Bone House: Umtiki - Medium

Bone House Umtiki is made of a single solid piece of material. That makes it different from many of the other Bone Houses, that have articulating parts. And the front is the same as the back side. So there is a simplicity to this design, that I like. A purity. Its not tricky.

At the same time, "orientation" is still a factor. It could right side up, to the reader, or upsidedown to the reader. The next aspect is its relationship to other forms. Always a factor. It could point at another Bone House. Or its head or feet could interact with them. Etc.

As to the Design, it has a humanoid quality. There seems to be a Head, a Torso, and an Arm. Why only one arm? Why only one leg? The shape of the design almost looks like a smoke trail. It makes me think of a Genie, coming out of a bottle. Since smoke comes from Fire, this Bone House might be associated with the Fire Element. But Smoke moves through the air, changes because of the air currents. It reveals the wind. So this Bone House might be associated with the Air Element.

Because of the pin-like quality, as if it could be stuck (staked) in the ground, it suggests a Scarecrow to me. This represents a warning. It mght be a warning of danger, or a warning against trespassing (Boundaries). Who is the warning for? Crows? Does this mean that there is Magic here? Because the Crow represents Magic?

The meandering form reminds us that the path to our goals, is not always straight. The arm might be a dead end path. The Head might remind us that sometimes our path takes us in circles. When Umtiki is Cast, did any other bone houses fall near, or point to - the head or the arm? What does that mean?

Consider the color: that this House should be. If I associated it with Mystery and Magic, it might be blue or purple. If it will represent Air, then it might be Blue or White. If it represents Dark Magic or Warnings of Secrets, then Black would be good. If it represents Danger, or Leaving the Path, then perhaps Red would be best.

Confession: I often order multiples of each House, each one in a different color. Though this costs me some extra money, I do it anyway. Why? Because I want to hold the Houses in my hand, Cast them, see how they interact with the other houses. This allows me to understand them better. Then I can decide which ones will get to stay in my permanent collection. (Of course, I have more than one collection, for different kinds of Casting Goals). So, for example, I might print a White one, a Red one and a Black one. This is because I have one Casting Collection that only allows those colors right now. Most likely, I will only end up using one of the three colors in the permanent collection. But I will test them all out. Explore them. Its possible that I will want two Umtiki Houses - each in a different color. We shall see. You get the idea.

Notice: Since this design is a bending form with some loops in it, you could wind ribbon or rope around it easily.

Characterizations: Genie/Djin, Scarecrow, Wind Spirit, Trickster (Winding Paths), Worm, Snake, Aztec 

Associations: Journey/Path, Fire/Smoke/Wind, Intestines, Emerge/Reveal, Magic/Wish Fullfillment