside my view. Childlike, clear quartz pipes up in a high voice, “Oo, OO, pick Me!” Serene moonstone gently glows while cool jades does his jazz riffs. His partner in swing, citrine, dances in delight. Shy lapis quietly waits her turn.

Choosing my bag was an adventure in itself. My Dragon Jewels wanted a special bag to live in. I found my bag in an out-of-the-way store in the Blue Ridge Mountains (Virginia). This soft velvet bag is decorated with soft sparkly beads. A purple lizard is hand sewn using stones on the front. The Stone Elders delighted in this bag.

Note: I do not “use” my Dragon Jewels. They are Stone Elders deserving of my respect.