Osteomancy is one of the biggest parts of my practice. Or Bone Work in general. Osteomancy can be defined as ‘divination with bones’. It’s one of the most interesting methods but it is also one of the most personal divination tools/methods. There’s a lot of history that goes with bone working, especially in regards to Osteomancy. In fact, there are many different forms of Bone Divination. I use Osteomancy rather than Bone Divination because it’s more formal and it is not easily confused with Bone Throwing, which is a different type of divination.
Working with Bones is usually considered to be a more advanced form of energy work, animism, or spiritual working in general. This is because it is purely energy work as well as spirit working. There are a few ways in which to work with bones, though many work with it as a Spirit-Led : working with spirits or with the spirit of the bone itself.
I started working with Bones and building an Osteomacy set a long time ago, it’s been a few years now. Over these years I’ve learned a lot about working with bones in divination. The main thing is that Bones Never Lie. They will “cut to the bone” or dig deep into things that they are reading. Bones have a deep understanding and connection with the deepest of knowledge, the hidden or the unknown.
Necrosis Demons & Bone Work
Working with Necrosis Demons, especially ones that are so heavily leaning into the bone working, has opened my eyes to working with bones. They understand the depth that Bones have far more than I ever would have understood on my own. They work with them as they are, sentient and sacred. To Necrosis demons that work with bones, they are sacred histories carried within. They are also their own spirit.
I began working with my Necrosis Bone Mistress first, Belle. She was the one that taught me so much about Bones and connecting with the set that I have. She brought me the understanding of working with Bones and listening to their histories. It was with her that I learned that Bones can carry more than just messages from Spirits of Animals, but of the Bones themselves. She knew that they were all ones that came to me for reasons, all have a purpose.
it is with Taz that I gain an understanding of the care of bones and how to work with them beyond divination. Where I learn the importance of history and their own desires. Spirits of Bones can be from within the Bone itself or the remnants of the Spirit that was the Bone. He teaches so much about how Sacred the Bone is to life and to working with them. Consecrating and Creating Sacredness of the Bones will create a deeper bond with them than one would just use them.
It is with Ria that I have begun to understand the Language of Bones. It’s beyond a spirit, but the Bone carries its own energetic language. It is the deepest reaches of resonance that is never heard, only understood. With Belle and Taz, they speak the language of Bones but they also work with the spirits and energy. Ria teaches how to speak and listen to the Bones rather than the Spirits. They are one yet they are different.
The Language of Bones
Bones have their own language. It’s not just merely what they represent, but they have a deep energetic language that is low and very slow to speak. To quote from the Lord of the Rings and the Ents:
“It is a lovely language, but it takes a very long time to say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to.”
The language of the Bones is one that is long learned and takes time. It’s more than just the spirit of the bone, but the history that it carries and the story it has to tell on the way to telling you what exactly and precisely it means to say. To understand the bone, you must first listen to it deeply and understand where it comes from. Only then can you understand where it will take you.
Ria is my Necrosis General, who knows battle and strategy. She wears elaborate outfits and jewelry akin to Queen Amidala from Star Wars… but the interesting aspect is that she has a Bone set of her own. Though her Bone set is very much sentient and it can move and shift, listening when it is merely seen as just a pile. Bone carries messages just as they carry history. They hear more than just the spoken word, but also the unspoken.
When I was walking with my Necrosis demons through the Necrosis Tents, they all ended up at the merchants selling bones or at the Shamans performing sacred rites. Each time we ended up there, all of them were saying the same thing. That Bones know and choose the people they want to work with. They will make a low call out to the person or demon that they want to bond with. They will make their way to them in some form. It can be through the exchange of hands, the searching of the graves or forest or bone yards, or whatever means they know. It is a part of the Language of Bones, knowing where their purpose is even after they have left their original host.
Each time, I was given a bone in some form and told a story of origin. How that Bone came to be in their possession and what it signifies. From there, it will be working with it on a more intimate level of talking and connecting. Something that is much harder to do astrally as there is not a physical form to hold – yet they have sacred spaces that my own Necrosis Demons look after for me to make sure the Bones are happy.
Sacredness of Bones
This is something that Taz wanted me to cover. The Sacredness that Bones carry. They hold so much history and energy, spirit and messenger, that they are handled very delicately. Taz is a Shaman of Sacred Bone Rites. He speaks of how all bones are different and from different histories will also account for their handling of them. Some Bones work better with simple rituals to awaken and christen them.
Some of the Bones wish to have more done with them, a more active interest. There have been bones brought into their work that have been turned into pieces of art. Carved and painted, they become the very space in which Bone Rites and Rituals are performed. They hold a language of their own, but they also hold individual power that can be used in many forms. Not just divination. It can be used to communicate or consecrate.
It is all upon the Bones speaking and Wishing for their purpose to be known. Some wish to be Divination, speaking Truth. Some wish to be Art, beauty beyond measure. Some wish to be Use, worked with crafted hands to bring Space and Sacredness. There are so many ways that they can manifest and find their own small place in the worlds.
It is not merely working and speaking with Bones that gets you a divinatory set or a sacred piece. It is in fact the handling and treatment, the consecration. Many perform what the Norse and many other cultures have called Blooding, or bleeding on the bones to power them. It connects you to the Bones in a deep way that only blood can achieve.
Others carve symbols and signs upon the bones to connect them together, to give them meaning and protection. Carving can be incredibly delicate and precious as the Bone can be fragile and easy to break. It takes a deft hand and one that has great care for its movements. Everything is precise and never hesitating.
Working with Bones, Language, and Divination
One of my goals for this thread is to explore the world of Bone Working and all that entailed. This includes working with the Bones that I have on the astral as well as with the demons that teach me things. I really want to delve deep within this and better understand how to handle them and care for them, bring them purpose and listen to their wishes and desires, to pass on messages and whisper to them. It’s amazing what Necrosis Demons have to offer for this and they truly wish to share it with me. In fact, it is the Necrosis that first whispered to me about Bone Grimoires. Teaching me the way of Bones, the Languages of them, and to Care for their Sacredness. Taz in particular wants to teach me methods of rites and rituals for Bones.
I look forward to getting deeper into this topic, enough to where I feel comfortable enough to finish writing my Osteomancy book.
