Tag: Shadows

Let’s Talk Witch – Back to the Basics, Your Book of Shadows

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Let’s Talk Witch – Back to the Basics, Your Book of Shadows

　

A Book Of Shadows

If you practice magick mainly alone, your Book of Shadows will be among your most valued tools. There are Books of Shadows of all kinds, from dark leatherbound volumes with pentagrams engraved in gold leaf on the front to equally effected ones scribbled in old school notebooks.

Many magickal practitioners have a large book of unlined paper in which they record spells they have created themselves, any particularly beautiful chants they write or speak and personal associations for different herbs, flowers and crystals. They may also record the names of those who need healing and the dates when healing was sent.

Other sections describe seasonal celebrations, wisdom received during full-moon meditation and other times of power. Some practitioners will create lists of protective angels and pre-Christian deities whose qualities form a focus for different strengths and qualities.

It can be incredibly useful to have to hand details of a particular incense mix created when you threw lots of ingredients into your mortar and it smelled fabulous.

There may be a chant you created one morning at a sacred site high on the moorlands when the sky was blue and you had the place almost to yourself (if you don’t count the children and the dog).

Even if you do buy a leather bound book, as your Book of Shadows, keep a notebook for your enroute scribbles (in a waterproof bag with a waterproof pen for days when the sky is not so blue).

Keep a back-up of any charts or lists you develop on computer and a back-up CD in case you ever lose your book–for the contents are more precious even than the book itself.

Make time at least weekly to update it and express your insights, while you are waiting for a candle or incense to burn through at the end of the spell. As such a time you will find that you are especially open to prophetic abilities, and the most down-to-earth among us may write beautiful chants when inspired by a particular ritual or spell.

Keep your Book of Shadows safe and only share its insight with those who will respect your tradition. One day it will become a heirloom of great spiritual worth.

The name “Book of Shadows” is also given to the formal handwritten reference book that is held by the High Priestess of a coven. Gerald Gardner, who founded the Gardnerian tradition, believed that the Book of Shadows, or grimoire, should be hand-copied from teacher to student, and some covens still adhere to this practice.

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Let’s Talk Witch – Warnings & Cautions For The New Wiccan or Witch

Warnings & Cautions For The New Wiccan or Witch

If you’ve looked at this site at all, you’ve seen the wonderful things that happen when you begin following a Wiccan path. I’ve been asked to discuss the not-so-nice things that can happen. I’m not trying to scare anyone off, just give you enough information so you can make an informed decision.

The Shadows are out there:

They exist, in the invisible world that parallels our own, living creatures. Unlike creatures from our world, they lack physical form, and feed on energy instead of matter. They are as varied as the animal life on our world. They range in size (power) from the equivalent of insects and rodents to the equivalent of magically trained humans, and beyond to the Great Old Ones. (My land is inhabited by one of these-it gives the psychic impression of a mountain with legs. It is not unfriendly, but an elephant is not unfriendly toward ants either. I stay out of our woods when it is about.) I mentioned that these creatures feed on energy. Most are content to graze on the random energy fields that leak from humans and other creatures in our world. Others, however, are a little more sinister. These, the ones you have to worry about, I call the Shadows.

Shadows come in three basic varieties. First are the little ones that feed off the energy in negative emotions. If you are emitting strong negativity, they will be drawn to you like flies to rotten meat. If you aren’t magically protected, they will happily latch onto your energy field (aura) and snack on it. They are usually not much more troublesome than leeches or mosquitoes; however, a thousand leeches could weaken a person severely.

Next come the more dangerous variety, more like rats or vultures than mosquitoes. These are attracted both by negative emotions and the energy of magical workings. They are stronger, and can push past weak or flawed defenses to get to you. And they are much harder to peel loose once they have their teeth into you.

Last are the intelligent variety. Their favorite meal is human life energy, the ‘heart-fire’ that burns in each of us. They are relatively rare even in their own realm, but they exist. The terms ‘Imp’ , ‘Evil Spirit’ and ‘Demon’ are fairly accurate. They are very strong. The more intelligent ones are capable of working their own Magic to breach your defenses. The most intelligent variety , being as lazy as humans, prefer to talk you into dropping your defenses and linking your energy field to theirs. (“Open yourself to me, and I will grant you power beyond your wildest dreams.” Yeah, right.) They also are capable (if someone is helpful enough to open a doorway for them) of entering our world. Once here, if they can get past all your defenses unless you are very strong at warding. They can enter your body and feast at will, even asserting a degree of control over you. Yes, this is exactly like the old stories of Demon possession.

You – yes, you can be a Vampire:

There exist in this world evil creatures. They are highly intelligent, capable of working magic, and extremely devious. They are capable of not only psychic magical attacks, but physical ones as well. As a species, they tend to be amoral, murderous animals. I call them ‘humans’. Humans are also capable of ‘feeding’ off the energies of other humans- Herne (owner of this website) calls them “Psychic Vampires”. They do this to gain more magical power, to control others, or to replace the energies they are losing by dealing with the Shadows. Some humans can even do this while traveling astrally. So that Evil Spirit that tried to get into your last circle may not have been from the other side; it could have been your next-door neighbor.

Oops! Did I just do that?

Magic is an art form. Despite the best efforts of Ritual Magicians and Technopagans, it remains as unpredictable and powerful as the weather unless you are highly skilled and focused. Scientists studying weather prediction in the 1970’s discovered something amazing. Weather, they found, is so unstable as to be impossible to predict more than a day or two in advance. In fact, computer models suggested something they called the Butterfly Theory. It seems that the air disturbed by a butterfly taking off from a cactus in Mexico, if it happened at the right time and place, could in theory cause devastating storms and tornadoes in the U.S. Midwest. Magic is very similar. Each action we take, magical or mundane, has consequences that spread out from it like the ripples in a pond.

They spread out, touching everything- and reflect back to converge on the source. Be very sure, then, before you work magic, exactly what the consequences may be. Ask yourself, “If this spell backfires on me, and affects me instead of the intended target, can I live with the result?” Thus, I tend to use magic “only in direst need, and then must the cause be just” (author unknown).

Some Wiccans counsel about how rain on your fields could cause drought elsewhere. This might be true, if you are trying with your own personal power to ‘squeeze’ the rain clouds as they pass over. But asking the Lady and Lord for the blessing of rain for everybody’s crops is a different thing entirely. Selfish magic has negative consequences: Loving, giving magic only positive ones. For Selfishness is the true root of all evil. “I want it! Destroy the world, let Chaos take the universe, as long as I get what I want!” Be careful of what you ask, you just may get it…

Power corrupts:

So, you’ve studied hard, learned all about Wiccan magic, and now you find you can really do things. All the power of the Elements is yours to command. Love, money, power, respect- all these are yours. You are special. You are powerful. You are a God! Now, you must convince others to worship you, to lend you their energy so that your power can grow. But that’s OK, because you are a loving God, and you want only what’s best for your worshipers. And you know what’s best for them, for you know all, and see all. For you alone are God of this world you have created.

Can’t happen? Do the names Jim Jones, Sun Myung Moon or David Koresh ring a bell? It is important to remember that the gift of magical power is just that- a gift from the Lady and Lord. It must never be abused. And glorifying yourself because of something lent to you is like showing up at your class reunion in a borrowed suit and a rented Jaguar. This reason and this reason alone is why you will not find the Council of this site posting or trading spells and rituals. We don’t hand out loaded guns here.

Who Inherits Your Knowledge?

Who Inherits Your Knowledge?

Author: Lady GoldenRaven

Here is a thought: For us older wytchs, have you ever thought about who you will pass down your wytchy items to when your time comes to cross over? By the time we hit our “golden years”, most of us have amassed a rather large collection of books, articles, herbs, oils, etc. So where does it go?

We have thought about how we divide up the money we leave for our children, which one gets the house and this one gets the car. But, has anyone given thought to the wealth of knowledge we have put into our Book of Shadows?

Who gets the special oils you created? What becomes of the beautiful staff and wand we created with our own hands?

Do we leave our sacred Book of Shadows to our covens?

Is there a special child or friend who will use this information wisely and keep its secrets to themselves?

Has anyone thought of donating them to the military or some other organization?

Will they find their rightful owners or will they end up in the trash or floating around space with all the missing socks.

As I approach my Crone years and since I have taught many students in the ways of the Wise, I have often thought about leaving my stuff to one of them. However, several of my students have been online. It would be hard to leave my trusted Book of Shadows to any of them, since I have only had little contact with them. So, that leaves the students I taught in person, who are now either in my coven or have moved on.

However, I am lucky. I recently met a woman who is 25 years old. She and I have become really close friends. She had several pagan friends (who are also my friends) who had taught her a little bit about their path.

She calls me Mama Beth, since I am older and she can talk to me about things one cannot talk to about with her real parents. Since I have no children of my own, she is now my adopted daughter. She is serious about her learning of the craft, so I am now teaching her my ways.

I thought long and hard about whom would be heir to my wytchy fortune. I do not own a home, so all I have to pass along is my wytchy stuff, my Led Zeppelin/Robert Plant collection, and my car.

All that has been decided. And now, I have made my decision as to where my Book of Shadows and the rest of my stuff shall go. My daughter shall be heir to all I have in my Wytchy World. I have such a huge collection of books on the subject that is would fill two walls!

I started thinking about this when a friend of mine nearly died a few months ago in a terrible accident. I put much thought and many hours of thought into this decision. Once I decided, I made my intentions clear.

When I told Debbie of my decision, I thought she would never stop crying. She was happy yet sad. It was something she did not want to think about.

Well, nobody wants to think about such things, but you must. She is the only one allowed to even touch my Book of Shadows, let alone look in it to read from it. She has come over for her lessons on time every time. She is learning the Craft well. Most of all–I TRUST HER.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I surely do not want my Book of Shadows, which I spent many hours working on, ending up in a dumpster somewhere. I wrote every word in that book in calligraphy. If anything, it is a piece of art. For one, I have the fortune of having bought a grand Book of Shadows from a great company called Brahm’s Bookworks (link enclosed at the end), which is like the one you see on the show Charmed. Mine weighs over 30 pounds. Now you see why I do not want it simply dumped in the trash.

Who do I know who would appreciate this? My daughter!

Where will the hundreds of jars of herbs end up? Herbs that I lovingly planted, nurtured, and harvested. I have many bottles of oils which I have made, not to mention the holistic medicines I have made from all the above.

My staff, which I lovingly hand picked, designed by me for me, blessed and consecrated and has become a part of me, I do not want to end up in a burn pile somewhere as trash. If, my daughter chooses to burn it in memory of me so that none can use my “magickal” staff, then so be it.

A few of my friends may end up with a few things–some of the herbs and oils and such. My stones and all I promised to a friend who also makes jewelry. So he can use what he wants for wytchy works and pick what he needs for jewelry.

Of course, some things, I can leave to the world via the net. Some of this I have accomplished already. But face it, out in the world of Cyberspace, one cannot be too sure of who they are dealing with. A lot of my stuff is found and will be found as I continue, on Pathways Seminary.

But, I thought I would offer up this little essay as a reminder to all not to forget about whom you will leave your most precious Wytchy wears to. Since the baby boomers are now into their Crone years or close to it as I am, there are a lot of us pagans who belong to this age group.

So while you are sitting there, making out your wills, reserve space and time to have it in writing, to whom you are passing down your religious and magickal items to. I know, whomever ends up with them shall appreciate both the deep thought you put into giving it to them, as well as appreciating the work you did, and all the knowledge contained within these items.

I am happy that I know where my knowledge is going to be used and appreciated.

Thank you,
LadyGoldenraven

Footnotes:
Link to Book of Shadows:  http://www.brahmsbookworks.com/id2.html

Who Inherits Your Knowledge?

Who Inherits Your Knowledge?

Author: Lady GoldenRaven

Here is a thought: For us older wytchs, have you ever thought about who you will pass down your wytchy items to when your time comes to cross over? By the time we hit our “golden years”, most of us have amassed a rather large collection of books, articles, herbs, oils, etc. So where does it go?

We have thought about how we divide up the money we leave for our children, which one gets the house and this one gets the car. But, has anyone given thought to the wealth of knowledge we have put into our Book of Shadows?

Who gets the special oils you created? What becomes of the beautiful staff and wand we created with our own hands?

Do we leave our sacred Book of Shadows to our covens?

Is there a special child or friend who will use this information wisely and keep its secrets to themselves?

Has anyone thought of donating them to the military or some other organization?

Will they find their rightful owners or will they end up in the trash or floating around space with all the missing socks.

As I approach my Crone years and since I have taught many students in the ways of the Wise, I have often thought about leaving my stuff to one of them. However, several of my students have been online. It would be hard to leave my trusted Book of Shadows to any of them, since I have only had little contact with them. So, that leaves the students I taught in person, who are now either in my coven or have moved on.

However, I am lucky. I recently met a woman who is 25 years old. She and I have become really close friends. She had several pagan friends (who are also my friends) who had taught her a little bit about their path.

She calls me Mama Beth, since I am older and she can talk to me about things one cannot talk to about with her real parents. Since I have no children of my own, she is now my adopted daughter. She is serious about her learning of the craft, so I am now teaching her my ways.

I thought long and hard about whom would be heir to my wytchy fortune. I do not own a home, so all I have to pass along is my wytchy stuff, my Led Zeppelin/Robert Plant collection, and my car.

All that has been decided. And now, I have made my decision as to where my Book of Shadows and the rest of my stuff shall go. My daughter shall be heir to all I have in my Wytchy World. I have such a huge collection of books on the subject that is would fill two walls!

I started thinking about this when a friend of mine nearly died a few months ago in a terrible accident. I put much thought and many hours of thought into this decision. Once I decided, I made my intentions clear.

When I told Debbie of my decision, I thought she would never stop crying. She was happy yet sad. It was something she did not want to think about.

Well, nobody wants to think about such things, but you must. She is the only one allowed to even touch my Book of Shadows, let alone look in it to read from it. She has come over for her lessons on time every time. She is learning the Craft well. Most of all–I TRUST HER.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I surely do not want my Book of Shadows, which I spent many hours working on, ending up in a dumpster somewhere. I wrote every word in that book in calligraphy. If anything, it is a piece of art. For one, I have the fortune of having bought a grand Book of Shadows from a great company called Brahm’s Bookworks (link enclosed at the end), which is like the one you see on the show Charmed. Mine weighs over 30 pounds. Now you see why I do not want it simply dumped in the trash.

Who do I know who would appreciate this? My daughter!

Where will the hundreds of jars of herbs end up? Herbs that I lovingly planted, nurtured, and harvested. I have many bottles of oils which I have made, not to mention the holistic medicines I have made from all the above.

My staff, which I lovingly hand picked, designed by me for me, blessed and consecrated and has become a part of me, I do not want to end up in a burn pile somewhere as trash. If, my daughter chooses to burn it in memory of me so that none can use my “magickal” staff, then so be it.

A few of my friends may end up with a few things–some of the herbs and oils and such. My stones and all I promised to a friend who also makes jewelry. So he can use what he wants for wytchy works and pick what he needs for jewelry.

Of course, some things, I can leave to the world via the net. Some of this I have accomplished already. But face it, out in the world of Cyberspace, one cannot be too sure of who they are dealing with. A lot of my stuff is found and will be found as I continue, on Pathways Seminary.

But, I thought I would offer up this little essay as a reminder to all not to forget about whom you will leave your most precious Wytchy wears to. Since the baby boomers are now into their Crone years or close to it as I am, there are a lot of us pagans who belong to this age group.

So while you are sitting there, making out your wills, reserve space and time to have it in writing, to whom you are passing down your religious and magickal items to. I know, whomever ends up with them shall appreciate both the deep thought you put into giving it to them, as well as appreciating the work you did, and all the knowledge contained within these items.

I am happy that I know where my knowledge is going to be used and appreciated.

Thank you,
LadyGoldenraven

Footnotes:
Link to Book of Shadows:

Living Life As The Witch – Nasty, Little Creatures In The Shadows

Witchy Comments
Living Life As The Witch

Those Little Nasty Creatures In The Shadows

If you have followed The Craft for any length of time, you’ve seen all the wonderful and beautiful things that has happened since you started joining this Path. Along with all the wonders you will see, keep in mind that there is also dark, nasty, little Shadow creatures out there.

These little creatures exist, in the invisible world that parallels our own, living creatures. Unlike creatures from our world, they lack physical form, and feed on energy instead of matter. They are as varied as the animal life on our world. Their power ranges from the equivalent of insects and rodents to the equivalent of magickally trained humans, and beyond to the Great Old Ones.

These creatures feed on energy. Most are content to graze on the random energy fields that leak from humans and other creatures in our world. Others, however, are a little most sinister. These, the ones you have to worry about, they are referred to as the Shadows.

Shadows comes in three basic varieties. First are the little ones that feed off the energy in negative emotions. If you are emitting strong negativity, they will be drawn to you like flies to rotten meat. If you aren’t magickally protect, they will happily latch onto your energy field (aura). They are usually not much more troublesome than leeches or mosquitoes; however, a thousand leeches could weaken a person severely.

Next is the more dangerous variety, more like rats or vultures than mosquitoes. These are attracted both by negative emotions and the energy of magickal workings. They are stronger, and can push past weak or flawed defenses to get to you. And they are much harder to peel loose once they have their teeth into you.

Last are those of the intelligent variety. Their favorite meal is human life energy, the heart-fire that burns in each of us. They are relatively rare even in their own realm, but they exist. The terms “Imp,” “Evil Spirit” and “Demon” are fairly accurate. They are very strong. The more intelligent ones are capable of working their own magick to breach your defenses. The most intelligent variety, being as lazy as humans, prefers to talk you into dropping your defenses and linking your energy field to theirs. They also are capable (if someone is helpful enough to open a doorway for them) of entering our world. Once here, if they can get past all your defenses unless you are very strong at warding. They can enter your body and will feast at will even asserting a degree of control over you. Yes, this is exactly like the old stories of Demon possession.

Don’t laugh you can be a Vampire, your best friend, the average Joe on the street:

They exist in this world of evil creatures. They are highly intelligent, capable of working magick, and extremely devious. They are capable of not only psychic magickal attacks, but physical ones as well. As a species, they tend to be amoral, murderous animals. Humans who are capable of feeding off the energies of another human is a “Psychic Vampire.” They do this to gain more magickal power, to control others, or to replace the energies they are losing by dealing with the Shadows. Some humans can even do this while traveling astrally. So that Evil Spirit that tried to get into your last circle may not have been from the other site, it could have been your next door neighbor. For real, lol!

Warnings & Cautions For The New Wiccan or Witch

Warnings & Cautions For The New Wiccan or Witch

The Shadows are out there:

They exist, in the invisible world that parallels our own, living creatures. Unlike creatures from our world, they lack physical form, and feed on energy instead of matter. They are as varied as the animal life on our world. They range in size (power) from the equivalent of insects and rodents to the equivalent of magically trained humans, and beyond to the Great Old Ones. (My land is inhabited by one of these-it gives the psychic impression of a mountain with legs. It is not unfriendly, but an elephant is not unfriendly toward ants either. I stay out of our woods when it is about.) I mentioned that these creatures feed on energy. Most are content to graze on the random energy fields that leak from humans and other creatures in our world. Others, however, are a little more sinister. These, the ones you have to worry about, I call the Shadows.

Shadows come in three basic varieties. First are the little ones that feed off the energy in negative emotions. If you are emitting strong negativity, they will be drawn to you like flies to rotten meat. If you aren’t magically protected, they will happily latch onto your energy field (aura) and snack on it. They are usually not much more troublesome than leeches or mosquitoes; however, a thousand leeches could weaken a person severely.

Next come the more dangerous variety, more like rats or vultures than mosquitoes. These are attracted both by negative emotions and the energy of magical workings. They are stronger, and can push past weak or flawed defenses to get to you. And they are much harder to peel loose once they have their teeth into you.

Last are the intelligent variety. Their favorite meal is human life energy, the ‘heart-fire’ that burns in each of us. They are relatively rare even in their own realm, but they exist. The terms ‘Imp’ , ‘Evil Spirit’ and ‘Demon’ are fairly accurate. They are very strong. The more intelligent ones are capable of working their own Magic to breach your defenses. The most intelligent variety , being as lazy as humans, prefer to talk you into dropping your defenses and linking your energy field to theirs. (“Open yourself to me, and I will grant you power beyond your wildest dreams.” Yeah, right.) They also are capable (if someone is helpful enough to open a doorway for them) of entering our world. Once here, if they can get past all your defenses unless you are very strong at warding. They can enter your body and feast at will, even asserting a degree of control over you. Yes, this is exactly like the old stories of Demon possession.

You – yes, you can be a Vampire:

There exist in this world evil creatures. They are highly intelligent, capable of working magic, and extremely devious. They are capable of not only psychic magical attacks, but physical ones as well. As a species, they tend to be amoral, murderous animals. I call them ‘humans’. Humans are also capable of ‘feeding’ off the energies of other humans- Herne (owner of this website) calls them “Psychic Vampires”. They do this to gain more magical power, to control others, or to replace the energies they are losing by dealing with the Shadows. Some humans can even do this while traveling astrally. So that Evil Spirit that tried to get into your last circle may not have been from the other side; it could have been your next-door neighbor.

Oops! Did I just do that?

Magic is an art form. Despite the best efforts of Ritual Magicians and Techno pagans, it remains as unpredictable and powerful as the weather unless you are highly skilled and focused. Scientists studying weather prediction in the 1970’s discovered something amazing. Weather, they found, is so unstable as to be impossible to predict more than a day or two in advance. In fact, computer models suggested something they called the Butterfly Theory. It seems that the air disturbed by a butterfly taking off from a cactus in Mexico, if it happened at the right time and place, could in theory cause devastating storms and tornadoes in the U.S. Midwest. Magic is very similar. Each action we take, magical or mundane, has consequences that spread out from it like the ripples in a pond.

They spread out, touching everything- and reflect back to converge on the source. Be very sure, then, before you work magic, exactly what the consequences may be. Ask yourself, “If this spell backfires on me, and affects me instead of the intended target, can I live with the result?” Thus, I tend to use magic “only in direst need, and then must the cause be just” (author unknown).

Some Wiccans counsel about how rain on your fields could cause drought elsewhere. This might be true, if you are trying with your own personal power to ‘squeeze’ the rain clouds as they pass over. But asking the Lady and Lord for the blessing of rain for everybody’s crops is a different thing entirely. Selfish magic has negative consequences: Loving, giving magic only positive ones. For Selfishness is the true root of all evil. “I want it! Destroy the world, let Chaos take the universe, as long as I get what I want!” Be careful of what you ask, you just may get it…

Power corrupts:

So, you’ve studied hard, learned all about Wiccan magic, and now you find you can really do things. All the power of the Elements is yours to command. Love, money, power, respect- all these are yours. You are special. You are powerful. You are a God! Now, you must convince others to worship you, to lend you their energy so that your power can grow. But that’s OK, because you are a loving God, and you want only what’s best for your worshipers. And you know what’s best for them, for you know all, and see all. For you alone are God of this world you have created.

Can’t happen? Do the names Jim Jones, Sun Myung Moon or David Koresh ring a bell? It is important to remember that the gift of magical power is just that- a gift from the Lady and Lord. It must never be abused. And glorifying yourself because of something lent to you is like showing up at your class reunion in a borrowed suit and a rented Jaguar.

What Should I Put In My Book of Shadows?

What Should I Put In My Book of Shadows?

Author: Bronwen Forbes

The most common question I’ve seen on various online forums and been asked by my own students is, “What should I put on my altar?” The second most common question is “What should I put in my Book of Shadows?” For some reason, the Book of Shadows – like an altar – is something that most Pagans are scared spitless about “messing up.” They will go out and buy a lovely bound blank journal from their local mega chain bookstore or a leather-bound notebook with a pentacle carved on the front, and do absolutely nothing with it for years.

I freely admit that I am guilty of this; I have *both* a bound blank journal from my local mega chain bookstore *and* a leather-bound notebook (black leather, no less) with Celtic knotwork carved on the front and they are both, well, basically blank. My excuse is that my handwriting is lousy and I don’t want to “mess them up.”

The first step toward the fulfillment (literally and figuratively) of a Book of Shadows is to determine exactly what a Book is and what it does. A Book of Shadows is part poetry collection, part journal, part dictionary and encyclopedia, part recipe book and part ritual construction guide (I’ll go over these in a minute) . Depending on your own interests and practice, some of these parts may be bigger than others in your own Book. What a Book of Shadows *does* is keep all of this information in safe, easily referenced place.

Does it actually have to be in book form? Nope! My journal and leather notebook are blank, but I have a four-drawer file cabinet stuffed (and I do mean stuffed. Trust me, I recently moved it halfway across the country) with printouts and photocopies of articles I’ve found useful to my practice and my writing in the past or that may be useful in the future; copies of poems I think might be nice to read in ritual someday; notes on how to teach a basic Tarot class; handouts from workshops I’ve taken on Norse spaeworking, knot/string magic, and drumming; and scripts from old rituals I’ve led or attended, just to name a bit of it.

I guess you could say I have a File Cabinet of Shadows. It may not be pretty, or open to the exact file I need just by asking like the Hallowell sisters’ Book did on Charmed, but it’s mostly organized and I can find what I need in it pretty quickly. Also, as a recent flash drive accident reminded me, I can access the material in my file cabinet for years without worrying about hardware or software malfunction, unlike folks who prefer a Disk of Shadows or something similar. Also, barring an unlikely full-house-immersion flood, the material in my File Cabinet of Shadows will be around for a long, long time.

So let’s talk about the specific stuff you can put in your own Book. As you read more and practice more, you’re likely to run across bits of poetry that you think would be great to use in ritual. You might even be inspired to write some poems of your own. Your Book is the perfect place to store them.

If you do a lot of tarot or rune readings for yourself or others, or if you incorporate specific cards in your rituals, you can – and probably should – record your reading in your Book of Shadows. That way you can go back and look at it weeks or months later and see how accurate your predictions were. If you work with your dreams (interpretation, etc.) , your Books is a good place to record those, too.

There is so much material to absorb when you first start on the Pagan path. When is Samhain, and how do I pronounce it? What’s an athame for, and how do I spell it? When do I use a boline? What’s a thurbile?

You can make notes in your Book so you can look stuff up again later – much like you took/take notes in class. Writing this information down also helps you keep it all straight in your mind.

If you take a Paganism/Witchcraft 101 class and the teacher gives you handouts, either get a three-ring Binder of Shadows (not a bad idea, actually) and stick them in there or find some way to get the information from those handouts into your smaller Book.

If you like to blend your own essential oils or incense, or are an herbalist, your Book of Shadows is the perfect place to write down recipes you like and also make note of recipes or blends that didn’t work as well as you’d hoped.

You can also write down basic spellworkings as recipes, “Do this, then say that, then light the yellow candle, then do this…” Next time you need to do that particular working, the “ingredients” are all right there.

You can also write down the basics of how you’ve celebrated each sabbat/esbat. That way, when the holiday comes up again next year, you’ve got a record of what you did, what worked and what didn’t (you can write that down, too) , and you don’t have to reinvent the ritual from scratch. Also, if in January, say, you have a great idea for something to do next Samhain, you can write it down in your Book so a) you know where it is and b) you don’t forget it.

In short, a Book of Shadows is as individual as the person who makes it, and that’s okay. Let me repeat that: it’s okay to make your Book of Shadows uniquely *yours*. I have my File Cabinet. My husband, who learns best from watching other peoples’ mistakes, says that his Book (if he were to have one) would be page after page of “Don’t do” and “Never try.” Neither of us is particularly artistic (I’m even completely incompetent at scrapbooking) , but if you are, don’t be afraid to add artwork to your Book.

If you are an accomplished scrapbooker, use those skills to make your book even more personal. If you’ve traveled to a place that has particular spiritual significance for you, put some of the pictures you took or postcards you bought in your Book.

Couldn’t you just download one of the Books of Shadows on the Internet? You could – but I don’t recommend it. And that’s a subject for a completely different Witchvox article for another day.

In the meantime, my File Cabinet of Shadows needs dusting!