Yesterday I got out my Book of Shadows so I could add some notes and do some general clean up. I’m a modern Wiccan, so I don’t keep my notes in a musty, well-bound book. I use a three-ring binder. It’s sort of boring and doesn’t do much to add any airs, but it’s practical. It’s a bit small though, so I’m shopping around for the perfect 2 or 3″ binder to replace it. 🙂

I think this is my fourth Book of Shadows. When I first became interested in Wicca, I kept a collection of notes and correspondences in a small hardcover journal. It actually is still siting on my bookshelf. Looking through it I can see how I have become much more focused, and how much my writing has improved, both in form and content.

My second Book of Shadows was kept in a large black binder. All the pages were written using a fountain pen, one of those ones that comes in a Schaeffer calligraphy set. I even photocopied a whole bunch of paper for it. It was lined with an Egyptian-style border I found in PrintShop or something. I had all sorts of notes in it, most of them copied directly out of various books, usually with a note to tell me where I got it from. I enjoyed making this book, but I didn’t take it with me when I moved. I’m fairly certain it got thrown away when my parents moved out of their house.

I didn’t get very far with my third Book of Shadows. It was another binder, but this time I covered it with black material and wrote my name, in runes, on the cover with fabric paint. So much for the “ye olde” pseudo-medieval vibes some Wiccans seem to go for. I transfered some notes to it, using the same method as my second book, if I remember correctly. And, quite honestly, I have no idea what happened to this book. It probably got tossed away at some point.

My latest Book of Shadows is a lot more promising. Other then the correspondences, pretty much everything in it is my own writing, my answers to questions from books, or my thoughts on something I have read. I think that this makes the book a lot more useful then any of my previous ones. Of course, that’s not to say that I won’t add interesting articles or writings by other authors to it. And, of course, I will also properly credit all of them. But, I think the best would be to read several articles on an issue or topic and then write my own summary of what I have learned. Otherwise, I’m just repeating instead of learning.

I’m not sure how long this latest volume with last me. As I said, it is already out growing it’s current home. For now, though, I think I will just move it into a large binder. I’m eying a fabulous book from this gentleman. If I did end up splurging on it, it would be for important and lasting notes. For my general notes, I’m thinking of stitching up this design for the cover and this design for the back, and then creating a book out of another binder. Getting around to it is a whole different issue!