African Porcupine Quills

African Porcupine Quills

I use a pointer when I am doing a bone reading. A pointer is useful to highlight what you are referring to in a reading, and for gently moving pieces out of the way when they clump or group very closely.  I started out using what are often called African Porcupine Quills. These quills are longer than those from the American Porcupine. They have an interesting pattern, and natural points on both ends. I would use the end that was attached to the animal as my pointer and I would basically hold it like a pencil. I find using a pointer allows the person you are reading for to see what you are talking about better than pointing with your finger, which is much bigger than a quill. I still use these quills, though less often than I used to. The pointy end is really pointy and I have gotten stuck with a quill several times. Be careful! I usually pick up several each time I visit The Bone Room.

Hair sticks carved from bone

Hair sticks carved from bone

Now I often use a bone hair stick. I purchased a couple at the Bone Room. The white one on the left is now my favorite stick. Sadly I had a habit of misplacing my sticks so I  have since added several more. Hair sticks come in a variety of styles and materials and they can range from less than a dollar in price to quite expensive depending on materials and craftsmanship. A huge variety is available, some with beautiful, intricate, hand carvings. I prefer a simple design, but that is my personal preference. A simple search for hair sticks on eBay, or Etsy, or even Amazon, will get you lots to choose from.

Now that I am using the shorter hair sticks as pointers I keep one in my bone basket. The porcupine quills were too long to fit. This cuts down on my misplacing them, though I still forget to return them from time to time and have to use one of the backups. I usually find the misplaced ones under the cushion I sit on when reading, but when I have a scheduled appointment I don’t have time to go burrowing under the cushions to find it so I keep extras handy and easily accessible.

I have also seen readers use a bird wing as a pointer. Madame Nadia is one of the readers who does this. I wanted to try it, so I ordered a beautiful set of wings from Etsy. They had the odor of their preservative on them when I took them out of the box, so I set them outside to air out for a few days. Then my dog found them. The preservative odor did not bother him at all. I still like the idea of using a wing, but for me it is not practical at this time seeing that my poodle finds them tasty.

Madame Nadia

Madame Nadia’s wing used for pointing and moving bones during a reading

You could also use a twig, or some other piece of found wood. I think that could be quite attractive and it has the added quality of having zero cost. I have even used a pencil or pen in a pinch. Once I started using pointers it felt strange to not have something in my hand to point.

A pointer is not a requirement for bone reading – it is a nice to have accoutrement. You might want to try it and see how it works for you. If you do, try several lengths to see what works best for you.

Hair sticks made from bone, wood, and horn

Hair sticks made from bone, wood, and horn

Happy Bone Reading!