Rose Ariadne's Chitchcraft Blog

Dear Friends,

One thing that you may often hear other witches discussing is their Book of Shadows. Or, you may have heard of this particular “book” referenced on television shows or movies, and wondered just what it was. As with any tool that is used in the craft, having a Book of Shadows is something that is completely up to the practitioner. You are no less of a witch to not have one, and you don’t have to have one to be a witch. Added to that, you don’t have to be a witch to have one either!

A Book of Shadows, sometimes referred to as a Book of Rituals, is a time honored tradition among many witches. During times of persecution when witches had to go into hiding, they would often lose touch with one another. Because of this, many spells and rituals were lost from covens and witches being separated, or even worse, put to death. Witches began to copy the rituals down, so that they would not be lost for all eternity. These books containing the spells and rituals had to be hidden away of course, in the shadows, which is how they got their name.

The use of a Book of Shadows has survived until present times, and many witches and practitioners of the craft still utilize them daily. Many solitary practitioners will create their own book, while groups or covens may only have one book that serves the entire group. Of course, even in a coven that has a group book, each individual will likely have their own Book of Shadows as well that they use personally.

You see, a Book of Shadows is a completely personal thing. Think of it as a type of journal. Your book can contain anything that you wish, from your spells and rituals to your daily routines and feelings. You can use it to keep notes about particular spells that worked, as well as ones that didn’t, or notes on spells that you need to try again.

Creating your own Book of Shadows is easy, and something that can be quite fun to do. It can consist of something as simple as a basic notebook or a more complex creation that you craft with your own two hands. Making your own book to use allows you to release the inner artist in yourself and make a creation that is truly yours to enjoy.

I will confess, my Book of Shadows is very modern in nature, but I will share it’s creation with you to give you a general idea on how you can get started. Of course, this particular choice of design is something that just works best for me. There is no need to use my method if it does not feel right to you. Your book will be far more powerful if you follow your own mind and heart, and create the book that you have envisioned.

My own personal book is made from a simple three-ring binder. The papers which I use to write upon are specialty design papers that I purchased from a craft store that are made to look like ancient parchment paper. The outer cover of the binder I have decorated with various tidbits to make it more personalized. I have simple dividers that are used in any type of binder to help break my book down into easy to reference sections. Inside you will find countless pages of drawings, notes, pictures and more. You see, I took something very modern and simplistic, and turned it into a representation of myself. That is all that a Book of Shadows is.

Having a Book of Shadows is quite helpful as it helps keep all of your notes in one place. There is no searching through drawers or searching the Internet for that spell you found but now have misplaced. Everything you need is right at your fingertips. There is no right way, and there is no wrong way to create your book. As long as it is suitable to you, than it is always right.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm and Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”