Wiccans/Pagans: Can you tell me about BOS?

Question

Okay, I already know what it stands for: Book of Shadows. But can you tell me about what it's all about and maybe some places I can read about what it is and stuff. I don't want useless information or stupid comments from Christians or Cowans. Thank you so much, and Blessed Be!

I like the answers so far... But what kind of book should it be in? None of my family was Wiccan and I don't have one that was given to me so I don't have that, but yeah...

Answer 1

you can take free courses at witchschool.com that should answer your questions

but basically, a BoS can be anything you want it to be. it can be a record of your spells and their results, a place to keep things you want to remember - color meanings, number meanings, ..... you can store ideas you have in it, artwork. anything that makes it useful and individually yours.
covens usually have a group BoS, but you can keep your own

you can use a journal if you want. you can make a book with special paper and make your own cover. mine is just a 3-ring binder and i use plastic sheet covers to protect my pages. that way I have some options and can move the pages around and organize it so it's easier to find what I need. plus I can use pretty papers with colors and designs - it's kind of scrap-booky.

blessed be

Answer 2

The Book of Shadows is a place for the individual to record what workings have been done, studies, poetry; a big journal. When an initiate takes a year and a day class, the Teacher will be giving lots of print-outs and a binder is best for that, but I suggest you use a large journal, and once you start reading, when you find something that means something to you, write it there, amongst your feelings and daily tribulations. Because we rarely write unless something bad happens, I should think it a book of shadows, because these are the bad things that have happened to us, and they are inscribed to be read years down the road- If you do workings and record them in your Book, you will see if you are effective. And when you begin to see that you want to write because you are happy, you will see the meaning behind it, sometimes years later; Your karma is stored here, and the story told in your Book will tell whether or not you worked for good or dark. And then, when you are Elder, hand it down.
Spells are most effective when they come from the heart, inscribed through your hand, and the words from your personality. Make your own, I guarantee effectiveness.
Work in Love and Light. Follow the Rede, and all shall be well, or as it should be, and I hope to have helped you on your path... Been Wiccan before I started studying. It is definitely the path for me, and I have been through a year and a day class; Priestess of First Degree, and studied for two years before that. Been a year since I was initiated. In Light and Love, Brightest Blessings!

P.S. I have a nicely leatherbound, thick journal I found at Walmart. I see no difference between my eight dollar purchase and someone else's 25 dollar purchase. Work with what you have- another piece of good advice, to a sister of my craft.
Again, Brightest Blessings!

Answer 3

A book of shadows is basically a journal of all the spells and rituals you have ever done. It doesn't have to be leather bound with bronze buckles on it that's been handed down to you from a long line of Witches *chuckle* Though, you can obtain blank books like that, but they cost a pretty penny. It's best to keep it simple.

A blank journal purchased from Barns and Noble is perfect. However, I obtained my BOS by going to a hobby store. They had a black covered book with natural, hand-made paper on the inside. I got it in the calligraphy section.

You can also have a DOS: Disc of Shadows, if you're on a budget.

Just remember, BOS's are just journals. That's all. It needn't be fancy.

If you want to know more about Wicca, I suggest Scott Cunningham's "The Truth About Witchcraft Today".

I also have listed below a few sites you may find useful.

Answer 4

A Book of Shadows is a collection of spells and rituals that we have compiled over the years and use to celebrate sacred days of the year, and you cannot really buy one from a book store. The only one that I know of that you can buy is part of a book by Scott Cunningham: Wicca A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. The information in the book is useful if you have any questions and/or you are just beginning to learn about Wicca in particular, but it covers the topic of a BOS and even contains one in the last part of the book. I hope this helps.

Blessed Be

24 y.o. Pagan College Student

Answer 5

"Book of Shadows" means different things to different people.
For some Wiccan groups, it's a set of liturgies--the scripts or outlines for rituals for the holy days, initiation rites, other rites-of-passage, and so on. At the most basic, that's what a BoS is. In oathbound traditions, this is the part that cannot be shared with outsiders.

Many people add inspirational texts--poems, stories, song lyrics--which are appropriate to use in rituals. Some add spells. Some add correspondence lists & other information--astrological info, herbal lists, color correspondences & traditional meanings in various cultures, runic alphabets, and so on.

Some add practical info that relates to them--robe patterns, recipes, how-to-make [candles, soap, bath salts, an altar, a mirror, etc.] Some add a magickal/religious journal, keeping track of their spiritual progress.

Some groups call the first part (the liturgies) a "Book of Shadows," and keep it secret--open only to coven members--and have another book, a "Book of Light," that can be shared. Some call the journal part a "Book of Mirrors," because it's a form of reflection.

The form of the book (handwritten, typed in a binder, on disk, carved on stone slabs, whatever) is important to some groups, but not all of them. Many people keep their BOS in whatever format they prefer. A lot of people use a 3-ring binder (or a set of them) that they've covered with cloth & decorated with Pagan themes.

Answer 6

Blessings to you,

Your BOS, aka Book of Shadows is a book for writing down your spells, rituals, ideas, words, thoughts, learnings, etc, about your chosen path, be it Eclectic, Shaman, Celtic, etc. Some people write in theirs like a journal. Some write in it like on Charmed, spells & rituals that have been done before, possibly what the outcome was or wasn't. I have 2 BOS; one is for my spells & rituals, as well as supplies I used, what happened or didn't happen. My second one is a Dream Journal. If I've had an odd dream or a vivid one, I write it down. I do this as soon as I wake up while the dream or dreams are still fresh in my mind. Sometimes, I'll have dreams that don't seem to make sense to me at the time. Rereading them later on, in a few weeks or months, I might say to myself, Oh yeah! That's why I had that dream!

Your BOS can be hardbound, spiralbound, 3 ring binder with sheet protectors or handmade. You can store yours online by creating a website on go.daddy.com or other hosting site with a domain name. You can use MS Word or WordPerfect to write in then save on your hard drive. The kind is up to you. I have my spell & ritual one in a 4 inch 3 ring binder & my Dream Journal is a hardbound blank BOS that I found at a nearby store. In the source below is the website that hand makes the BOS. They're not cheap but I've seen them in person & are well worth the money if you can afford one.

Blessed Be in love & light!

Answer 7

You may not realize it, but there is a group that practices "Christian Wicca".

Basically, a BOS contains the rituals, spells, and beliefs of the group one is affiliated with. Each coven has its own version.
* Differences between versions are equally a function of the trad, and of who/what else the HPs studied under.
* Different trads in the same town often contain the same rituals for the major festivals. Rituals for initiation will not be the same, buyt rther from the trad that the group is a part of.

You can find a couple of examples at sacred-texts.com.

Answer 8

Your BOS is personal. It's more of a journal, a diary of your experiences. It's where you write down your personal "recipes" for spells and what worked and what didn't. This is how witchcraft is handed down thru families (trust me, I know). You lend your BOS to your daughter and she writes your stuff, in her handwriting, down in her new BOS then procedes to add her own personal things.

See, spells are personal, you can't really get the effect you're looking for in those spell books at the store. It's trial and error and I guarantee, those books have left out 1 thing in every spell they publish.

Answer 9

A Book of Shadows is your own personal magical journal. Some people keep a Disk of Shadows these days (although they often print them out and keep a hardcopy version as well for quick reference) and some folks have electronic Books of Shadows in websites or blogs. Often times circles or covens will keep a group Book of Shadows. Witches personal Books of Shadows are usually private but may be shared with the immediate family and passed down from generation to generation.

The Book itself can be anything that's appealing to you. Many people use a blank book with an attractive cover. You can buy books in occult stores specifically for this purpose. I personally prefer a notebook of the 3-ring binder variety so that I can take things out, organize and move things around, but again, it's a matter of preference.

Some things that may go into a Book of Shadows are as follows-

Recipes- especially for healing or "comfort" foods and foods traditionally prepared for Sabbats and Esbats.
Herbal Preparations- recipes for tinctures, oils, salves, etc. and herbal combinations that might be used in ritual or for healing or general aromatherapeutic use.
Spells- Of course.
Rituals for general worship, Esbats, Sabbats and Rites of Passage.
Drawings of symbols that might be used for specific purposes or have special meaning to the Witch him/herself.
Dreams that might have had special meaning to the Witch.
Prayers, poems, songs and chants written or collected by the Witch.
Meditations and the results of Journeys, special messages a Witch may have received through these efforts.
Association charts for colors, herbs, crystals and other things for use in spells and Kitchen Witchery (the domestic branch of alchemy).

Basically anything a Witch learns along his/her path that he/she wants to remember will be written down in this Book of Shadows.

Answer 10

As far as what sort of book it should be, it should be anything that is useful to you. Some use spiral-bound notebooks, some use three-ring binders so that they can re-arrange pages, some use journals like the ones you can find at Barnes & Noble, some use loose paper and bind it themselves.