twelve

The Fine Art of
Magickal Record Keeping

The Power of the Written Word

Keeping accurate records of your magickal endeavors is a high priority for any serious Witch, especially the solitary ones. Good notes, records, and even photographs are necessary unless you have been blessed with perfect recall at any given moment.

By writing down your personal history and journey into the Craft, you will be able to keep tabs on your progress. I realize that many individuals do not hold the passion for creating the written word as I do, but I do stress the necessity of accurate record keeping.

Writing improves your memory of a given situation, and helps you clarify events after they have happened. It can give you helpful insights into your own psyche at the time of an event. It will also give you the advantage of passing your discoveries and successes on to others, if you so desire, without losing any of the ingredients or steps that brought you to a particular solution or conclusion.

Notes and records also enable you to determine where you might have gone wrong or made an error. Often when we experience a failure, we are too involved at the time to see anything but that failure. These records help us step back and decide where the problem may lie, what we can do to change the outcome, and help us more fully appreciate some of the things we did not see at the time that were pivotal, but hidden.

Although some may find this cumbersome, I like to keep different books for various subjects. Some of these are mundane and others are magickal in nature.

The Personal Journal

Although far from magickal, I keep a daily/weekly journal. This helps to integrate my normal life with my magickal one. After a while, the two separate lives will meld to a large degree, and you won’t even realize it. It is wise, however, to keep track of the ordinary fluctuations in life, as well as the magickal ones.

For eight years I have used a large hardbound journal from an office supply store. I begin each entry with the day, date, time of entry, and the weather conditions. (Surprisingly enough, this comes in very handy.) I write about the day’s family happenings, the world news, and personal insights into various problems. Each passage also contains a few affirmations—statements to positively program myself. For example: “I listen to others . . . I think before I say ‘yes, no problem’ . . . I am a wise and generous Witch . . . I am strong and powerful . . . I carry wisdom both in my heart and mind . . .”

Every December 31 I go back through my journal and recall the ups and downs of that year. I make three headings: Spiritual Progress, Mental Progress, and Material Progress. When I have completed my musings over that, I go back to the December 31 entry of the previous year and check on the goals I had written down for the year that just ended.

I look to see if I have completed any of those goals, then check them off on that page with the current date. Some of the goals may no longer apply, and some I may not have accomplished yet. I transfer the uncompleted but still valid goals to the current December 31 entry. I leave a space and write a set of new goals for the coming year.

Finally, I write a brief summary of what I think and feel about my accomplishments and failures. Sometimes I have really surprised myself; other times I realize how certain areas were not up to my personal standards and need some work.

On the lighter side, this journal has settled many family squabbles and “when did I’s?” along with questions like, “How long did we go through that, or have that?” Every family should have someone that keeps a journal, all magick aside.

The mundane journal also helps to keep you rooted in the world that everyone else seems to be operating in. That is why I go over it on December 31 instead of October 31 (the Witch’s New Year). There are times when we, unfortunately, get so spiritual and magickal that the real world pops up and brings us down a nasty peg or two.

Please remember that although the worlds of magick and spirit are great places to spend your time in, you are here in the real world for a specific purpose. Be sure to do some normal things to keep yourself in perspective. Go to a football game, the bowling alley, or have a night out with nonmagickal friends where the topics of conversation don’t ever touch on the Craft. You need this balance, whether you want it or not.

The Dream Journal

Up until this time, you have been keeping all your notes in one binder. When we spoke of dreams and meditation exercises, we kept them all in the same book. If you do a great deal of studying and experimenting, you are going to have a monstrous book before too long. After reading this chapter, you may wish to purchase more than one binder for different subjects.

Although we have already covered recording your dreams, you may wish at some time to collate them into a larger volume, or separate them by subject for future reference when puzzling the meaning of current dreams. A loose-leaf notebook comes in handy for this purpose. In this way your dream journal can stay in your bedroom where it is easily in reach. If you start keeping a single volume now, it won’t become unmanageable. So, on a day you are totally bored, root out your dream notes and compile them. You never know when you just might need them!

I like to read over my dreams several months later. There are times when I actually grasp the larger meanings of a few of them when looking at my life from a different vantage point—in perspective!

The Book of Shadows

The Witches’ most important form of record keeping is the legendary Book of Shadows. There is some debate on whether or not every Witch has always had a Book of Shadows. There is argument that many of the Witches of the Old Religion were illiterate and therefore could not have kept written records. Perhaps that is true of medieval Witches in Europe for a particular time span; however, I don’t believe this assumption is entirely true.

First, take into consideration the magickal alphabets we have recorded—for example, the runes. You could write whole books in runes if you wanted. Secondly, learning to read and write could have been a part of coven training. Since everything was secret to begin with, who is to tell us whether they actually knew how to read and write or not? Wouldn’t those Witches have considered the skills of reading and writing to be powerful assets?

Let’s go a step further. Perhaps, because of persecution, initiates were no longer taught to read and write for fear the information would fall into the wrong hands. Ordinary pictures could be drawn for a Witch to remember a spell or a formula in a cookbook.

I have also heard of scenarios where the magistrates of the coven kept all the records. There is reference to The Man in Black, as well. Either of these men were learned enough to keep accurate records, the first of business and the community, the second of Craft business and tradition. The Man in Black was responsible for many coven arrangements. Who knows for sure?

Magickal record keeping will be the most important set of journals you will keep. Why worry about the size of your notebook right now, or how many you will have? Because in the future, this book will become so fat and unwieldy that you will spend ten minutes looking for something, alphabetical tabs and all!

When my Book of Shadows grew beyond graceful handling, I purchased smaller additional binders for exclusive categories. I have separate binders for rituals, tarot, runes, dreams, handwriting analysis, etc. As I finished groups of experiments, I gathered the data together and bought a binding machine to make separate booklets with labels on the outside.

What Exactly Goes into a Book of Shadows?

This should be an accurate record of all the magickal hands-on things that you do. It should also hold research information and facts and figures on subjects such as astrology, elements, herbs, crystals, etc. It may have words of wisdom, insights you have had, and perhaps the beginning of your webweaving information.

It may also contain a list of stores and order houses where you can obtain items that you cannot make or grow yourself. Affirmations can be found there as well. And, of course, the spells and rituals you use, and their results.

My basic book consists of a three-inch binder divided into two sections, each with A–Z index tabbing. The first section contains researched information, quotes, tables, etc. The second section holds “working” information, such as rituals, spells, healing items, formulas, and other basic instructions.

On the following page I have provided you with a basic outline of the first part of my Book of Shadows. You will find that not all magickal categories are covered there. Over the years I have amassed a fairly large personal library which I use, at times, in place of this book. But the list given here will acquaint you with a number of topics and provide an indication of what types of materials you may be gathering in the future.

I. Book Blessing

II. Favorite Quotes and Magickal Rules

III. Index

IV. Magickal Information

Alphabet (Magickal) Research

Astral Projection Research

Astrological Correspondences

Atlantean Wand Instructions

Bi-location Research

Biofeedback Research

Candle Magick Research

Chakra Research

Compass Point Research

Color Magick Research

Crystal Magick Research

Divination Research

Dowsing Research

Druidic Research

Earth Magick Research

Egyptian Magick Research

Elemental Tables

Emotions (Human) Research

Ethics

Gem Research

Ghosts and Talking to the Dead

God/Goddess Research

Graphology

Herb Magick Research

Magickal Correspondence Tables

Magickal Definitions

Moon Magick Research

Power Research

Psychic Protection Research

Sensitivity Research

Shamanistic Research

Spellcasting Research

Symbol and Sigil Research

Tarot Research

Telepathy Research

Time Research

Vision Questing Research

Webworking Guide

Women’s Spirituality Research

At one time, I tried separating the information into two books, the research into a Book of Light, and the spells and hands-on information into the Book of Shadows. Unfortunately, I was constantly trying to juggle two books.

In any magickal endeavor, accurate record keeping is important. Who knows, maybe a hundred years from now your Book of Shadows may be a Family Trad heirloom!

Summary

Your notebook has become your first Book of Shadows. On the inside cover it is customary to write a book blessing. This is done for both protection and dedication purposes of the information therein. Take some time to think about how you would like to word this blessing, then transfer it to your notebook.

If you feel the notebook you first chose is not adequate, don’t delay in purchasing one that will suit your needs, and transfer the information you have already accumulated.

In this age of electronic marvels, it is feasible for you to keep your Book of Shadows stored on disc. To be safe, even if you have a hard drive, I would make two separate copies and put one in a safety deposit box. Along the same line of thinking, you should always know where your Book of Shadows is. If there is an emergency, you won’t have time to crawl under the bed or unload the closet to find it.

At this point in your studies, review the list of items contained in my Book of Shadows and make a list in your notebook of things you would like to research yourself. Add your own topics as well. Consider where you would gather some of this information, and chart your plans accordingly.

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