Book of shadows sounds magical, scary, and maybe even satanic when you know it has something to do with witchcraft. Or at least so was for me when I first decided to get in to magic. Book of shadows, not quite what one could think.
Because this blog will be my journey to discover witchcraft what would be better way to start than explain the term “book of shadows”?
What is book of shadows?
Book of shadows (or sometimes BOS) is simply put witch’s diary and spell book. To be more exact and if you want to sound fancy – book of shadows is book with sacred instructions for Wiccans or other pagans.
Inside his/her book of shadows witch stores all the necessary information about magic and witchcraft. Traditionally book of shadows has been handwritten diary but new modern witch should do what feels the best for them. More and more blogs working as the substitute for the traditional ones. Most of the witchcraft guides sold in bookstores could be named as one kind of books of shadows.
How I make a book of shadows?
I won’t go too much into this because I haven’t done my own research yet. Apparently there isn’t clear rules and every witch should follow their intuition. I’m starting to feel like that’s the case with everything… Here’s list of somethings most witches include in their own books of shadows:
- Information of their coven
- Information of what they believe in (god/goddess/etc.)
- Sacred Texts (parts of bible or other religious texts)
- Correspondence Tables
- Rituals and how to make them
- Spells and how to make them
- Divination (how to & results)
- Info about herbs and tools you use
- Diary of you learning new things
- Calendar of moon phases, etc.
- Meditation diary
The history of book of shadows
During the history of human kind there has been books or sacred texts talking about rituals, beliefs, and magic. However, book of shadows is a newer creation that has its roots in the Wiccan paganism. To be exact book of shadows was first introduced to witches and Wiccans in the 1950s. The father of modern Wiccas Gerald Gardner has been said to be the writer of first book of shadows.
Gardner and his followers copied passages from each others to their own books of shadows changing, adding, and deleting. The practices of witches haven’t changed a lot even if we have adapted to the modern ages. Even now when you start your own book of shadows the norm is to copy from others the things that fit best for you. According to Gardner, the book of shadows is kind of like your personal cookbook for magic.
Like witches their books of shadows have been controversial topic for ages. At some point these pagan diaries were even forbidden. Some older books of shadows from mid 1900 have been preserved well and so even modern witches can learn from the first modern Wiccans if they so want!
Are you ready to make your own book of shadows? Because I am! This blog will be kind of like my book of shadows however I will also keep real handwritten book of shadows. As a writer handwriting has special place in my heart…
Magical Book of Shadows 