Uses for skeletons of dead birds and animals

I was clearing out weeds and watering the plants at the front of my house today and found the partial skeleton of a smallish bird (I think). Quite mangled and likely dropped by one of the many birds of prey we have round here.

I hate waste so I’ve cleaned up the bones the best I can and tried to reconstruct it using diagrams online (probably completely in the wrong order) and fascinated by its fragility and how tiny the vertebrae are.

Now I don’t know what to do with it. Would it be appropriate to put the bones in a spell jar? And does anyone have any suggestions of what else to put in and what kinds of spells the bones can be used for.

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My female cat is quite the adept huntress and I often find little vole skeletons or birds in my garden :pensive: I’ve never made use of them so far though, although bones are good for carving Runes on. The skeletons Pheobe leaves behind are too tiny for me to carve on with the skill level I’m at and I’m also not sure if it’s appropriate since my well-fed cat killed it for fun? Yours is from a bird of prey though or a cat that you aren’t connected to though so I would think it would be ok to use along as they are thanked :heartpulse:

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These bones are definitely too tiny for carving anything on!

I’ve always been fascinated by the circle of life, and using what is left behind and honouring it.

I’m afraid my dog is much like your cat, he’s eaten live moles and a couple of weeks ago picked up a dead pigeon and ate everything…

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Oh definitely, our ancestors used everything and wasted nothing. We would have a more sustainable future if we looked at the circle of life the same way :heartpulse:

Animals are funny things arent they :rofl: but we love them for it :heartpulse:

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I do love him but it was disgusting :rofl:

Tried to wrestle the pigeon from him and ended up with a detached pigeon foot in my hand…

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Phoebe dropped a sparrow on my face one morning :nauseated_face: it was still warm and everything :face_vomiting: and she looked so pleased with herself and I couldn’t look at her :rofl:

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You’re making me glad Sherlock just eats what he finds… :rofl:

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She doesn’t bring me “gifts” often, but when she does she usually randomly drops them on me when im sleeping :rofl: :rofl: Angus is to lazy too hunt thankfully :slight_smile:

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@Liisa Angus and Phoebe are such adorable names for kitties :heart_eyes_cat: It sounds like Phoebe loves you and is expressing that with the gifts she brings you :purple_heart:

@IrisW When I was younger, I had a doggo who would hunt the moles in our yard and she definitely made sure we didn’t have a mole problem! Fortunately, she didn’t eat them, but she did bring them to us :warning: Content warning: gross animal hunting other animals behavior. I’ve blurred it out for just in case anyone doesn’t want to read it :sweat_smile::warning: and crunch on them until their bones were so broken that they didn’t crunch any more :nauseated_face: unless we could pry it from her jaws :sweat_smile: Animals are so gross, but you just gotta love them anyway! <3 haha

As for what to do with the bones, I’m not really sure. I’ve never really incorporated animal bones or parts in my practice because until recently, I was trying to figure out my personal ethical stance on it. As someone who loves animals and does everything he can to keep all animals safe and healthy (except spiders and some bugs haha), I tended to avoid as many animal products as possible if there were alternatives available. I also tried to avoid products that could harm animals, such as using poisons to control the mole/vole population since the posons can unintentionally kill other animals such as owls and other preditors that are essential for maintaining the balance of local ecosystems.

However, if I find bird feathers/animal bones/naturally-shed antlers/etc., I don’t think there’s much ethical concern to using them. In fact, I recently found some sort of animal bone laying in my yard and I currently have it sitting in a jar of hydrogen peroxide to disinfect and bleach it a bit. I’m planning on keeping it on my altar as a representation of the local land and animal spirits.

I’m still doing research on how other people use them though, so, unfortunately, I can’t offer any suggestions :sweat_smile: I’m interested to hear what other people do with them though!

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@Jewitch That’s a great idea. :+1: @IrisW You could use them to connect with the spirits of the land, maybe make an amulet or a new tool!

In a ritual or spell, bones have a very interesting symbolism related to the past or old traditions so you could bury them to let go of something, or conserve them as a way to honor the past.

"They are the last earthly traces of the dead, and seem to last forever: bones symbolize the indestructible life (it represents ressurection in Jewish tradition), yet also may represent mortality and the transitory. Flesh and bones can symbolize the earth. (…)

In William Blake it refers to the past, tradition that often has to be broken. In T.S. Eliot, thoughts of something beyond the flesh, historical knowledge or memory." - Source

I know you found the bones at home but just as a disclaimer: I wouldn’t suggest anyone to use animal bones for spells because I don’t want to encourage killing an animal just to use it in a ritual.

If you feel inclined to do so, speak to the spirit of the animal to ask for permission to use their remains. It’s likely that they don’t care since they no longer have a strong connection to the earthly plane, especially if they are old bones.

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I love human-sounding names for animals :grinning: although my elderly gentleman cat that passed away last year (he was the ripe old age of 19) was called Smeagle because my little sister loved Lord of The Rings :heartpulse: They really are amazing though even if a little gross sometimes :rofl:

Im the same with animals, even insects, if I can help it we are quite large compared to them though and it does happen :heartpulse: but I don’t see any harm in reclaiming and repurposing remains found an animal already passed from this realm. Aslong as permission is sought and the spirit is thanked and honoured in some way :heartpulse:

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I had a whole bird and half of it was still covered with feathers. I think he had died and fell from a tree and almost got chopped up from a lawn mower cuz I took our dog out for a walk and I saw the bird across the street. I left it out for another month or so but never could get rid of what was left so I thanked it and was going to bury it but in the process of that his head popped off I was mortified and happy at the same time cuz it made me feel like he wanted to go with me. But mortified because this dead birds head popped off and I was not expecting it. I had him for the longest time in a jar but wanted to let him out and the day I did the next morning I stepped on his skull in the dark because my cats took him from my altar. I was so mad. I told my cats that their skull was going to go on my altar and they haven’t touched anything on it since. :upside_down_face: Now they just sit on it if anything.

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