Shaun Laveau is a young bone reader living in Omaha Nebraska. He is an ardent student of African American folklore, folkways, and folk magic with an eye towards ensuring their preservation, and he reads the bones professionally at festivals and at other venues.
- How did you get started in bone reading?
I actually came to bone reading from a reading dice. I had a big interest in learning to read the bones. I didn’t know where to start, but I had heard that reading dice was very similar. I started reading dice, and then evolved into bone reading.
- How long have you been reading bones?
Almost 2 years now.
- Did you have any teachers? Who?
I never had any formal training or lessons on bone readings. A person I always credit as a teacher is Michele Jackson because her book Bones, Shells, and Curios really helped me get started and get a feeling for my style of reading bones.
- Where did you get your bone pieces?
I was originally gifted a set of bones by a local worker who gave me four raccoon bones, and a tiny skull piece.
- How many bones in your set?
33 pieces
- How long did it take you to put your set together?
2 years
- Are you still adding pieces?
Yes. I feel like I’ll have a good collection when I reach 66 or 70.
- Do you use a special cloth or reading surface?
Yes I do. It’s actually a mat with planetary symbols and Astrology signs on it.
- Did you do any consecration ceremony for them?
For my pieces whenever I get a new one I take it to my ancestors and tell them what it means to me. Then I meditate with it in my hand to put the energy of its meaning into it. For my mat I dipped it in Holy Water and then allowed it to air dry.
- Do you cleanse them?
After every reading I spray both my pieces and my mat with Florida Water Cologne
- Do you do anything special before a reading – invocations, prayers, etc.?
It is all depends. If I am reading for myself I do a little prayer to ask my ancestors to speak clearly to me and ask that all my spirits be present to offer their messages too. Sometimes my clients want to do a prayer before the first toss and sometimes they don’t.
- How do you think the bones work? Ancestors? Spirits? Etc.
I believe that your ancestors and your spirits are what come through to help with the readings and offer whatever wisdom may be needed.
Do you throw all of your bones or some subset?
All of them.
- Do you read for yourself? Some people feel that they do not do well reading for themselves.
Yes I do, but sometimes I do go to other people for readings to maybe confirm my feelings or get more clarity on the situation.
- Do you teach bone reading?
No, I don’t feel I have the experience under me to teach others yet.
- What advice do you have for bone readers just starting out?
Make sure that you know yourself and have a working relationship with your ancestors and spirits before you start reading bones.
- Do you read professionally?
Yes I do. I offer Skype, email, and phone readings. If you want a reading and wish contact me you can reach me through my email mystichhut@gmail.com
You can also book a reading with him here.
Happy Bone Reading!