Today is Monday, and I think it is the 15th. I have been learning to throw the bones, which are used as a divination tool for diagnosing. I have picked out my objects from various sacks and jars of bones and shells. I found out which of my ancestors are responsible for using the bones, and that is the one I talk to when I ask the questions. There are so many different aspects to this practice. The first step is to define what each object represents. That seemed easy enough, I could just journey to them.  PH didn’t give me that kind of time.  I had to connect to the ancestor, pick up an object, and say its name. And then remember. So the naming got me student points, and my first reading took them all away. PH got to laughing so hard he had tears running down his eyes at the nonsense I was saying.  He said it had nothing to do with the bones. Am I getting any better?  I certainly hope so.  I keep waiting for the owner of the bones to tell me the story, and so far, all I hear is the silence. Then PH looks at me, and says “talk”.  I have to come up with something.  I think I am going to try merging with the owner before I go into my next lesson, and see if that makes a difference.He is teaching me more than just reading the bones. In the process, I am also learning about how a healer is with a client. The healer could do the job without the bones. The ancestor has told the healer the story before the bones fall. The bones are there for the benefit of the client.  The healer is a salesman.  He uses the bones to give the client confidence in the healer’s ability, so the client evokes his own inner healer and his own ancestors to help with the process. Once the client has faith in the healer, the job is just about done, even without the muthi (energy infused herbs). And, so there is a way of talking with the bones to the client, and asking questions, and putting forth information, that also elicits agreement from the client.  I think this is what we do with the healing stories from a soul retrieval. The story invokes the inner healer in the client, so they can work with whatever you bring back to them. We can’t make them heal, we can only inspire them to heal themselves. This is all for now.

Good night from Africa , Shilo