When reading a thread on Glasya Labolas, skulls came up a lot. I know bones are also used in divination and spells.
I live next to a desert where I like to spend a lot of time walking. I see bones all the time. If you were going to buy something like that from an online source, what would be important to you? From my initial online research, the biggest thing was to get permission from the original owner to move his or her bones. Anything else?
I won’t be randomly digging; they’re laying around, on public land.
Besides pictures of the bones themselves, would you need to see photographic evidence of something else? Maybe their undisturbed position, before I move them?
What packing would you expect to see when you received them? Some soil from the site, too?
I am not advertising for anything. At this time I work retail and have no side business. I’m inquiring about the proper handling of objects that we use in our craft.
(To avoid any accusations of bad intent, I mean no disrespect to any forum rules. I have read them, just now, and see no violation, but I’m human. So if this is in violation, kindly correct my words, or just delete the post. I’ll see if there’s a way to ask what I want within the scope of the rules, but if not, I’ll happily let it go. I love this place and my appreciation is sincere.)
@KralHor You would have to look up the laws regarding animal bone collection in your country, city, ect. As it may vary but usually as long as it’s legal and a non endangered species you should be ok to collect it if its found on public land. As for endangered species you will need a licence to carry some others you cannot at carry all.
I thought that the only significant challenge would be the proper handling of the tools of the magus, and legal challenges did not really even occur to me. Why would there be rules and laws about the bones of an animal that has been dead and gone for years, or maybe even decades? Bones are as important to ecology as a rock. … Silly me. Since when is government rational or reasonable?
Thank you for pointing out the legal issues. They turned out to be numerous and prohibitive. I will keep the idea on the back burner, but for now I don’t see a way forward.
I’m still dumbstruck and in shock. And super annoyed. Thanks for the heads-up. I might have gotten myself in a bit of expensive trouble.
@KralHor You can always use animals that you’re gonna eat aka chicken bones & feet, beef ribs ect. Just have to clean and prepare them. Then once that’s done you can paint and annoint them. If its for divination. Skulls you might find at alternative markets where they sell taxidermy and stuff.
Because that’s not what happens - people will poach the rare ones and sell the parts for money, and for endangered species that causes bigger issues. There’s no resource that checks you got a roadkill, it’s just outright illegal. So it’s supposed to protect them from poacher - similarly you can’t sell thier bones, skin, shells or other parts online either.
As usual, low integrity people is why we can’t have nice things.
You can buy animal bones online, ebay… Etsy etc. I got a raccoon skull for a specific vessel on Etsy. Raccoons are not endangered and thier bones are legal. My vessel: Artists! Painting skull! - #7 by Mulberry
I was under the assumption that the entity residing in the skull (or other item) would replace the entity that had owned the bone when it was alive. Do I misunderstand? How did you blend them? Were you able to modify the egregore?
Beautiful artwork, by the way. When it comes to subconscious triggers for our magick, I don’t think anything could be more impactful than a skull. The silvery shine brings the technological aspect into its persona.
In my searching I didn’t even get to the endangered species. I was just looking at rules around the species that are common here. Some of the rules are relevant to containing a “chronic wasting disease,” but the rest seem arbitrary. I began to encounter inconsistent information, so I’m just going to go to the government office and ask them on Monday.
Coyotes are completely unregulated here (sadly), so I could possibly get canine skulls, which would be great for Hekate, or apparently for bringing the spirit of the dog into other magick – loyal, playful, protective, loving. However, I could find zero canine skulls on ebay, so they might be against ebay rules.
I don’t know if I could have the heart for coyote skulls, though, because anything I found would probably have died for sport, and left to rot. That just wrecks me.
Oh, true, how did I not think of the bones from my food?? lol
Also, when the weather becomes more cooperative, I’ll have the Deification Ritual giving me some bones. Getting chicken and rabbit skulls should be straightforward.
My hope, really, is to find a variety of more interesting, ethically sourced bones that can benefit both the overall community and my finances. What is “back yard” for me is exotic for almost everyone else.
Where I live, there are more pronghorn antelope than there are people. We also have mule deer, elk, coyotes, prairie dogs, and on and on. Their skeletons are scattered throughout the 9,000 square miles (24,000 sq km) of high-altitude desert that surround me. I would be changing absolutely nothing if I picked up their bones and brought them home. My activities, over such a vast area, will not even be noticeable.
What would be painful is being fined a thousand dollars for harmless behavior that would have otherwise helped me fill my gas tank for the week. That’s the hard part that I need to get figured out.
Sometimes random bones is all that’s needed, but sometimes it needs to be special, specific, or carry certain attributes. I’d like to be in a mutually beneficial situation with everyone, supplying that need, hurting no animal, preserving nature, and paying some bills.
Yes the ghost of the raccoon is long gone. I find animals don’t hang around like humans do - they don’t get attached the same way. What you have left is an association with the overall spirit of raccoons as a species, which I call the Deva of Raccoons.
Thanks I’m glad you like her. She’s still sitting on my desk today, helping me with my work.
