The book of shadows
Traditionally, spells, formulae and rituals were recorded in the Grimoire which, of late, has become known as the Book of Shadows. There is often controversy over whether one’s magical books should be called a Grimoire or a Book of Shadows. Really it depends on which traditions of magic you have been taught.
The word Grimoire simply means ‘a book of learning’. It came to mean the records kept by true practitioners of magic as they wrote down the secret keys they discovered as they progressed along the path of initiation. The best known Grimoire was the translation of one made widely available at the beginning of the 20th century – that of King Solomon. This book was of great antiquity and traditionally is seen as the magical key to the Kabbalah. In truth, it was the key to the Mysteries and has since formed the basis of other magical systems.
The first Book of Shadows is said to have been written by Gerald Gardner as he developed modern Wicca in the 1920s. The Book of Shadows does not serve as a diary, but reflects religious rituals, their modifications and any other workings that need to be recorded.
Both books were traditionally secret writings, often written in coded language. The Book of Shadows follows the same principle, although obviously with modern communication much of what used to be hidden is more readily available.
Most solitary practitioners will treasure the records of their workings whether they choose to call it a Book of Shadows or a Grimoire. Either book becomes part of a rich tradition.
Any self-respecting practitioner will both want and need to keep a record of all of these aspects of magic for future reference. You will need to find an easy way of remembering what you have done. Utilizing the worksheets and the respective headings below will help you to do this.
These can also be used, should you wish, with modern technology.
Computer and software programmes can be tremendously helpful in keeping records in a fashion that is suitable for passing on to other people.
Spells and formulae record sheet
TYPE OF SPELL OR FORMULA: This should state very clearly what the type of spell is e.g. blessing, binding etc. When developing formulas for lotions and potions, for instance, you need to be clear as to the exact purpose.
DATE AND TIME MADE: This gives a cross-reference should you wish to use the correct planetary hours or magical days.
REFERENCE: you should develop your own system of reference; this might be, for instance, according to the time of year or alphabetically. Do also remember to keep safely somewhere a record of how you have developed your reference system so that others may benefit from your experience.
ASTROLOGICAL PHASE: if you have an interest in astrology you will probably want to record where the planets are when you prepare the spell or formula. A decent ephemeris (list of planetary positions) can be of great help here though there are also many sources of information on the internet.
SPECIFIC PURPOSE: you should always state the specific purpose of the spell or formula very clearly. This is partly because it helps to focus your own mind, but also because it leaves no one in any doubt as to your intentions. Should you have more than one main purpose, you should also record these.
LIST OF INGREDIENTS AND/OR SUPPLIES NEEDED: Having all your ingredients to hand ensures that you are working with maximum efficiency and not misusing or needing to adjust the energy by leaving the sacred space. Also, when you repeat a working you will need to replicate what you did the first time; even one small change in ingredients can make a tremendous difference to the outcome.
SPECIFIC LOCATION REQUIRED: You may well need to perform some spells within a certain area or setting. Also you may discover that your own energy responds to some locations better than others.
DATE, TIME AND ASTROLOGICAL PHASE WHEN USED: In all probability, you will not want all your spells to take effect at the time you cast them. suppose you have applied for a job and wish your spell to work at the time of interview. You would need to carefully calculate the date, time and astrological phase of the interview as well as the time you are actually casting your spell and incorporate both sets of information into your working.
RESULTS: Record carefully all aspects of results you feel are associated with your working. This record should include how successful you consider the spell to be and how it might be improved. There will be some unexpected results, some which appear not to give a tangible result and others which come into play some time after they were expected.
DEITIES INVOKED DURING PREPARATION AND/OR USE: Often a particular god can be helpful in bringing about a needed result for a spell. You will chose the most appropriate for your purpose and can always petition a different one at another time.
STEP–BY–STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATIONS AND/OR USE: Often when spell-working, movements and words are intuitive and instinctive; the more you are able to remember what you did the more likely you are to achieve similar results. Also, should you require them for someone to work on your behalf or to undertake someone else’s magical training, you will have an exact record.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: Here you should record for each occasion anything that seems strange, bizarre or noteworthy so that you know what to expect next time.
In each of the spells, we give a list of ingredients and special articles which may be required to achieve a result for that particular spell. Because each individual brings their own energy into the process, you may find that you intuitively want to change something, whether that is an ingredient, a container or the words used. This is absolutely fine, and means that your spell has a very personal ‘feel’ to it.
Colour
Colour is something that, over time, you will use as a natural adjunct in your magical workings. It can be used in your robes, to dress your altar, or in your candles as representative of the vibration, you wish to introduce. By and large, the colours you choose for your workings will be those appropriate for your intention (the purpose of your spell).
There are other uses of colour in magic as well. Some simple colour symbolism is listed below.
WHITE AND SILVER
Silver is almost always associated with the Lunar Goddesses and workings with the moon. White symbolises purity, chastity and spirituality and is said to contain within it all the other colours, so always use white if you have nothing else available. Use it also when you want focus and a protective influence.
PURPLE, INDIGO AND VIOLET
These are the Royal colours and are therefore associated with wisdom and vision, dignity and fame. They are often used when honouring the Goddess in her aspect of Crone and the God as King, according to some traditions of magic. These colours command respect and promote psychic and mental healing.
SKY BLUE
This colour signifies communication in all its forms, not just between people, but also between the realms so is good for meditative practices and also for help with study and learning. The colour is also used to symbolise water.
GREEN
This colour, which belongs to Venus, promotes love, fertility, beauty, prosperity and wealth. Associated with the Earth in its guise of the Green Man and with the Great Mother in her nurturing form it suggests emotional healing and growth.
GOLD AND YELLOW
These colours represent vitality, strength and rejuvenation. They, therefore, are used to promote physical healing, hope and happiness. Related to the Sun Gods and the Element of Air, they may also be used for protection.
ORANGE
Used as a healing vibration, particularly of relationships, orange is also associated with material success and legal matters. A highly creative vibration, it often relates to childhood and emotional stability
RED
This colour is recognised as that associated with passion and sexual potency and with intensity. It is usually associated with fire, with the quality of courage and with healing of the blood and heart.
PINK
This is the colour that signifies friendship, love, fidelity and the healing of emotions. It also symbolises creativity and innocence and is associated with the Goddess in her aspect of Maiden.
BROWN
promotes the healing of the Earth, symbolises the hearth and home and is also connected with the animal kingdom. It can also be used for the blending of several intentions.
BLACK
…is not a colour but is the absence of both light and colour. It can therefore be used to banish negativity. It is often seen as the colour of the Goddess in her Wise Woman form.
Words of power
Signs and symbols are an important part of magic and are very easily universally recognized. In other words, any competent magician or alchemist would be easily able to read the information which was being passed on. Much of the magical language that we use today has come down to us from the Kabbalah, which was primarily an oral tradition (learned through the spoken word).
There were certain ideas that the ordinary layman was capable of understanding and others that only the priesthood were capable of assimilating.
Knowledge was power and that knowledge must be jealously guarded lest it fall into the wrong hands. The writings were therefore in code, and had a tremendous power and energy invested in them. The sense of awe and wonder they generated was phenomenal. Now, as these messages become open to interpretation, they still are able to generate that same sense of awe and wonder.
While the writings of Kabbalah were obviously in ancient Hebrew, it was believed that the letters and numbers had very powerful vibrations. To keep the writers’ intentions hidden, it was possible to substitute other phrases and letters or numbers for what was originally noted down, and it all became very confusing. It is this which has generated so much interest recently in the Bible Code and other so-called ‘secret’ messages.
There are many different ‘codes’ that can be used to signify various aspects of magic and here we show the Hebrew and English equivalent. The following is an example of how English letters can be transferred into numbers using Kabbalistic beliefs:
Another example:
The Bible code (Hebrew: הצופן התנ”כי, haztofen hatanachi), also known as the Torah code, is a purported set of secret messages encoded within the Hebrew text of the Torah. This hidden code has been described as a method by which specific letters from the text can be selected to reveal an otherwise obscured message.
Equidistant Letter Sequence method
The primary method by which purportedly meaningful messages have been extracted is the Equidistant Letter Sequence (ELS). To obtain an ELS from a text, choose a starting point (in principle, any letter) and a skip number, also freely and possibly negative. Then, beginning at the starting point, select letters from the text at equal spacing as given by the skip number. For example, the bold letters in this sentence form an ELS. With a skip of −4, and ignoring the spaces and punctuation, the word safest is spelled out.
Often more than one ELS related to some topic can be displayed simultaneously in an ELS letter array. This is produced by writing out the text in a regular grid, with exactly the same number of letters in each line, then cutting out a rectangle. In the example below, part of the King James Version of Genesis (26:5–10) is shown with 33 letters per line. ELSs for BIBLE and CODE are shown. Normally only a smaller rectangle would be displayed, such as the rectangle drawn in the figure. In that case there would be letters missing between adjacent lines in the picture, but it is essential that the number of missing letters be the same for each line.
In theory there is nothing to prevent you from mixing up your alphabets in magical writings, though the purists among us will cringe at such an idea.
Words of power are those which create a very specific vibration linking us with the Divine. Practitioners of Yoga, for instance, will use the very powerful OM or Aum accepted as the vibration of Creation. Followers of Islam chant the 99 ‘Beautiful Names’ of Allah. Hebrew mystics and magicians use the secret names of God, such as Yahweh, Adonai and Elohim. Native Americans observe chanting in preparation for many activities and ceremonies. Chants, or mantras, are also greatly venerated in other Shamanic societies.
It is the use of words of power which can enchant something or someone – to enchant initially meant to surround someone with a vibration which brought about transformation. In ancient Greece, female sorcerers and seers are said to have howled their chants, believing that this created the powerful vibrations to augment the power of their chants. Early and medieval sorcerers and magicians sang their chants in very forceful voices in order to raise power.
This practice predated the raising of highly focussed energy developed by modern day magicians and spell workers. These latter use as their mantras (mind-makers) the names of the Goddess and of the horned God as well as the names of other deities. Chants also are done for magical purposes to achieve an altered state of consciousness and create psychic energy. Below is one such chant, which should be repeated at least nine times.
Eko, Eko Azarak
Eko, Eko Zomelak
Eko, Eko Cernunnos
Eko, Eko Aradia
Words of power may also consist of rhymes, alliterative phrases – including nonsensical ones – and charms that are created or taken from other sources such as books or poetry. In some magical traditions it is believed that a chant used as a tool for healing should not be used more than three times lest the chanter becomes infected by the very condition he or she is attempting to cure.