YOUR Book of Shadows

[Solitary_Wiccan]

Hey guys,

I've been starting my own Book of Shadows, including what I think it necessary, etc, and was wondering what you include in yours?

The very first page of mine is a book blessing, followed by the Wiccan Creed, then onto how to cast a circle, etc. I plan to develop upon this and eventually have a vast amount of knowledge from herbalism, to my own interpretations of tarots readings, to spells and rituals, etc.

So, question is, what do you include in yours?

[Sacred]

)O( Book of Shadows )O(

What Is & History
~What Paganism Is

* History
* Misconceptions
* Beliefs
* Pagan Paths

~What Wicca Is

* History
* Misconceptions
* Beliefs
* Wiccan Paths

~What Witchcraft Is

* History
* Misconceptions
* Beliefs
* Paths


Pantheons

Terms

* Definitions


Redes, Creeds, Principles, Laws

* Wiccan Rede
* 13 Principles of Wicca
* Karma Vs. 3 Fold Law


Wheel of the Year

* Sabbats
* Esbats


Rituals
Energy Clearing & Charging
Elemental
Astrological
Divination

* Tarot
* Scrying

Reiki
Auras
Astral Projection
Psychic Bonds
Days & Correspondence
Colors & Magical Associations
Gems, Crystals, Stones & Metal Correspondences
Herbalism
Aromatherapy
Incense
Sachets
Charms
Candles
Miscellaneous

* Reflections
* Dreams
* Magical Alphabet
* Inspirational Quotes
* Resources

[jcrowfoot]

Well, I'm not really wiccan, but I do sorta have a book of shadows. It's sort of split between the on-line portion (which includes a lot of links) and a paper version which is two disorganized piles of ramblings I've had over the years.

It includes:

A book protection cant, an outline of my view of the spirit plane/multiverse, incense, oils and brews recipes that I made, or recipes that people have given me, spells I've written (I rarely use pre-written spells) chants, color corispondences, healing tips, herbal remedies, ritual-related food recipes, witchy craft projects/spells, prayers, diagrams for altar setups for specific rites and spells, information about various spirit animals, spirits, and ancestors, a scrap book of the same with pictures and drawings of said beings, myths, ancient spells and pictures of ancient talismans and rune inscriptions, runelore, herb-lore, parts of a book of shadows I was able to copy from an undisclosed former teacher, song lyrics I could turn into chants for spells, nifty spiritual pictures, diagrams for bind-runes, a quick and dirty gemstone and mineral uses magickal and healing; a catelogue of the spells I remembered to document and my diary of the same, listings of dreams and their interpretations if any; a listing of various omens I thought I saw and what they meant, sometimes followed up by commentary later; two lunar cycles of night observations and the energy of the same (I was trying for a whole year and sort of dropped the ball on that); rants on the aura, grounding, circle casting, healing, drumming and tonal chants and protective spells; meditation logs, Shamanic notes and comentaries, and recipes for special use candles. Oh, and documentation on the various tools that I use and their history. No,I'm not OCD, but I play one on a message board.

[Solitary_Wiccan]

Very interesting!

I would much rather prefer to have a small ring binder book of shadows where I can insert printed pages into sections when I want - I'm a little OCDish myself lol - though I'm not sure if I'll lose my personal touch with it.

What do you guys think? A small ring binder book of shadows sounds very appealing to me, but I'm not sure if I should do that. Any suggestions?

[Shaman of Bliss]

I myself have one on my upstairs computer, that has text files I've written up about magickal plant uses,etc. You need fivepassword to get into the folder. What I've done is write all my spells in one book, my Book of Shadows, and then in the other I write about dreams, experience sharing seeds, etc. That second book I call the Book of the Warrior, or the Warrior Chronicles. I have taken photos of my Book of Shadows, and put the images on my computer, so I can read the originals off the screen.

And yes, everything is super organized on my computer, because I can be a little OCD too, lol.

[[EarthWitch]]

I have journals that I fill with thoughts, rituals, spells, herbs, stones, candle magick, and all sorts of things!

[Tymar]

I do write down a lot of my dreams on my computer.
But i always make sure to keep backups or hard copys just in case.

My book of Shadows is more of just a ringed binder with tips and hints that i use when i need them or think about adding to it.
Its not an organised book so to speak, but i know where to look to find things.

BB. Tymar

[Heka]

i do have book of shadows that i write like journal entries in (well i havent for a while but i like to think its up to date)

i also have a handwritten book on tarot that i constantly expand as well as a beautiful hand made book from indonesian that i write rune info in. and i have a kinda shitty little folder that is jam packed full of the randomest info but i know whats in there so usually dont have a trouble with it.

plus random paper work all through my room and stuff on the internet. id love and organised bos but itll take me a while. but i think i go for ring binder... so much easier that hand written pretty book...but the a hand written pretty book IS a hand written pretty book after all.....

Blessings

Heka

xoxox

[SpiritTalker]

Old topic

what to put in BOS -

Recitations- Charge of the Goddess, Creation story from Aradia, Gospell of Witches, Descent of the Goddess, Wiccan Rede, Witches Rune, your favorite chants
Rituals - tools use & altar set-ups, Blessing, Consecration, Complete Circle Ritual, Self Dedication, Draw Down the Moon as Solitaire, Lesser Banishing Rite of the Pentagram, Hand Fasting, Wiccaning, Requiem & 8 holidays
Deities - names, mythology, powers, symbols, prayers, offerings & celebration dates
Recipes - ritual food &'drink, incense and oil blends, sprinkling powders, potions
Spells - using bottles, candles, cords & knots, sigils, invoking & banishing pentagrams, hex & evil-eye removal, long-distance healing
Lists elemental correspondences, herb & stone properties, Moon phase - weekday timing
Misc Interests - personal experiences, your zodiac info, Moon garden plans, planting/harvesting by moon phase, nature trail maps, divination forms, favorite witchy jokes, WC supply websites, discussion boards & your pw & user ID

[Garuda]

So far, my BoS is more of a journal than anything: insights, dates and details of a Working, etc. But I am just getting started in proper witching and, at this point at least, don't have much emphasis on my BoS' place in that aside from as a simple record book. Maybe that will change over time, but I doubt my own BoS will ever be as richly-detailed as the list SpiritTalker provided! Lol