Tools of the Craft:
The Book of Shadows

As I say somewhere else, the Book of Shadows is a book that the practitioner must keep, where he'll write every ritual as they're done, spells, incense mixtures, and basically every thing that has to do with his work as a witch. It is not necesary for the Book to be a delicatly callygraphed volume, but it must be kept for this sole purpose. It's also quite convenient for it to be the kind that can have pages added to it: a rigid folder will do.

Another thing we must keep in mind when getting one is the size of the volume we choose: very big and it will be a bit uncomfortable to keep on the altar, very small and we'll hardly be able to read what we wrote on it. We must remember when writing that reading to candles is not exactly easy, and is quite a common mistake the first times to forget about this. Sadly, you don't realise this till you start the ritual, and then you must spend the whole time guessing what you wrote. An option to make reading easier is to write in clear, rather big handwritting; another is to print the pages from the computer, using a clear font... it's about time witches get modern ;)

In the Book of Shadows we can also keep other notes, like for instance different meditations, thoughts after the rituals or the results of the spells we might have cast, turning it into a magickal diary of sorts, but this is strictly for the practitioner to decide.

Another book that might be related to the Book of Shadows, but that is not remotely necesary (even though it might be useful) is the Book of Dreams, where we'll write in the mornings the dreams we had the night before. This I see more convenient to whoever wants to work in depth with their dreams, but of course you don't even need to be Wiccan. Anybody who is in any kind of therapy, whether it's psychological, chamanic, or any other where dreams are important, will also find this book useful.

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