What to Put in
a Book of Shadows
There’s no right or wrong when it comes to what you put in your Book of Shadows. If it speaks to you, it belongs in your book, and the things that speak to each individual Witch can be quite varied. I was once given a BoS that contained a Myers-Briggs personality test. While I didn’t find that test particularly witchy, someone else must have felt that way since it went into their book.
When I evaluate what to put in my Book of Shadows, I generally ask myself the following three simple questions. If the answer is yes to all three questions, it goes in my book.
Do I think this will be valuable in a year or two?
Most Witches I know are exposed to a lot of information on a yearly basis, far more than they could ever write down or put in a BoS. When determining what should go in my “BoS permanent record,” I tend to only choose information that I think will be useful in the future.
Does this ritual or material resonate with me?
Everything that goes into a BoS should mean something to the individual Witch who puts it there. If a ritual was uninspiring, it doesn’t need to be in a Book of Shadows.
Will I ever use what I’m writing down?
I’ve come across a whole host of fabulous charms and spells over the years, but a lot of them I can’t ever imagine using, so they don’t go into my BoS. I have a great Witchcraft library, so those charms can stay there. I try to reserve my BoS’s for what’s most important.
It’s tempting to fill up a BoS with everything and anything, but you’ll burn yourself out pretty quickly if you go that route. It’s better to be at least a little bit choosy and to focus on the things that will take your Witchcraft practice to the next level. When it comes to picking out what to put in a BoS, you are the ultimate authority.
What follows are some of the more common things that I’ve found in various Witch books over the last twenty years. If some of these ideas speak to you, that’s great, and if some don’t, even better! One of the great strengths about Witchcraft is how it can be tailored to each individual Witch. My own books don’t even include every example in this chapter.
The Opening Pages
Every good book should have a title page, right? I’ve seen lots of different book openings over the years, but several have proven to be more common than others. In my case, I use all four of the different openings listed here in my various books.
Personal Page
Many Witches choose to open their BoS with a bit of personal information. This can range from something as simple as “Jason’s Book of Shadows” to a detailed dedication listing when the book’s usage began or when the individual Witch first embraced the Craft. In such instances, most Witches will generally use their magical name, if they have one.
There are some Witches who are wary about sharing a whole lot of personal information in their books. One of the oldest beliefs in magick practice is that names have power, and if you allow someone to know your name (especially a magical one), you might be inadvertently giving them power over you. Overly cautious Witches will sometimes decline to put their name in their book and might instead identify it as their own with a symbol.
Curse
I’ve never been all that nervous about people reading my book and using it (or my name) against me, because all of my books open with curses! A curse sounds rather heavy-duty, but if someone finds themselves cursed from reading my book, it’s their own fault.
The Curse
Curses in books are generally one-page warnings to the reader not to proceed any further in a BoS unless they’ve been granted permission. The practice most likely began in initiatory traditions that sought to keep their rites secret and later spread to all sorts of BoS’s. The consequences of a BoS curse vary from Witch to Witch and tradition to tradition, but most promise harm to the person who is reading what they shouldn’t be. None of mine call for anyone’s gruesome death, but I’ve seen a few that do.
Lineage
In many Craft traditions, lineage is extremely important. Anyone can be a Witch, but to be a Witch in a specific tradition often requires an initiatory history that can be traced back to the tradition’s source. All Alexandrian Witches, for example, can trace their lineage back to Maxine and Alex Sanders, the tradition’s founders.
A lineage can be more than just the family tree of a tradition. It can be used to trace the history of a particular coven, going from the coven’s founders to each individual member. Another option is to illustrate the history of modern Witchcraft, listing all of its various influences (English Cunning Craft, Freemasonry, the Golden Dawn, etc.) before finally ending with a coven or a specific Witch.
Opening Instruction
Various magical mottos and pieces of advice have also been used to open a BoS over the last few decades. Some of the more common include the Wiccan Rede and the phrase “As above, so below.” The Witch’s “Paths of Power” is another common book opener and is essentially a list of magical techniques that can be used to raise energy and alter consciousness.
Rituals
The first Books of Shadows were ritual books, and rituals continue to be a common thing in most BoS’s. Of course, what rituals will go into a book is up to the individual Witch, and there are all sorts of rites to choose from.
The Opening/Closing Frame
My coven meets for more than just sabbat rites, and we sometimes circle together for no particular reason. For this reason our BoS contains our opening rites (cleansing, calling the quarters, casting the circle) and closing rites (cakes and ale, dismissing the quarters, taking down the circle), with a big hole in the middle for us to add whatever magical work needs to be done. Not all Witches include an open-ended type of ritual in their books (one could easily use something from a sabbat rite), but I’ve found this to be especially helpful over the years. It allows me to create a ritual in a hurry, and repeating the same opening for every rite has a transformative effect on the coven.
The Sabbats
Sabbat rituals form the Wiccan Wheel of the Year and articulate how we relate to the earth’s annual cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Our sabbats are our “high holy days” and the foundation of most ritual books. If a Witch has chosen to put their opening and closing rites elsewhere in their BoS, they might include only the actual sabbat working in this part of their BoS.
Many Witches also craft seasonally specific rites from top to bottom, with new words for every aspect of the ritual. That’s great too, and I have a ritual BoS full of those types of ceremonies. When I put sabbat rites in my BoS, I place them in chronological order (Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, etc.). Many Witches celebrate the start of the Wiccan new year at Samhain, but that’s not a universal practice. Some groups start a new turn of the Wheel at the spring sabbats (Imbolc, Ostara, and even Beltane).
Esbats
In addition to performing sabbat ceremonies, a lot of covens meet under the light of the full moon. These ceremonies are known as esbats, and the best ones belong in the BoS. My coven has a few esbat ceremonies in our book. A few of them are in there because we repeat them with some frequency. A couple of others were just special to us and we chose to preserve their memory in our book. If a coven meets for every full moon, putting every esbat in a physical BoS can get a bit unwieldy.
Dedication
A dedication ritual is a rite between an individual Witch and their gods. It’s a way to commit oneself to the Craft and to the Lord and Lady. Many people dedicate themselves to Witchcraft before becoming an initiate in a coven or tradition.
Initiations/Elevations
Not every coven has an initiation ritual or a degree system, but if yours does, it’s an important addition to the BoS. Initiations are an entryway into an extended family, and elevations recognize the hard work many Witches put into their Craft. Initiations and elevations are not just for established traditions either; any coven can craft these sorts of rites.
Wiccaning
A Wiccaning is a ceremony in which the Goddess and God are asked to bless and look over a newborn. Some traditions don’t allow children in their circles, but almost every witchy parent I’ve met has had some sort of Wiccaning performed for their child. If you are interested in working as Wiccan clergy, there should be a Wiccaning rite in your BoS.
Handfasting
A handfasting is a Witch wedding, and though I’ve performed very few handfastings in a properly consecrated circle, I’ve officiated a whole lot of handfasting rituals. The handfasting ritual in my second BoS was one of the first rituals I ever bothered to write down and is one I still use on occasion. Not every relationship blessed by a Witch is successful. Couples who break up may ask for a handparting ceremony to release them from their earlier vows.
Crossing Over
Perhaps the saddest ritual to put in a Book of Shadows is a crossing-over ceremony. Most Witches believe that when we die we eventually reincarnate, but before doing do so we “cross over” into the next plane of existence, where we wait for rebirth. A well-crafted crossing-over ceremony offers hope and comfort to those who have lost a loved one and helps the deceased let go of this world and begin their next journey.
Solitary Rituals
Rituals done alone are still rituals, and many of them are just as powerful as (if not more so than) rituals done with the coven. Some of the earliest BoS’s contained material labeled “The Witch Alone,” documenting how to perform solitary rites. Witchcraft for one has always been a part of our BoS’s.
Pagan Rituals
I’ve done a lot of Pagan rituals over the years that aren’t all that witchy but are still important to me. As a result, my BoS contains a few Druid rites and a mostly accurate re-creation of a ceremony from ancient Greece, and those are just a few of the non-Witch rituals in my books. If a ritual speaks to you, no matter the source, it can go in the BoS.
Ritual Extras
I keep a lot of supplementary material in my BoS that can be used at a moment’s notice in almost any ritual. Sometimes even the most carefully planned ritual doesn’t go as planned and you might find yourself needing a chant or poem at a moment’s notice, so having a few little activities that you know work in your BoS can be very helpful. There are also those spur-of-the-moment rituals that sometimes call for a story or other activity.
Calls and Charges
A call is an invitation to deity to attend a ritual, and it’s a part of most Witch rites. Many Witches write calls to the Goddess and God as part of a sabbat rite, but it never hurts to keep a few generic ones in a BoS for those times when you can’t find the words and need to do ritual in a hurry. I keep a few calls that can be used most any time of year to honor the Horned God and the Lady as maiden, mother, and crone. A call doesn’t have to be elaborate, but just something that you feel deity might respond to.
The Charge of the Goddess and the Charge of the God are part of nearly every BoS I’ve kept over the years. The Charge of the Goddess that is most familiar to modern Witches was written and assembled by Doreen Valiente in the 1950s, though there are several other versions available. It’s meant to be a piece of first-person instruction directly from the Goddess to those who worship her. (The word charge is actually an old Masonic term and refers to a set of instructions.) Valiente also wrote her own Charge of the God, though it’s never been as popular as her Goddess charge.
In my own coven, we use the Charges of the Goddess and the God when we want to give a ritual a little extra oomph or when a drawing down the moon ceremony doesn’t quite work as planned. Charges are nearly always a welcome addition, and they can be used in place of a call if the mood strikes.
Poetry and Mythology
My BoS is full of poetry from a variety of sources. Some of it is from Witchcraft elders such as Doreen Valiente, but much of it comes from non-Witch sources. The nineteenth century was an especially fertile time for poetry about Pagan gods and goddesses. The poems of John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Algernon Charles Swinburne contain some of my favorite odes to deity.
Poems from the ancient world shouldn’t be overlooked either. The Homeric Hymns have been a part of the worship of the Hellenic pantheon for over 2,500 years. If you worship Greek deities such as Aphrodite, Demeter, Dionysus, or Apollo, the Homeric Hymns are a must! Poetry is a vital part of the human experience and its use in ritual can turn a good rite into a great one.
My BoS contains a smattering of my own poetry, along with that of a few friends. A poem doesn’t have to be written by someone long dead or famous to be of value. If it speaks to you or the coven, it’s a worthy addition to a BoS. Poetry can be used in a variety of ritual situations too; it can be an invocation to deity, a way to raise power when recited as a group, and a way to articulate the turn of the seasons.
Many ancient poems are full of mythology, which is another thing that many Witches add to their BoS’s. Mythology exists to help us understand and relate to deity, which makes it a truly magical addition to any Witch book. Goddesses and gods, just like human beings, love to be flattered, so reading their myths in rituals dedicated to them will put you in their good graces.
One of the first things I wrote in my second BoS was a myth explaining the creation of the universe. It’s not my best piece of writing, but I felt like my BoS needed a solid beginning, so I created one. Mythology doesn’t have to be ancient to be valuable or meaningful, and as Witches we can (and should) actively create new mythology that will be a part of future covens and circles.
Chants and Dances
Chants are an essential part of most Witch circles. Group chants bring a coven together and can be used to raise energy. Most chants used by Witches tend to be simple and consist of a few lines repeated over and over, but a chant doesn’t have to be short. Fairly long poems have been turned into chants over the years, though to be used effectively they often require a little extra bit of study by coven members.
Oftentimes there’s very little difference between a chant and a poem. Some of my favorite chants began life as poems, and there are poems designed to lead directly into chants, with the poem’s last couple of lines being repeated over and over. If it’s got a good rhythm and rhyme and is easily memorized, you’ve got the makings of an effective chant.
When putting a chant in my BoS, I like to include a few musical notes at the beginning and end of it. Even in my typed-out BoS’s this is easy to do thanks to word processing programs that include symbols. I’ve never seen the complete musical notation for a chant included in a BoS, but instructions such as “to the tune of” or “with lots of energy” are common. What’s important is to make sure that whoever is reading the chant in the BoS knows how it’s meant to be delivered.
Chants are often performed while dancing around the circle and are another thing that can be added to a BoS. Writing down the “how to” of a particular dance step can be challenging, especially if you are putting it in a shared BoS. Pictures sometimes work better than written instructions, and there’s nothing wrong with snapping a few photos and then printing them and pasting them in the BoS. It certainly makes the instructions clearer.
Dances don’t have to be done only when chanting either. Our coven sets our Maypole dance to recorded music, and a dance step with a couple of live drums is always fun. Dance is a great way to build energy and engage in a shared activity with coven members.
Witchcraft Extras
There’s a lot of information I keep in my own BoS that’s not related to ritual or spellwork but is still an important part of my personal practice as a Witch. Rules, tools, and the language of the Craft were part of the very first BoS’s and continue to show up in Witch books today. There are many BoS’s that contain more “extras” than rituals or spells.
The Wiccan Rede and Other Instructions
The Wiccan Rede has been a part of Witch books since the 1950s and is seen by many as the one “law” or “rule” of Witchcraft. Such interpretations are fine, but the word rede actually translates as “counsel.” The phrase “An it harm none, do what you will” is not meant to be a mandate; it’s just a piece of advice.
Even if the Rede is not the Wiccan version of the Ten Commandments, it’s still given a prominent place in my Books of Shadows. Many Witches do need a bit of ethical guidance when it comes to magick, and the Rede certainly provides that. My coven’s BoS contains more than just the eight words that make up the Rede; it also includes a bit of history and interpretation. A little commentary never hurt anybody!
In the early 1970s a long-form version of the Rede was released consisting of twenty-six different rhyming couplets. It included not only the familiar “An it harm none” but also twenty-five new pieces of instruction. This particular version of the Rede was transmitted by American Witch (Lady) Gwen Thompson (1928–1986) and is an important part of my Witch traditions. My BoS includes both versions of the Rede.
In addition to the Wiccan Rede, many BoS’s include coven rules and guidelines in their pages. Sometimes these are known as Ardanes, with the original Ardanes coming from Gerald Gardner in the late 1950s. Gardner’s Ardanes were written to sound archaic and genuinely old, with each rule ending with the very dramatic-sounding “So be it Ardane!” While Gardner’s rules were quite dramatic, there’s nothing requiring anyone else to write rules in such a manner.
Included in some BoS’s are rules as generic as “Witches should be prompt and show up at least fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of a ritual.” Some Witches include rules about coven donations or hierarchy in their books. If rules are important to a group, they should go in the BoS to make sure everyone is entering the circle with the proper expectations.
Tools and the Altar
When I started my current coven five years ago, I never imagined that we’d have a specific way of setting up an altar, but we eventually settled on one. We’ve been doing it this way for so long now that it has practically become a coven tradition, which also means we’ve added it to our BoS. My coven isn’t an outlier here either; many groups mandate a certain altar setup, along with a few specific tools.
If a BoS has a picture of an altar setup in it, it invariably includes a list of the tools that particular coven uses in circle. Some groups do more than list their tools; they also provide a bit of explanation about what they are used for and when they are used during ritual. Some of this may sound like Wicca 101, but some tools have widely different roles depending on the circle you’re in. I’ve been in situations where people have used the wand for casting a circle, something we’d never do in my own coven.
You may also want to keep track of how you acquired your ritual tools. Many of my favorite tools were gifts, and I like acknowledging that in my BoS. Our tools tend to pick up the energy of the people who have handled them over the years, so keeping up with where things were purchased and who handled them might come in handy at some point. This is especially true if you’ve inherited a tool from a deceased Witch.
Witch Words
There are many terms and words that appear only in modern Witchcraft. The word athame (a Witch’s knife), for example, exists only in the Craft and first appeared in print in 1949. The word Mabon as a name for the autumnal equinox became a part of the Witchcraft lexicon only in the 1970s. In this age of the Internet and readily available Witch books, it’s easier than ever to figure out the various meanings of words, but adding them to a BoS gives them extra resonance.
I’ve seen lists containing thousands of Witch words, and while I think that’s a bit of overkill, there are several hundred I probably use throughout the course of a year. Making sure everyone in the coven knows what those are and how they are used is an important part of any complete BoS. And Witches are constantly adding words to such lists too. Muggle isn’t our word (it’s from the Harry Potter books, of course), but it’s one a lot of Witches use and has pretty much replaced the term cowan (a word that comes from Freemasonry) to designate a non-Witch.
The Lord and Lady and Other Deities
Many Witches connect with particular deities and godforms and will often dedicate a part of their BoS to those goddesses and/or gods. You might include information on your relationship with a particular deity, such as when they first approached you (or vice versa) and what that relationship means to you. This is also a good place to include poetry specific to that deity or any specific myths you find especially noteworthy.
Nestled in between a lot of Pan poetry and mythology in my BoS’s are rituals specific to him that I’ve written over the years. Various particular deities are important to the practice my wife and I share, and information about those goddesses and gods is an important part of our books. The title page of my second BoS includes the words “Child of the Horned One.”
History
My coven BoS includes a timeline detailing important moments that contributed to our practice and information on how we all came together as a Witch family. Our timeline starts with the alleged initiation of Gerald Gardner in 1939 and continues onward from there, with important Witch moments and the dates when everyone in the coven joined our group. It’s a fun little extra to keep, and who knows, Witches forty years from now might be studying it.
In addition to the timeline, I’ve added a lot of historical information to my BoS. Several years ago I was given copies of a few poems written by a long-deceased Craft elder. They aren’t the type of poems I’d ever recite in circle, but I thought they were an important part of history, so they went in my book. I’ve also included a few excerpts from letters and books that I think have historical value.
Family history outside the coven can also be put in a BoS. Since many Witches work with their ancestors, including a list of those ancestors or a family tree fits nicely into a personal BoS. Many Christians record family births and deaths in their Bibles, and this can also be done with a Book of Shadows.
Familiars
Over the last twenty years I’ve been blessed enough to have two different feline familiars. One of them passed many years ago, and I documented her loss in my BoS. My dearly departed Princess deserved a spot of her own in my book, so she ended up with her own little memorial page detailing how she came into my life, the magick she brought to it, and when she passed. I’ve never heard one of my cats speak, but they’ve both taught me things over the years, and those lessons are worth a page or two in my BoS.
Magick and Spellwork
Magick and spellwork have been part of magical books for thousands of years. While the first BoS’s were designed primarily for rituals, the first books that we might recognize as witchy were full of magick. That magick came in varied forms; some of it was of the high magick variety, involving lots of words and tools, while other spells and operations were what we might think of as folk magick. Modern Witchcraft has its roots in both traditions, so any and all kinds of effective magick belong in a BoS.
Many BoS’s go far beyond simple spells too, offering detailed instruction on how to curse, conjure, and cure through various magical means. If you are putting together a BoS for a group or plan to pass down your Witch book, you may want to include such material in your BoS. Several of the tutorials I’ve come across in Books of Shadows are often just as good as (and sometimes even better than) the ones I’ve encountered in published books.
Magick is hard to define, but anything that changes a person’s consciousness, affects the outcome of an event, or contains energy that transforms is often thought of as magical. That’s why information about various oils, stones, and plants is considered magical by many Witches.
Spells
My various BoS’s are full of spells. When something works, I try to document it so I can use it again later or pass it along to a friend. Spellwork is often how we interact with our deities and the world around us. It’s not selfish or self-serving; it’s an active part of Witchcraft.
When I record a spell in my BoS, the description generally follows this fourfold pattern: intent of the spell, materials needed, operation/words used in the spell, and results. This usually means including a blank space at the end of the spell for future reflections and often a few extra lines after my spell transcription if it’s all gone into my BoS before enacting it.
Start by writing down the purpose of your spell. This means more than jotting down “Love Spell”; it means going into the true essence of the work you are doing. Is it a spell to find love? Is it a spell to open yourself up to love? When I was just getting started in the Craft, I used to do spells “to fall in love,” which always ended up with me falling in love with someone but that love not being reciprocated. I should have been doing spells “to give love and receive love.” In magick, we get what we ask for, which is not always what we want.
Below your spell’s true intent, include all of the tools necessary for your magical operation. Generally this means things like candles, oils, pins, or whatever else you are using. If circumstances have forced you to use an item in your spell that is a little less than ideal (perhaps lavender oil instead of rose oil), make a note of it. Include what you did use, and what you would ideally replace it with.
The words of a spell are extremely important because they speak to the true intent of your magick, so you’ll want an accurate recording of them in your BoS. But writing down what was said isn’t enough. Be sure to note any gestures or movements that were part of your spellwork. For my own record keeping, I also like to include the phase of the moon (or sun) the spell was performed in, along with a list of whatever deities were present in the circle. If Aphrodite was invoked, be sure to make a note of that.
After putting a spell in my BoS, I like to revisit that spell later and record the results. If I found what I thought was my true love but he turned out to be a scoundrel, I make a note of it. If I do a prosperity spell and receive a check from my dad for my wedding anniversary, I document it. If things didn’t turn out as I’d planned, I write that down too. No result is still a result; having it all written down will help you make adjustments to the spell in the future.
Astrology
Many Witches use astrology in their day-to-day lives, and it makes for a valuable addition to any Book of Shadows. Astrological information that might be part of a BoS includes when and which planets are set to go retrograde (which means specific planets appear to be moving backward in the sky), the attributes of sun signs (Cancer, Capricorn, Taurus, etc.), and information on the current astrological age (which is currently either Capricorn or Aquarius, depending on who you ask).
In addition to astrological data, the individual Witch might wish to include their own astrological chart in their personal BoS. A coven book might include the charts of every member to better plot magical activities. A famous Witch in my downline kept a daily BoS that she put her horoscope in to better see how astrology played out in her life. How much astrology goes into a BoS will vary among Witches, but if it’s important to you, there’s never too much that can be added.
Lunar Phases
Even Witches who don’t do much with astrology tend to acknowledge the influence of the moon in their daily lives. A waxing moon is best for prosperity spells and any magick involving gain. Magick done when the moon is waning should be focused on getting rid of things or banishing bad habits.
My coven doesn’t update the phases of the moon in our BoS on a yearly basis, but we do include just what to expect when dealing with moon phases. Information about what’s most effective magically depending on where the moon is at is a useful addition to any BoS and is extremely practical, especially if you are part of a teaching coven.
Rocks and Gemstones
Stones, gems, and other natural materials are frequently used in magical activities. Information about the ones that you use the most (or perhaps that appeal to you the most) is part of many BoS’s. Things to include about particular stones include their attributes and magical uses. If you have trouble keeping track of stones, a description of the ones you put in your book might also be useful.
Herbology
The natural world is full of magick, and this is especially true when it comes to plants and herbs. Plants can be used for magical purposes (a few marigold seeds under a pillow will prevent bad dreams) and mundane ones (my wife and I keep an aloe vera plant growing in our backyard to ease the pain of sunburns). When cataloging herbs and plants for inclusion in a BoS, I suggest including as many of their names as you can, including their scientific ones. Plant names vary a lot from region to region, so this is especially important if you add one to a shared BoS.
Since plants can harm as well as heal, it’s important to document which ones are poisonous or harmful to the skin. There are a lot of plants used in spellwork that can’t be consumed, for example, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. I also suggest including a description of any plant you add to your BoS, as well as a picture if possible. Some of the earliest magical grimoires included information about herbs and their magical and mundane uses alongside rituals for summoning demons. The natural properties of plants have been associated with Witches for centuries, and I’m sure that association will continue long into the future.
Correspondence Tables
Many Witches use a wide array of symbols and sigils in their work, and the easiest way to keep track of them is in a correspondence table. Many tables of this nature can be copied out of a book, or they might be created by an individual Witch especially for their book. When people think of correspondences, they often picture divinatory items such as runes or tarot cards, but nearly everything we use in Witchcraft is related to certain elements or emotions.
Correspondence table
Correspondence tables can be drawn up for all sorts of things, and it is often simpler to create a table than to write down entries for lots of individual items. I’ve created tables for the elements, my altar tools, the tarot, colors, herbs, and types of wood. The possibilities are endless. If you need to keep track of a lot of little pieces of information, tables are extremely useful.
One of the most amazing things about magical traditions is how they can all be looked at as interrelated. There are certain tarot cards that line up with different parts of the Jewish Kabbalah, for instance, and keeping track of such similarities can help Witches with their magick. My favorite tables are the ones that illustrate how everything is connected, which allows me to use lots of different magical items at the same time.
Incenses and Oils
Information about oils and incenses in a BoS can range from the simple to the complex. For some Witches, a simple chart listing the correspondences of the most popular incenses and oils is all that’s required, but the world of incenses and oils can be quite a bit more complex than that. Many Witches include detailed instructions in their BoS’s on how to create special incense blends and oils. How much information you should include in your BoS about these two items probably depends on how elaborate your use of them is.
In my own coven, we have our own specific incense blend, and it’s only used when we are meeting together. Many Witchcraft traditions require the use of certain oils during initiation and elevation rituals. Oftentimes those oils must be homemade, include only certain ingredients, and be made to exacting standards. (Witchcraft has always involved work!) This results in something unique to the tradition and helps to create a truly magical atmosphere during ritual.
Fairy Folk
Many Witches work with the fey, or fairy folk, and include those activities in their BoS. Even if you don’t work with them, a quick sketch of the fey associated with the elements of air, fire, water, and earth can be valuable. If you’ve experienced the fey firsthand, you might want to include a picture of them as well.
Divination and the Future
There are dozens of different divination tools and systems used by modern Witches. The most popular is probably the tarot, but that’s just the beginning. There are Witches who use pendulums, crystal balls, scrying mirrors and bowls, spirit (Ouija) boards, runes, palmistry, the I Ching, numerology, oracle cards, palm reading, and lots of other methods. One of my first Witch tools was a deck of tarot cards, and I recorded some of my experiences with them in my first BoS.
Due to space considerations, I can’t write about all the various divination methods that might go into a BoS, but I can offer a few general tips. Most divination tools can be written about in three steps: interpretation, use, and results. Since divination information in a BoS tends to be personal (it’s not something I see in a lot of coven books), it probably doesn’t need to be incredibly detailed; it should contain just enough information to help you do your work effectively and understand the message being given.
The first step is to write down how you interpret a particular divination tool. Many tarot writers believe that the Empress card, for instance, implies fertility, but if you see something else in your deck of cards, that’s what you want to write down. How-to divination books are useful, but what’s most important is how we as individuals interpret a particular tool.
In the case of something like a scrying mirror, you might want to write down what you believe a mirror can show you to better prepare you for the result. Different divination tools and techniques will reveal different things and provide their own unique insight into what is going on in our subconscious. Tea leaves and tarot cards might indicate similar versions of what is about to happen in your life, but they generally do so from different angles.
The Use of Divination Tools
This varies from Witch to Witch. There are several tarot readers in my coven, and we all read cards differently. We use different card spreads, for example, and we differ in terms of how much we want the person for whom we are doing the reading to touch the cards. For something like reading tea leaves, you might want to document how many times you swirl the leaves in your cup. Write down the techniques that work best for you and don’t worry about how others say to do a particular thing.
For many Witches, recording the use and interpretation of their divination devices is enough, but some Witches like to document the results of their readings. I know Witches who draw a tarot card daily and record the results. There are others who make a note of the readings they do for others and the readings they’ve had done for themselves. A record of past readings can be very useful; it might cause a Witch to change how they interpret a particular symbol or card.
Dreams
There are Witches who keep dream journals, and I think there’s value in recording prophetic dreams. These can be recorded in a separate BoS or, if they feel important enough, in your primary book. You can also record any experiences you’ve had while traveling the astral planes. If the experience was noteworthy and magical, it’s worth documenting.
Every Trick in the Book:
A Blended Book of Shadows
a friend of mine once said that a scholar uses every tool at her disposal. Witchcraft has a lot in common with scholarship, and I think the same rule applies to us Witches: when we see something useful, we use it.
But it can be tough to feel comfortable with this mindset if, like me, you grew up in a faith tradition that insists on keeping itself “pure.” Even when I rejected Judaism’s and Christianity’s scare tactics, the notion of a pure spiritual practice was hard to shake. Part of me insisted that if I was going to practice Witchcraft, I had to do it “right”—meaning, with no outside influences whatsoever.
Because all religions evolve in a vacuum, right?
When I decided to pursue a blended practice, my Book of Shadows was instrumental in helping me figure out what I wanted it to look like. In a little handmade journal I got from a museum store, I recorded the Charge of the Goddess and some chants I liked. Then I turned to my Jewish background. Which prayers were meaningful to me? Which felt numinous? I wrote down the blessing for lighting Shabbat candles. I found two versions of the Shema (the declaration of faith) that I liked—one that used goddess language and another that focused on compassion and justice—and spliced them together. I thought about my Buddhist practice and added the refuge vow.
Not only did recording these prayers in my book, alongside spells and other more traditionally witchy content, help me order my thoughts and give some structure to my practice, but it also made my practice fully mine. Writing is an act of power, and my book helped me create a practice that grew like a permaculture garden: with diverse species mingling and supporting each other to create a vibrant, healthy whole.
Whenever I fill up one journal and start another, I get to see how my practice has evolved. New spells and chants replace ones I’ve decided to retire. The wordings of prayers and blessings change. Entire chunks of my practice fall away as I learn and grow. Cumulatively, my Books of Shadows tell the story of my journey as a Witch and devotee of the Goddess. But no matter how my practice evolves, my books keep me anchored to my core values: love, compassion, justice, magick, strength, and beauty. My words are my power, and my book is my cauldron.
Asa West
Asa West blends her Witchcraft with her Jewish heritage
and secular Buddhism. She lives in Los Angeles,
where she works as a librarian and is currently
training to be a priestess at the Kohenet Institute.