“How?” I asked. “I don't hear anything.”

She said, “I could tell you how it's done, but only once—and if you don't remember, then the bones won't talk with you.”

She picked up a bone and prayed over it. She named it Birth. She picked up another bone and did the same thing. Its name was Love and Hate. The hate part was the smaller end of the bone, with darker cartilage.

“Do this with all of them,” she said, “naming every part of life for them. Then you go wash them in the creek and set them somewhere dark for three days. After that, they'll tell you the secrets they know once they're thrown. The talking ones shake when they speak.”

That was it. That was all she showed me. After that, I was on my own.

Beyond a physical teacher, once their job is done, the bones take over and teach you the rest at your own pace, where you're able to truly listen to them, until you get to the point where spiritual “listening” is second nature. You know exactly what they're saying and why, which bones are “shaking,” and for what.

When I first began reading the bones, a few years after Gracie passed away, I remembered what she said upon receiving a gift of possum bones from a friend. I expected the bones to actually shake. I won't say what they did, but if they'll talk to you, you'll soon understand the meaning behind those words. They do talk, though, and they've never lied to me.

Bone throwing in America largely originated in Africa, and it seems the practice is more common the farther south you go, considering this was outside the main “Baptist” territory where anything African Americans did was deemed Devil worship, accounting for the large lack of African elements in the Appalachian folk magic system aside from foot track magic and some other things.

The composition of your bone set is personal. I know some readers who have upward of sixty bones in their set, while others only retain a specific number or even just as many as they can hold in their cupped hands. I try to keep with the latter, because Gracie only had six bones. My set now has about thirty bones, the largest being 4 inches long, and I can hold all of them in my cupped hands. The common (and some would say traditional) bones used are raccoon, possum, and chicken. However, some people include other things such as dried alligator feet, coyote teeth, and even chicken feet. Starr Casas gives a wonderful explanation of different bones and their possible meanings in her book Divination Conjure Style. In my set, I have a small alligator foot I got on a visit to Cherokee, North Carolina, a snake rib, and a coyote tooth with one end blackened with a marker, which denotes arguments and hostility.

In setting the meanings, some folks like Starr go by the behavior of the animal or the characteristics of the particular part. For example, a leg bone could symbolize movement; a wing bone could signify change or a swiftness in events. I sometimes use this method in naming the bones, but usually I will sit with a particular bone and simply name it, telling my ancestors and spirits as well, or I will let them tell me. They've sometimes told me what a particular bone should be in dreams.

Traditionally, your bones should be found, either in full skeletal form and broken down and processed, in the case of a chicken or possum used as food, or simply accumulated over time. However, in today's age, when the number of hunters is at its lowest ever, it is possible to purchase them. In doing so, I strongly recommend buying from folks with a good reputation in the taxidermy community who sell bones acquired through an animal's natural death or from one raised for food by a small farm. Roadkill bones, in my experience, take a very long time to speak because of the animal's traumatic death. Avoid these as best you can, but if that is all that is available to you, place those (cleaned) bones in a box of cedar, tobacco, and cornmeal. Pray Psalm 23 over it three times a day for seven days (see page 66), offering prayers of peace to the animal's spirit. If you still find reading with these bones difficult, it would be best to bury them and acquire others. Not every animal spirit gives up its bones easy, and that's okay.

You can store your set in a box or bag. I use an old burlap bag for mine, but prior to that I used a Crown Royal bag. Take the set to a creek or river and wash it in a low tide area. (You don't want to lose any of the bones in the tide.) Because of my close connection with my bones, I wash them one by one and repeat this process every spring or whenever I feel they are tired and “feeding” them won't help. After washing the bones, I revive them by prayer, specifically by praying Ezekiel 37:1–9 over them and breathing into them four times:

1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

I then pray one of these verses over them three times:

For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad (Luke 8:17).

Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops (Luke 12:3).

These verses serve to open the cradles, hearts, and graves of man to reveal all things in the light and in the dark. The bones are no simple tool; they give secrets freely and have no respect for persons. In my years of reading them, the bones know no difference between a rich man and a poor one. Our hearts are all the same, and the bones are our shared end result.

Your bones should be fed monthly during the full moon and after every reading. It is best to cleanse them first of the other person's energies with a strong liquor (never let anyone else touch them, of course). I will sprinkle a few drops of moonshine on the bones. After this, I feed them by sprinkling whiskey over them and giving them blows of tobacco smoke.

Keep your bones in their bag or box when you're not using them.

Most folks dedicate their bones to their ancestors and keep them on their ancestor altar as well to further empower and protect them.

I've found that when you're just starting out, it's best to use only a couple bones to see if they speak to you or to see if you're able to tell what they're trying to say. If you have trouble distinguishing the bones from each other, you can tie colored strings around them or mark them with lines, dots, or crosses using a marker. Generally, you also want to have bones between 2 and 6 inches long. Anything bigger and heavier is likely to weaken and eventually break smaller bones in your set. To avoid this, never toss the bones on very hard surfaces, such as tile or concrete. You can use carpeted floors, wood floors, or the ground outside. Bone reading, as I was taught and shown, is done on the floor. However, I know some folks (not in the Appalachian tradition) who use tabletops for casting, which I have done before as well, on an end table, when my back wasn't feeling up to sitting on the floor.

To keep the bones from bouncing and knocking around a lot, I also recommend tossing them on a throwing cloth. Gracie didn't use one, but I do. In the end it's up to you if you have the Gift and can speak with them. I use a white bandanna. Other folks use animal skins, but in my experience it is very hard to find one that lays completely flat, which could affect the throw.

When you begin, sit and clear your mind. Here you can invite your spirits in or simply focus on your question or the matter at hand. At this point I pray the Prayer of Daniel (Daniel 2:20–23):

20 Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter. (I replace “the king's matter” with “all matters.”)

As you get further into concentration, gently shake the bag about a foot off the floor, then empty it quickly when you feel they have their message ready. Once the bones have fallen, begin studying them. Bones running parallel either show movement or a path. Bones that cross affect the others' meaning, depending on which is on the top or bottom.

Generally, you always want a starting point, so you need a bone that represents you (or whoever you're reading for). From this you can see the influence the other bones have toward you. You may also simply lay something of yours down and cast on that, such as an earring, a ring, or a key, to represent yourself in the reading. If you are reading for someone, you can even use a small slip of paper with the person's name and birthday written on it in a pinch.

In the figure shown above, we see an example of a bone throw. We have a bone representing you (1), one representing opposing forces (2), conflict or peace (3), and so on. With the claw, conflict here would be indicated by where the end of the claw points. If it points away, there's no conflict; however, here it does show issue since it points toward the first bone. The first bone covers the enemy bone, where the conflict shown by bone 3 resides, meaning you or the person you're reading for will overcome the issue, but in doing so they may undermine their own wishes or goals (bone 4). Bones 5 and 6 show this has put some stress on the person. It doesn't look like this has been going on for long, because these bones are fairly close to bone 1. The seventh bone shows constriction, restraint, or whatever is holding one back. This bone is far from the enemy but close to the worry and stress, showing that the enemy isn't the one holding the person back—it's the worry and fear of that opposing person or force—and because of this, they are hurting themselves and undermining their strength. In such a situation, I would assure the person that they will overcome the obstacles, and possibly without sacrificing one bit of their wishes or plans. What they need to handle is their self-esteem, their own self-worth, and they need to acknowledge their strength. Without doing so, they would become their own obstacle.

Let's say bone 2 was a love bone. That's all we are changing, but it would change the entire meaning of the throw. This is why it can take years to truly learn the bones. They'll switch up on you without question on the spot. (You'll learn what I mean by that if you're meant to talk with them.) So in this new case, the bones tell us that the person has crossed their lover somehow, thus causing fights and arguments. I would say they crossed them or created the issue because it is their bone that crosses the love bone. Here, the wishbone or bone 4 would take on a slightly different position: the basis for the fight seems to be a disagreement in emotions. The person isn't sure what they want for the future, and these emotions are conflicting with the lover's thoughts and plans for them both. The other bones still have their same meanings of stress, worry, and constriction. Trouble in love often seeps into every aspect of life. It is in our nature to desire a companion, and when there are issues with this, it negatively affects the non-natural aspects of our lives, such as work. This in turn affects income, which affects other areas of one's life, and on and on. These bones then, by bone 7, would identify this issue as the cause of other problems arising in the person's life, an issue they haven't dealt with.

Once you set the meanings for the bones, they are still subject to change on a case-by-case basis, but they may change permanently by themselves. The spirit of them will simply feel different. Bones act somewhat like the cards—their meanings are relative to the ones around them—so each “name” is general, just like Gracie told me. “Birth” could mean something new, expected, coming soon, or an actual child. “Love and Hate” could encompass emotional ranges, how you feel about something, close or distant, love or pure disdain. My set also contains bones representing money, friends or strangers, a man, a woman, and the spirits.

Although they aren't much, the bones can possess such a spirit and power that you become bonded with them over time. In periods of not using them, you will feel them call to you in dreams or they may even make your own bones ache and pain until you feed them and let them breathe. Because they become an extension of you, always cleanse them after every reading and never let anyone else touch them. Absolutely no one.

The first year or so of reading and interpreting their messages will be hard, but the wisdom the bones hold is endless. But much like the witching sticks, you have to have an innate knack for it. They have to be willing to speak with you. So if nothing comes of it, do not force it. A couple of folks I have been willing to teach have continued to try and try to no avail and it negatively affected their health, with daily migraines, nightmares, insomnia, and constant nausea, at which point I advised them to bury the bones in the woods and their troubles stopped. The bones are powerful. As little as six simple chicken bones can embody all aspects and tales of life.

So there you have it, your eyes and ears in this work. These methods will guide you in maneuvering the spiritual and the physical to avoid danger, find solutions to problems, and prepare yourself for coming events. Remember, nothing in the future is set in stone. So take up the deck, the stalks, or the bones, and prepare to work.

In the following chapter, you will meet the many alleys and hidden spaces of conjure in Appalachia. Everything isn't what it seems, and nothing is fully safe or foolproof. This work can affect you physically in many negative ways, likely stemming from any preexisting problems. To prevent worsening these and hurting yourself, we will first look at forms of cleansing and protection. From there we will delve into the recipes for daily life. There are numerous ingredients used for many things, so an organized list can be found in appendix B, sectioned by need or desire.

5

PRAYING AT THE RIVER

In Appalachian culture, everyone is born with a sense of responsibility for one another, especially those who are kin. We care for each other in almost every aspect of life. There have been countless occasions when my elders went hungry to make sure I ate and where I offset bills to make sure they had groceries. Not favors or loans or borrows. It is simply how we do things. We take care of each other out here. No matter what. And that's quite literal. No matter what!

But how should you care for your fellows if you're not well, if you're sick, physically or spiritually? There are many ways that we release these burdens from ourselves. Some call it the weight of sin, others call it bad blood—but to the majority these are all the same thing and it can be a simultaneously physical and spiritual complaint. Many folks here believe that demons and spirits and magic and sin can make you spiritually and physically sick. Eden wasn't just the origin of evil and sin in the world, but also that of death and disease—they go hand in hand. “For the wages of sin is death,” according to the Scriptures, meaning if you live and act poorly, then you will come to a poor end result (either illness or death). As it was explained to me growing up, the godly or spiritual life aids in a healthy life spiritually and physically. Of course, good people do get sick, but likely for mundane reasons. Other folks, those who sin, come to a life filled with obstacles and illness on many levels.

In conjure this isn't taken by the popular interpretation that sin leads you away from God—that is between each individual and their Maker and is not my business. With this work, it takes on a different meaning: when folks aren't protected properly, they are more vulnerable to a number of things, including spiritual attachments and witchcraft. But of course no one is perfect, which is where the role of the conjurers and witchdoctors come into play. They doctor the spirit. They “doctor the Devil” out of you. Sin is sickness, and sickness is sin to the mountaineers; whatever's out of balance isn't in balance with the Almighty and needs to be adjusted. You may try to cast away as many obstacles and troubles from your life as you can, but if there isn't change in your own habits or behaviors, you'll come to the same rugged paths. That is sin to a conjurer: wishing for a better life but not putting in effective steps to better it. This is where conjure and folk magic help the mountaineer. They are a ladder, a stepping stool out of the metaphorical pit that exists in these hills populated with haints and paranoia, addiction, and struggle. Of course it isn't all foolproof. We are all still subject to a greater will. But we can at least try to better it all.