Book of Shadows?

Question

Okay, i know that Witches are suppose to have there own made up BOS..... is it bad to use other Witchs Spells (sometimes) like the BOS's bought onilne?.....or should i just keep makeing up my own?

(Book-Of-Shadow) = BOS

Answer 1

Naw, not bad at all.. spells you create yourself tend to be more effective because you put more of yourself into them. It doesn't mean having other spells that you've tested out and found that they worked for you in your BOS is bad.. it's personal.. put in there what you want.. that's what it's there for.

Many blessings on your path!

Answer 2

A Book of Shadows is exactly what the title says. It is a journal of a past journey. It is the shadows of what you were and what you created. Therefore, though there are many books titled "Book of Shadows," they are not true to the title and lose in being sold for a profit.

If you wish to be a purist, you must keep your BOS private. The true BOS is only passed to another of your blood at your death so that they might know of your life and be guided by the achievements and warned by the failures. Another error common to this day and age is that the BOS is thought of as a single Book. It is not. I know many, like myself, who have a BOS for every year they have worked in the Lore. . .

An aside; the young'uns are dunning me to scan my BOS onto a digital set of disks. I still prefer the touch of paper and the look of hand written ink as well as some of the pictures and diagrams drawn.

Answer 3

I'm just now getting all my notes and stuff together to start mine. I've bought some spells, but I haven't tried them yet. I think that practicing magic is a very personal thing, and the more personal you can keep it, the more powerful it is. There's nothing wrong at all with purchased spells, it just may be a little harder to connect to the items used because you didn't collect them yourself. In a sense, you have to "bond" with the items you use. If there's no "bond", there's no magic. It sounds like you're coming along and you're asking some very good questions. Blessings!

Answer 4

It's better to make your own, but looking at others for inspiration is perfectly acceptable. It often gives a bit of flavor to your work.

I know that I often use the same herbs over and over because they are easily accessible. And I use the same incantations and mantras simply because they are easy for me to remember. But I always look for fresh ideas, because I don't want my imagination to get stale. I blatanly plagerise from online, occasionally. Sometimes I'm just inspired and create something new. Either way is perfectly natural, as long as you are comfortable with the result. :)

Good luck!

Answer 5

I have adapted other people's ideas, but you invest more energy in the spell when you write it yourself..... The more you invest of your personal energy, in the writing, or making amulets, or making tools or whatever, the better it is.... There is something to be said for learning from someone else's experiences as well though, and reading other people's ideas can give you ideas to try out for yourself....

Answer 6

Do both. There is nothing wrong with using another person's spells however I would suggest that you may want to put your own twist on them

Answer 7

Its better to make your own spells rather than use other peoples. They are more likely to work.

Answer 8

Everyone has to start somewhere.

If you haven't the time to craft your own spells, then why ignore the prior agency of others who have done the work?

Answer 9

I don't see why you couldn't do both. As you get futher along you'll find you will write them more yourself. Personally I'd keep one for the ones that I wrote and one for the ones you didn't write. That way you want get them mixed together and you'll be able to track your progress.