Grimoire Q&A

[Phillian]

I have been dwelling on making use of my grimoire, yet I am never certain what I should write in there or if I should just write freely without overthinking. If you have a grimoire (or book of shadows), how do you approach it? Do you use it more as a journal? Or like a brainstorm tool? I am curious about how you use them. I do not like to put a label on my craft (e.g., kitchen witch, green witch, hedgewitch, etc...), since I think it limits the potential and chance to discover a new field you may flourish in; however, I also know which boundaries I dare not cross in my craft... In other words, there is a platter of fields that I dwell in and study in my craft, and I wonder if those (even the ones I am learning or discovering) should also be included in my grimoire?

 

[XEn8]

Personally, I use Notion. I like the hierarchical structure it offers; I date and tag my entries and create links between my different pages. It’s nothing like a book in terms of being linear; to some it might seem a bit of a jumble, but for me it’s ideal. Am I missing out on something? Perhaps, but as for writing journals, I’ve already started several and they quickly end up as blank pages. With Notion, it grows with me organically.

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[Phillian]

That's an interesting approach. I am not sure if it would work with me, but it gave me some thoughts on how I might approach it before using my grimoire. I think I might align some vision boards before starting to write in my grimoire.

 

[Aeternus]

I have been dwelling on making use of my grimoire, yet I am never certain what I should write in there or if I should just write freely without overthinking. If you have a grimoire (or book of shadows), how do you approach it? Do you use it more as a journal? Or like a brainstorm tool? I am curious about how you use them. I do not like to put a label on my craft (e.g., kitchen witch, green witch, hedgewitch, etc...), since I think it limits the potential and chance to discover a new field you may flourish in; however, I also know which boundaries I dare not cross in my craft... In other words, there is a platter of fields that I dwell in and study in my craft, and I wonder if those (even the ones I am learning or discovering) should also be included in my grimoire?

The craft is personal . Do not limit yourself, like you have said, by setting tags like kitchen witch, green witch etc. You can, if you want, have your sort of journal here on WF back like how I had one in the days before I stopped posting in it due to time being occupied:

Journal - Findings for an Eternity - Journal of Aeternus - wizardry, astrology, magic, and much more

This is my first chapter on here. This journal of mines should contain all the necessary data detailing my craft and practice. I am thinking of introducing fun facts, etc... Anyways... let's begin! 1720140772 Date and Time: Friday, July 5, 2024 3:32:36 AM Europe/Bucharest (GMT+3)...

wizardforums.com

I basically added a lot of things there, elements, astrological placements at the current hour in my zone EEST / Romania.

I personally recommend an approach based on the feeling that your book of shadows is your home. You come in (start the spell / ritual in your craft), share the best or most interesting moments with the members of the house (the spirits / energies you work with), then you record and analyze them (journaling and analyzing the collected experiences).

I gave my past journal as inspiration, but, if feeling comfortable, you can of course have your own format. If you want more privacy, I recommend using local notepad and store the .txt file in a folder, or have a specialized note app if you are on mobile (there are plenty of those and some even have free features like cool themes and so on and so forth).

 

[Phillian]

Interesting approach and something I never considered: to think of my book of shadows/grimoire as an extension of "home", but the more I think about it, I actually like this feeling and approach. It resonates with me: the concept of finding a haven in my tome. I do not use software or my cellphone for my craft; I use them as quick tools, but for long-term use they do not work well for me.

However, that being said, I did create one on WF; this one is more a summary and theme-focused journal, in a way a more rational approach, while the physical tome is more intuitive and free. But I will definitely adopt this method of seeing it as an extension of my cozy nook; I might even soak a few pages in herbal and floral infusions, just to give an extra sensorial reference to home.