This is the time for you to start keeping your grimoire and Book of Shadows. As these are a written record of your path as a witch you will want to make sure to note the event along with its date and time, the phase of the Moon, and the sign of the Moon.

You will want to keep both of these books near you to record your path and refer back to in your Wiccan practice. Make a commitment to yourself; you will write in your books regularly during your entire year and a day. Between these two books, you will be writing the records of your life and journey as a witch. Make sure to record all the important information, your thoughts, and your feelings after rituals and holidays, special happening in your magickal life.

Unlike your Book of Shadows (BOS) which holds your personal and private thoughts, spells, rituals, and writings, the grimoire and most of your journals are used to record the more common aspects on your path as a witch. Both the grimoire and journals complement your Book of Shadows but unlike your Book of Shadows, they can be shared with others like coven members and friends.

Your grimoire is like a how-to book that will allow you to recreate a ritual that was very successful or for that matter unsuccessful. Maybe you created a wonderful meal that was served during a feast at your coven, where you had made some special dishes you might wish to create again or share with others this is what your grimoire is for.
For example, you might include your recipe for a love potion in your grimoire, but you would describe the ritual performed using it in your Book of Shadows keeping the ritual private while sharing the potion.

Here are some items you might want to keep in your grimoire:

  • Dates and Times

  • Location

  • Moon phase / Void of Course

  • Public Rituals and their purpose

  • Items used like candles, poppets, etc.

  • Incantations

  • Coven or Solitaire

  • Deities involved

  • Food or Drink Recipies

  • Herbs or other correspondences used

  • Outcomes of the ritual, spell, etc.

Where I use my grimoire more closely with my Book of Shadows I use journals for many other things that I like to keep in their own categories, like herbs and their uses, recipes that don’t fit in with rituals, spells, etc. more closely related to witchcraft that would go in my grimoire.

Your grimoire and journals unlike your Book of Shadows hold things that might also be tempory where a three-ring binder would work perfect giving you an easy to update and remove outdated items. Using a binder like this also makes it easy to rearrange pages, loan out spells or recipes to friends, or remove a page to take with you into a circle without having to carry the entire book with you. You can also use a computer with your favorite software to keep your grimoire and journals in, just make sure to keep it all backed up.

Your Book of Shadows, Grimoire, and Journals do not have to be boring either, you can include drawings, chants, poetry, photographs of events, pictures and articles from magazines, scans of items, a pressed flower, just use your imagination it’s your record and you choose how you would like to keep it!

Topic What To Put In Your BOS

You can think of a Book of Shadows (BOS) like a diary. If you have kept up a diary in the past you might have looked at it as a chore. Or, you might have looked at it as a silent friend to share your feelings with or to sort out what was important to you.

One way to look at keeping a Book of Shadows would be a daily way to explore your feelings or to ponder what is important to you about Wicca and being a Witch. Consider writing in your Book of Shadows as a joyful task of recording your journey along your new spiritual path of Wicca. Make it fun by using your creativity in the design and by including things like photographs, bits of poetry, chants, or magazine cut-outs. Use different colored inks if you like. Press a dried flower or something organic so that your book becomes a work of art, of magick, not just a mundane record.

Keep in mind there are no hard and fast rules to follow, it is your BOS to make as you wish. Some people even like combining their Book of Shadows and Grimoire into a single larger book like a three-ring binder with sections, like I said it is up to you. Now get going and see what works for you.

When you record something in your grimoire you will want to be careful about using people’s mundane names (the ones on their birth certificate). Many witches have a ritual name they use during meetings or for spellcasting to protect their identities. There are still prejudicial people in the world who frown on Wiccans and Witches.

Topic Keeping Your BoS Safe

Your Book of Shadows (BOS) contains personal information about your magickal workings, it is a special and sacred object. You will want to give is a place of honor, the way we would do a family Bible, or maybe your great grandmother’s cookbook. Some people like to keep their BOS under lock and key, and some BOS covers even have a lock and key to keep away prying eyes.

Here are just a few places I have seen people keep their Book of Shadows:

  • A Safe

  • A Locking Cabinet with their magickal tools

  • A Lockbox under a bed or in a closet

  • Locked Display Case

  • Inside of a Grandfather Clock

  • Locked file cabinet, not pretty but gets the job done

I think you get the idea your book is private, and only you or another trusted Witch whom you have authorized should see it. You want to make sure that whosoever does see your book will not disclose its contents to anyone or do anything to harm the book or you.

Tip: You can always place your Book of Shadows in your will so further generations will benefit.