In the future, I will remember the details of this day, the ordinary trivia illuminated by an event that sent my mind currying for significance. I seem unwilling to live with randomness.
-Joy Kagawa, Obasan
Lesson Seven
So far, I have been having you take notes and make lists and write feelings. What do you do with all this stuff?? You put it into your Book of Shadows (or BOS for short) . This is a Witches notebook of knowledge. No two are the same, but every one is sacred and special. You can use a spiral notebook or find a very nice leather bound book with blank pages. You can write in pencil or create your own magickal inks. You write what YOU think is important, how you want it, when you want it and access it whenever you wish to. Some people believe only the person creating the Book should read it and others believe so long as permission is asked and the person asking has an open mind, different people can read it. It falls under the catagory of...no "correct" way to do it. I personally put humor, poety, "stuff", correspondances, charts, runes and other working knowledge into mine. And that is what it is...working knowledge. Put what you will use into your Book.
Some people are in Covens and the Coven will have a BOS for the Coven's usage. It contains what the Coven has used and tried over the Covens lifetime. New members often copy the Covens BOS into their own. The Coven BOS is considered off limits to outsiders. Some people use their computer (called a DOS--Disk of Shadows). This great in our modern age. You print what you want and if you lose the paper, you print it again. It also allows you to save graphics and sounds, and can give a freedom not available with an actual Book. Of course, you can't exactly take a laptop into a Circle, but you can print out your ritual!
Exercise One.
What type of Book do you want? Would you consider using a computer?
Exercise Two.
Compile what you have learned into your Book. Do you see a trend of what you are learning? Are all the notes and lists helping you? What do you want to add?
Exercise Three.
What do you NOT want to add? Why?
Exercise Four.
Will you let others read it? (any answer is okay, but you do have to face what can happen if you don't want others to read it but they do anyway)
Exercise Five.
Many people have a Book dedication. It can be a favorite poem or you can create something of your own. My BOS dedication is here...My First Page. Do you want to add one?
Exercise Six.
Now that you have your Book of Shadows...let it grow! It can grow into multiple volumes over your lifetime. Someday, look back at your first one, and you will become amazed at what you have actually learned over your lifetime.
To flip through the pages of my BOS faster...
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Brightest of Blessings