Things to put in your book of shadows
Of course, only put in your book of shadows/grimoire what you want. If you don't want to put certain subjects in your book then that's fine. It's your book, utilize it how you want. This is just a masterlist of ideas that I've put together. Feel free to add anything else to the list that I may have missed, because there's absolutely no way I included everything.
And for the love of all the gods, if you come across a closed entity or practice, don't try to work with the entity or practice if you're not already part of that group or tradition. You can research it but don't practice it.
+ A blessing and/or protection
+ A table of contents
+ About you:
Your current path
Your personal beliefs
Your spiritual journey
Favorite crystals/herbs/animals
Natal chart
Craft name
How you got into the craft
Astrology signs
Birthday correspondences (birth tarot card, birth stone, etc)
Goals (if you have any)
Anything other relating to your personal practice
+ Safety
Fire safety
What NOT to burn
Plants and oils that can be toxic to your pets
What crystals shouldn't be in water, sunlight, etc
Things that shouldn't be put out in nature (salt, glass, etc)
Potion safety
How to incorporate blood safely
+ Core concepts:
Intention and how it works
Directing energy
Protection
Banishing
Cleansing
Charging
Shielding
Grounding and centering
Visualization
Consencration/Blessing
Warding
Enchanting
Manifestation
+ Correspondence
Personal correspondence
Crystals and rocks
Herbs and spices
Food and drink
Colors
Metals
Number
Tarot card
Elemental (fire, water, air, earth)
Trees and woods
Flowers
Days
Months
Moon phases
Zodiac
Planets
Incense
Teas
Essential oils
Directions (north, south, east, west)
Animals
Local plants, animals, etc
Dream symbology
+ Different practices
Practices that are closed to you (some examples below)
Voodoo and Hoodoo **Closed**
Santeria and Brujeria **Closed**
Shamanism and native american practices **Closed**
Wicca and wiccan paths
Satanism, both theistic and non-theistic paths
+ Different types/practices of magick
Pop culture magick
Technology magick
Chaos magick
Green witchcraft
Lunar magick
Sea witchcraft
Kitchen magick
Ceremonial magick
Hedge witchcraft
Death witchcraft
Grey witchcraft
Eclectic witchcraft
Norse witchcraft
Hellenic witchcraft
Animism
+ Deities
The deity/deities you worship
Different pantheons (the main five are Celtic, Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Norse, all open)
Deities and pantheons that are closed to you
Common offerings
Their epithets
Their mythology
Their family
Deity worship vs deity work
Prayers and how to make your own
Deity communication guide
Devotional acts
Ways to get closer to them
+ Other spiritual entities
Angels
Ancestor work
Spirit guides
The fae
Demons
Familiars
House spirits, animal spirits and plant spirits
Other various folklore entities
Spirit etiquette
Cemetery etiquette
Setting boundaries with the spirits
Communication guide and etiquette
Grounding, banishing, protection and cleansing, aka: "Spirit work safety guide"
How they appear to you
Common offerings
Circle casting
+ Divination
Tarot cards
Oracle cards
Tarot and oracle spreads
Pendulum
Numerology
Scrying
Palmistry/palm reading
Tasseography (Tea leaf reading)
Rune stones
Shufflemancy (Shuffling of a playlist)
Dice divination
Bibliomancy (Randomly picking a phrase from a book)
Carromancy (Melted wax)
Pyromancy (Reading flames)
Psychic abilities
Astrology
Aura reading
Divination via playing cards
Lenormand
Sacred geometry
Angel numbers
+ Other types of magick
Candle magick
Crystal magick
Herbalism/herbal magick
Glamour magick
Hexing
Jinxing
Cursing
Weather magick
Astral work
Shadow work
Energy work
Sigils
Art magick
Knot magick
Crystal grids
Color grids
Music magick
Charms, talismans and amulets
+ Spellwork
What makes a spell work
Basic spell structure
What NOT to do
Disposing of spell ingredients
Revitalizing long term spells
How to cast spells
What to put in spells (See correspondence)
Spell mediums- Jar spells, spoken spells, candle spells, sigils, etc
Spell timing
Setting up a ritual
Taglocks: What they are and how to use them
+ Holidays and Esbats
Yule
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Litha
Lughnasadh/Lammas
Mabon
Samhain
The 12 full moons (Esbats)
How to celebrate
Deity specific holidays
+ Altars and tools
What they are
The different types and their uses (travel altar, working altar, deity altar, ancestor altar, etc)
What you can put on your altar
What you use your altars for
Common tools in witchcraft
How to use the tools
Food and drink
Common herbs in recipes
Sabbat recipes
Moon water: What it is and how to use it
Potion bases
Tea magick
How to get your herbs
Foraging
+ Mental health and self care
Bath magick
Affirmations
Burnout prevention
Aromatherapy
Stress management
Mental health coping mechanisms
+ History of witchcraft
+ Dream records
+ How to differentiate between the magickal and the mundane
+ Calendar of celestial events (Esbats, retrogrades, etc)
+ How to dry herbs and flowers
+ What chakras actually are and how they work within Hinduism
+ History and traditional uses of reiki
+ The witches' alphabet
+ The runic alphabet
+ Common witchcraft terms
+ Common symbols in witchcraft
+ Your own witch tips
+ Good witchcraft books and authors to avoid
+ Any online resources you utilize often
