uh, if i uhdestand you correctly, a book of shadows can be the same as a journal depending. you could write down your experiences with spells, or things you've predicted, so in that way a BoS could be like a journal.
however, traditional BoS, these are made up of spells, how to cast circles, rituals, sabbats, lists of dieties and their mythos, herbs and their magical properties and so on.
basically, a BoS is anything you make of it, as long as the book has something to do with magic.
Well Dobby, for my Book of Shadows I simply write down the purpose of the book, I.E. "This book shall contain my experiences with Spells, any Spells I have written or performed, any rituals I endure, tests I take, be my vessel of knowledge, and serve as my journal for my spiritual experiences." No that isn't what I wrote, but for a Cover letter that would be OK.
Really it doesn't need a Cover Letter, you can start writing in it whenever you want. Blessings and protections work nicely, but I haven't had many problems yet. As for My Book, or as I intend to call it, Grimoire of Dara'Okarthel, it's simply a journal from Walmart. It's cheap, (not too cheap it's a nicer one, ish.) Effective, and won't break anytime soon. I typically like to place a Sigil in one of the pages to serve as my protection against evil, but my new journal is still vulnerable as I have to recreate my Sigil.
An occultist I know invented his own alphabet, learned how to use it, and wrote in it. He also had an enchantment placed wherein whoever was reading it, without his consent, or tried to read it would get a stomachache of sorts.
Because of various reasons notes anymore, digital or otherwise. Though I do know a thing or two about defensive magic and I may have some tips for keeping your BoS safe. Both from spirits and humans. Physical notes are safer than digital ones by the way.
Hi everybody! I have read all of your posts and wanted to chime in, too. I have two books I created for use. One is a Book of Shadows, but the other is my Book of Light. I started with making the first for traditional reasons such as being able to have a record of basically everything I did magically in my life. But as time passed, I found that I needed to have a place for other things which were equally important to me, things that touched my heart or made me feel wonderful or blessed. So I created my Book of Light. It contains artwork, poems, favorite quotes, happy moments, etc., and when I need a positive influence, I can pull from this book just as easily as I can from my BoS. So both books are for keeping records, the only difference being the intent I poured into each during the creation process.
I enjoyed your original post of BOS. The name derives from a witches spell/healing book having to be kept in the shadows so it would not be discovered. I have a BOS for my spell work, a journal for my daily tarot readings, and an elemental journal for my herbology and gemstone research. I keep a log of how well a spell worked in my BOS.
