One of the more over-used terms in the thunderegg world must surely be ‘scenic’, meaning that the stone apparently contains some kind of scenic view in its patterns. Maybe, just maybe, if you really focus your imagination you can make out a landscape or skyscape, but it is only very occasionally indeed that the resemblance goes far beyond that. I have encountered a few of these simulacra in my time collecting these rocks and it always makes for a very special stone.
One of these is a small Baumgartental stone I got from Germany. I took one look at it and my jaw dropped, barely able to believe what I was seeing. That pair of stones was hanging around for ages – polished one half, then moved house and left it in storage, then polished the other half . . . now, finally, the two halves have come together and I can at last present one of the best simulacra ever as it should be seen!
Two Evil Eyes
To celebrate, I have put together a small gallery of the best simulacra and representational thundereggs. Not all of these are nice scenic landscapes that you can loose yourself in. Some are stranger than that – have rather more worrying associations, maybe. But all stand as a tribute to just how amazing just simple ‘rocks’ can actually be.
The Cave in the Lake District
Ok – here’s the sort of thing people think of when talking of a scenic thunderegg. Perhaps we are in the English Lake District now. We are standing in a cave in the hills. The entrance is trailing with ferns and tree roots, all covered with moss. In front of us is a low hill of pink heather with a rocky valley to the left, presumably containing a stream. The stream leads to the Atlantic Ocean, lying calm under one of those stormy skies featuring dark clouds and sunlight combined. All is quiet and serene – but also foreboding. Bad weather and heavy rain is coming – so best stay right here in the cave and keep safe and dry! This is a Fallen Tree thunderegg from Oregon, and yes i know i published the same image last time, but i had to eulogize it here as well!
The Faceless Grin
And a less romantic simulacrum! All I know is that I would not like to wake up in the night and find this thing staring down at me. This is a Dugway Geode from Utah.
In the Town Ditch with Dead Algae and Worms
Ok, so if you are looking for ‘romantic’ comparisons filled with new-agey earth magic, look somewhere else! This extraordinary stone is a different kind of simulacra. It reminds me of poking around in ditches when I was a kid looking for pond life, getting covered in mud and slime and enjoying every minute of it. Moldering moss-covered twigs and squirming black worms (planarian?). Friend Ranch Thunderegg from Oregon.
The Smoke Ghost (The Cat)
A complex enough rock that, in itself, reminds me of a volcanic spring encrusted with mineral growths and/or bacterial mats. But it is the curious two-eyed creature in the centre that is its most remarkable feature. Cat? Or something else? Another Friend Ranch Stone. There is definately a bit of magic in the ground there.
Yesterday’s Congealed Spaghetti that your Flatmate Left Overnight in the Saucepan
I did warn you – no romantic comparisons here! I think the title says it all. This is a Richardson thunderegg.
The Triangle
Ok, so this isn’t so much a ‘scenic’ stone or Simulacrum (though maybe a moonlit seascape?) as a spectacular example of nature forming a geometric shape, which is rare enough in a non-crystalline process. This is from Desolation Canyon, Oregon.
The Jellyfish
Romanticists might be thinking ‘ice sculpture’ or something – but I am definitely seeing protoplasmic jelly here! A jellyfish drifting through the deeps – or maybe an egg batch of some kind, in jelly of course. The sort of think you might find on seaweed at low tide. The stone is from White Fir Springs, Oregon.
The Yonic Symbol
As a matter of fact, yonic symbols are not exactly rare in thundereggs if you look for them – no doubt thanks to the splits and opening up of the rock that occurs. However, it would be hard to imagine a more direct naturally generated fertility symbol than this somber thunderegg from Zwikau-Planitz, Germany.
The ?
Well ok, I am not really sure WHAT this is a simulacrum of, but it has to be of something! a) – the perfect square crossed out by b) – that almost perfect diagonal crack and the whole thing containing c) what looks like a collapsing floor and d) some mysterious soft ball sitting on it. This little thunderegg from Contact, Nevada looks like the symbol of an imaginary secret society or some weird road sign – or – or something . . .
The Cartoon Cat
A transparent cartoon cat with some decidedly weird anatomy. A big head, whiskers on each side. Two ears. Legs and a tail. A heart. And one bizarre orb in its head! Cyclops cat or transparent cat with brain showing . . . I dunno! Thunderegg from McDermitt, Oregon/Nevada.
The Blue Rockpool
If there’s one simulacrum there’s no shortage of in thundereggs it is rock pools – thanks to moss agate they are everywhere with varying degrees of realism. This one though is one of the better ones, a beautiful thunderegg from the Richardson Ranch Opal Bed in Oregon. It if wasn’t for the few cracks, it really would look like some pool full of water and tufts of seaweed.
Rotten Cheese
My last unromantic comparison, I promise – but what choice do I have? Look at that texture! Look at the maggots crawling through it! Look at the reeking brown fluid seeping out of it . . . This is another Richardson thunderegg. There is definitely something curious in the soil there, for that location to produce so many bizarre specimens.
Arctic Seascape
This one is quite subtle but, when you allow yourself to drift away into it, suddenly you are in a world of distant ice shelves, floating icebergs and a wild cold stormy sky. This remains one of my favorites – one of those stones that can be gazed at for hours. Just like all these most magical of rocks.
May 13, 2010
Eibonvale
Eibonvale Thundereggs Blog 