Shamanic Divination: Bone Throwing, Scrying, Omens

BY NICOLE LAU

Shamans are seers—those who see beyond the veil, who read the signs that others miss, who receive messages from spirits and translate them for the community.

Divination is not fortune-telling for entertainment. It's a sacred technology for accessing hidden knowledge, diagnosing spiritual illness, finding lost objects or people, and receiving guidance from the spirit world.

This is your guide to shamanic divination: the ancient arts of bone throwing, scrying, reading omens, and journeying for answers.

Shamanic Divination vs. Other Forms

What Makes It Shamanic?

Shamanic divination is characterized by:

• Direct spirit contact: The shaman journeys or enters trance to receive answers
• Relationship-based: Answers come from allies (power animals, guides, ancestors)
• Embodied: Uses physical objects (bones, stones, smoke) as portals
• Contextual: Considers the whole situation, not just the question
• Diagnostic: Often used to find spiritual causes of illness or misfortune
• Action-oriented: Leads to healing work, not just information

Journey Divination

The Primary Method

The most common shamanic divination is simply journeying to ask:

1. Formulate a clear question
2. Enter trance through drumming
3. Journey to your power animal or guide
4. Ask the question
5. Receive the answer (may be shown, told, or transmitted as knowing)
6. Thank your ally
7. Return and record

Types of Journey Questions

Diagnostic: "What is the spiritual cause of this person's illness?"
Guidance: "What do I need to know about this situation?"
Lost objects/people: "Where is [item/person]?"
Future: "What will happen if I take this path?"
Spiritual: "What is my next step on my path?"
Healing: "What does this person need for healing?"

How Answers Come

• Visions: Your ally shows you scenes, symbols, or images
• Words: Direct communication, telepathic or spoken
• Feelings: Emotional knowing, gut sense
• Experiences: Your ally takes you somewhere or shows you something
• Metaphor: Symbolic answers that need interpretation
• Direct knowing: Information downloads without words or images

Bone Throwing (Osteomancy)

What Is Bone Throwing?

An ancient divination method using bones, stones, shells, or other objects cast onto a surface and read for patterns and meanings.

Used extensively in:

• African traditions (sangomas, diviners)
• Mongolian and Siberian shamanism
• Native American practices
• Celtic and Norse traditions

Creating Your Bone Set

What to include:

• Bones: Small animal bones (chicken, rabbit, etc.) ethically sourced
• Stones: Different colors and types
• Shells: Cowrie shells are traditional
• Seeds or nuts
• Small charms or objects with personal meaning
• Coins or metal pieces
• Crystals

How many: Traditionally 4-40+ pieces. Start with 7-13.

Assigning meanings:

• Each piece represents something (love, money, health, obstacles, allies, etc.)
• Journey to ask each piece what it represents
• Or assign meanings intuitively
• Keep a record of what each piece means

How to Throw Bones

1. Prepare: Smudge yourself and the bones
2. Create sacred space: Use a cloth or mat as your casting surface
3. Hold the bones: Shake them in your hands while focusing on the question
4. Ask your question aloud
5. Cast the bones: Throw them onto the cloth
6. Read the pattern: See below
7. Thank the spirits

Reading the Bones

What to observe:

• Which bones landed face up: These are active/relevant
• Which are face down: Hidden, not relevant, or blocked
• Proximity: Bones close together are connected
• Distance: Far apart = separate issues or distant in time
• Pointing: Which direction bones point
• Clusters: Groups of bones = emphasis
• Outliers: Bones far from others = isolated factors
• Off the cloth: Outside the situation, not relevant, or beyond your control

Zones on the cloth:

• Near you: Present, immediate, personal
• Far from you: Future, distant, others
• Left: Past, feminine, receptive
• Right: Future, masculine, active
• Center: Core issue, heart of the matter

Interpreting the Reading

• Don't just read mechanically—feel into it
• Let your intuition guide interpretation
• Journey to your allies for clarification if needed
• Tell the story the bones are showing you
• Trust your first impressions

Scrying

What Is Scrying?

Gazing into a reflective or translucent surface to receive visions, messages, or insights.

Scrying Tools

Obsidian mirror: Traditional shamanic tool, powerful
Black mirror: Glass painted black on back
Crystal ball: Clear quartz or other crystal sphere
Water: Dark bowl filled with water
Fire: Gazing into flames
Smoke: Reading patterns in smoke
Clouds: Sky gazing

How to Scry

1. Prepare: Dim lighting, quiet space, smudge
2. Enter light trance: Relax, breathe, soften your gaze
3. Gaze into the surface: Don't stare hard—soft, unfocused gaze
4. Ask your question (silently or aloud)
5. Wait and watch: Images, symbols, or scenes may appear
6. Don't force it: Let visions come naturally
7. Record what you see immediately after

What You Might See

• Symbols or shapes forming in the surface
• Faces or figures
• Scenes playing out like a movie
• Colors or lights
• Nothing visual but strong knowing
• Your own reflection transforming

Scrying with Fire

Build a fire, enter trance, gaze into the flames:

• Watch how the fire moves (direction, intensity)
• See images in the flames
• Listen to what the fire tells you
• Notice what the fire consumes and how

Scrying with Smoke

Burn incense or herbs, watch the smoke:

• Direction it moves (toward you = yes, away = no)
• Shapes it forms
• How it disperses
• Thickness or thinness

Reading Omens

What Are Omens?

Signs from the spirit world delivered through nature, animals, or synchronicities.

Types of Omens

Animal omens: Specific animals appearing at significant times
Bird omens: Direction of flight, calls, behavior
Weather omens: Sudden changes, unusual patterns
Found objects: Feathers, stones, bones appearing in your path
Dreams: Prophetic or warning dreams
Synchronicities: Meaningful coincidences
Body omens: Twitches, sensations, ringing in ears

How to Read Omens

1. Pay attention: Notice what's unusual or repeated
2. Ask: "Is this an omen?" You'll feel it if it is
3. Consider context: What were you thinking/doing when it appeared?
4. Know the symbolism: What does this animal/sign traditionally mean?
5. Trust your gut: What does it mean to YOU?
6. Journey for clarification: Ask your allies what the omen means

Common Animal Omens

Raven/Crow: Magic, messages, change, death/rebirth
Hawk: Pay attention, see the bigger picture, messenger
Owl: Wisdom, death omen, see what's hidden
Snake: Transformation, healing, kundalini, shedding old skin
Deer: Gentleness, new beginnings, be alert
Wolf: Teacher, pathfinder, trust your instincts
Bear: Go inward, hibernate, or fierce protection needed
Butterfly: Transformation, soul, rebirth

Bird Flight Divination

Ancient practice of reading bird flight:

• Flying toward you: Approaching opportunity or challenge
• Flying away: Departing, letting go, or avoiding
• Flying left to right: Favorable, yes
• Flying right to left: Unfavorable, no, or reconsider
• Circling: Situation is cycling, patience needed
• Diving: Act quickly, descend into the matter
• Soaring high: Rise above, take higher perspective

Other Shamanic Divination Methods

Pendulum

Use a crystal or object on a string:

• Hold still, ask yes/no questions
• Establish which direction = yes, which = no
• Let your unconscious/spirits move the pendulum

Automatic Writing

Enter trance, let spirits write through you:

• Hold pen to paper
• Ask question
• Let your hand write without conscious control
• Read what came through

Dream Incubation

Ask for a dream to answer your question:

• Before sleep, clearly state your question
• Ask your allies to answer in dreams
• Sleep with divination tool under pillow (crystal, bone, etc.)
• Record dreams immediately upon waking

Body Divination

Your body as oracle:

• Muscle testing: Body says yes (strong) or no (weak)
• Gut feelings: Expansion = yes, contraction = no
• Goosebumps or chills: Truth, confirmation, spirit presence
• Sudden pain or sensation: Warning or message

Ethics of Divination

• Don't divine for others without permission
• Don't use divination to manipulate or control
• Respect free will: Divination shows possibilities, not fixed fate
• Don't divine obsessively: Trust the first answer
• Use for healing and guidance, not ego
• Keep sacred things sacred: Don't trivialize divination

Developing Your Divination Skills

• Practice regularly: Daily or weekly divination builds skill
• Keep a divination journal: Record questions, answers, outcomes
• Test your accuracy: See if predictions come true
• Learn multiple methods: Different tools for different questions
• Deepen relationship with allies: They're your source
• Trust your intuition: It gets stronger with use

Final Thoughts

Divination is not about predicting a fixed future. It's about accessing hidden knowledge, receiving guidance from spirits, and seeing beyond the veil of ordinary perception.

The bones, the mirror, the smoke—these are just portals. The real divination happens in the relationship between you and your spirit allies, in your ability to listen, to see, to know.

The spirits are always speaking. Divination is the art of learning their language.

Ready to develop your divination practice? Explore our collection of divination tools, bone sets, scrying mirrors, and resources for shamanic prophecy and guidance.