Your Book of Shadows

Magickal Herbalism

2009-12-12T17:41:00.004-05:00

I meant it when I said I'd be back! It may still be a couple weeks before I really get back into the swing of things with this blog, but until then I have a little present for you. I'm giving away a download of the magickal herbalism section of my BOS. This was years in the making and includes information about different kinds of herbal preparations, as well as a very long list of herbal correspondences. Most of the plants are listed in table format, with a number of more popular or major ones pulled out and described in paragraphs with illustrations. The whole thing is 35 pages in length, with an extra blank page at the end that I needed to add for the purpose of making three signatures.

The download is a PDF and is about 4 MB or so. Click here to get it! Note that you may need to install the font JSL Ancient in order for the file to appear properly. Sometime in the near future I will post a couple of samples of what the pages look like when aged and colored.

And yes, I do know the blog's comments don't work. I'm working on it.

A Quick Note

2009-11-01T18:14:00.004-05:00

You know how life just comes at you full force sometimes? Well, that's what has happened to me in the last few months. The good news is, this blog is NOT dead - I haven't abandoned it. And I have continued to work on and off on my BOS and have plenty to show. I even have giveaways planned. The bad news is, it may be another few weeks before I can post regularly again.

Hope you don't take me off your reader list yet. I'm not gone, I promise.

Also, thank you to those who let me know the comments aren't working. I hadn't checked my email or twitter in a long time. I wasn't ignoring you, I just didn't see the messages until recently. When I come back from this hiatus I will fix that problem and probably change the blog template in the process.

Thanks again for your support and, by the way, blessed Samhain. See you soon.

In the Works

2009-08-05T02:00:00.004-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I've had some unidentified health problems for several weeks that have really brought my life to a standstill. Nothing life-threatening, just a pervasive and insidious mental fogginess that removes my ability to do much beyond basic life maintenance. For an intellectual and creative person like me, it's a living hell. I still don't know the cause, so I'm trying several things to see if I can find the answers.

But I haven't given up on my Book of Shadows, or on this blog! In the works right now:

- A giveaway
- More pictures - I have done some amazing pages in spite of the exhaustion
- Some downloads of pages you can use in your BOS
- More resources
- Probably a new site design

So please stay tuned and stay subscribed. I'm not even close to done!

Numerology

2009-07-27T21:31:00.005-04:00

You know, I was never all that into numerology. A basic knowledge of number meanings is useful for writing spells, but I never did much research into predictive or divinatory numerology. Still, the basic info belongs in my BOS, so I just did a couple of quick pages. I was fascinated to read profiles online for people with my Lifepath number, the "master" number 11.

Skeptics scoff and say, "It's natural to read a profile and see parts of yourself in it." Which is true. But... come on.

The number 11 will often sacrifice all in the pursuit of occult or metaphysical knowledge. Their thirst for learning persuades many of them to join cults or New Age movements.... love to delve into the hidden mystery...

Many of them try on careers the way others try on clothes... highly creative...

Very nervous individuals... harsh inner critic... tendency toward dreaminess... late bloomers... always dreaming of big schemes, but never taking practical action...

Now I realize you don't know me personally, but you'd laugh if you did. These descriptions are so ridiculously accurate, I just kept laughing out loud to read them.

If you have never calculated your numeralogical info, I suggest you read profiles of the Lifepath numbers first. See if you can pick out the one that matches you best. Then do the calculations and see if you got it right. I like this site, although you will have to look elsewhere for profiles of the master numbers (11, 22, and 33). I'm interested in hearing your results - please comment!

Handmade Herbal Paper for My Book of Shadows

2009-07-24T18:04:00.003-04:00

I've been hard at work lately making paper to use in my Book of Shadows. Years ago when I was a newbie in the Craft, I collected witchy ingredients like they were going extinct. Later I realized that while I love working with herbs, I don't do it all that often and when I do, I only use a pinch or two. I bought several sets of small plastic jars, and saved about a tablespoon of each herb. This gives me a large collection with a lot of variety that takes up very little space. The rest of the herbs I combined in various ways to make different formulas. For instance, I have mixes for love, meditation, anti-gossip, etc.

So recently I was cleaning out my art supplies and found that I had many (many!) little scraps of paper that I would probably never use. Outdated patterns, and pieces too small to use for anything other than ATC's and inchies. I decided to make paper with them, since I recently got a papermaking kit on clearance at Michael's. I sorted the papers by color. While doing so I glanced up and saw the box of little bottles of herb formulas. I had set them out because I really haven't used them and was trying to decide what to do with them. And the light bulb came on! Herbal papers!

I'm using this kit by Arnold Grummer, which I can highly recommend. The video above is from the same company, showing how to use it. It really is as easy as it looks! There are cheaper ways to make paper but having done it both ways, I strongly suggest you use a kit like this one, or at least get their mold and deckle. The screen makes all the difference in terms of getting a nice result.

My basic process starts with a plain piece of white paper. I take about three-quarters of a sheet and tear it up into small pieces. It goes into a blender with a cup or so of water. Then I add colored bits of paper if I want color. Tissue paper is good if you get the kind that does not bleed. If it bleeds, the color will wash away, so test it first. Next I put in a small chunk of cotton linters for strength. To most of the papers I've also tossed in some ultra-fine glitter - just a little. Finally I add the herbs. These need to be ground up as much as possible or you will have chunks in your paper. I use a coffee grinder to powder them.

All of this gets blended together until it's smooth, and then dumped into the mold, which is in a container of plain water. I put 6 ounces of liquid starch into this water for sizing. Distribute the fibers, lift the mold, sponge the paper, and let it dry. Voila!

The great thing about the Grummer mold is that it's a pour mold, rather than a dip mold. You pour your pulp into the mold rather than dip a mold into pulpy water. This means you don't waste a lot of pulp. Some escapes, but not much. It's a bit less messy and you have full control over how much pulp you get on the screen. You can make paper that's pretty thin, which I prefer.

I'm making six sheets of each herb formula, and storing the dried sheets in labeled plastic page protectors. Each type has a faint herbal scent. I will use some of these in my Book of Shadows, some for magick, and some - ready? - I'm going to have as my very first blog giveaway! Once I have them all done, I'm going to make a sampler pack with a piece from each type, and give it away to one lucky reader. There's a tiny little catch, though. (No, I'm not going ask for money or anything like that.) Stay tuned for more info!

BOS Scams

2009-07-20T23:32:00.003-04:00

In my meanderings across the Web, I often come across scams related to Wicca and magick. Check out USPsychic.com's selection of Books of Shadows. Scroll down to the bottom and check out their $129 blank books. They might look a tad familiar, especially if you've ever been to a Borders. Retail on these babies is about $15-$20. If you don't believe me, check out this one I found on Amazon. It's the same as the grossly overpriced USPsychic one.

Who could possibly be so gullible? And remember - this criticism is coming from a grown woman who uses a Harry Potter prop reproduction wand to cast spells. Seriously.

The Medieval Bestiary

2009-07-08T15:32:00.003-04:00

The Medieval Bestiary is a cool site that documents many animals and fantastical creatures. It provides images of each creature, taken from medieval manuscripts. This wonderful art could be printed out and used in your Book of Shadows, or it could become inspiration for art of your own.

Pagans...

2009-07-01T13:37:00.003-04:00

When I stumbled on this image, and later this motivational poster generator, the temptation was just too much to resist.

Phew! Two Signatures on OTHER Religions!

2009-06-27T19:16:00.003-04:00

I've just finished three straight days of work on two signatures that are, generally, not even about Wicca. That's 24 pages! My lifelong fascination with all religions, and Catholicism in particular, prompts me to include this information in my Book of Shadows.

One signature contains nine pages of definitions of religious terms, a list of major world religions and fringe religions (Mennonite, Quaker, JW, etc.), and the Bonewits' Cult Danger Evaluation Frame. The other has a chart of Christian denominations and eleven pages about Catholicism. Yep, no joke. I'll post a couple when they dry. You name it, I added it: sacred vessels, vestments, the rosary, prayers, symbols, structure of the Mass, even a communion wafer recipe.

As interesting as all of it is, I am utterly relieved to be done and back to the simplicity of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, the Goddess, and the God. Everything else is window dressing.

Saving Images From "Locked" Web Pages

2009-06-27T17:08:00.002-04:00

Disclaimer: Please do not use this technique to steal images for illegal use. Follow copyright laws. I use this technique only to gather images for personal use and I am not responsible for the actions of anyone who does otherwise.

I have an interest in the rituals and objects used by the Catholic Church. Something I'd like to have in my Book of Shadows is a guide to these objects. It can be hard to keep everything straight, even with an encyclopedic memory like mine. So today I was looking around for a good picture of the props used on a Catholic altar during Mass.

I found the perfect image here. Alas, you can't copy the images (or even the text!) from this page. This angers me. After all, I have no nefarious purpose in mind. Well, maybe from their point of view I do. But I have no illegal intentions. It's for personal use and completely legal. Now of course I can take a screen shot, but this is a large image and I'd have to shrink it down to get the whole thing. This would reduce the quality. And I really want this image because it's a perfect match for my BOS style.

Firefox to the rescue! (I think this works in IE too but IE is evil. Don't use it.) So here's how you do it:

Go to the page.
Choose Page Info from the Tools menu.
Click on the Media tab. You will see a list of all the media (images, sound files, etc.) accessed by the page.
Scroll through the list until you see the image you want. Click Save As to save it.

I've been looking for this solution for a long time. I'm sure there are sites where this trick doesn't work, but it worked on this one!

Painting the Fore Edge of a Book

2009-06-25T20:03:00.003-04:00

The "fore edge" of a book is the edge of the pages. In some books, especially expensive or older ones, color or metal leaf is applied to this edge. However, I just stumbled on an interesting article about how some of these books have hidden paintings on the fore edge. The pages are fanned out a little before the painting is added, so when the finished book is closed all you see are mottled colors. You have to fan the pages just right to see the image.

There is a lot of potential here for application to a magickal book. This wouldn't work that well on the book I'm making, because the sheets are buckled, but if you're working in a bound blank book you could have some fun with this idea.

Book Review: Your Book of Shadows

2009-06-24T14:06:00.002-04:00

Title: Your Book of Shadows: How to Write Your Own Magickal Spells
Author: Patricia Telesco
Published: 1999

To my knowledge, Your Book of Shadows was the first book to focus exclusively on the process of compiling the actual BOS. Or at least, to claim to.

This book confused me at first with its dual title. "Your Book of Shadows." Great! Just what I was looking for, a book about creating my Book. "How to Write Your Own Magickal Spells." Wait, what? I already know how to write spells and rituals. It's a little like calling a book, Building a House: How to Keep Your House Sparkling Clean. Related, but not the same thing. It's annoying because I know it's only a marketing ploy. There is spellwriting information in the book, but it's not the main focus of the book and doesn't belong in the subtitle!

Don't get me wrong. This is not a bad book by any means; it has a lot of great information. In fact, it's perfect for beginners. It's basically Wicca 101 structured for a person who wants to have a great BOS right from the start. The first chapter is a decent overview of modes and mediums for the BOS, along with some general ideas. For instance, there is some info on using different kinds of symbolism (colors, scents, etc.), a short guide to making paper, and how to create a nice space in which to work on your Book. But this chapter only runs about 30 pages.

The rest of the chapters each focus on a section of the Book of Shadows as suggested by the author. Like I said, it's basically Wicca 101 with lots of reminders to record the data in your BOS.

If you are a beginner looking for a place to start, this is a good book. If you're a seasoned Witch looking for serious creative inspiration - not so much.

Off-topic rant: I am really, really tired of books that tell me I must do a ritual "cleansing" before every act of magick, ritual, or divination. Who has time to soak in the tub for a half hour just to read the tarot or light a candle? If you bathe every day and know how to ground and center, save the "purification" for the Sabbats and initiations.

More Planning

2009-06-23T19:04:00.004-04:00

Sorry, another boring planning post. Well, boring to you anyway. For me, these are very helpful! And please, feel free to add your two cents to the comments, especially if you think I've missed something important.

Signature 5:
This whole signature will be a glossary. I know I posted about having one in the 4th signature but I realized that I wouldn't have enough room, so I replaced that with six pages of seals from the Key of Solomon. I have a lot of interesting words I want in this section, including many terms from the Catholic Church.

Signature 6:
Deities. Might need more than one sig for this. I haven't decided on the format yet.

Signature 7-8:
1 page about altars
1 page ritual structure guidelines
1 page ritual prep checklist
1 page circle casting/quarter calls
1 page invocation to the Goddess and God
1 page basic New Moon ritual
1 page basic Dark Moon ritual
1 page basic Full Moon ritual
16 pages of Sabbats (two pages for each) - not rituals, just relevant info

After this I will probably have a signature of some other rituals, and then a blank signature. My plan is that each time I do a new ritual, I can write or staple/glue it into these blank signatures and then once a year disassemble the book and add a nicely typed version. Except for the very basic rituals, I hesitate to put any ritual in the book in a permanent fashion until I have done it and know it is something I want to repeat. Why? Have you noticed I like to decorate my pages? Doing so is very time-consuming, but a waste of time for a one-shot ritual other than an important initiation, handfasting, etc.

Divination Signatures:
2 pages listing names of various methods of divination (like some of these)
1 page palm reading
1 page numerology
1 page about pendulums
1 page about scrying
1 blank page
1 page tarot introduction and history
2 pages of tarot spreads
22 pages, one for each card of the major arcana
28 pages needed for remaining cards (2 cards per page)
---
60 pages/12 = 5 signatures

From My BOS: Odin and Frigg

2009-06-23T10:51:00.001-04:00

This page faces a page describing properties of the runes.

From My BOS: Seals of Solomon

2009-06-22T19:55:00.000-04:00

This is one of six pages on the "pentacles" or magical seals attributed (probably falsely) to King Solomon.

From My BOS: Phases of the Moon

2009-06-22T19:46:00.001-04:00

From My BOS: Planetary Energies

2009-06-21T10:52:00.000-04:00

This one is special. I really just felt like coloring today, and I've wanted to tackle this particular image for a while. What a challenge! It's known as the Flammarion Woodcut and you can get the uncolored image from its Wikipedia entry. There are numerous colored versions around - see some of them on this page. The first one was my own primary inspiration. I used Derwent Inktense pencils and a sparkly gel pen for the edges.

You can see from this page that an image from the reverse seeped through. This happens when I tea dye the printed sheets, and only with images. Not all images do it, though. I'm not positive, but I think the problem is that some pictures that look black and white are actually not, and contain small amounts of blue ink. The blue ink on my printer isn't water-resistant like the black is. I'm okay with this effect though because it makes the paper seem transluscent, like real parchment or vellum is.

The Third & Fourth Signatures

2009-06-20T21:42:00.002-04:00

In a previous post I mentioned that the third signature will be all deities. I'm postponing that for the time being, for various reasons. I also need to do the Sabbats. Bear in mind that I can do the separate signatures in any order I want. Here is my plan for the next 24 pages:

The Pentagram - this will be a large pentagram, with the location of each element labeled and info about this magickal symbol
Phases of the Moon - with a tucked-in page listing moons for the next few years
Signs of the Zodiac
Planets
Color meanings
Symbols - four pages of symbols and their meanings
Symbols
Symbols
Symbols
Symbols
Symbols
Magickal Alphabets

Fourth signature:

(Blank)
Runes
Runes
Chakras
Acupressure/acupuncture points
Feng Shui
Feng Shui
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary
(Blank)

Sorry if this kind of post is boring. They just really help me stay somewhat organized.

From My BOS: Charge of the God

2009-06-19T18:30:00.004-04:00

(click image for larger version)

I created this Charge of the God by mixing together pieces of various other versions. I wanted something that better matched the Charge of the Goddess. I used the same image on both pages and added color with Derwent Inktense pencils.

From My BOS: Charge of the Goddess

2009-06-19T18:27:00.002-04:00

(click image for larger version)

The Pen is a Magic Wand

2009-06-13T11:10:00.001-04:00

In some garret sits a scribbler
She is burning the midnight oil
She’s got stacks and stacks of bills to pay
She’s got to keep that pot a-boil
But she is smiling as she’s scribbling
There’s a fire that lights her eye
She’s engaged in her sacred office
“Publish or perish!” is her cry
By day she’s on a timecard
And she works in a library
She’s got books to the right and left of her
Just as far as the eye can see
She just can’t keep away!

Read the rest here.

Brahm's Bookworks

2009-06-12T17:45:00.000-04:00

The fine bound books from Brahm's Bookworks are designed specifically for use as Books of Shadows. Their thick and ornate books are absolutely to die for. If you buy one of their books you get free membership in their special group that teaches people how to create a fancy illuminated BOS.

These books are expensive. However, I do recognize the irony that I will spend far more than the cost of one of these books in making my own. Again - for me the creative process is the most important part.

Stuff to Clip Into My Book of Shadows

2009-06-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

This is a quick brainstorming list of things that would be great to add to my Book of Shadows but that I don't want to necessarily have as part of the permanent book. Supplemental materials, if you will - important but not essential. These would be attached with paper clips, tape, brass fasteners, glue/paste, even colorful staples.

Bear in mind that my personal vision of a BOS is not just a working witch's book, but a documentation of my spiritual beliefs and journey. I would like my descendants to be able to pick it up and get a complete picture of who I am. I want it to be a scrapbook as much as anything else.

Portions of the Constitution/Declaration of Independence and similar documents
Quotes from President Obama's speeches
Poems and songs that touch me
Jokes and maybe funny pictures
Family tree and photos of ancestors - I never cared much about working with ancestors when I was younger, but now that I'm older I have begun to recognize the power of legacy
Quotes from my journals
Pressed botanicals from special times
Websites I come across
Pagan stores and businesses I frequent
Images from Pagan artists
Screen shots from favorite movies and shows
Newspaper/magazine clippings
Photocopies of book pages

Fun With Fasteners

2009-06-11T15:48:00.012-04:00

This post is about creative ways to fasten paper to other paper.

Make Your Own Paper Clips

If you want to make your own paper clips, the first thing you need to know about is wire gauge. The thickness of wire is measured in even-numbered gauge sizes. The higher the number, the thinner the wire. For making paper clips you will probably want to use 18, 20, 0r 22.

Next you need to know a bit about metals. The pretty-colored wire you can find in craft stores is almost always copper. This is a soft metal, so it's easy to bend. You can get stiffer kinds of metal wire at the hardware store but it's usually a dull silver color.

Okay then. To make your basic paper clip you will need about 4 inches of wire and a couple of dowels or pens. It helps if one is slightly thinner than the other. A pair of pliers can be very helpful as well. First, use the large dowel to make a hook shape. Then use the small one to make a smaller hook with the wire's other end. Finally, use the larger dowel again to bring the smaller hook up inside the larger one. Trim the ends of the wire if you want, and voila.Oooh, shiny. Cute but a bit humdrum. So how about some other shapes? It's pretty easy as long as you remember the basic principal of how a paper clip works: it has to have a spiral. The spiral doesn't have to be round, but the wire has to curve in on itself or there won't be anything to hold the paper.

Here are some paper clips I made using 22- and 20-gauge copper wire and various sizes of dowels that I had in my stash.
For more ideas, check out the paper clip variations on this page .

Alter Your Paper Clips

Make hearts
Rust them (soak in a solution of bleach and water)
Dangle charms from them by using a jump ring
Add a cute topper
Add a brad

Other Fasteners

Page Darts (I love these!! They used to carry them at Borders but no more...)
Magnetic Paper Clips (or make your own with thin magnets)
Staples (they come in colors, too)
Staple Free Stapler
Fastenater
Brads (aka brass fasteners)
Eyelets (aka grommets)
Binder clips
Paper Shark
Contour Clips
Mini Clothespins
Corner Clips
Classic Clips
Paper Fasteners (by 7gypsies; here's their full collection)
Stitching (by machine or hand; with thread or ribbon)
Glue (here's a site that can help you choose one)
Tape (comes in hundreds of colors, sizes and strengths)
Photo corners
Stamp hinges

Miniature Book of Shadows

2009-06-10T14:58:00.000-04:00

Oh. My Goddess. Is this miniature Book of Shadows not the cutest little thing you ever saw?! Here is a link to the page where you can buy one, plus many other teeny books. I love it! If you scroll down to the bottom of the order page there is also a tiny Catholic Book of Hours, beautifully illuminated.