I get asked a lot about a Grimoire and a BOS, what they are, what the difference between them is, what information to include in them, how to use them, how to compile them, and how to make them. So hopefully this post answers those questions.
This is one of those topics in Witchcraft where there is a traditional or “old way” and a more modern school of thought. I will explain both, and I will try to convey some differing viewpoints as well as my opinion so that you can make up your own mind.
What is a Book of Shadows (BOS)?
Wiccan definition:
The term itself, Book of Shadows, is fairly recent, it is a neo-pagan term that was coined when the religion of Wicca was created by Gerald Gardner. So historically it was not used by witches before the 1940s. As such, Wiccans believe that the term “Book of Shadows” is Wiccan terminology for a Grimoire, if you are a practitioner who has not been inducted into a Wiccan coven, then the magickal book you’ll possess is a called grimoire.
Traditional Defintion:
A BOS is a witch's very personal book of magick; a diary of magick that shadows the owner. It will include records of all magickal workings, dreams and their meanings, spells, rituals, etc. It is a sacred object and should be treated as such, by honouring it with a hiding place where others will not be tempted to mess with it. If the witch is Wiccan it will have a protection page in the front usually something the witch themself has written in their own words, or the Wiccan Rede, the Law of Three or a Wiccan protection chant.
A BOS is for the owner's eyes only and whoever else the owners authorise to see it. A witch must be sure that whoever does see it won't disclose its contents to others or do any harm to the owner or the book. Meaning if someone makes you uncomfortable, do not show them your BOS.
What is a Grimoire?
The word Grimoire has its roots in the French term 'Grammaire', which originally referred to a book written in Latin. As time progressed, by the 18th century, the term Grimoire came to be associated with historical books that contained magickal knowledge. The first known written magickal text dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, where incantations were inscribed on clay tablets using cuneiform script. The tradition of documenting magickal practices continued in Ancient Egypt and later in Greece and Rome.
A Grimoire is not as personal as a BOS. It holds information about rituals, spells, potions, and how to prepare magical tools. It also contains lists of correspondences and magickal properties of herbs, gemstones, food, colours, definitions, recipes, techniques, tips, etc. Basically, it contains all your magickal research. It does not contain personal information or records of magickal workings.
Historically, grimoires are reference books, described almost like a textbook, but as with everything else the word grimoire has evolved over time. A grimoire will explain the How to, the What is When to, where and why of your witchy knowledge.
Not many witches keep a grimoire preferring just to use a BOS
Another belief is that the term grimoire applies specifically to the practices of black magick and demonology.
My personal view:
A Grimoire or a Book of Shadows (BoS) is whatever a witch wants it to be, everyone is different. Some witches have multiple Grimoires and BoS. The longer you practice the Craft, the more information you collect, and the bigger your BoS collection becomes. As you journey down the path of your Craft your BoS will reflect that, for instance, when I started practising, I was Wiccan, my first BoS and Grimoires contained all my Wiccan knowledge and spellwork, as I branched out into different traditions, I complied information as I went and so my collection of BoS and Grimoires grew.
Remember that even the name you give your magickal book is whatever you want it to be, I have heard lots of different names including, a Book of Light, spellbook, workbook, Book of Illumination, Magickal Journal.
Personally my grimoires are my knowledge and my BoS are my spellwork, you don’t have to organise yours like I do mine, I’m an organised OCD woman, I love using labels and colour coded folders, so my Bos and Grimoire reflect that about me, yours can be chaotic or organised as you want, you can call your magickal books whatever you want.
A BoS or Grimoire can be handwritten, typed, it could be homemade, bought, saved on the cloud, or a hard drive, it can be a three-ring binder, it can be made on a computer and printed out then cut and glued into a pretty book, can be in English, it can be in Theban, it can just be pictures, it is completely up to the witch how they create their own BoS and what to include in there.
Even the way you arrange your Book is up to you, it can be organised chronologically, by subject or not organised at all.
There is no right or wrong. Your BoS should reflect you, your practice and what resonates with you.
The majority of witches write their BoS or Grimoire with the future in mind, whether they intend to pass their magickal books down to their children, their Coven, or their apprentice, but even if that is not your intention whether you are going to keep them private you can always look back reflecting on how far you have come from when you started walking the path of Witchcraft.
Some witches keep just a BOS. I personally would much rather keep all my research in one book and my thoughts and feelings in another book. In doing so I can keep my personal information from others while still sharing my research. Others like to see your research, not so much your personal thoughts. Keeping a Grimoire and a Book of Shadows is the best way to do this.
When creating a Grimoire of BOS I suggest using something with removable pages, like a binder or even a digital copy. This way you can add and remove pages as you need them instead of taking your entire book into a ritual where it may be damaged. This also allows you to easily move pages around if you decide to reorganize them. You can get creative and make title pages for each subject, they help to keep your book organised and make the information you record much easier to find.
What do you put in your Book of Shadows:
- Dreams and their Meanings
- Feelings, thoughts and personal diary
- Any spells, rituals and incantations you’ve personally performed and how they worked out, any adjustments or changes you’ve made to the ritual
- Mantras that you're using or have used daily affirmations
- Might stay on your altar while you are practising magic, but won’t be used or looked at by anyone else
- Protection page, dedication page (if you have a God, Goddess or Deity), and a blessing page, you can include a page for the Wiccan Rede and the Law of Three as well if you like.
What to put in your Grimoire?:
- History of witchcraft
- Altar and Tools
- Symbols
- An About Me page
- Correspondences
- Divination
- Familiars
- Folklore
- Definitions
- Cleansing and charging
- Grounding
- Herbology
- Moon Magick
- Meditation
- Self-care
- Wheel of the year
- Deities
- Types of Witches
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