What’s a Book of Shadows?
Initially, a book of shadows is a document containing religious texts, rituals and spells from a specific wiccan tradition. The name itself comes from Gerald Gardner who founded wake up in the 1940s. The traditional custom was that each coven had its own book in a single copy, which was kept by the High Priestess.
Fortunately, things have changed a lot since the beginnings of Wicca. Nowadays, the term “book of shadows” has a much broader sense. In fact, it now has two meanings. In addition to being a document that contains information, it is now also a journal of your magickal and ritual practices.
I consider my own book of shadows as a tool that I use to document my own spiritual journey… and much more. I use my book of shadows to organize my whole life, even if it’s not always magick-related. I chose to do so because I do have a holistic approach on spirituality. Thus, I believe that to attain spiritual enlightenment, I must work on every aspect of my life. That is why I use my witchy journal for literally everything that matters to me.
Topics to Include in Your Book of Shadows-
I wrote below a suggestion of topics that you can add to your book of shadows. Remember that this list is not exhaustive; consider it more like a starting point. You can use it as a way of organizing your grimoire into sections OR you can dedicate a whole book to each topic. I’d recommend that you make your own list of topics from those suggestions.
A) Spells
This is your typical magickal grimoire. Write the spells you know, the spells you’ve learned, and those you want to try. If you take your spells from various sources, it is very practical to regroup them in one place in your book of shadows. Also, write your own spells to be sure to remember them.
B) Magick Theory & Exercises
Here, you can write all the theory that applies to your practice of magick. By this, I mean : rules, ethics, correspondences, and such. You can also add exercises and techniques which are related to energy work and psychic abilities: chakra work, energy manipulation, visualization techniques, etc.
C) Sacred Texts
Your book of shadow is the perfect place to collect prayers, poems, incantations, chants or even song lyrics that you like. If you believe in Deities, write the prayers that you use in your devotional practice (for example, I wrote the whole Charge of the Goddess in my previous grimoire). If not, you can simply collect texts that speak to you, so that you can use them in your Craft. Of course, you can also write your own!
D) Magickal Recipes
You can use your book of shadows to collect recipes that you use in your rituals and spells. Here are some ideas: incense recipes, oil blends, brews and elixirs… If you practice kitchen witchcraft, you should write your recipes. It’s also a good idea to write down the magickal properties of common kitchen ingredients.
E) Herbology
Herbs are a great tool for witchcraft. If you use herbs in your practice, I highly recommend that you write everything you know about them in your book of shadows. Write the magical and medicinal properties of the herbs you use the most in your grimoire, and if you feel crafty, add some drawings. You can also add techniques to dry herbs, gardening and gathering tips, tea recipes, and more.
F) Crystal Healing
If you’re a crystal enthusiast, write down the list of all the crystals you own in your book of shadows, along with their healing properties. It is a very useful thing to do, since there are a lot of gemstones that look the same. Doing this makes it way easier to remember how to use your crystals. You can also add crystal-related magickal techniques: how to cleanse, charge, or program your crystals, crystal grid layouts, or any crystal correspondences.
G) Wheel of the Year
You can collect information related to each pagan festival of the year that you celebrate. In my old grimoire, I had a section for each Sabbat of the year, its folklore, tales, magickal correspondences, rituals, crafts, prayers, and more.
H) Moon Cycles / Esbats
If you’re using moon cycles to enhance your practice, write down everything you know about them in your grimoire. In mine, I wrote all the moon names with their coresponding dates. You can also write what each moon means, or you can write moon spells, full moon and new moon rituals, and moon phases correspondences.
I) Divination
Many witches like to have a tarot journal to write down their draws and their interpretations, but there is more to it: you can also collect info about other divination tools like runes or pendulums. To help you make the most of your readings, you can make cheat sheets with the meaning and association of each tarot suite, or simply write down some new spreads that you want to try.
J) Dreamwork
You can use your book of shadows to write down your dreams, and then interpret their meaning. I myself tried it several times in the past, but I would always stop at some point because I lack the time and motivation to do it. Nevertheless, it is a vary powerful tool to enhance your psychic abilities. I’d really like to try again logging my dreams one day.
K) Journal of Symbols
If you use sigils and various symbols in your craft, I highly recommend that you write them down them in your book of shadows. I started doing it lately and I love how it turned out. I also wrote down runes, moon, zodiac and tarot symbols to use as a quick guide.
L) Devotional Journal
You can dedicate a whole section of your book (or a whole book) to your patron Deity, or to any entity that you are working with. It can be abour the elements, a spirit guide, an ancestor, or whoever you wish to honor.
M) Witchy Journal
This topic is broader and more personal. This is the type of content I write the most about in my book of shadows. Simply write down your impressions about the rituals you did, make lists to plan your magickal work, make doodles, or just write about how you feel like you would in any journal. It is pretty useful to help you stay in touch with your own personal power.
N) Research Journal
If you are learning a new craft, write down notes about what you read. If you’re designing a ritual or spell, take notes during your spell preparation. Use this as a draft to write it down in your book of shadows later
There’s a wide variety of mediums you can use for your book of shadows, but here are the most frequent ones. You don’t need to use an old grimoire. Here’s a short list of ideas to inspire you :
a simple notebook
a binder
a refillable journal
a scrapbook
an old deck of cards
Digital book of shadows:
a Google Doc
a Word document
a private Tumblr
a secret Pinterest board
Organize Your Book-
You want your book to be an effective tool. Otherwise, you will lose a lot of time looking for what you need. There are two ways to organize your grimoire.
A) Keep Separate Books
The simplest way is to have multiple smaller books where you store information on different topics. For example, Scott Cunningham recommends that you use two main books, the book of shadows for spells, and the mirror book as your magickal journal. The disadvantage of this method is that you’ll have a lot of books to keep, and you won’t be able to bring them all with you if you go to a magickal gathering. Of course, having a digital book of shadows solves the problem (you can just keep it in your phone).
B) Combine everything
This is what I like to do: I like to combine all the info I’ve gathered into a single book of shadows. This is practical because you have everything at once. However, you must decide in advance how you will organize it, or else your organization system will not work. You can simply separate your book into sections, with blank pages in between. But if you’re looking for a more in-depth system, here’s the way I organize my book.
Write page numbers on each page. It’s not that long. I don’t do them all at once, but in small batches of twenty pages or so.
Create an Cover Sheet, an Index, and a Key. At the beginning of your book, keep four blank pages. On the first page, you can write a spell to consecrate and protect your book. On the second page, write down every symbol you’ll use in your book for a quick access. Use the two other pages to make an index on which you’ll list everything as you’re adding it, with the corresponding pages.
I’ve been using this system for two months and it works wonderfully.
Make Your Book Look Beautiful-
Many witches like to decorate their book of shadows, but you don’t have to. Before everything else, a book of shadows needs to be functional.
Final tips-
Now that I’ve given you all you need to know about the Book of Shadows, it’s time to make your own! Afterwards, you’ll need to consecrate it with your own energy. But before I let you go, I want to give you some advice.
First, when you choose a medium for your book, think about its size. If it’s too big, you’ll have trouble bringing it in your purse when you go out, and it may discourage you from using it. Furthermore, don’t think of it as your only source of information. Do not just copy-paste resources you find elsewhere, use it to assimilate what you read. Experiment, then write it down in your grimoire. When you’re writing in your Book of Shadows, take it as a ritual. Create a circle and light some incense to help you focus on the task. Take care of your handwriting. Remember that research is crucial to a witch’s development.
Think about how you felt after you’ve done a ritual or spell and write it down. Reflect on what went well and what you would do differently next time.
When filling new pages, don’t try to make it perfect. If you make mistakes, don’t worry. I think imperfections are part of a book of shadow’s beauty.
Finally, listen to your intuition! If you don’t like your book or feel like it’s full with things you don’t use, don’t hesitate to scrap it and start a new one. For my part, I’ve had a total of four book of shadows up until now. When I don’t like my book anymore, I change it. That being said, never get rid of your old books of shadows. Even if you don’t use them, they remain valuable sources of info, and writing them was still part of your journey.
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Blessed Be Everyone
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🔮- Susan
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