Creating Your Book of Shadows BOS by: Patricia Telesco Kitchen Witch's Guide to Magickal Tools Books are never far from a scholar's hands, just as songs are never far from a singer's lips. A Book of Shadows (BOS), or Grimoire, is a gathering of magickal spells, incantations, herbals, and symbols wit hinstructions for how to utilize each. If you think of it as a cookbook for magick, with additional ritualized elements, you'll get the idea. The word Grimoire comes from the old French Gramaire, meaning occult learning or knowledge. During the 14th to 15th century it also meant grammat ( possibly due to the supersitions surrounding the power of written words becfause so few eople were literate) Bookmark: History Around 3500B.C.E., Sumerians began using the Cuneiform alphabet on clay tablets. Come 2500B.C.E., scrolls were being used (with paprus following around 2400B.C.E.). In 196B.C.E., the Rosetta Stone was cut, followed by the advent of paper in China in 150C.E. And finally the Gutenberg press came on the scene in 1450, changing the face of writting ( and books forever). As the ways in which people kept information changed, so did their outlooks about the written word. Books were expensive; people who could write were rare. So it's not surprising to find various mages and sages using books to carefully note their formulas. From complex instruction for invoking demons and banishing curses, Grimoires appeared quite commonly between the 12th and 18th centuries. Now, some modern scholars feel that some of the wording in these books was really a code, intended to fool those who should not be tinkering with such power haphazardly. That doesn't surprise me, especially coming from people who often felt there was a limited amounts of magick in the world. What is surprising is the amount of Christian verbiage in these tomes. Reference to prayer, God, Jesus, and angels dotted the texts liberally, perhaps as an attempt to libe cooperatively wit h the predominant religious power. During this time we find two typs of manuals. The first is that of natural magick or head Witchery ( what would be considered the magick of common folk documented by historians,physicians, and similar studied obserbers of human behavior's. These collections typically include a lot of herbal formulas ( especially for health, be it human or animal, and fertility, be it personal, animals or the garden!) Other common instructions were charms to improve wealth, protect, and obtain favors, be they personal or legal. T he second type of book was far more formal and detailed what we would consider High Magick. Such collections included sigils, invocations, and even the use of "heavenly" or magickal languages. One example of this is the lemegeton ( also known as the Key of SOlomon). Legend has it that Solomon himself authored this text, while it only came into public notice in the 12th century . The lesser Key of Solomon (Ars Goetia) dating from the 16th century includes a list of spirits, their powers, and exactly how to invoke them. Obviously, a very differnt focus from the hearthside collections. For those readers who would like to see some of the older Grimoires first hand, there are several online resources ( about.com is a good starting place) and at least one CD collection available at. www.lifetechnology.org/grimoires.htm. In particular check out the following titles. Natural Magick by;John Babtista Porta Magical Elements ( 1655) Key of the Mysteries by; Eliphas Levi Ancient Book of Formulas by; Lewis de Claremont Three books of Occult Philosophy by Agrippa The Sefer Yetsirah (very important in Cabbalism), typically attributedto Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph. The Hieroglyphic Monad by Dr. John Dee In recent history there has been a rebirth of Grimoires thanks greatly to the New Age publishing industry and increased continuity in various magickal groups ( some of whom now pass along Books of Shadows to the adherents). In addition, Many practitioners like to create a personal Book of Shadows, that includes their favoritetidbits of metaphysical information . BY THE BOOK Personal Books of Shadow ccome in many shapes and forms. SOme people use three-ring binders. Others Purchase a prebound blank book. Others (like me still use their computers as avirtual Grimoire. In determining what form your Book of Shadows will take in terms of both complexity and medium, I recommend considering the following; Time constraints: Making your own paper and injk, or even going so far as to bind your own book, will take much time more time than beginning with a perfabricated blank book of some sort. Household: Pets and children love to play with beautiful things.If you put many hours of work into a BOS, you won't wnat it covered in jelly or paw prints. THus, ask yoruself if you either have a safe storage place or, if you hope to make this a centerpice, if that area willbe far away from unwatned paws and hands. Size; OUr faith is by nature something that grows and transforms as we have more experince on which t o fashion or mehtods. This means your BOS will grow throughout your life time and may even turn into several Grimoires. Choose your medium so it reflects that potential growth comfortably. Lifestyles: If you trabel alot, you may want one "protable" BOS another of more permanent nature that stays safely at home. This is where the virtual laptop Grimoire comes in very handy ( you can also process your notes here until you're happy with them before transfering into the permanent fixture. Inclusive Material: Most people have alot of sections to their BOS and even subsections. These might include, but are not limtited to. Gods and Goddesses Tools and Functions Invocations Chants Spells Amulets and Charms Holidays Meditations Quotes and Sayings Personal Journal Herbalism T rees and Flowers Animal Symbolism Kitchen Witchery Signs and Sigils Color Symbolism Divination Number SYmbolism Astrology Magickal Gardening Oil Properties Stone Properties Correspondences And that is just the tip of the iceberg! Whne you're assembling a book with sections you want a medium that will be flexible to such configeration (this one reason why three ring binders have become relatively popular), So even a simple personal BOS requires some forethought and dont' think for a minute that just because your book is "simple" that it has to lack personal flair. I've seen people personalize their three-ring binders Grimoires by; Adding aromatics to various sections ( dabbing on paper) Using unique inks, markers, and crayons or typed fonts. Pressing flowers into the pages. Adding photographs or other cut and paste illustrations Decoupage on the cover ( or other artistic efforts) Color coding the paper elementally or other thematically. For those individuals who want something even a little more specialized, I offer these ideas. First, How about making your own paper? for one sheet of finished paper, you'll need a bunch of scrap paper ( at least two full sheets of your evening newspaper), You will also need a craft blender ( one you don't use for food), 2tbls white glue, 2 1/2 cups of water, old panty hose, a coat hanger, and an iron. Fill the kitchen sink with 4 inches of water.Bend the coat hanger into the external size and shape you want your paper to be when it's finished. streatch the panty hose over that frame until taught ( but make sure there are no holes). You may wish to make several covered frames so you can make more then ne piece of paper at a time ( which will mean increasing your recipie accordingly- This is for one sheet of finished paper). Next, put about one third of the scrap paper into the blender with just a little water. Chop on high. Continue adding paper and water until mixed well and for at least three more mintues afterward, during which time you add the glue. If you wish now is the time to personalize your paper by adding glitter, hair, aromatic oils, food coloring,lace finely ground herbs or flowers, ribbon or feathers. Note that you may wish to consider the symbolic balue of any item you add to your paper in terms of how it will amplify the energies in your book of shadows. Third put your frames in the bottom of the sink which is already filled with water, then add the paper mixture. Slowly lift each frame through the fiber. You want a nice even covering.Put this aside on several sheets of paper to dry, or hange them off the clothes line in the sun. Once dry, the paper peels off the frame with ease. Now you can iron it to get more even writting surface.However do not use for atleast 48 hours after ironing, as the heat helps remove any residual water from the paper. Take the pulp remnants outside or flush them down the toilet. I use a large ladle or bowl to get this out of the sink. I also rinse the blender outside. T his avoids the potential of clogging your pipes. THINK INK If you have made your own paper, what about ink? Native Americans and Europeans used a wide variety of natural items to create ink including decoctions of pokeweed, elderberry, and hollyhock! If you're feeling secretive, write in lemon juice ( which dries invisable until you heat it up!) and if you want some scent-ual apeal. add 10 drops of blended essential oil.s to a pre purchased bottle of ink so youre book becomes an excersise in aromatherapy! Dont' stop there! Add drawings and photographs where they help ilustrate your point or goal. If you are an artist, this is doubly meaningful. I do, howeber suggest fixing any pencil drawings with a light coating of skim milk. If you want your BOS to take a walk on the wild side, press components, herbs, or flowers for that part of your tome so that they become a ready ingredient. It's pretty easy to do I keep an old book around just for this purpose. Pick flowers, leaves, or herbs when dry and clean them of any dirt. Put the chosen plant equally spaced on a papertowl and fold the towel ober ( envelope style) Put this into the book in the middle, and put another heavy item ontop. In about sic weeks, it willbe ready to transport into your Grimoire. Just one word of caution-plants do become crumbly ober time, so you may want to cnsider waxing the item or adding a perservative spray. Last, but nto least , leave room for a little whimsy in your BOS- magick should be fun, and bring a smile to your face. Add a little glitter, bits of sand, greeting cards from circle mates, tickets from a festivals, and so on. To these pages. T his book is very much a spiritual diary that doubles as a reference text. Let it reflect the fullness and richness ofyour spiritual adventure. |