The Witch's Book of Shadows

Jason Mankey (Bay Area, California) is a Pagan blogger, a columnist for Witches and Pagans, and the managing editor of the Pagan Portal on Patheos. He s journeyed across North America to Pagan and magic festivals, where he talks about rock and roll, Pagan deities, and Pagan history.

Contents

Introduction 1
What Is a Book of Shadows? 6
Your BoS Is About You! 8

1: Some Different Types of Books of Shadows 11
The Coven Book of Shadows 12
A Tradition’s Book of Shadows 14
The Individual Witch’s Personal Book of Shadows 17
The Journal Book of Shadows 21
“One Specific Thing” Book of Shadows 23
The Operative and Active Book of Shadows 24
Every Trick in the Book:You Are Writing Your Own History, Thorn Mooney 27

2: Putting Together a Book of Shadows and Making It Your Own 31
Finding a Book of Shadows 31
A Book of Shadows in a Three-Ring Binder 34
Making a Three-Ring Binder Look Great 37
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Three-Ring Binder 38
The Cut-and-Paste Book of Shadows 41
The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Cut-and-Paste Book of Shadows 44
The Handwritten Book of Shadows 45
A Handwritten BoS Presents a Few Extra Challenges 48
The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Handwritten Book of Shadows 49
Arranging a Book of Shadows 50
Decorating and Personalizing a Book of Shadows 59
Every Trick in the Book: No-Fear Grimoire Crafting, Laura Tempest Zakroff 65

3: A Brief History of Magical Books, Words, and Symbols 69
The Cave Painters 70
From Symbols to Writing to Books 75
A Few Legendary Magical Writers 79
Every Trick in the Book: The Emerald Tablet, Christopher Drysdale 85
A Few Famous Magical Books 88
Every Trick in the Book: A Modern Witch & The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Kiya Nicoll 96
The Key of Solomon the King (Clavicula Salomonis) 98
From Grimoires to the Book of Shadows 102
Magical Books in Pop Culture Today 107
The Necronomicon 110

4: What to Put in a Book of Shadows 115
The Opening Pages 117
Rituals 120
Ritual Extras 124
Witchcraft Extras 128
Magick and Spellwork 134
Divination and the Future 142
Every Trick in the Book: A Blended Book of Shadows, Asa West 145

5: The Book of Shadows—Out of the Shadows 149
From Sheba to Cunningham to RavenWolf: BoS’s from 1970 to the Present Day 151
Every Trick in the Book: An Excerpt from Gnostica News 162
Are There Any Secrets Left? 165

6: Alphabets, Fonts, Inks, and Symbols 169
Ogham 172
Foreign Languages and Magical Mottos 174
The Creative Use of Fonts and Scripts 176
Magical Symbols and Shortcuts 181
My Favorite Symbols and Shortcuts 182
Homemade Ink and Pens 185
Notes 191

7: Goddesses and Gods of the Books 193
Goddesses and Gods Associated with Literacy, Spellcraft, Alphabets, and Wisdom 194
Spells and Rituals Involving Individual Deities 196
Sophia and Jesus: Jewish and Christian Magick 202
Odin and the Runes 206
The Blessings and Curses of Aradia 212

8: The Book of Shadows in Ritual 219
The Advantages of Reading from Your BoS During Ritual 221
Reading in Ritual 223
We Can Do Better Than Reading from a Piece of Paper in Ritual 227
What a Book of Shadows Is Not 228
Every Trick in the Book: Holding the Keys to Mystery, Christine Hoff Kraemer, PhD 230

9: Cleansing, Consecrating, and Other Rituals 235
Consecrating and Blessing a BoS for Personal Use 238
A Coven Book Blessing 244
Retiring a Book of Shadows 251
Letting Go of a Book of Shadows 253

10: New Frontiers and the BoS 259
My BoS on a Flash Drive and a Tablet 261
A Print-on-Demand Book of Shadows 265
The Cloud and Even Further Frontiers 268

Bibliography and Further Reading 271