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Monday, September 1, 2014

Grimoire vs Book of Shadows

Grimoire vs Book of Shadows

In passing conversation the other day, I was asked what the difference between a Grimoire and a Book of Shadows (BOS) is. Most witches keep a BOS, but not a Grimoire. A BOS is a witch's personal book of magic; a diary of magic if you will. It includes records of all magical workings, dreams and their meanings, rituals, etc. If the witch does not also keep a Grimoire, it can also include spells and other magical information needed to perform magic. It's always a good idea to keep records of your magical workings. This will not only help you progress as a witch by seeing your power grow, but will also allow you to see what works and what does not work for you.

A Grimoire is like a BOS, but not as personal. It holds information about rituals, spells, potions, and how to prepare magical tools. It also contains lists of correspondences and magical properties of herbs, gemstones, food, colors, etc. Basically, it contains all your magical research. It does not contain personal information or records of magical workings.

Most witches keep just a BOS. I am personally in the process of transferring to two separate books. I'd much rather keep all my research in one book and my thoughts and feelings in another book. In doing so I can keep my personal information from others while still sharing my research.

If you wish to start a Grimoire, I suggest using something with removable pages. This way you can add and remove pages as you need them instead of taking your entire book into a ritual where it may be damaged. This also allows you to easily move pages around if you decide to reorganize it. Some people keep their BOS and Grimoires on their computer. I find this cumbersome when I wish to perform magic, but it may work for you.

Remember, your BOS contains very personal information. It is a sacred object and should be treated as such. Honor it by giving it its own special hiding place where others will not be tempted to mess with it. Bless it and protect it. It is only for you and whoever you authorize to see it. You need to be sure that whoever does see it won't disclose its contents to others or harm you or the book. If someone makes you uncomfortable, do not show it to them. This is just another reason I suggest keeping two books. Others like to see your research, not so much your personal thoughts. Keeping a Grimoire and a Book of Shadows is the best way to do this.

I hope this clears up any confusion you may have. Do you keep just a BOS or a BOS and Grimoire?


54 comments :

  1. I get asked this question a lot. I really like how you addressed the differences and I'm going to send people to this post from now on.

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    1. Thank you! I hope others find it helpful as well.

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    2. Thanks for this post. I feel as you do that I want to keep my personal thoughts, dream journaling, etc...separate from the more "how to"/"when to" information. I'm in the process of creating a BOS to be used as my personal diary of sorts & a separate Grimoire for correspondences, rituals, spells, charts, etc...

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    3. Very cool Gail. I am currently outlining what I want to go where. I've been searching all over the internet to get ideas. I think I finally came across a really great example of a table of contents so I have begun planning and labeling which pages will be what. I'm excited to get started.

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    4. I just started putting together what I want to put in my BOS which is a binder with sheet protectors. Intuitively I felt that doing it this way would be best for now and reading your article cemented that. Thank you! Blessed Be.

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    5. That's fantastic, Christina! I wish you the best of luck putting it together!

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  2. I found this quite helpful. I actually began writing my second B.o.S and I'm a solitary practitioner so the whole grimoire book is not a necessity however I do want to separate the two instead of having it all in my book. That way I can pass a long my research to someone else too. Thank you!!

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    1. I'm glad you found it useful! I am actually working on a series on creating a grimoire right now. Thank you for reading.

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    2. I've never really had anyone bother to tell me the difference. Im just starting and this was really helpful. definitely recommending!

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    3. Hi Willow,

      I have been doing some research of my own and have found a different answer: it turns out that Book of Shadows is actually the name given to magic books specifically of the Wicca tradition. The name BoS was actually never even heard until after the 1950s when Gerard Gardner introduced it to his Bricket Wood coven. In Wikipedia, "High Priestess Doreen Valiente made the claim that Gardner found the term "Book of Shadows" from a 1949 edition (Volume I, Number 3) of a magazine known as The Occult Observer. In this edition, she claimed, was an advertisement for Gardner's novel, High Magic's Aid, which was opposite an article titled "The Book of Shadows" written by the palmist Mir Bashir. The article in question was about an allegedly ancient Sanskrit divination manual which explained how to foretell things based upon the length of a person's shadow.[3] Valiente theorised that Gardner then adopted this term for his Witches' grimoire."[3]..

      And apparently what was in this original Gardner BoS were many rituals that Gardner had recently gained access to in 1946 from Aleister Crowley and the Golden Dawn by purchasing a charter.

      And, a grimoire is a "book about collecting magical knowledge and details about talisman crafting, demon summoning banishing, secret alphabets and other occult practices that have come down from the Western mystery tradition" (The Green Witch's Grimmoire, Arin Murphy-Hiscock). <-- that book is so good!

      Grimoire's have been around since the 1450s, BoS 1950s!

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    4. So this post is by no means a discussion of the history of the two books, but instead a discussion of how the two are different in modern times. A grimoire has always been a book of spells, and other occult practices, and this is true today while the Book of Shadows, which has infiltrated all of witchcraft and is no longer a Wiccan only tradition, contains everything related to your magical workings, including journal-like entries. These two terms are widely confused, but are fundamentally different. Even Gardner and Valiente included personal workings in their Books of Shadows which were then passed down. Since the 1950s, the word Book of Shadows has grown significantly and become a cornerstone for all witches, not just Wiccans. That's the wonderful thing about religion and spirituality and culture in general, it changes.

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  3. I do have them separared. I write my grimoire on my computer and carry it with me on my kindle. I'm constantly modifying and adding things, so that's what works best for me.

    My BoS is a physical journal where I write the tarot readings and spells I do. This has made me improve my grimoire a lot.

    I hope my experience helps you.

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    1. Carrying on your Kindle?! What an excellent idea! Thank you for sharing.

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  4. Haha! Yes, it's very handy: all remains tidy and you can check it at any time. Books and notebooks have their charm, but as I'm still learning and modifying it, it's what suits me the best now

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    1. I really enjoy have a physical book. I own a Kindle, but after a while it lost its charm. I love the idea though.

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    2. what version is your kindle? I am thinking of buying one for my grimoire,thank you for the amazing indea!

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    3. Mine is like the original version, but you can create PDFs at Canva.com and send them to your kindle to keep a BOS.

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  5. Is it bad that I have my BoS and grimoire in the same book??

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    1. Not at all! It is whatever makes your comfortable. I prefer 2 or more books, but if 1 works for you then that is all that matters.

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  6. If you are looking for a book that can be customized and is truly expandable, I would suggest checking out www.projectfey.com. Perfect for grimoires and books of shadows and you can email support@projectfey.com with an image and she will give you a quote to create your very own custom book or check out the website for ideas.

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  7. Thank you for sharing this. You've made it very clear.
    For my grimoire, I was just going to use a journal, but now I'm wondering if my grimoire should be post bound like I want my BoS.

    I already keep a wizard's journal; and it kinda sounds like a BoS is like a wizard's journal. I guess the wizard's journal is like the magickal journal. (I'm a new new wizard, so that's why I have a wisard's journal.)

    For me I like to call the BoS: Book of Wizdom; and the Grimoire: Book of Knowlege. Though now I wonder if I should keep 2 Books of Knowledge: 1 for my research, and 1 for how I do it or what works for me. What do think?

    I kinda feel like I'm over thinking it.

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    1. Not at all! Does what works for you. A Grimoire can be a binder or a journal if that is what works for you. A Book of Shadows is generally a journal of your magical workings and your thoughts and feelings on things. A Grimoire is a book containing researched information, like correspondences, tools, herbs, spells, etc. Good luck! Remember, do whatever works for you. There is no right or wrong way.

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  8. Thank you so much for this post. I am just beginning a BOS, but did not know the difference between that and the Grimoire. Thank you.

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  9. This is super helpful! Thanks for the info! :D

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    1. So glad you found it useful! Thank you for reading.

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  10. ha! all these years I've never really thought it about until now, but this makes sense now why I never felt comfortable calling my notes a BOS. I've been keeping a Grimoire instead. I just never felt it necessary to keep personal notes on paper (chalk that up to a nosy step-monster when I was a kid ;-) Thanks for the clarification

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    1. I feel the same way. Glad I could help! Thanks for reading.

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  11. I'm new to the wiccan community and have yet to start my BOS or Grimoire. I plan on keeping them separate and I was wondering what type of notebook you'd recommend for a Grimoire? You mentioned having one where you'd be able to add/remove/reorganize the pages being a good idea.

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    1. My personal Grimoire is an art book, but many witches I know use binders with page protectors. This allows them to remove and rearrange pages as needed. I wrote a complete series about starting your Grimoire. You can find it under the "Series" tab on the navigation bar. Thank you for reading and good luck on your journey!

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  12. Idk, I plan to put everything in my grimoire. Personal thoughts as well as my research. I'm going to be keeping it like an extremely informative scrapbook.

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    1. Whatever works for you! To each their own.

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  13. The distinction you made is an important one between a BOS and a grimoire. I've heard these terms used interchangeably. I much prefer the BOS. Magic is very personal to me, so there are a lot of anecdotes in mine. As well as feelings and impressions of spells.

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    1. Thank you. This is the distinction I make and I am seeing a trend toward other witches making the same distinction. I kinda jot down notes in what could be called a BOS in a hundred different places, but my Grimoire is an on-going project full of love and devotion. I am careful what I include in it and how it is structured, but my basic notes are all over the place. Haha!

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  14. Thankyou for this post very helpful

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  15. This is perfect! I'm currently in the process of setting up my grimoire, and I'll be doing a book of shadows in the future as well!

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    1. I wish you the best of luck and I'm glad you found the article helpful. Thanks for reading!

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  16. Hello! This was a great explanation! Thank you. I have read so many definitions and how-to's. A common one is that a Grimoire is used by witches who study witchcraft, and the Book of Shadows is mainly used by Wiccans. The Grimoire is old and has a deep history, while the Book of Shadows was 'invented' by the man who founded Wicca. Does this change how you should use it or whether or not a Wiccan should use a Book of Shadow? Thank you for the clarification on this! It would be good to know before starting my own personal Grimoire.

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    1. Thank you for reading and for your comment! I believe you should use what works best for you. I keep a grimoire and have several journals that I refer to collectively as a Book of Shadows. My grimoire is full of all my research and spells, well...its getting there. I wanted to make a super pretty one and the pages take a lot of time to create, so it's been a slow process, but I am steadily working on it. Honestly, I feel like my blog is my best grimoire. I put everything here!

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    2. I love your site! It's been super helpful, so thank you so much for sharing :)

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  17. Dam, well it looks like im starting my BOS and Grimoire all over again

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    1. Haha! Of course you don't. Do what works best for you and use whatever terms you please. This post is more to present definitions than to put people in a box. You do you!

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  18. I know I am six years late reading this but this was very helpful.My sister asked me the difference between the two books and I had no idea what to tell her lol

    Thanks

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    1. You are never late to a blog post! I'm glad you enjoyed the post and wish you the best of luck on your journey.

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  19. Thanks so much for sharing this great info! I am looking forward to see more posts! top web design companies

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  20. I have always felt the terms are interchangeable, personally... But again that is just my personal opinion and I feel it is really up to the person if they want 2 books or 1...
    I had never considered that there was any difference between them, as I said I always viewed them as one in the same; interchangeable terms; synonymous terms.
    Thank you for your input... It is very interesting! 🙃🤟🏻🧙🏻‍♀️🗨️🌒🌕🌘

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    1. Of course! And its perfectly fine to view them as the same thing. Many people do. I'm simply looking at the origins of the words and their original uses. Because things change so much throughout history, its of no surprise to me that many witches use the term interchangeably.

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  21. Another great post to clear up my confusion. I love how you bring clarity to my messy and at times, confused, mind. I am also thrilled you are still here and I am also not too late to the party, so to speak. Now I am about to search for the term blessed be, and see what you have to teach me about that. :-) Thank you.

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    1. You know what, I haven't written an article about that yet, but I am writing it down right now to cover in 2021. Blessed be is definitely a topic I should cover here, along with sexism and sexual misconduct in the pagan community. Originally Sarah Anne Lawless covered this topic, but after she as brutally attacked online, she closed her site all together.

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  22. poopydoopydoopydooJuly 22, 2021 at 8:14 PM

    so a bos is like a diary and a griamore is where you would keep spells and things right

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  23. Hi, so I know I'm super late to the party but here's hoping. K so you talked about a grimoire and a BOS but what about a book of days? Until now I thought a BOS and grimoire were the same thing and was where you kept your knowledge, correspondence,spells, and so on and a book of days was like a journal of your magical experiences, it has rituals and spells and things in it to but unlike the BOS/grimoire, it also has your thoughts,feelings and anything and everything that has to do with you and magical things and your experiences. So my question is have I got it all wrong? And if so what is a book of days? Is it even a thing,lol.

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    1. Hey! Sorry for the delay in my response. I am behind on answering comments. A Book of Days usually refers to a planner, although you are welcome to call your book whatever you want. Your book is whatever you make it and deeply personal, so if you feel BOD works better than BOS or grimoire, go for it! I am here for it! Hopefully that clears up your question and I wish you the best on your journey!

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  24. This is a good description of each. I also have a Codex which contains my detailed theosophical system which I keep separate from a BoS and Grimoire.

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