Sunday Intentional: Book of Shadows

I'm not always (in fact very rarely) able to just 'come up with' a topic that I want to delve into.  Thankfully there is a site that can help!  PaganBlogPrompts posts blog topic weekly that ask bloggers to really delve into different aspects of their faith and/or how their faith effects interactions with others/current events.  Without this resource I would NOT be able to keep this blog effectively.  I may not use a prompt every time, but it helps just to know the resource is there.

Prompt from May 12, 2011: Book of Shadows

"What is your Book of Shadows (or Grimoire) like, if you even have one? What does it look like? What sorts of things does it contain? Is it completely handmade, or store-bought?"

Celtic Crow Beautiful Handmade Journal.

When I think of the term Book of Shadows (BOS) I think of a heavy hand-made book, beautifully adorned with mystic symbols containing handwritten sheets of spells and correspondences.  I can almost smell the ink splattered parchment and feel the tattered edges.  It should be pretty and sacred and hold an air of importance and otherworldly-ness.  This is the BOS I have in my mind, it very much looks like this one from mysticmoonmedia (which I desire greatly!).

I'm also a Taurus so I want organization, tabs, dividers, heck, even a book mark or two.   I want tables and indexes and cross reference notes.  I want sections for spells, rituals, herbs, correspondences, deities, path-workings, tarot, other divination, sacred places, meditations, dreams, goals, tools, resources, fae, spirits, recipes, the Wheel of the Year, class notes, rocks and animals too.  Maybe even a section called 'people of note' with a Rolodex or address book.

In reality my BOS is a mish-mash of composition journals, electronic files, loose-leaf notes and workshop handouts.  Every so often I tell myself that I'm actually going to sit down at the computer and really fully digitize my BOS; because I know better than to tell myself I'll actually have the self discipline to sit down and put together a physical BOS.  Truth be told, I'm a practical witch.

Man has created the technology to store nearly infinite amounts of data in plastic covered chips that are smaller than a thumbnail.  Not only that but operating systems allow you to name, sort, categorize, separate and even cross reference files.  Think of all the search-able file types and the artwork that is available at the click of a button. A truly working computerized BOS could be almost as magickal as the hand-bound paper, and easier to search through as well.