Wednesday 10 November 2010

What does your...

Book of shadows look like?
Book from Hocus Pocus
 image courtesy Bing,com
For many there is a central book with many different personalizations, and handwritten spells and so much more,. I know I was inspired looking at the many books on October Farms's  Practical magic post ( & slightly jealous I must say)  I personally never kept a BOS kinda hard to do when your in the Broom Closet, to have a book with BOS blazing across the front, 
My BOS evolved without me really attempting to create one, it first started with spiral notebook which became a binder with different sections which I then weeded out and now currently several double pocket folders each holding their own information. One for Kemeticism, another for ritual records, another for my correspondences, and so on and so on; since there is no wrong way to create a BOS I think I will be creating mine from scratch using what i have already, but making it definitely more personal.
One of the things I wanted to share with you are how I keep my BOS organized.
Now I know many people have issues with Silver Ravenwolf, but I love her and she helped turn a fanatical little fluff bunny into a sane witch.
Here is how I keep track of rituals I have performed


Ritual Record Sheet
Type of Ritual:  (write the name or purpose here)
Date & Time : 
Moon Phase, astrological correspondences (If they matter)
Weather
physical health *this does matter, if you were sick and not paying attention it will reflect in the workings*
purpose of the ritual
tools and other items required
deities invoked
length of ritual
Expected release time (how long before the spell works)
Notes:
Music used: 


I generally fill this out after the ritual , I have of course adapted mine a little over the years by adding notes and music section to it  I also label mine with Esbat, or Sabbat whenever possible, sometimes you can't remember everything that was said and done but having notes definitely aide in creating a history of things done or needed to be done. 


After the time has passed for the spell to work I generally write down on another sheet how the spell has manifested, if there have been good or bad results, what I have noticed about the situation since doing the spell and all manner of fun stuff dealing with it, I have several note books filled with this stuff and whenever I do get my "perfect" Book of Shadows I know which spells I will be adding into it due my diligent note taking.


Do you have a book of shadows? Does it look like Mrs B's scrapbook version or are you a bound book kind of witch or are you like me more notebooks than one actual book? Share in the Comment section.


Fly safe my love
Aisha

9 comments:

  1. I have tried to keep a book of shadows over the years, but haven't been successful until recently. I found some very nice notebooks at Staples of all places. Now, I love the covers because they look old, but they are spiral bound (although the spiral is rather hidden, and the pages have a easy tear option (for those nasty mistakes) and the paper, smoooooooth and smells nice. So I bought three. One is for ritual, one for spells and one for everything else. I love them. I think I'll blog on this topic tomorrow and I'll post a picture.

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  2. Yes I do have book of shadows, I would love my looks that one in practical magic! I m still trying to make it look older, I record all my works in there, recipes,and even pictures of friends when they send me a thank you when i did something for them!

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  3. I have a video of my homemade book of shadows...here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUOSHitf9MU

    I have like 3 books that I write in. One for just herbal work, one that just a journal, and the homemade one I keep everything else.

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  4. @ Aine I recently started some spiral notebooks from staples also, then when they finish i tear them out and add to the binder, I'm still trying to find my way though but I figure it's an evolving part of the craft much like my practice.

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  5. @Andrea that sounds amazing gosh I really wanted one just like in practical magic especially after i saw Cctober farm's copy, yours sounds amazing if you can you should share your pictures with us.

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  6. @ Tickle Tecka I loved your book, three books, I have an idea of what I wish for my book to look like and yours i so amazing i do think Im going to have to make mine because I can't seem to find it anywhere else.
    BB

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  7. @Aisha Thanks so much It wasn't too difficult to make. It took like 2 days. The glue drying took the longest. That is the same reason I made mine...I just couldnt find the right one.
    Blessings
    Teckla

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  8. I don't have any issues with Silver Ravenwolf, I think she's wonderful. Why are people dissing her? One of my very fave. magickal books is "Angel Magic." I guess some people are just haters...Oh the B.O.S. I used to keep one, but as I've gotten older, I've become more lazy. When I first started to practice the craft seriously, I had a very "plain" notebook to for my B.O.S. because if I lost it or it got into the wrong hands, I didn't want anyone to use it with the wrong intentions or steal it. And I also used to write down how the spell was manifested, what the moon phase was and any dreams at the time that stood out for me. You are one incredibly organized and efficient witch, Aisha and have so much wisdom to share. If I ever create another B.O.S. I'm coming back to this post for reference, excellent!

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  9. @ Wendy I have no idea why people seem to really dislike her, but whatever her spells and ideas work thats all that matters, she's an excellent teacher she shouldn't be the be all and end all of your studies but she's a good foundation.
    As for the notebook thats kinda what i was doing hoping no one would notice another subject notebook among all the others for school. and they never really did.
    Im glad you love the idea, it has taken years to be this organized and sometimes it works against me because I'll get trapped in the mechanics of something instead of the overall picture. Im a Scorpio what can i say Obesssive tendencies are in my nature, thanks so much for the kind words
    Im glad you loved the post
    BB

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