Are you a new Witch who doesn’t know why do you need to have a B.O.S?
Or you might just be confused and lost about what exactly should you be writing on you magical book.
Truth is: You don`t really NEED one for your witchcraft practice, BUT it can really help you to “level up” your magical skills by taking notes of your past magical experiences or simply writing correspondences for future rituals and spells.
When I started my magical practices I just kept one old high school notebooks and sort of wrote everything I did and read on the internet, books, etc… I just mixed everything. But it turns out for me, it wasn’t really working because I could never find what I wanted LOL.
So maybe it’s easier for you to have one book for each subject, and that will help you A LOT on your studies.
So anyway, if you`re wondering what kind of things you could be writing I’ve came up with 5 most important and ESSENCIAL things for your Book of Shadows.
1. WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAMS:
I know, this one seems stupid, but a lot of people underestimate dreams and think they are not really that big of a deal. IT IS. Specially if you are working on a spell, or working with deities. They could be talking to you with symbols and secret messages in your dreams. So write before you go to sleep say it to yourself: “I am going to remember everything I dream tonight and afterwards I will write this down on my grimoire.” This helps your brain retain information about what you dreamed that night.
2. TAKE NOTES ON YOUR MAGICAL EXPERIENCES:
Ok, this one is the most important for me. It is CRUCIAL that you write everything when performing a spell, ESPECIALLY one which you’ve created from scratch. Write down the phase of the moon at the time, the exact time you performed it, the day of the week, the stars, the color of the candles you used, herbs, etc…
Take notes on how you felt before and after a banishing ritual. Take daily notes on how your personal energy is going.
3. MAKE LISTS AND BULLET POINTS:
I like to make magical shopping lists on my grimoire. It’s important for me to keep a section filled with simple and essencial spells and herbs that I might use every month, for example: Herbs for protection, for banishing, for chakra cleansing, incenses, candles and etc…
I also make lists of spells I wanna be performing on the Full Moon in advance. WHY? Because I can get lazy with magic sometimes, and I know you can too. So when the full moon comes I already have my ritual written down along with all my ingredients for it.
4. SEPARATE ONE SECTION FOR DIVINATION:
Yes, divination is important. Wether it is to try and guess what is going to happen in your life this year, or using it for self-knowledge purposes, or to just talk to your gods… Divination is a big part of magic and I think that learning how it works is crucial for your magic.
Choose one type of divination: Tarot or Runes, or another one that you think is easier for you. Learn about it, write down the meanings and associations and then practice every single day. Sleep with a tarot card or rune under your pillow and write down your feelings and dreams the next day. Carry one with you during your day and write down everything that happen so that later on you can compare with the “official meaning” of that card or rune. Medidate and don’t forget to keep taking notes.
5. LAST BUT NOT LEAST” CONSECRATE AND PURIFY IT.
This is not obligatory, but it’s necessary in case you wanna protect it from ending up in the hands of people you don’t want to read it. It is a magic book, guys! And even more personal than a journal or a diary. So I would protect it and keep it very safe.
So here is a very cute and short blessing prayer for your B.o.S :
Elements of fire, water, wind and earth please protect this book
From wondering eyes and prying looks
Fill it with strong and Ancient power.
In this right and ready hour.
Of course you can use this one as a base and modify it to your will. There are tons of other blessing you could find on the internet. You could also consecrate it to your Mother Goddess and Father God, and then decorate it as you want.
I bought mine on Amazon, it’s cheaper than trying to find one here where I live so that’s where I would buy it.
Here are my favorites:
1. Obsidian Journal:
2.Antique Leather Handmade Journal
3. Big Leather Journal (Handmade)
4.Leather Journal with a stone on the cover: (I am IN LOVE with this one.I guess I’m ordering a new journal)
5. Leather Journal with Gem Stones. This is my absolute favorite.It’s not that cheap, but LOOK at it. So gorgeous.
6. Classic Book of Shadows with a pentagram on the cover. This one is perfect!
I could spend hours and hours on this website looking at new journals to create a new B.O.S. I’m obsessed by them. But how it looks it is not always important. You could just use an old high school notebook if you want!
Just remember to have fun with it! Cut out spells, put some dried herbs, make some beautiful drawings…
All of this can help you understand magic even more than just reading books.
Magic is not just theory, it is PRACTICE, TRIAL AND ERROR.