Many people ask me how they can create their own Book of Shadows. But guess what? It’s really simple – you do it just however you please!
A Book of Shadows – or Grimoire – is a place for a witch to keep her spells, rituals and other secrets. Here is a list of examples of what would go into your BOS:
- I would begin by writing down the Wiccan Rede, to set out my intentions and beliefs from the start. I can get all geeky and get my calligraphy set out and make it look really pretty 🙂
You could always note down this shorter version if you prefer:
- The Wheel of the Year and the sabbats:
- The Elements and their correspondences:
- Spells and rituals that you gather from different places or write yourself – and it’s helpful to take notes after you cast each spell, to see how you feel different and what changes it has brought in your life.
- Herbs, incenses and oils and their properties – especially keeping track of your own experiments with them and how they affect you.
- Crystals and their properties – again, taking notes of how you feel using different crystals or what effect they have on your life. All this information will come in handy later on, when you want to write your own spells!
- Helpful notes on moon phases and how they affect spell work, colour properties, candle magick etc. Basically any useful information you can find.
- Daily appreciation notes are always good for your mind and soul, and to raise your vibrations to attract more goodness into your life 🙂
- Interesting or creative ideas, sketches and such of tools you’d like to make or buy, decorations for your altar, ideas for your garden… Anything you come across and would like to keep for inspiration.
- Recipes – potions, herb blends, sabbat celebration foods…
- A meditation or visualisation diary if that’s what you’re into. With spell casting it is important to keep a clear and focused mind to achieve the best results, so regular meditation will be helpful, and you might want to take some notes if you have any specific feelings or insights. The same goes for visualisation – after casting a spell, vividly and regularly visualising your goals in a joyful way will improve your chances of success – so that might be worth taking notes of.
You can decorate your Book of Shadows however you like. It can be any book that takes your fancy – whether you want to start from scratch on a plain notebook, or you want to buy a big, old Harry Potter-style spell book, is up to you.
You can come a long way with some superglue and accessories like sequins, string, little crystals or small stones, twigs and colour pens… The sky is the limit!
Inside you can glue inspiration photos, or get your pencils out and let your imagination flow 🙂 I’ve also got runes and elven alphabets in my BOS, and little chants I have found, symbols and their meanings, notes on my tarot readings… And this book is only for you, so you are free to do with it what you please (unless of course you want to show it to a like-minded friend – sharing each other’s spells and ideas can be fun and inspiring, and you can learn from each other).
One follower suggested the other day that she would have two Books of Shadows – a big one for her home, and a small one to always carry with her, which I thought was a great idea!
Although perhaps not quite this small… 😉
Have fun!
***
For suitable notebooks and journals for your Book of Shadows, check out World of Witchery!
Does your magick need a boost?
It can be frustrating as hell when your magick isn’t giving you the results you want! But here’s the thing: everyone can do magick – you just need the right guide.Your Astro-Magick Blueprint uses your birth chart to:- Find your unique magickal style.
- Take a deep dive into a focus area to find out what’s blocking you.
- Learn what’s in store for the future and how you can shift things round.
- PLUS, you’ll receive three custom spells, uniquely designed for you and your situation.
Interested in how it works? Learn more now!
Pyrite Worrystone
$8.99
