#bone work

[carbon-heart]

I often think about the time I found a rabbit skull on the edge of the road.

I scooped it up in a Tupperware and gave it a proper burial-- I got the sense that's what it wanted -- but in recent days I've been thinking it might have made a useful ally.

Maybe it's time to reopen the conversation.

[marril96]

Another 1.03 | Bone Work

[songsofbloodandwater]

My Notes on Cleansing Bone Remains.

Let me first say that I am not a taxidermist, so the how(s) of safely handling a carcass and physically cleaning the bones are outside the scope of my work. Here I am just sharing one way to spiritually cleanse the remains so that no "traces" of the past contaminate your work, or to prepare the remains to be turned into a vessel for some other spirit, different from the Animal Spirit that originally dwelled in them.

First you must prepare a Purge Oil. This Oil will be made with a base of jojoba oil infused with pine resin, myrrh, frankincense, storax, cypress and cedar. Any combination of these cleansing and cthonic allies will do. Carefully grind the resins down to a powder and allow to infuse in a dark place for at least one whole lunar cycle.

To cleanse the remains spiritually, very gently rub small quantities of the Purge Oil onto the bone remains, while chanting:

Great Two Headed Vulture*, Carry with you what's left behind. Strip this carcass with your fire, all deeds and taints to you resigned, Set free the bone that bears no flesh, purge the past, to start afresh."

Allow yourself to enter a trance-like state with this chant, and envision fire slowly growing from the inside of whatever remains you're cleansing, and burning away any impurities. After you feel the bones have been "emptied" you may move on to your next step, be it to bless it for it's new purpose or call the Spirit that will now inhabit it.

*The Two Headed Vulture is a common motif in indigenous cultures, including my own, where it's two-headedness represents the Vulture's ability to carry souls from one world to the next and back. In my culture it is also associated with the element of Fire, the directions of East and West, and the spiritual cleansing ability of flames. You can adapt the prayer to mention some other psychopomp spirit of your own culture and it's qualities If you wish.

[wishbonewitch]

Not for sale

Pieces i made yesterday!!

Deer jawbone sleep charm (not a dreamcatcher! That's a closed practice)

Squirrel skull with some teeth. The front top and bottom chomper still intact and the lower jaws

Both handmade and hand-cleaned by me. The skull didn't want to whiten which was fine by me. It's clean and lovely as is.

[bonepriestess]

~this space is cleansed, protected and made sacred~

[spiralthicket]

Airing Out The Bones

As soon as the sun is warm and the air no longer holds a chill is when it is time to air the bones.  I gather the bones outside and let the warm air hit them, inspecting them for damage and admiring them in all their beauty.  I take ritually worked water that I prepared for such occasions, washing the bones of any dust, or dirt from rituals past. I often ply the spirits with kind words and offerings of smoke and food. This often takes the longest as I spend my time touching and working all the surfaces of the bones consecrating them.

When I’ve finished I let the sun and wind wick the water away and bring them inside where I anoint them with oils and prepare them for ritual use. I tend to do this several times in the warm weather. Like myself, my bones and magical tools need fresh air and a new face. 

[skepticaloccultist]

Witch, Craft, & Legalities

I have seen, over the recent past few months, a number of posts and articles online making a wide range of claims about the state of legality in owning various bits and pieces related to the practice of the craft. Animal bones, particular plants, live animals, all have come into question in regards to their legal possession and use in magic.

In particular there seems to be a great deal of misunderstanding about the status of bone ownership (both animal and human) in the US and UK (the rest of the world is on your own for research as I just don't know). It is fully legal in the US and UK to own human bones purchased from a retailer or donated by someone at their time of death. In most cases common animal bones are legal as well. Rabbit, hare, raven, crow, deer, goat, sheep, lamb, fox, cat, dog and many other species are fully legal to own, buy and trade. There are, based in different states, laws that protect specific species of animal, and a list of federally endangered animals that can not be owned in whole or part can be found below. But typically the bones used by a magician come from the set of animals that are either 'pests' or 'livestock'. Claims that owning goat bones is illegal stretch the limits of the imagination when any Jamaican restaurant will serve you up a plate of goat curry with bones in.

Of course there will be dozens of shares of this post telling me I am wrong, so before you armchair taxidermy experts wage a battle over how to toe the line dig in to these:

US Law

UK Law

International Law

(What does get tricky with animal parts is international shipping. It's complicated but subterfuge works, as with all other things.)

Beyond the practicalities of national and international law the witch or magician has long been seen as existing "outside" the law. It was the laws of the nations that allowed for witch burnings, it was under Roman law that maleficia was banned, under church law that all practices outside of the covenant we forbidden by penalty of torture and death. Should we just lay down our craft and discard our path simply because a group of mundanes have decreed it so?

The truth is that besides bones most practitioners already have things that are illegal in their homes. From knives and other blades to entheogens and various plant species the witch and wizard tends to live at the edges of law already, how much more dangerous the collecting from some field the bones of an animal no longer using them?

The nature of the laws of mankind are meant to contain, to limit, to deny access to those things deemed unsuitable for common civilization. Yet throughout the millennia there are always those whose righteousness would prohibit the acts of others. The US prohibition of alcohol from 1920-1933 which led to a massive organized crime syndicate, the contemporary "war on drugs" that allows the black market in cannabis to become the funding source for narco-drug gangs in central and south America, the subjugation of the LGBT communities to discrimination, bias, and outright refusal of civil rights; mankind seeks to control human behavior through law, and rarely contains it - simply driving it behind closed doors at best.

Those who believe the risk (legal or otherwise) too great to obtain the required variables, be it bone, blood, or root, should likely not endeavor to practice magic. After all, how can one blanch at defying the laws of man and yet propose to wield powers against diverse spirits and daemonic entities? How can we yield through fear of legal reprisal the very nature of our work, our intimate embrace of death and decay, our touch of green life and harvesting of aged root? Rather they would burn me at the stake than for my work to be lessened by fear of the hand of common men.

We are witches, wizards, magicians, and philosophers on a journey of our own undertaking. We are revolutionaries that must face a rising conservative attitude that may soon seek once again to reprimand us for doing what we have done for time immemorial.

Rather than debate what is legal the practitioner would find more usefulness in seeking to understand what is practical. By no means should one seek to use an endangered species simply because doing so risks it never being available in the future. But there are ways around laws besides breaking them. Find the path that suits your practice, that reflects your inner needs and desires. Don't let fear enable those who would seek to destroy the craft. Always remember to ask permission of the spirit of the animal or plant before you take possession of it. The laws of mankind are often well served, but when they are not they should not interfere with the needs of one's path.

[ourownredrose]

Remains of a stray cat that we found dead on the property.