The Makings of a Magpie Oracle - Part 4: How To Do A Magpie Oracle Reading

There is one more item you'll need before you start using this divination style -- a cloth for throwing your oracle pieces and reading them. When I first started researching Bone Throwing I found that most of the casting cloths have two circles on them. One is a large circle and the other is a smaller circle within the big one. Where the pieces land will help you determine the importance of each. If this is what you choose to use, know that items within the smaller circle will be more direct and important than items in the larger circle. Items that don't fall within the circle may be insignificant, depending on your reading preferences. Not all people will read the same way, so figure out what works best for you and go with it.

I still use a Tarot cloth with a circle on it, but not two circles. I have a moon Tarot cloth and anything that lands within the moon is part of the reading. Since I place my biggest bone in the center, my tosses are read starting from that bone – aka, from the person the reading is for. Anything close by is happening now. Anything to the left of that bone is from the past, the right is from the future – then again, sometimes I get the message that the reading is all about the past, or only about the future. When you work with your guides to do readings, sometimes messages will seem to come out of nowhere, but they always work well with the reading at hand. This is just a reading style I progressed into as I got more and more comfortable with my Magpie Oracle.

When you have your Magpie Oracle set all collected and you're ready to use it, it's time to connect and open up your intuition. All people are intuitive; you just need to tap into it. Here is a step-by-step lesson that will assist you in your first reading. Follow it the first time, and then start to turn it into something that works best for you. Just as with your set creation, using the collection will be something that is unique to you, and you'll find what works for you as you use it.

There are a few things to do before you dive into a reading.

Set the Atmosphere

Consider making the atmosphere more open to your intuition. Light a candle and dim the lights. Use items that invite spirits to speak to you, such as a bowl of water or some burning sage. You can keep some mind-opening crystals nearby as well, like clear quartz or amethyst.

Not only does the right atmosphere help you get more in touch with your reading, but it can make the client feel more comfortable as well.

Invoke the Spirits

Take some time prior to your reading to call upon the aid of spirits and your ancestors to help you understand the messages the bones are sending you. If you’re working with any spirits or deities, you may want to study up on how to cast a circle for your protection and how to both welcome and dismiss those entities, gods, and goddesses. Never mess with spirits without knowing how to take care of yourself.

For an easy circle casting, take up an item that feels magical to you – witches tend to use a wand or an athame (ceremonial knife) – and speak to the Universe, asking for protection in your psychic and magical working, then imagine yourself drawing a circle around your space with your chosen item. When you're done with your reading, thank the Universe and your guides for their assistance and imagine, with your item, releasing the circle.

Get Grounded

Now, you want to do some grounding. Grounding is a form of mindfulness, where you allow yourself to feel balanced and in the “now.” In order to work toward being grounded, here are some things to do.

First, start with some deep breathing. Deep breaths, slow and focused, in and out. When you breathe in, feel balance and positivity coming in, and when you breathe out, let out the negative and stagnation. Another way to be more mindful is to just pay attention to the things you do on a day-to-day basis – like being present in the moment. Notice what you're eating, the flavors, and the textures. Notice how you feel and what your body does in certain circumstances, like stress or happiness.

Breathing exercises will help you learn to meditate, which is also a great chance to visualize the things you want – like being able to successfully read your Magpie Oracle. You can ground yourself using meditation. I like to imagine a white light growing in my solar plexus (belly area) that stretches out to encompass my entire body, then I imagine roots growing from my feet, deep into the ground where they wrap around my power crystal, which is Sapphire.

There are some movement-based ways to practice meditative mindfulness, from going for a walk to doing yoga. Walking in a labyrinth is an excellent way to get balanced and in touch with yourself. And, while you're walking outside, pay attention to the things around you – the feel of the ground and the sounds of the wildlife.

Mindfulness offers you a chance to use all of your senses, and being in touch with them helps with feeling more grounded. So, again, pay attention to scents, sounds, and the textures of things.

You can also use objects – and not just imagined ones like my Sapphire crystal. Crystals are great grounding objects, but you can use any kind of talisman you choose as a focal point to help you feel balanced – like a pentacle, a coin, or something else similar.

The whole idea is to quiet your mind and focus on one thing – being balanced and in tune with nature.

Setting Up Your Reading

Step 1 – Set up your cloth on a solid surface. Consider using a softer surface, like a padded card table or a carpeted floor. I used one of my Oracle Card wrapping cloths which is thicker fabric under my Tarot cloth as some padded cushioning. If you have wood floors, put your yoga mat down first. The whole idea is that you don't want your pieces to bounce away, and you don't want more delicate pieces to break.

Step 2 – Place the bone (or other trinket) that represents you or the person you're doing the reading for in the center of the cloth – A good time to do this is while the person is asking their question or thinking about what they want to learn from the oracle reading. Hold the remaining items in your hand (you can use a bowl or some other holder if you prefer, but I feel like shaking and tossing from bare hands is safer). Focus on the question you're looking for an answer to. You don't have to simply hold the bones limply in your hand; you can shake them around in your hand or move them around gently. Spread that energy of what needs to be known.

Step 3 – Cast your Magpie Oracle trinkets. Toss them gently onto the cloth. If they all land in a clump, you may want to try again (honestly, practice makes perfect here, and you’ll get the hang of it the more you do it). It could take some practice in order to toss them in a way that keeps them all on the cloth but not all bunched up together. You will want a good “spread” in order to read them in a way that will give you the answers you seek. Of course, if a couple of pieces fall off the cloth, it could be a sign that those things are completely insignificant in your reading. In fact, I have become accustomed to having anything fall outside the circle removed from the reading – although, I have learned that people like to know the meanings of the trinkets that aren’t in the reading as well, so if you’re doing readings for other, ask if they want the general meanings of those pieces that aren’t part of the main reading.

Step 4 – It's time to do your reading. There is no specific way to read Magpie Oracle, and however you choose to interpret the throw is the right way for you. Readings are an individual thing, and you will really need to tap into your intuition and not overthink things when you're determining what the bones are saying to you. There are certain things you will want to pay attention to when you cast the oracle trinkets:

Watch how the pieces fall, knowing the meanings of each of them as they find their place on the cloth.

Clear your mind – you won't want to overthink things, but you will want to allow your intuition to kick in so that you can “feel” what the trinkets are saying to you.

Wait for your Magpie Oracle to speak to you. There are many ways in which this will happen. It will be more than just looking at the items on where they are – you will read them via intuition, but you may also find that your ancestors speak to you through your set. I start reading sometimes and something pushes me in a certain direction or I hear words in my head that I share with the person getting the reading. Again, always trust your intuition, especially in the middle of doing a reading.

Sometimes I start with the present part of the reading, move to the past, and then move to the future. Other times I go from past to present to future. Sometimes it's all past, all present, or I don't know for sure, and work with my client to figure out where they feel the story fits into their lives … it all depends on how I am feeling about the toss and which pieces are where – go with your gut.

Listening to your Magpie Oracle, however, is the most important part of doing this type of reading. You need them to speak to you, and they might not. It may take some practice. One thing I found that helps is to spend some time with each individual piece every couple of months (if you’re using your oracle set regularly). Hold the pieces, one at a time, in the palm of your hand, feel its energy, listen to what it has to say, and concentrate on the keywords you’ve given the piece. All of these things will assist you in recalling the meanings of each piece and allowing you a good understanding of them when you do a reading.

Be sure to read the other parts of this lesson in Magpie Oracle:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3