BOS Update

So apparently I just can't be happy with my BOS.  Well, I'm working on it anyway.  It seems I'm so afraid of messing up my book that I just avoid working on it.  But then I finally find a book that allows me to remove, add, and rearrange pages and it's too bulky and large; I didn't realize how big it was going to be!

So now I have yet another book of shadows to work on, and hopefully this one sticks.

 

I bought it at our annual medieval faire and I got the merchant to custom carve the cover from a tattoo idea I'd found:

 

I'm thinking about adding ink into the grooves so the pattern stands out more, but I haven't fully decided yet.

Anyway, this book doesn't have the ability to rearrange pages.  I can add more pages to it down the road, but I can't rearrange them.  So I went back to my post from a while back where I laid out a rough table of contents for my BOS and I'm taking another look at that.  

Because the paper in this book is made from cotton and has been primed, I'm using watercolor to add some color to the pages and I've decided I'm going to write in it myself using a quill and ink.  I was printing out the writing before and pasting it in the book.  It looks neater, but it doesn't have the power my handwriting does, so I've decided that, sloppy or not, I'm writing my BOS by hand.

I'm still pasting in found artwork because mine's just not up to par.

 

Book of Shadows Update

I don't actually remember if I updated my blog when I received my huge, completely custom BOS in the mail.  But anyway, I did.  There were some issues, and they were dealt with, and the book is beautiful.  One problem:  I ordered a BIG. ASS. BOOK.  It's just so big that I don't know if I'll really ever use it whether in ritual or not.  I'm also afraid I might break it or scar it in any way, so I don't like to open it.  Since we just moved into our own house, I put it in my craft room on the bottom shelf of my bookcase for safe keeping.

So since that book is so large, I decided I need a smaller BOS for actual working.  I poured over multiple journals and sketchbooks in Barnes&Noble, and I finally decided on a small, $10 book with pretty, handmade paper.  This will not be the end-all BOS.  I actually hope I can go back to the ladies that made my large BOS and get a smaller version of the same book.  I like them because they do the screw-post binding.  If not them, then I'll go with a BOS that is traditionally bound and I'll just have to make sure I know where I want stuff to go beforehand.

Goodbye, 2012

What have I accomplished this year?  Let's see...

• I became fully Pagan and performed a personal dedication ceremony to the Goddess and the God.
  
• I shift-skipped between days and nights before finally landing a Monday-Friday position doing a job I really enjoy so far.
  
• I met a new Wiccan friend who I've performed ritual with and loved it.
  
• I lost a friend to disagreements about where our loyalties truly lie.
  
• I learned more about myself.
  
• My husband and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary.
  
• Hubby and I put in an offer on a short sale house, and are waiting on the bank to give us their reply.
  
• I applied to go back to college and will be starting in January.
  
• I purchased a very large and very beautiful custom Book of Shadows, and I've begun creating the pages that will go in it.
  
• The world did not end!

All in all, this year has been rather eventful.  The biggest shift has been in my spiritual life, although many of the other events I listed are rather...eventful.

Here's to the close of 2012, and to the fresh start that a new year always brings!

Happy 2013!

Book of Shadows Update

I wanted to share the style in which I've decided to do the pages for my BOS, so here's a picture!

Enjoy!

About the Book of Shadows

I learned something new yesterday.  I learned that the term "Book of Shadows" was created by Gardner, and he most likely got the term from a document referred to as a Book of Shadows that was about divination using shadows.  I got this information from the site Wicca: For the Rest of Us under her Book of Shadows section.

Learning this bit of information gave me the thought immediately that I should coin my spiritual book with a different name, however I started giving it some thought.  If I named my book something else, why would I be doing that?  Most likely, I'd be doing it just to be different, to make a kind of statement, or to separate myself from Gardner since I don't follow the Gardnerian tradition. 

When I began to think about the title of a Book of Shadows, I realized it's actually a pretty good title.  This book of spiritual knowledge, learning, spells, rituals, chants, prayers, etc. that I intend to keep are essentially a compilation of my thoughts and feelings, and this book is meant to be a sort of learning tool for me to make myself a better person.  To make yourself a better person, you must explore and heal your shadows, and so your book will contain your shadows, your deepest, innermost thoughts and fears and successes.

I've decided to keep the term "Book of Shadows" to describe my book with the possibility that I may add "and Light" to the end of it as the actual name or title of my particular book if I decide I want something different.

Book of Shadows Planner Post

I'd like to start planning for my formal Book of Shadows so that when it arrives I can start working on it.  To help this process along, I'd like to brainstorm sections and ordering for my BOS.


So here's my working Table of Contents:
note: I'll update this post from time to time when I have something to add or change. Also, numbers in parentheses are estimations of pages taken up by each section.

1. "The Magic Circle" painting by JW Waterhouse (1)
2. Title Page - "Book of Shadows" (1)
   -I may include my magickal name in Theban script under whatever illustration I draw for my title page
3. Book Blessing (1)
   -I may decide to put the Book Blessing before the Title Page, but I'm not sure yet.
4. Wiccan Rede (1)
5. Charge of the Goddess (1)
   -I don't practice skyclad, so there is a part of the Charge that doesn't resonate with me, however I found a version online that only recites the second half of the poem, and I may include that.
6. 13 Goals of a Witch (1)
7. My Beliefs/Laws/Spiritual Tenets (2)
8. My Goddess Dream (The Dream) (1-2)
9. Dedication to my Patron God/Goddess if I decide to adopt patron deities.. (2)
10. Wheel of the Year (illustration) (1)
11. Sabbats
    -2-page spread for each?  Page approximation is for info only, not rituals (17)
12. Rites of Passage (6)
    -Wiccaning/Saining
    -Coming of Age
    -Initiation/Dedication
    -Handfasting
    -Croning/Wisening
13. Directions, Elements, & Correspondences (6)
14. Tools for Ritual and Magick (2)
15. Symbols and Their Meanings (1)
16. Major Deities or Deities Important to My Practice (10)
17. Moon Phases and The Triple Goddess (2)
18. My Zodiac (Gemini/Year of the Snake) (1)
19. Numerology (1)
20. Divination (6)
    -Tarot/Oracle Cards - overview
    -Runes
    -Scrying using crystal balls, scrying mirrors, water, fire, clouds, etc.
    -Pendulums
    -Palmistry Diagram
21. Color Correspondences (1)
22. Chakras (2)
23. Prayers/Meditations/Chants/Songs (35)
    -Informal Communion Prayer (for cakes and ale)
    -Hail Goddess
    -Prayer of the 7 Directions
    -Moon Goddess Prayer
    -Short God Prayer (found in my Mabon ritual)
    -Short Goddess Prayer (also found in my Mabon ritual)
    -Short Spirit Prayer (found in my Mabon ritual)
24. Crystals (75)
25. Herbs (75)
26. Animals (25)
27. Bones of Ritual (8)
    -Preparing for Ritual
    -Casting a Circle (Triple Circle/Elemental Circle)
    -Calling the Corners
    -Inviting the God and Goddess
    -Raising and Releasing Power
    -Cakes and Ale
    -Releasing the Corners
    -Opening the Circle
28. Rituals (25)
    -Rituals for Sabbats (may be included with the Sabbats section)
    -Esbat ritual
    -Blue Moon ritual
    -New Moon ritual
    -Rituals for each of the rites of passage (may be included with Rites of Passage section)
29. Potions/Recipes?
    -Black Salt
    -Lamp Black Ink
    -Pagan Holy Water
    -Red Brick Dust for Protection
30. Spells (100)
    -Tealight Petition
    -To Cure a Broken Heart (Rose Sugar)
    -To Balance the Elements Within
    -To Banish Negative Energy
    -To Guide a Lost Item Home
    -To Bring Marital Harmony

Note: I may take out the Rituals section, and include rituals with their informational pages throughout the book.  I am contemplating doing the same for the Spells section, however I like the idea of calling the spells section a name with "Grimoire" in it, so I may keep that section...