How To

Show and Tell: DIY Bone Divination Set

I have a PowerPoint presentation on bone divination that I give from time to time. In it I have a bone set made from items found on my daily dog walks, and items that I found lying around the house. I use it to show what you can put together for free if you are willing to take the time to get outdoors into the fresh air and look around your home with an eye to what could be used as a divination piece. I live in an urban area. While a few of the items in this set came from city parks that are flush with trees and wildlife, most of the outdoor pieces were picked up from the street, curb, or edges of the front lawns I pass while walking my dog every day. Those pieces make up the first three rows of the photo.

Snail shells come in a variety of colors and sizes. However, I have found that they often have thin spots that will crack over time. If you use them it may be wise to have a back up piece, and not be too upset if they should break.

I am blessed to have many friends and acquaintances who gift me beautiful pieces, many one of a kind, as possible additions to my bone sets. I chose not to include any of them in this thrown together set. The things from my home were gathered on a quick look around my house for odds and ends.

Chicken Wing Bones from Buffalo Wings.

The first four bones are from a tasty dinner of buffalo style wings. I cleaned them myself and bleached them lightly with a weak hydrogen peroxide solution. I rarely cook a whole chicken, but if I wanted more bones I would do so and I would definitely salvage the wishbone. The next two rows are things I got from my home.

Pencil lead cases

These held pencil leads for mechanical pencils. I have thought of either painting them or covering them with beads. They open and could be used to store magical ingredients as well.

$1.78 USD and 1.50 Mexican Pesos found while walking.

Instead of costing money, this set made me money. This is some of the change I have found on my walks. I live in Southern California – 15 miles from the US/Mexico border so finding Mexican coins is not unheard of.

A wide assortment of seeds and pods.

Most, if not all of these seeds and pods come from ornamental trees, plants, and shrubbery in the front yards of the homes I walk by each day. Twigs are also plentiful and are often different enough in color and texture to be easily distinguishable from one another in a set.

Possibly an oxtail (cow) bone found on the lawn of the common area in my subdivision.

Possibly an oxtail (cattle) bone found on the lawn of the common area in my subdivision.

I found this bone stripped clean like this. I have also found small animal bones on the lake shore in a nearby trail park, but I always suspect that they are the remains of a picnic lunch. I come across dead animals fairly frequently on my walks, but I have yet to pick any up for personal use. They are rarely there again the next day as the city is good about picking them up, so they are not around long enough to decay down to the skeleton.

DIY Bone Divination Set

This set has over 50 pieces and it cost me nothing but some time. It shows that you can put a decent set together without spending any money if you are willing to build your set slowly over time. It also shows that you can expand a basic or starter set very easily and inexpensively.

Some stones and shells from the dollar store. A variety of shells and stones can expand your set easily. Not everyone lives near a body of water and the dollar store is less expensive than E-Bay and other online sources. This tin holds the shells that were not broken from a bag of shells, and the stones that I found interesting from a bag of stones.

If you are willing to spend a couple of dollars you can expand it even further with dollar store rocks and shells. This brought the net cost up to a little more than $0.40 with tax.

This is the last post I will be doing for 2016. My next post will be in late January 2017.

Happy Holidays and may the year 2017 be your best year ever!

Roots, Seeds, Pods, and Twigs in Bone Reading: Little John to Chew

Little John to Chew

I have several roots and other organic pieces in my bone sets. One of them is Little John to Chew or Galangal (Alpinia galanga).

Per Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic, Little John to Chew is believed to be lucky for court cases. I have also seen it described as being used, along with other ingredients, to keep the law away.*

I use it primarily to represent court cases and legal matters. However, if the client is not involved in any legal issues at the time I sometimes interpret it as a warning to be honest, and above-board in all of their dealings, and to do things by the book. Avoid short-cuts or cutting corners. Cross every “t,” and dot every “i.” Failure to do so could lead to future legal issues.

Pieces nearby can shed more light on this piece. If it is near the heart, perhaps a divorce or family matter may end up in the courts. If it is near a large sum of money it can indicate receiving (or paying) a settlement. I often see this piece when the client is considering starting a business of some type. It can be a warning to get all agreements or contracts in writing, and/or to enlist the services of a lawyer before signing anything.

It is a sturdy root and mine have held up well for several years now. You can get it from shops that sell hoodoo herbs, or from shops that sell Asian spices as it is used in cooking some Asian dishes. It is a member of the ginger family (sometimes called “Thai Ginger”). Don’t buy the fresh version – get the dried with whole pieces, not slices. You can read more about this root in Dr. E’s article about the three Johns.

Little John to Chew with the piece for the heart and the client’s partner.

*Hoodoo, Conjuration, Witchcraft, Rootwork by Harry Middleton Hyatt, Volume One, Page 609, Spell 2097

The Canine Tooth in Bone Divination

I have a canine tooth in both my sets. They are naturally colored on the tooth end and darkened on the root end. I originally had a dog bone in my sets, but when I got the teeth I replaced the dog bones because I felt using a tooth gave me a wider choice of meanings. I interpreted the dog bone as the good qualities of dogs – faithful, loyal, protective, companions. The bi-colored tooth gave me the option of adding a more negative interpretation. So the tooth could be the faithful, protective, loyal companion, or it could be the snarling, growling, biting, attacking dog.

This client may be feeling (blue stone)underestimated (wolverine bone) at work (thimble) and ready to fight for recognition (dark side of dog tooth).

This client may be feeling (blue stone) underestimated (wolverine bone) at work (thimble) and ready to fight for recognition (dark side of canine tooth).*

The dark end seems to come up in readings more often than the lighter end. I find that when the dark side is prominent in relationship questions it can indicate arguments, disagreements, or tension in the relationship. Almost all relationships will experience these things, but when this side of the tooth is in a prominent position, the fighting could be becoming more frequent or more of a problem. It can also represent anger on the part of the client and a need or desire to fight for oneself. Conversely, if the light side is prominent, the person is probably loyal, faithful, and protective.

Fighting between partners resulting in them feeling or actually being separate (separator) from each other.

Fighting between partners resulting in them feeling, or actually being separated (separator) from each other.*

This client may have their mind on marriage or a long-term commitment (ring). Their intended partner seems to be reliable, loyal, a good companion (light side of canine tooth), but may have been hurt previously in a relationship (healed possum rib bone). Sound finances are a plus (coin face up).*

I got the teeth I use at a gem show, but you can find teeth from canines on Ebay or Etsy.

Happy Bone Reading!

P.S. I will be a guest on Candelo’s Corner Monday the 24th of October. I would love to see you in the chat-room.

*These are sample interpretations for illustrative use only. You may see a different interpretation based on your own experience or understanding.

Fear or Worry in Bone Divination

Stone to represent fear or worry.

Do you have a piece in your set that represents fear? I do. In my travel set it is a small tumbled stone that is solid black on one side, and brown and black on the the other. If the solid side is up I assume it has nothing to say in the reading, but if the brown side is up, I look to see what is nearby because it indicates that the client is dealing with some type of fear.

These pieces could be interpreted as fear about a romantic partner’s feelings.

We have all been afraid many times. Sometimes our fear is justified – if our physical well being is threatened we naturally feel afraid. But I find that most of the time when I am feeling fear it is not because I am being threatened with bodily harm. Most of the time fear is about the thoughts we have or the stories we tell ourselves rather than real physical danger. We fear being left alone, we fear losing our job or our source of financial security, we fear for our health, we fear for our children and loved ones, and friends – the list goes on, and on. Since we all have fears I find that a piece to identify them is quite useful. If you find the word fear too strong, you could substitute worry.

This could be interpreted as fears or worries about work/career possibly involving another person.

I often find that when I tell a client about the fears or worries I see in the throw they are relieved that I brought it up so that they can talk about them. I always listen carefully and look at the rest of the throw to see if there is any other information about the area of concern that could be useful. Identifying a fear can also lead to a separate throw about the issue with an eye towards what can be done to mitigate the issue and/or achieve a favorable outcome.

Sometimes the fear piece is brown side up, but there are no amplifying pieces nearby. This could indicate anxiety or just a feeling of general unease or worry. Hopefully the reading will give the client concrete areas to focus their energy and thus provide some measure of relief.

While I chose a stone to represent fear you could use anything that represents fear or worry to you, say a spider, or a small weapon like a miniature knife or a pointed stick or twig. These items have the additional quality of being able to point directly at other pieces. I have found the fear piece to be very useful. Perhaps you will too.

Back side of the stone representing fear or worry.

Happy Bone Reading!

Creating a Little Black (or any color) Book for your Bone Reading Set

Little black book for bone divination meanings

I recently started taking a bone reading class with Iyanifa Ayele Kumari. I take classes on bone reading whenever I see them offered if I am able to do so at the time. I am very happy and comfortable with my method of reading, but I enjoy learning different approaches and methods, and I enjoy the interaction with other bone readers that a class provides. It also forces me to look at bone divination with beginner’s eyes which I find refreshing and challenging.

Since I am starting this class with a new set of bones put together according to the class recommendations, I thought I would share something that helps me to learn a new system – a little black book. When you buy a deck of tarot cards, there is usually a small booklet with card meanings in the box with the deck. It has come to be known as the “little white book.” If there is no full length book available for the deck it is the only source material you have that gives insight into the meanings used by the artist or deck creator. Early on you usually find yourself referring to it frequently until you feel comfortable that you understand the deck.

When you buy a set of bones, you may get a few pages with suggested meanings, or you may get nothing but the bones themselves. This makes sense because bone reading is highly personal, and even when meanings are provided they are usually described as “suggested” meanings. Over time, as you become more comfortable with your set you may devise meanings that have no similarity at all to the suggested meanings. You will most likely add new pieces to the set and you may remove some of the original pieces as well.

Making a book of meanings can help you learn the meanings of your set early on, and in the long term, it will provide documentation for your great-great grandchildren, should your set survive you and be passed down as a family heirloom. Although I say that tongue in cheek, many family practices are lost forever when the keeper of that knowledge passes on. Having a book of meanings will prevent that from happening to your tradition and style of bone reading. Over time as you add pieces and meanings, it will also give you a benchmark to see how far you have come as a diviner. It does not take long to create, and you may even find the creation process enjoyable. Let’s begin.

You will need a blank book. I personally like 4″ X 6″ spiral bound sketch books. They are small enough to be easily stored with your bone set, and they lie down flat making writing easier. They are unlined, but if you are more comfortable with a lined book, by all means get one. The sketchbooks cost a few dollars. A dollar store composition book will also work. And there are books that are in-between these two in size – 5.5″ X 8″ is a popular size for journals. Get whatever size you like.

I usually leave the first 2 pages blank. I always have some idea in my head that I will do a cover page at some point in the future, though it never gets done. In the 4″ X 6″ books I allocate one page, front and back to each piece. If you are using a larger book you may want to put two pieces on each page. Unless you love to write, it is unlikely that you will need more than a page to cover the meanings of your bones. While there is much that can be said about any bone or piece if you want to include references to the animal or symbol, its characteristics, myths, stories etc., I try to keep my books simple and I limit myself to basic meanings, perhaps fleshed out over time as my understanding of the piece broadens.

I like to draw a simple line drawing of the piece. I am no great draftsman, but I can usually manage to get a basic outline drawn if I take my time. This book is for me so the art does not have to be great or even very good. It just has to be recognizable as the piece you are drawing. If you feel that you can’t manage a simple outline, you can always take a photo of your set, print it, cut out the various pieces, and glue them to your pages. I find drawing the bone makes me look at it more closely than I would if I were to take a photograph. Close examination may provide some additional insight into the piece.

Next I write down the suggested meaning if I have one available. I put a line under it and if I have a different meaning, or if I have additional information I write it down under the line. If I don’t have a different meaning at that time the suggested meaning is fine. Since I am taking a class right now and thus learning the teacher’s system, knowing the suggested meaning and understanding how the teacher views a particular bone will make things easier for me in class. It makes sense to learn the rules before you break them. I find that the process of drawing the bone, and writing out the meaning helps me to remember it. I don’t have a great memory and this method helps to reinforce the meaning in my mind in a way that just reading or hearing it does not.

Once I have drawn and written the meaning for each piece I am done. I now have a reference book that I can refer to should I forget the meaning of a particular piece. I also have a place to record any additional insights that I may get about a piece. It is small enough to carry with me should I want to review the meanings while I sitting in a waiting room somewhere.

If you are artistic, you can decorate your book cover, hang bones or other decorations from the spiral, paint the drawings with watercolors etc. I tend to start these books with great plans to fancy them up, but they usually end up plain. Plain or fancy I find them quite useful, especially, if you like to learn different systems. By having a book for each different set that you own, you can quickly refresh your memory should you decide to use one of the other sets.

You could also do the book digitally using word processing or publishing software. However, I find that holding the bone in my hands, examining it, drawing it, and writing its meaning seems to make a stronger impression in my memory than looking at it, then setting it aside to type about it. Of course you should do whatever works best for you. This book could also be used to record your readings, or to just record important readings like year readings, or readings that you feel are significant for whatever reason.

Happy Bone Reading!

Work and Career in Bone Divination

The most common concern among my clients is love, but the second most common concern is work and career. Clients are either looking for work, wanting to change careers, wishing to start a business, or have concerns about various situations in their present job. I use a thimble to represent work and career issues in both my sets.

I used to sew some of my own clothes and some for my family as well. Back then you could make clothing for less than it cost to buy new, good quality clothing. Nowadays clothing is less expensive and fabrics for sewing are more expensive so I rarely take my sewing machine down unless I want to make something simple like a bag, or to repair a piece of clothing. I liked to sew, but it making clothing is not easy – it is hard work. I enjoyed sewing, but it was work nonetheless. That is how I chose a thimble to represent work. It was something small enough to fit easily in a bone set, and it had personal meaning for me.

When doing a reading I always look to see where the thimble is and what pieces are nearby. If the piece is far from the piece that represents the client with nothing really nearby, it can indicate that the person is probably not spending a lot of time thinking about their job. They may work that job because they need to pay the bills and have no plans to make their current job their career. It could also indicate that things are going well at work so they have no concerns in that area. Generally, these folks don’t ask about their career, of they ask after they have asked about everything else as an afterthought.

When clients do have work concerns, I usually find that there is a lot going on around the thimble. In some cases, clients have concerns about their co-workers or specific situations involving one or more co-workers. In those cases, I sometimes ask them to describe the co-worker they are having issues with and designate an appropriate piece in my set to represent that person. You could also add a piece or pieces to represent the various parties involved in a work situation.

Thimbles come in various sizes and can range in price from less than a dollar to over a hundred dollars for a fine antique in a precious metal. I bought a decorated silver thimble for my main set, but used a regular stainless steel thimble for my travel set for years. I tried replacing it with a ceramic thimble with an image that I liked, but it was much bigger than the original so I ended up putting it into the overflow bin. I finally bought an inexpensive silver thimble for my travel set as well.

You can get a simple metal thimble anywhere that you can buy needles and thread. Antique shops sometimes have fancier thimbles as some people collect them. Ebay is where I got my fancy thimbles and they have a wide array of styles, sizes, and prices. You could also use something else entirely to represent work and career – anything small that represents work for you will do. I think that if you read for others frequently you may want to consider designating a piece to represent work or career since you will probably find yourself reading for folks with concerns in this area.

Happy Bone Reading!

The New Moon in Bone Reading

new moon

noun

the phase of the moon when it is in conjunction with the sun and invisible from earth, or shortly thereafter when it appears as a slender crescent.
- the time when the new moon occurs.*

I have a piece in my set to represent the New Moon. I use it to represent things that are happening that are not yet visible. When we look at the night sky during the new moon, we may not see the moon at all. But we know that the moon is still there. Likewise, when this piece is active in a reading, things are happening around the situation it is addressing, we just can’t see them yet. And just like the moon will become visible again, whatever is happening will soon become apparent.

This piece can be reassuring if things feel stagnant, or if it feels like no progress is being made on an issue. Things are happening behind the scenes, you just don’t see them yet. It can also be a warning that something you thought had been resolved is still percolating under the surface. It will eventually boil over and into view, for good or bad.

Carved bone crescent moon.

A crescent moon charm, a small black disk, or anything that suggests the new moon to you can be used for this piece.The new moon and the full moon pieces have both served me well, showing me and my client likely movement in the situations they address. Of course, there is so much information about the moon – scientific, mythical, and spiritual, that you may come up with meanings that do not resemble mine in any way. That is the beauty of bone reading – meanings come from our heads, hearts, souls, and spirits.

Bonus – Sylvia Payne has created a short video presentation on creating a bone set. You can see it here: Building a Bone Reading Set

Happy Bone Reading!

*definition from Google

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The Full Moon in Bone Divination

The moon has fascinated human beings since the beginning of our existence. It has a measurable physical impact on our planet, and it is important in many different contemporary forms of spirituality, including my own. I have two different pieces in my bone sets to represent the moon – a Full Moon piece and a New Moon Piece.

The earliest human beings noticed that the moon has a predictable cycle – from new, to full, and back to new again. The full moon is when the moon looks its largest and barring clouds or fog, the light side of the moon is entirely visible to us. It lights up our surroundings at night – not as well as the sun, but well enough for us to see enough to get around. This informs my meaning for this piece – it represents things becoming clear and visible.

When the moon is full it is also at the apogee of its cycle. I use this in my interpretation as well – the full moon piece means that things are coming to a resolution. The moon is at the highest point of its cycle – things are coming to a head. Coupled with the idea of things being made visible, it can represent clarity. If we have been doubtful or uncertain, we can now see the path. If we are in a situation that we are unhappy with, we know it will soon be concluded or resolved. Conversely, if we are in a good situation, we may be getting to the point where things are as good as they are going to get. Of course, there are many other interpretations that can be given to a moon piece – it could represent cycles, or mystery, or even gender. Your own understanding of the moon and its symbolism will inform your interpretation.

Abalone shell disk.

The cut shell I use has a convex and concave side that is easily distinguishable so I read the convex side as the moon being a factor in the reading, and if it is concave I interpret it as silent. Things nearby can shed light on what situation or area the full moon is referring to. I could have chosen to have the concave side represent the new moon, but I have another piece for that which I will talk about in a future blog post.

There are many different things that can be used as a full moon piece. Since the moon is so observable to us it has been portrayed in countless ways, including carvings, jewelry, coins, and charms, which make finding something suitable for your bone set easy. If anything you may be overwhelmed by the choices available.

I find this piece to be quite useful in my readings. You might want to try it and see how it works for you.

Happy Bone Reading!

Full moon image by By Aynet – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23077994

A Ring to Represent Commitment in Bone Reading

Rings have a long history of being used as symbols of commitment. The wedding ring as a symbol of commitment to the one we love easily comes to mind. In my bone set I use the ring not only as a symbol of love and marriage, but as a symbol of any type of commitment. It could be a commitment to one’s studies, or to a job, or commitment to pursuing a dream. Of course, it can represent the commitment of marriage too, but that is a commitment that we seldom make, while our day to day lives are full of issues that could benefit from more, or even less commitment.

A need for, or a need to commit?

Unable or unwilling to commit?

Most of us have one, or several rings that we don’t wear sitting in our jewelry boxes that could easily be spared for our bone set. Or you may prefer to get a ring that speaks to you specifically for that purpose. Although precious metal jewelry can be rather expensive, you can find suitable rings for next to nothing. I used to use a gold ring that I no longer wore, but now I use a simple ring carved from bone in my travel set. It cost me the princely sum of $1.00.

This is a piece that can also lend itself to more personal expression. Perhaps you have your grandmother’s wedding ring, or some other ring that holds special meaning for you. You can let it sit in your jewelry box and gather dust, or you can see if it would be a suitable addition to your bone set.

Over committed?

P.S. I am currently attending school part time, and working on a project so I will be going to a bi-weekly update schedule until further notice.

Happy Bone Reading!

Hands in Bone Reading

Hands of various types are readily available and can make an interesting addition to a bone set. I prefer hands where the two sides are easily distinguishable, but whether you need two sides or not depends on how you plan to interpret them. I have two hands in my set – the ceramic hand for material things, and the bone hand for spiritual things. I interpret the hand palm up as receiving. If the back of the hand is up then it is giving. You could also use a small hand to represent working with one’s hands, crafting, or creating, wanting, needing, requesting, helping, or donating. The position of the hand could also be interpreted – perhaps it looks like it is pushing something away, reaching for something, or holding something – even holding something down or up.

Hamsa Hands carved from Bone.

You can get all types of hands online or in bead shops. Hamsa Hands, also called the Hand of Fatima, are used in many parts of the world as a symbol of protection, among other things. These stylized hands come in all sizes, colors and types of material. Smaller ones often meant to be worn as jewelry, or carried as good luck charms, are readily available and can be obtained quite inexpensively. If you want one with two different sides, check before you buy because many of them are the same on both sides. Ceramic and metal hands meant to be used as beads, charms, or pendants are also available, though they are not as common as Hamsa Hands. Likewise “Mano Cornutos,” and “Mano Ficos” can be used.

Arms are included in some of the commercially available starter sets, and if the hand on the end is suitable, they can be used just like hands. Paws can be used for this as well.

Various ceramic doll arms, a milagro arm, and a squirrel paw.

Metal hands, including a Mano Cornuto,

Of course you could use something else altogether to represent these same ideas – anything with two distinct sides will work for these meanings, but if you come across a small, attractive, reasonably priced hand, you might want to give it a try.

Happy Bone Reading!

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