Books of Shadows

A witch's Book of Shadows(BOS) isn't something that is mandatory. However it is very useful in many cases, especially during the winter months which is a time of reflection. Going over past rituals and magical workings can give you idea's for the coming year ahead. I wanted to post this because I know we have those who are new to the craft in our coven. I am aware that not everyone in this coven or who reads this is a witch and wishes to go through the task of keeping a Book of Shadows.

I wanted to post this so everyone was aware of how useful a BOS can actually be on the progressive path of being a good witch or in general a good magic user.

In a bos is a number of things that are kept, these usually vary in some areas based on what you are studying. For those who are into Wicca a few things that are recommended would be of course,

notes on the holidays, any rituals you did solitary or with a coven, how you felt after and during the ritual.

A brief history on Wicca, what it is, and a personal notation as to why you decided to follow this path, as well as what it means to you. (This can be done with any path or any kind of magic)

You can included stones, herbs, potion recipes, tea recipies, spells etc pretty much whatever you want related to the craft.

However what a lot of people forget is that you can include dates of specific dreams along with actual dream and what your interpretation is of that dream, and then later reflect on that interpretation and make changes as needed.

Some people forget to add in moon phases, if you are as bad as me with the moon phases, if you use windows 7 there is an app you can get to remind you, and most calendars are pretty good about marking the quarters and the full and new moons, so keep one of those handy as a back up (we all know about technical difficulties).

What I want to stress though is that, in cases of reflection a bos is a fantastic way to really asses your own path, and how far you have come. I know it can be tedious to maintain a bos, but those who have had one over a year can tell you how good it is, and how helpful it can be.

You can take notes on anything related to what you are studying, even if you aren't Wiccan. The general idea is to keep track of your workings, and the lessons you've learned. I've encountered several people who do this through a long series of diaries (usually more than 5 by the time they meet me) and they not only have a chance to reflect, but they find deeper meaning in the rituals or rites they have done in the past, combine them together with ones more recent, then create a whole new ritual to express those very meanings to reinforce their foundation of knowledge upon those meanings.

I just hope that most of my coven members here are trying to maintain a personal book of shadows for themselves. I know it's difficult learning from online sources, it has been since the internet allowed us to start learning just about anything we wanted. However, I wanted to point out that if you choose to print anything, make sure you give credit where credit is due. You'll find as you progress that you'll make changes to someones spell to make it your own, re-write things because something has changed and you feel it's needed to make a change to the appropriate passage.

The other reason I'm making this post is that I want to let everyone in the coven know that even though I may not log on frequently, you should never hesitate to ask me, the priest, or the council members for help when you need it. We elders of the craft have experience and knowledge, and are here specifically to help and share our knowledge of the craft to help those who are new in starting out. It can be very lonely at first and we are here to help you, you don't have to have that lonely feeling.

If there are any topics in which anyone would like to learn, please feel free to let me know and I will help you or put you in touch with someone of knowledge who can you on your path.

"I bless each of you in the name of the Goddess and God with a safe and happy journey through the life of a witch. May you journey lead you to new heights in your levels of knowledge, and personal understanding of the craft as well as yourselves and the world around you." ~High Priestess Lady SilverVixen~

Great post.

Well did you have anything that you'd like to add Hells?

Lovely post.

I have a handleather journal imbossed with a running horse that I keep for my spiritual journey add things about my meditions and dreams ect(talking about dreams the one I had the other night was extremly weird even for me....pink spaceships,naked people,buses and a panther lol)but I digress,.... I also have
other journals most are just fancy notebooks, but I got a lovely journal that has a triquetra symbol printed on it that I've transfered magic related things from my other notebooks too, though I do think I'm going to have to get a couple of them as I dont think one is big enough Lol,
I also jot things down on plain notebooks first then I decide afterwards if I think there worthy of going into my BOS :)

I find having a BOS really useful especially 4 years down the line you start to forgot certain pivotal moments that you can look back on and have one of those "ah I remember that now" moments :)

Love and Light

This is an excellent post vixey and you are right, as you grow in your knowledge so does your stacks of BOS grow as well..and It is nice to have the chance to go back and look at how far you have advanced from the time you started learning till the time you are looking at it and it also gives you the excitement to want to expand that knowledge and add your new learnings to your BOS as well

Indeed a really good thread!
I keep a magickal diary at my altar at all times...i look forward on reading it on new years eve and reflect on my past 5 years of practice...it will bring back memories and i'm sure i will find out a few new things about myself that i didn't know yet...i am SO glad i have it and that my mentor told me to keep one...i already posted a lesson on this in the coven's lessons section...because i wrote what i did and how i felt and how the results were, i am now able to look back and put things together...at the end of each year, i read the whole thing again and write a report on it...almost like in school...when i read my past reoprts, i am able to see how i am changing and why i am changing...because i keep writing everything in my magickal dairy, down to a detail, i am able to figure out at what time my spells and rituals work best and what correspondences suit me best...and he thing is, it's always different and i am able to learn from that...i just can't imagine my craft without my diary it really is the best partner and the best teacher as well!
I highly suggest that you keep one yourself!
Blessed be!

its definitely a very informative post!!!!!
Can sme1 explain what's a triqueta....i mean its magickal purpose????thx
Blessed be!!!

Well, a triquerta can represent the Holy Trinity( The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost). Or it can represent the Triple Goddess. As for magical implements it is up to you.

I find the triquetra to work wonderfully in healing and protection magic, but then again, that's what I focus a lot of my magic around, so... yeah

I have one, I plan on decorating it soon to make it feel more personal then it already is.