Not all Witches keep what could technically be called a Book of Shadows and some keep more than one. It may be a place to keep a calendar of events – Full and New Moons, greater and lesser Sabbats, and other holy days. Many copy down rituals and techniques for easy reference. Some use it as guide to component attributes and crafts, and it is also used as a record of experiences and as a personal diary. There is really no wrong way to make a BOS.
For many reasons, some Witches keep multiple Books of Shadows. Some will keep a public Book and a private Book if they interact with other Witches and wish to share. Some will keep multiple versions of the BOS to keep all their records in order. They may make one Book for rituals and techniques, another for component attributes, another for crafts, and so on and so forth. Some keep no book at all, but maintain a large library of books. The larger the library gets however, the more useful some kind of Index book would be. It might behoove you to create a Book filled solely with book titles, magazine articles, authors, websites, and other references just to make it easier to find them when you need them.
There is no special paper required for a BOS, and again, some Witches have moved entirely to an electronic format. Most bookstores now keep a large stock of blank books, which can be used for Books of Shadows. If you choose to have more than one Book, you can have them all of one color or multiple colors. Or you can make your own book. (See this week’s craft.) The choice is yours.
Many who do keep a Book, will write a Dedication into the front and also adorn it with protective or dedicatory symbols. These are also the choice of the Witch. There is no right or wrong way to decorate or dedicate your Book. The Dedication and the symbols all go toward giving the Book its purpose. Like any tool, your BOS should finally be consecrated.
To get you started, perhaps you'd like to copy down these Axioms of Magick.
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It is not necessary to start from scratch when making a BOS. You may purchase all your components from a craft store or make them yourself. There are many books on how to make natural paper or recycled paper. This is certainly a great option to try, and you can work aspects into the paper depending upon you purpose, but this is not a requirement. Naturally made paper will be thicker, more brittle, and ultimately harder to work with, but if you are patient and determined, there’s no reason you can’t use it for your BOS. The craft below will produce an open-spine book.
Several sheaves of paper
Before you begin, you may draw whatever protective symbols or sigils on the cardboard you wish. No one will see these when you are done so don’t worry about making them aesthetically pleasing. They need only be functional and will be covered when you are done.
Place one piece of cardboard in the center of a long sheet of decorative paper. Fold the ends of the paper over and paste them to the cardboard at the top and bottom. If the paper is too thick, it may spring back up. If this happens, find something heavy, a few rocks perhaps, and place them along the edge till the glue sets. Repeat this with the other piece of cardboard.
Next take the wider decorative paper and fold the edges over the sides of the first piece of cardboard. Use the glue again to attach the edges, weighing them down with the rocks if you need to. Repeat this step with the second piece of cardboard. Then attach the smaller, plain pieces of paper over the glued side of your cardboard. These two rectangles will be your covers.
Taking no more than five pieces of paper at a time, fold them along their center. Then sew about a centimeter above the fold. This will give you a small “book” of ten pages. Make as many of these as you wish. When you have as many small “books” as you want, place two together and sew along their spines until they are attached and your small “book” now has twenty pages. Continue to sew your “books” together until the finished bunch is as thick as you would like it to be. All this sewing will give you a very strong spine. Try to make your stitches as fine as possible.
Put your book together as you want it to appear when it is finished. Thread the awl with a long piece of twine or embroidery thread without knotting it and pierce the outside of the back cover. Work your way with the awl through your pages in the space below where you sewed them. Pierce the inside of the front cover.
At this point, you may tie the two ends of the twine together or simply go back to the back cover and begin threading your way through your book again. If you choose the second option, you will have a network of twine along the spine when you get to the very end. Alternate the ending length of thread over or under each string till you reach the original thread at the top. Tie these together. Cut off any loose ends.
At this point you can decorate the cover any way you like with symbols, sigils, or pictures. Or you can leave it blank. Unless you share a Coven BOS or belong to a Family tradition, your personal Book of Shadows will be slow to grow. But like a tree, it will grow and change as you add more leaves. There are many variations on the BOS, so don’t feel that you must follow some particular format. Some even prefer to keep an electronic BOS as opposed to paper. An electronic BOS is easier to edit and does not harm to trees.
2 pieces of card board, each a little larger than half the size of the paper
2 large pieces of decorative or plain paper 2 inches longer than the cardboard
2 large pieces of decorative or plain paper 2 inches wider than the cardboard
2 pieces of plain paper half an inch smaller than the cardboard on sides
needle and thread (preferably nylon)
glue, paste, or rubber cement
an awl and twine or embroidery thread