Hey there! Are you like me taking a very scientific approach to your magic: trying a spell, writing down how it went, and then logging your experience after the fact to determine a conclusion? Maybe you prefer a daily journal or just keeping a record of your tarot pulls. Maybe you’re looking for a dedicated place for all of this information, and experiences. Well come along with me while I explain the difference between a Book of Shadows or BoS and a Grimoire. I use both of these, and it’s definitely not interchangeably. For me they are separate entities that play important roles in my practice, and content from my Book of Shadows may be copied over to my Grimoire if I’m testing something out before committing it to record.
Webster’s Dictionary defines Grimoire as “a magicians manual for invoking demons and the spirits of the dead” don’t you just love that? A quick Google search for each of these will give you several explanations. I’m going to share my favorite interpretations. For me and my practice, a Book of Shadows is like a diary recording my personal tarot pulls, dreams, and daily reflections to spells or meditations. A Grimoire on the other hand for me is a magical manual or knowledge base for rituals and spells. Historically speaking the term Grimoire started to be used in reference to magical teachings in the 1800s. While the phrase Book of Shadows is attributed to Gerald Gardner and has only been popular since the 1950s.
For my personal practice I use my Book of Shadows on a day to day basis, and I have a page per day like a daily journal where I can add my tarot card for the day, and my reflection on its meaning. I talk more about this in my post on my daily practice. I can notate the moon phase. I also have space for additional notes that may get added in relation to dreams, or meditations from that day. I also create separate pages for when I try a new spell.
I write down the ingredients, and incantation exactly and as I’m making the potion, or performing the incantation I’ll notate any deviations from the spell as written. Then as the days progress I’ll write anything that could be attributed to the success or failure of the spell, this way I can look back, reflect, make adjustments and try it again until I feel it’s just right for my needs and intentions. These pieces of information I’ll typically keep to myself, but on occasion I do share my tarot spreads with one of my witchy friends during our regular chats.
Once I feel that a spell is practically perfect in every way, I’ll add the final version to my Grimoire. This is a book that holds information that I would consider sharing with friends or other witches. This is like a magickal cookbook. Actually I liken mine to this specific cookbook: McCall’s Cook Book, Green Cover https://a.co/d/iMDCg86. I also treat this specific book at a Grimoire because it is one my grandmother used; and while i dont have her copy as it was lost, I was able to find the same book years later and often incorporate recipes from it into my kitchen witchery. My Grimoire has spells with ingredients and incantations, and may even have my notes on performing and results. I also keep my notes on herbs, spices, plants, and crystals in this book, sort of like my personal witchy textbook or reference book.
If you’re already using one or both of these; or looking to incorporate them into your regular practice, here are some tips.
- Choose a book (notebook, journal, diary, planner) that makes you happy or calls to you. I personally use a digital notebook because I’m trying to reduce my use of paper products.
- Use a standard template for each page. This helps to avoid the analysis paralysis that comes from looking at a blank page; and is especially helpful for things like tarot readings.
- Do your best to make this (especially for your book of shadows) a daily practice, or part of your daily ritual. If I’m being completely honest with you, this is something I am still struggling to incorporate. This can be great for reflecting on tarot pulls, or meditations if you’re not adding spells, potions, or incantations just yet.
Once I’ve been using my Book of Shadows regularly, or have gotten a favorable outcome from a spell, I’ll add information to my Grimoire from my Book of Shadows. I recently completed a protection spell for my house (typical suburban witchcraft right?), and I wrote the spell in my Book of Shadows based on a spell that I found in a book, but I added an incantation of my own creation. I recorded my execution of the spell in my Book of Shadows, and any feelings or instincts I received while performing the spell. Then I logged anything I thought might be related to the spell as observations in my book of shadows. Having felt that this spell and incantation worked the way I wanted it to. I added it to my Grimoire as a reference to look back on and repeat intending to get the same results.
If you’ve read this far, thank you. I hope I provided some valuable information on how I use both of these witchy tools, and how you can incorporate them into your regular practice. I encourage you to use these books, one or both, in the way you best see fit, and experiment with any additional information you might want to add to them.
