Book of Shadows or a Grimoire
If you are a seasoned witch you'll probably have either a book of shadows or a grimoire or both! If you are new to the practice you've probably heard of the terms but may not be sure what these are.
Before we start there are no right or wrong terms for the journal you use and you may even choose to use both terms. Also, you will see a lot of really aesthetic books online such as leather-bound books, you can use whatever you like it could be a notebook or a folder, or you could even keep a digital one. Your journal also doesn’t need to be elaborately decorated if you don’t want it to be.
The main thing is to do what works for you, at the end of the day it’s your journal.
Book of Shadows
A book of shadows is a journal in which a practitioner makes notes of their magical workings, spells they want to try, their thoughts and just general notes.
The term book of shadows started being used when Gerald Gardener created Wicca.
Grimoire
A grimoire is a book that contains spells, rituals and incantations and information. This tends to be a more comprehensive guide to magic.
The term Grimoire is a lot older than book of Shadows, it derives from the French word Grammaire.
Essentially One is more of a journal whilst one is a spell book. Do you need both? Absolutely not, you do what works best for you.
I personally have one as a journal and one as a book of spells, but you can put everything into one book if you like.
What can I put in it?
It can be a bit confusing starting a book of shadows and knowing what to put in it, again it's entirely up to you what you out inside it but here are a few suggestions
Moon phases
Magical days of the week
Colour magick & correspondences
Candle magick
Your astrological sign
Information on the zodiac
Wheel of the Year
To me make the journal your own and don’t worry about how it looks or what’s in it, unless you choose to share it you are the only one who will see your journal.
