The Omphalos

The Omphalos Stone, The Navel of the Earth, marks the center of the world, the axis around which the realms are ordered. Zeus, in his magnificent wisdom and power, sent his eagles to fly, one from each end of the earth, toward the center, and the point at which they met he marked with this great stone—at the sacred site of Delphi. Around this great stone, the people built a Temple to Apollo, and above the stone itself, a tripod stool was placed. Upon this stool would sit the Oracular Priestess, skilled at trance and a perfect vessel for the Gods, who would deliver divine prophecy straight from the Gods themselves through the power of the stone. When we create our Sacred Center in ritual space, around which we (re)create the cosmos, we place our stone at the base of the Tree, whose roots run deep into the Earth to mingle with the Waters coursing with Underworld power, and crowned high to touch the very Fires of Inspiration and heavenly power in the realm above. We anoint this stone with the oils suitable for offering to the Gods and allow the stone to open the way before us that we, too, may become vessels filled with the power and wisdom of the Otherworldly Beings and bringing these gifts to the folk and to the land. The Omphalos Stone, The Navel of the World, The Arcana Mundi, the axis of the Sacred Center through which we connect to the Otherworlds is the heart of our sacred space.

Zaidman, Louise Bruit, and Pantel, Pauline Schmitt. Trans. Religion in the Ancient Greek City. Trans. Cartledge, Paul. Cambridge University Press. NY: 1989:202.