Bone Song Chronicle

Your Weekly Witchcraft Newspaper

Witchcraft in the News Around the World

Trigger Warning: some of these stories speak to several kinds of abuse. I am not responsible for the content. I share for educational purposes.

From astrology to crystals: delve into the witchy side of TikTok

Nigeria News: Court remands four men for witchcraft

UK: Stanley abuser who said he was using witchcraft to rid child of ‘evil spirits’ dies in prison

Moscow: Persecution of folk religion in Altai

Albania: Pagan ritual ‘Gjama’ revived through audiovisual installation in Prishtina

Weekly Horoscopes

Spell of the Week

House Cleansing Ritual

You will need:
2 candles (1 black/1 White)
Incense (whatever says ‘powerful banishing’ to you)
Oil (dragon’s blood oil is my personal choice- yours should be protective in nature)
Chalice filled with Water from a natural source (filtered water will substitute)
Sea salt (kosher salt substitute)
Athame, wand, or something that you can dip into saltwater and draw with
Bell, gong, or chimes

There is no need to cast a circle or call quarters on this one.
Light the black and white candles, which symbolize balanced energy. If you have a matron goddess and/or patron god, you can certainly use an evocation as a way of honoring them and asking for their assistance in the cleansing. You could call upon the spirits of the earth, or simply skip that part altogether.
Light the incense. You may want to have a tray with you when you do this, or, if you’re like me and have enough people in your family to have your own coven, then you just assign the tasks as necessary.
Take three scoops of sea salt with your athame or wand, and place them into the chalice of water, saying, “As salt dissolves in water, so shall the hold of all baneful or detrimental intentions to my person, my family, and property dissolve.”

Suggestion: start so that you go counter-clockwise through the house and end up at the front door. In front of each window, mirror, and door, you want to “cleanse” with incense smoke. Then, ring the bell/gong/chimes. Next, take the saltwater, and place an x on each side. Then, draw a banishing pentagram or other symbol that you see as a banishing sign (it can be the “no” sign used in no smoking signs, if you like) as a seal using the dragon’s blood oil.

When you end up at the front door, open it and say BE GONE! Close the door quickly and seal with salt water X’s and the banishing pentagram. Quickly pour out the saltwater down the drain, and make sure to clean your athame (if you used one) as saltwater is corrosive to metal. You may want to use a little dragon’s blood oil on the blade to help seal protection into it.
Extinguish the black and white candles, and leave the incense to burn down. Feel free to add this to your book of shadows, and edit as you see fit. This is your practice, your way of existing in the world.

Your Weekly Tarot

This Week’s Totem: Raven

Key words: Magic, shape-shifting, secrets, creation

The Raven has some kind of magical lore surrounding it in nearly every culture around the world. Some see the Raven in a positive light; others see Raven as a negative messenger.

In the Near East, Raven was considered unclean because it is a scavenger. In the biblical flood story, ravens are the first birds sent out by Noah to find land. They didn’t return. Another biblical story speaks of a raven who fed the prophet Elijah when he was hiding from King Ahab.

In Norse mythology, raven plays a significant role. The god Odin has two ravens; one is named Hugin (thought) and the other is named Munin (memory). The god himself is thought to be able to shapeshift into a raven as well.

In some indigenous American nations, raven was seen as the Creator, the savior (which is how he became black- the sun fell to earth and he scorched himself righting it again to save the other creatures here), a bad omen, and the trickster (depending on which nation’s mythos you go by).

Ravens in Nature

Ravens are the largest songbirds in North America. Their bodies are covered in rich black plumage, which shines with an iridescent bluish color. Though often mistaken with crows, ravens are much larger and their croak is more raucous. Ravens are intelligent masters of mimicking the calls of other animals and have also been known to mimic some human words. They are good at finding food and communicating with other ravens where food is located.
They, along with other scavengers, make a very efficient clean-up crew in nature. Ravens also recycle by using the same nests year after year, bringing in new materials for repairs if necessary. They build their nests in large trees or the sides of cliffs, where they usually lay 4-5 eggs. They don’t wander far from where they were born and will only get a new mate if one of the pair dies. They are known (like their cousins, the crows) to be intelligent problem-solvers with a phenomenal memory. They are also good at human facial recognition, and will teach their young who can be trusted and who can’t.
Some books will tell you that there is little to no difference between a raven and a crow. However, the differences are easily recognizable when you know what to look for:

Those who carry the Raven as a totem will find that they are deeply magical and have a natural tendency toward the occult. Raven as a visiting totem brings a message that you are about to experience a change of consciousness. Raven says, “You have earned the right to see and experience a little more of life’s magic”.
“Raven’s color is the color of the void – the black hole in space that holds all the energy of the creative source. Raven is the guardian of ceremonial magic and in- absentia healing. In any healing circle, Raven is present. It may be time to call Raven as a courier to carry an intention, some healing energy, a thought, or a message. Raven is the patron of smoke signals or spirit messages represented by smoke. So if you want to send a message to the Blue Road of spirit, in order to contact the Ancients, call Raven. Or, who knows, the Ancients may be calling to you. Remember, this magic moment came from the void of darkness, and the challenge is to bring it to light. In doing so, you will have honored the magician within.” ~excerpt from Medicine Cards, by Jamie Sams and David Carson

How will you interact with Raven?

That’s it for this first edition. Let me know if there are other features you’d like to see. This will improve with feedback! Enjoy your week!