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Throwing the Bones: Divination for the Modern Practitioner
This book is designed to combine the traditional practice of throwing the bones and how it adapts to this ever- changing world. It teaches the art of throwing bones (also known as casting the bones) divination as well as furnishes a tool for a fast, easy reference. You will learn the account of bone casting, the importance of and how to create an ancestral alter, preparation of fresh bones, and much more! Using the tools and guidance of this book, you will be able to complete a full bone reading with ease. Fifty pages are dedicated to piece meanings! Eleven different types of throws are covered! Let's get rid of the stigma that bone reading is hard to do and intimidating! We are here to change that! It is a collection of information I have gathered through verbal instruction and research combined with my own experiences and techniques. My goal for this book is to provide a guide that adapts to this ever-changing world and that quickly teaches the art of throwing bones.
126 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 23, 2020
11 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Atalanta Moonfire
2 booksI am an eclectic witch, specializing in divination, practicing over 30 years. Always looking to expand my knowledge I am a Reiki Master, Ordained Minister, Spirit Walker, Hoodoo Practitioner, High Priestess of Sacred Moon, & 1st. Degree Priestess Hekatean Witchcraft. I recently graduated from Harvard ED for Oracles and Prophecies. Born in Manassas, Virginia, I grew up moving frequently, which gave me the ability to be flexible and adaptable to change as well as diverse life experiences. At 51 years young, I have been pagan since the age of 14, practicing since I was 18 years old, finding my true path in my 30’s. My goal in life is to expand my spiritual education and help others who share my desire of understanding this magnificent universe in which we live!
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 8, 2021
I quite liked this book and learned a lot from reading it. I had only a very small bit of knowledge about divination with bones and now feel confident enough to start making a set. Definitely recommend.
August 5, 2024
Book Review ~
I met Atalanta Moonfire at an Oddities & Curiosities Expo. As a professional tarot reader and recent bone collector, I somehow hadn't considered bone casting before. But after flipping through her book and talking to the people there, I decided to go all in and got her specialty kit that included a signed book and 54+ pieces for bone casting (she has smaller Kits available on her site, as well as video classes).
The book is short but thorough. I read it all on the car ride home from the Expo and was able to perform my first reading right away. The book covers a brief history of bone casting in various cultures; traditional and personal meanings behind around 100 bones, shells, and curious; several different casting methods; how to personalize your kit; how to clean bones; and more.
Most importantly, she emphasizes the personal nature of bone casting and encourages all practitioners to develop their own kits and reading style. The same object can mean different things to different people depending on your culture, experiences, intuition, etc., but the book covers a lot of info to jumpstart the journey. Likewise, some people may want to create an Ancestral Altar as she does, while others will want to instead incorporate their personal deities, spirit guides, etc. in their own way.
Personal Thoughts ~
Divination with bones has been used by various cultures for thousands of years. It works like any other form of divination, where meanings are assigned to each piece. With bones specifically, the nature of the animal from which it came determines what it means, such as the hard work of the beaver, the danger and firm grasp of the alligator, and the abundance bestowed by a hunted buffalo.
Despite how widespread bone casting used to be, it's pretty obscure now because it was passed down verbally, so there are hardly any books, sites, or suppliers for it. There are traditional meanings for each bone verbally passed between practitioners, but just like reading cards or anything else that uses our intuition, I think assigning your own meanings to personal pieces is what makes this particular practice work.
In fact, I think learning bone casting requires the opposite approach of tarot. Tarot has several specific structures and traditional meanings, but you can add meanings based on personal experiences as you go. With bone casting, adding pieces that mean something particular to you will increase how effective your kit is during Divination. You could have an entire kit with no bones at all and simply have objects that mean specific things to you.
Ultimately, it's like deck-building your own custom tarot, but with objects (which can include cards). There are suggestions in the book for which topics to have pieces for in your kit, such as family and finances. Some people have as little as 15 objects in their kit, while others have over 100, so it's totally up to you.
And similar to deciding what tarot reversals mean to you, you have to decide how to tell which pieces are "speaking" and "silent" during a reading. Since most of my objects are 3D and not two-sided, I decided that anything face-up or right-side-up/right-facing is "speaking," while anything face-down or left-side-up/left-facing is "silent." The silent pieces don't get read, and you can remove them from the table altogether after casting to make reading easier.
I met Atalanta Moonfire at an Oddities & Curiosities Expo. As a professional tarot reader and recent bone collector, I somehow hadn't considered bone casting before. But after flipping through her book and talking to the people there, I decided to go all in and got her specialty kit that included a signed book and 54+ pieces for bone casting (she has smaller Kits available on her site, as well as video classes).
The book is short but thorough. I read it all on the car ride home from the Expo and was able to perform my first reading right away. The book covers a brief history of bone casting in various cultures; traditional and personal meanings behind around 100 bones, shells, and curious; several different casting methods; how to personalize your kit; how to clean bones; and more.
Most importantly, she emphasizes the personal nature of bone casting and encourages all practitioners to develop their own kits and reading style. The same object can mean different things to different people depending on your culture, experiences, intuition, etc., but the book covers a lot of info to jumpstart the journey. Likewise, some people may want to create an Ancestral Altar as she does, while others will want to instead incorporate their personal deities, spirit guides, etc. in their own way.
Personal Thoughts ~
Divination with bones has been used by various cultures for thousands of years. It works like any other form of divination, where meanings are assigned to each piece. With bones specifically, the nature of the animal from which it came determines what it means, such as the hard work of the beaver, the danger and firm grasp of the alligator, and the abundance bestowed by a hunted buffalo.
Despite how widespread bone casting used to be, it's pretty obscure now because it was passed down verbally, so there are hardly any books, sites, or suppliers for it. There are traditional meanings for each bone verbally passed between practitioners, but just like reading cards or anything else that uses our intuition, I think assigning your own meanings to personal pieces is what makes this particular practice work.
In fact, I think learning bone casting requires the opposite approach of tarot. Tarot has several specific structures and traditional meanings, but you can add meanings based on personal experiences as you go. With bone casting, adding pieces that mean something particular to you will increase how effective your kit is during Divination. You could have an entire kit with no bones at all and simply have objects that mean specific things to you.
Ultimately, it's like deck-building your own custom tarot, but with objects (which can include cards). There are suggestions in the book for which topics to have pieces for in your kit, such as family and finances. Some people have as little as 15 objects in their kit, while others have over 100, so it's totally up to you.
And similar to deciding what tarot reversals mean to you, you have to decide how to tell which pieces are "speaking" and "silent" during a reading. Since most of my objects are 3D and not two-sided, I decided that anything face-up or right-side-up/right-facing is "speaking," while anything face-down or left-side-up/left-facing is "silent." The silent pieces don't get read, and you can remove them from the table altogether after casting to make reading easier.
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