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Sombergoddess
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 3:20 pm

Build your own Book of Shadows

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Contrary to popular belief, a Book of Shadows is not a specific book or text. Many movies and television shows portray it as an ancient and mystical book filled with spells and incantations, or a magical book that that has every answer in it that you could ever need. Those new to the Craft soon realize that is not the case. Every Wiccan writes and keeps their own personal Book of Shadows. New Wiccans are often confused or overwhelmed with the prospect of creating such a book. Here are some ideas and guideline to help you out.

First of all, there is no 'right' way to keep a BoS. Your Bos is what you make it. There are as many variations as there are Wiccans. Some people don't even keep one. If you belong to a coven, there may be a Book of Shadows belonging to the group that you will be expected to copy from. If you belong to a coven, talk to your high priestess And find out their rules and regulations on the BoS. If you are solitary, you'll have to start from scratch, and The solitary book of shadows is what we'll be focusing on here.

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 4:03 pm

What Kind of book do you use?

The term Book of Shadows tends to conjure up large, leather-bound tomes with metal latches and buckles, as well as. Books like that are available but they are not cheap and can be cumbersome to use. There are also wooden cover books that are expandable and grow with you, these are nice but cost a pretty penny. In actuality, any blank book, preferably black to repel negativity, will do, even an artist's sketchbook. Binders can be a practical choice, because you can move the pages around as your collection of information grows. Some very modern Wiccans use a DoS (Disk of Shadows) and keep their material on computer. This is not a favorite way of many traditionalist Wicca, as they believe that the book should be hand written. It lends more power and energy to the word if they're written with your own hand. I personally fall into this group and use a black binder with tab dividers, but to each his own. If you don't have a problem with typing and printing yours out, or keeping it on your computer, then go for it. It's your book, do it your way.
There are even quite a few PC programs out there that you can get from mail=order catalogs and online that will help you make your electronic BoS.

Another frequent question about making a BoS is what to write with. Some want to keep a beautiful and traditional book, and think the best writing utensil is a quill and ink. While this may be a good idea, you don't want it to be too time consuming to take notes or record information. Your book just won't get used. A fountain pen is a good compromise, but any pen or pencil is fine. I personally prefer the roller ball pens with the liquid ink.

Sombergoddess
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Sombergoddess
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 4:04 pm

Now what do I put in it?

Quite frankly, anything you want. Your BoS is a very personal book, and it is completely up to you what goes in. It's normally good to start your book of with a Blessing of some kind. You can find many pre-written blessings online and in different Wiccan texts, but it's always best if you write your own. Again, it makes it more personal and lends a kind of energy to the book.

The kind of material tends to fall into 2 categories: reference or personal. Reference material may include useful correspondences, moon phase dates, sabbat information, spells you might like to try, etc. You can find good reference material from books or on the Internet. Personal material might be a dream journal, poetry or artwork, results of spells you've done, recordings of astral work, etc.

Personally, I have two books. One is a large, 3-ring binder with divider tabs that's filled with anything and everything. The other is a note book i use to take notes as I'm reading and studying. When I've gotten a lot of info on a particular topic I transfer it to the main book. For writing I use a high-quality, roller ball pen. Some example topics you can have in your book are:

Affirmations
Altar Diagrams
Animal Magic
Art work
Astrology
Astral Projection
Candle Magic
Chakra Research
Chants
Charge of the Goddess
Charge of the God
Circle casting
Color magic
Definitions/Jargon
Divination
Dowsing
Dream Work
Earth Magic
Elemental Magic
Esbat Rituals
Gem Magic
Ghost work
God research
Goddess Research
Herb Magic
Invocations
Magical Alphabets
Magical Correspondence Tables
Meditation
Pantheon Research
Poetry
Prayers
Quotes
Ritual work
Rune research
Sabbats
Sabbat rituals
Songs
Spells
Spell work
Tarot research
Tools of the craft
Wiccan rede

As your library and cupboard grow you may want to keep book lists and inventory lists too. This is just a sample list. Use as many as you like or create new ones as you feel the need. Your book should be yours and fit your needs.

Don't let yourself get caught up in putting together the perfect Book of Shadows. If you start it and don't like how it's turning out, start another one. As time passes, you'll find it an invaluable tool. And please remember that a BoS is a very personal thing and can be whatever to want it to be.

* Some content borrowed from http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/wicca101/a/startbos.htm

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 4:40 pm

Okie dokie, there you go. If you think I forgot anything imortant or you have any questions, now is the time to speak up.

Sombergoddess
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Sombergoddess
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 4:41 pm

~Reserved~

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 4:43 pm

~Reserved~

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World Auirora

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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 3:58 pm

this is a little weird to ask...but...your saying that the Book of Shadows is basically like a special journal to write the things that interest you in? and an odd question....how can you find out your element?... sweatdrop

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:13 pm

World Auirora

this is a little weird to ask...but...your saying that the Book of Shadows is basically like a special journal to write the things that interest you in? and an odd question....how can you find out your element?... sweatdrop

Yup.... that's exactly what it is.... just a journal you keep as you learn more about Wicca. You can start with writing down your thoughts on it and all the new things you learn. Then as you progress, you write your spells and rituals and how they worked and stuff. It's also a reference book. You write down the correspondence tables and the rede and any other info that you want to keep close at hand... so you don't have to search though all your books every time you need to find an answer to something.

Since Wicca doesn't have a bible or a set book of spells and rituals..... you make your own so you have a easy reference book.

As for your question about finding your element... I'm not quite sure what you mean. There are elements assigned to the different zodiac signs. Like I'm a Taurus and that's an earth sign. Your a Leo I think, and that's a fire sign, but if that's not what you meant then this might be a good question to ask in the main forum. Just make a thread and ask everyone! I'm sure someone will know.

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