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
Favorite crystals/herbs/animals
How you got into the craft
Birthday correspondences (birth tarot card, birth stone, etc)
Anything other relating to your personal practice
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)
How to incorporate blood safely
Intention and how it works
Elemental (fire, water, air, earth)
Directions (north, south, east, west)
Local plants, animals, etc
Practices that are closed to you (some examples below)
Voodoo and Hoodoo **Closed**
Santeria and Brujeria **Closed**
Shamanism and native american practices **Closed**
Satanism, both theistic and non-theistic paths
+ Different types/practices of magick
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
Deity worship vs deity work
Prayers and how to make your own
Deity communication guide
Ways to get closer to them
+ Other spiritual entities
House spirits, animal spirits and plant spirits
Other various folklore entities
Setting boundaries with the spirits
Communication guide and etiquette
Grounding, banishing, protection and cleansing, aka: "Spirit work safety guide"
Tasseography (Tea leaf reading)
Shufflemancy (Shuffling of a playlist)
Bibliomancy (Randomly picking a phrase from a book)
Pyromancy (Reading flames)
Divination via playing cards
Charms, talismans and amulets
Disposing of spell ingredients
Revitalizing long term spells
What to put in spells (See correspondence)
Spell mediums- Jar spells, spoken spells, candle spells, sigils, etc
Taglocks: What they are and how to use them
The 12 full moons (Esbats)
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
Moon water: What it is and how to use it
+ Mental health and self care
Mental health coping mechanisms
+ 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
+ Common witchcraft terms
+ Common symbols in witchcraft
+ Good witchcraft books and authors to avoid
+ Any online resources you utilize often
