OK, I am so happy with the Vodou book... I want to start practicing the bone kasting method of oracling ....

Now, I was wondering what people use for the bones... chicken? Fake plastic? etc? I perfer to use real bones - or ver realistic ones... but do they spoil..do you have to preserve them/bleach them etc?

As for Baba's recommendadtion to paint one side black, I like his original description of burning/scorching them on one side - I suppose taking a match and holding under the bone would turn it black - but that rubs off over time- I'm assuming the scorching looks different... anyone care to share some recipes?

Also Baba - I just did vodou doll #4 - what a way to go through T-Shirts but what a magnificent effect... that one really is dark... and so *** simple to do that one can spend 99% of one's energy on presentation....

As an aside: depending on the costs - besides selling the book (and hopefully in hard cover some day)- you should consider making props for the effects - I'd buy your dolls, bones, veve stones etc.... I like making my own props most of the time - but I got a feeling yours would be wayyyy more authentic!

(UPS shipping "Bones. Gift. <$10" What customs fun!)

Doc.

Chicken bones. Boil then, then bleach them. Let them dry (you can bake them if you wish), then varnish them.

Tony

Look for a taxidermy supply company. They will have kits for preserving skulls and bones. One solution to get rid of all of the stuff that would decompose, another to bleach and seal the bones. I'll see if I can find a catalogue tonight. If I remember, the kits for that weren't more than $15 or $20.
Then you could just use roadkill or take a long walk in the woods and find a picked clean carcass.
If you are squeamish about having a rotting animal carcass in your possession, bury the body in the top of a large anthill. Come back in a week or two. Nuthin but bones (And ants...Lots of ants!!). I assume this would work with chicken bones as well. I did that when I was young to obtain a cat skull for a school project (Don't ask!). Once the ants did their work, I bleached it and then painted it with a clear seal. Never had any problem with it deteriorating and had it for many years.
As for the blackening...If you burn one side like you mentioned, and then clearcoated it, it should be pretty durable and it won't rub off. If you used a shellac, the thickness and gloss of the coating might even give it more of an aged feel.
I also have sculpted a few bones that came out well. I can't think of many things on the market that are as outright realistic as what I would want. You would have to do a lot of work to get an off the shelf item up to par so that it could be handled.
Gwyd

I use various bone casters.
One is made with rabbit bones (10 bones or 5 pairs) - rabbit, the trickster is some times messenger to the gods.
Another set is made with 4 cave bears bones (Thola, Cohado, Scitay, Imbay) several millenium old. Cave bear represents the magician's ancestors...

You can also get bones on eBay.

Bleaching actually weakens the bones somewhat, as it eats away the surface layers of the bone, and leaves it porous. If they're cleaned off, you don't really need to do much with them. If they look gnarly, that adds character to them. Putting a finish on them is a good idea.

Use a buffing wheel, and a layered laquer finish. The buffer will really work the finish into the bone, and give a nice polish. The wheel is good. The friction from the pads, heats the laquer coat, and makes it harder.

I find a lot of bones, walking along lakeshores.

Alligator teeth could be very interesting. Knuckle bones are a traditional thing, and, I think, the predecessor of dice? Vertebrae would be a thing of beauty.

http://www.boneroom.com/skulls/chinese.htm

THEY HAVE HUMAN FINGER AND CARPAL BONES WHICH ARE BOTH THE PERFECT SIZE--CALL 'EM FIRST--GREAT PEOPLE, GREAT SERVICE....

AND YES!! I AM WORKING UP THE NERVE TO ASK MYSTICIAN TO HELP ME SET UP A LIL' SHOP ON MY SITE--I ALREADY SELL LEGBA IMAGES, SKULLS (SMALL FOR EQUIVOQUE AND MY 'RITE OF CONCEIERGE'), BONE FETISHES, OLD STEAMBOAT PLAYING CARDS(WELL NEW, BUT HARD TO FIND), AND VOODOO BEADS......AND THE OBI ABATA SHELLS...SO LET ME KNOW.,..

BABA

Thanks fellows, you are truly a fountain of knowledge...!!!

Also, that is cool Baba! Once I figure out what I want, I'll PM you...

I am going to have me some fun!

(By the way Baba - that bone site is excellent - ready made prepared bones - from chicken to wolf!!!!)

The bone room is a great place ( I live 2 blocks away from the place )

They always have an interesting window display.

(Right now, among other things, two giraffe skulls attached to long necks... massive vertabrae!)

They have a ton of stuff, you guys would go nuts in there.

COOL! so if we rob the place, can we use YOUR HOUSE for the stash spot??THANX!!

Yeah, santa claus bags full of bones thrown over shoulders, rattling as you skip from their roof to mine.

Just do it on the new moon, not the full.

(Hey we're joking ossifer! Take the cuffs off!)

I am gonna go there tomorrow and get some human knuckle bones ( the small human bones are inexpensive)
Use them for.... something-or-other.

WHATEVER--rub it in why don'tcha...





:)

Just a note of appreciation that this will be a memorable Hallow's Eve for many because of you, Baba. Thank you.

L

That site is awesome! And I just happen to be working near there this month. A pilgrimage is in order.

A human patella could be just the right kind of thing to become a bowl, or a dish for scrying.

Bleaching actually weakens the bones somewhat, as it eats away the surface layers of the bone, and leaves it porous. If they're cleaned off, you don't really need to do much with them. If they look gnarly, that adds character to them. Putting a finish on them is a good idea.

Use a buffing wheel, and a layered laquer finish. The buffer will really work the finish into the bone, and give a nice polish. The wheel is good. The friction from the pads, heats the laquer coat, and makes it harder.

I find a lot of bones, walking along lakeshores.

Alligator teeth could be very interesting. Knuckle bones are a traditional thing, and, I think, the predecessor of dice? Vertebrae would be a thing of beauty.

It's possible to obtain bones from a well-known auction site, which Im informed that I must not name.

I'm going to look in my closet for these...I recently noticed in there a skeleton wearing a blonde wig...I think she might be last years hide and seek winner.

OSSifer! Ha That's a good one!!
I find that making certain I have removed the cartilege from the ends of the chicken bones, lets me boil out the marrow bits. A few weeks in the ant-hill <the only use for ants as far as I am concerned-can we say P h O b I a!-> followed by a few days in the sun to whiten them up, and viola!
All my pets, carefully buried in the yard, have become part of my bone set in one way or another. Both to aid in performance, and as a rememberance of my little friends.
Hey! It beats toting a cedar box of ashes now!
Mmmm Boneroom, yess, a favorite spot to stop when in the Bay Area, and not that far a drive from Stockton! Just down the street form Double Rainbow Ice Cream!- always have a backup plan!
k

Aaaargh. Leave my bones alone!

Common bones used vary. Isangomas use Chicken, Rabbit, Rat, snake and pig bones.
I would not suggest bleaching them as it gives tooo much of a white effect. They look better after being boiled and being left out in the sun for a few days.

Regards
Wolflock

I think that every town should have it very own neighborhood "Bone Room" but that's just me. . .

If any of you are still looking for instructions on the care and feeding, I mean cleaning, of bones--be sure to check out the advice of the professional bone collectors on the site that Baba recommended.

http://www.boneroom.com/faqs/maceration.pdf

They even provide you with helpful tips to start your very own beetle colony--for those of you who presumably have a lot of bones to clean and very little time to get it done. You know who you are.

[Quote from site:]

Dermestids- our favorite beetle.
If you're going to continue cleaning bones, or are working with very delicate specimens, you may want to start a dermestid colony. Dermestids or museum beetles are a group of small meat-eating beetles whose larvae do a marvelous job of stripping tissue from even the most delicate of bones. This is the method used by professional preperators. Dermestid beetles can be obtained from biological supply houses, local natural history museums or university zoology departments. Once a colony is set up in a warm place, they require minimal maintenance and are capable of stripping entire skulls in a day or two.

Enjoy!

In areas where hunting is common, there are often people who raise Dermestid Beetles for the purpose of cleaning trophy skulls for the hunters. I have seen their ads but have never really checked into how much they charge. It might be worth contacting one of them and seeing what they would charge to you to do some road kill.

Just an idea...

Dave

Talk about bizarre!