Things To Put In Your Book Of Shadows

Things to put in your book of shadows

Of course, only put in your book of shadows/grimoire what you want. If you don't want to put certain subjects in your book then that's fine. It's your book, utilize it how you want. This is just a masterlist of ideas that I've put together. Feel free to add anything else to the list that I may have missed, because there's absolutely no way I included everything.

And for the love of all the gods, if you come across a closed entity or practice, don't try to work with the entity or practice if you're not already part of that group or tradition. You can research it but don't practice it.

+ A blessing and/or protection

+ A table of contents

+ About you:

Your current path

Your personal beliefs

Your spiritual journey

Favorite crystals/herbs/animals

Natal chart

Craft name

How you got into the craft

Astrology signs

Birthday correspondences (birth tarot card, birth stone, etc)

Goals (if you have any)

Anything other relating to your personal practice

+ Safety

Fire safety

What NOT to burn

Plants and oils that can be toxic to your pets

What crystals shouldn't be in water, sunlight, etc

Things that shouldn't be put out in nature (salt, glass, etc)

Potion safety

How to incorporate blood safely

+ Core concepts:

Intention and how it works

Directing energy

Protection

Banishing

Cleansing

Charging

Shielding

Grounding and centering

Visualization

Consencration/Blessing

Warding

Enchanting

Manifestation

+ Correspondence

Personal correspondence

Crystals and rocks

Herbs and spices

Food and drink

Colors

Metals

Number

Tarot card

Elemental (fire, water, air, earth)

Trees and woods

Flowers

Days

Months

Moon phases

Zodiac

Planets

Incense

Teas

Essential oils

Directions (north, south, east, west)

Animals

Local plants, animals, etc

Dream symbology

+ Different practices

Practices that are closed to you (some examples below)

Voodoo and Hoodoo **Closed**

Santeria and Brujeria **Closed**

Shamanism and native american practices **Closed**

Wicca and wiccan paths

Satanism, both theistic and non-theistic paths

+ Different types/practices of magick

Pop culture magick

Technology magick

Chaos magick

Green witchcraft

Lunar magick

Sea witchcraft

Kitchen magick

Ceremonial magick

Hedge witchcraft

Death witchcraft

Grey witchcraft

Eclectic witchcraft

Norse witchcraft

Hellenic witchcraft

Animism

+ Deities

The deity/deities you worship

Different pantheons (the main five are Celtic, Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Norse, all open)

Deities and pantheons that are closed to you

Common offerings

Their epithets

Their mythology

Their family

Deity worship vs deity work

Prayers and how to make your own

Deity communication guide

Devotional acts

Ways to get closer to them

+ Other spiritual entities

Angels

Ancestor work

Spirit guides

The fae

Demons

Familiars

House spirits, animal spirits and plant spirits

Other various folklore entities

Spirit etiquette

Cemetery etiquette

Setting boundaries with the spirits

Communication guide and etiquette

Grounding, banishing, protection and cleansing, aka: "Spirit work safety guide"

How they appear to you

Common offerings

Circle casting

+ Divination

Tarot cards

Oracle cards

Tarot and oracle spreads

Pendulum

Numerology

Scrying

Palmistry/palm reading

Tasseography (Tea leaf reading)

Rune stones

Shufflemancy (Shuffling of a playlist)

Dice divination

Bibliomancy (Randomly picking a phrase from a book)

Carromancy (Melted wax)

Pyromancy (Reading flames)

Psychic abilities

Astrology

Aura reading

Divination via playing cards

Lenormand 

Sacred geometry

Angel numbers

+ Other types of magick

Candle magick

Crystal magick

Herbalism/herbal magick

Glamour magick

Hexing

Jinxing

Cursing

Weather magick

Astral work

Shadow work

Energy work

Sigils

Art magick

Knot magick

Crystal grids

Color grids

Music magick

Charms, talismans and amulets

+ Spellwork

What makes a spell work

Basic spell structure

What NOT to do

Disposing of spell ingredients

Revitalizing long term spells

How to cast spells

What to put in spells (See correspondence)

Spell mediums- Jar spells, spoken spells, candle spells, sigils, etc

Spell timing

Setting up a ritual

Taglocks: What they are and how to use them

+ Holidays and Esbats

Yule

Imbolc

Ostara

Beltane

Litha

Lughnasadh/Lammas

Mabon

Samhain

The 12 full moons (Esbats)

How to celebrate

Deity specific holidays

+ Altars and tools

What they are

The different types and their uses (travel altar, working altar, deity altar, ancestor altar, etc)

What you can put on your altar

What you use your altars for

Common tools in witchcraft

How to use the tools

Food and drink

Common herbs in recipes

Sabbat recipes

Moon water: What it is and how to use it

Potion bases

Tea magick

How to get your herbs

Foraging

+ Mental health and self care

Bath magick

Affirmations

Burnout prevention

Aromatherapy

Stress management

Mental health coping mechanisms

+ History of witchcraft

+ Dream records

+ How to differentiate between the magickal and the mundane

+ Calendar of celestial events (Esbats, retrogrades, etc)

+ How to dry herbs and flowers

+ What chakras actually are and how they work within Hinduism

+ History and traditional uses of reiki

+ The witches' alphabet

+ The runic alphabet

+ Common witchcraft terms

+ Common symbols in witchcraft

+ Your own witch tips

+ Good witchcraft books and authors to avoid

+ Any online resources you utilize often

Days of the week and astrological influences:

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If you’re an IG page and want to repost this, don’t forget to tag the creator: @sacerdotess4 on IG

Don’t plagiarize, you were born original, don’t die a copy.

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Do you know that every day of the week is connected to a specific planet? For example, if you were born on Friday it means that Venus is a significant planet in your birth chart, you're deeply connected with this planet.

If the placement connected with your day of birth is afflicted, the description might not suit you.

Monday is connected with the Moon:

Those who are born on this day are emotional, sensitive, moody and intuitive. The Moon is such an important planet in your birth chart. You need deep emotions and intimacy, those around you might perceive you as someone who is intense and melancholic. You might feel attracted by the occult, mysteries and magic. You might feel connected with the phrase “those who don't believe in magic will never find it”. You need actions and changes, like the Moon, you're someone who moves fast and needs to explore every single shade of emotions. Practice magic on this day for prophetic dreams, divination, discovering secrets, everything connected with emotions and feminine energy.

Tuesday is connected with Mars:

Those who are born on this day are active, energetic, strong, determinate, passionate, competitive and aggressive. Mars is such an important planet in your birth chart. You always need a goal, something to achieve, a new challenge, without these kind of stimuli you feel annoyed and lost. You might be interested in sport or physical activities in general, you might like to walk, run or dance, it's dangerous for you to stay inactive for too long. You might be perceived as dominant and in charge. Practice magic on this day if you want to achieve something, for sexuality or if you want to speed things up.

Wednesday is connected with Mercury:

Those who are born on this day are curious, smart and talkative. Mercury is such an important planet in your birth chart. You're extremely curious and you like to discover new things, you might be the first person that check out that new tv program or that listen to that new album, new things in general makes you feel excited. You're talkative and expressive, you always have an opinion about everything, you might also be informed about a lot of different themes. You might like to travel and learn new languages. Practice magic on this day for a good result in a test and memory.

Thursday is connected with Jupiter:

Those who are born on this day are lucky, spontaneous, charming, generous, confident and optimistic. Jupiter is suck an important planet in your birth chart. You're optimistic, it's easy for you to feel happy and enjoy the little things in life. You might like to travel, to learn new things and to explore the world. Sometimes you might be kinda lazy. You're easygoing, extroverted and open minded. Practice magic on this day for good luck, travel, happiness, success, new opportunities and money.

Friday is connected with Venus:

Those who are born on this day are kind, charming, attractive and creative. Venus is an important planet in your birth chart. You're attracted to beautiful things, everything connected with beauty and aesthetic appeals you. You have a nice taste in music, art and fashion. You might be an artist or someone who is very creative. You're optimistic and confident, it's easy for you to enjoy the little things in life. You appreciate those who are polite and well educated. You might be extremely romantic. Practice magic on this day for everything connected with love, sex, partnership, friendships, beauty, creativity and self-love.

Saturday is connected with Saturn:

Those who are born on this day are perfectionist, ambitious, stoic, rigid and introverted. Saturn is an important planet in your birth chart. You're organized, methodical and efficient. It's important for you to learn every lesson that the life has to offer. You're not afraid to work hard, obstacles doesn't scare you. Even if you're extremely polite, those around you might perceive you as someone who is intimidating. You're strong, smart, logical and driven. Practice magic on this day for everything connected with the authorities, for setting boundaries and karma.

Sunday is connected with the Sun:

Those who are born on this day are optimistic, strong, charming and inspiring. The Sun is extremely important in your birth chart. You're a natural born leader, those around you feel inspired by the way you talk. You're might be self-centered and kinda selfish, you're your top priority. You're full of hope and trust. It's easy for you to feel lucky, you tend to enjoy the little things in life. Practice magic on this day for money, success, happiness, purpose, inspiration.

ko-fi ☕️: sacerdotessa

How to REALLY Learn Tarot in One Day

Reading tarot like a master requires a natural talent for divination. Barring that, years of constant practice will suffice.

But anyone can learn the basics. And it should not take longer than a day to cover. Start in the morning, and by evening, you will be a tarot reader.

This post is Day 1 of the Divination class that I teach. By 8:30 PM, my teenage initiates were already correctly predicting each other’s crushes and the winners of tennis matches.

THE DAY BEFORE

Get a deck and a resource.

Acquire a Rider-Waite deck or a clone of it. You may opt for something else, but be forewarned that you could lose out on a multitude of symbolism. The Rider-Waite may not be the prettiest, but there is nothing more complete.

Find a reliable resource. The Ultimate Guide to Tarot by Liz Dean is a perfect book for beginners. So is Labyrinthos’ website, if you prefer something free of charge.

THE DAY ITSELF

9–10 AM

Pick one keyword for each card.

With a belly full of breakfast, quickly skim through your resource and pick just one keyword per card. For example, “destruction” for The Tower, “happiness” for The Sun, and “wealth” for the Ten of Pentacles. Note it all down on paper or on your phone.

10–11 AM

Associate the word with the image.

Look at your keyword side by side the card. Make an undeniable connection. 

Why is The Tower “destruction”? Because the tower on the card has been “destroyed”.

Why is The Sun “happiness”? Because the child on the card looks “happy”.

Why is the Ten of Pentacles “wealth”? Because the family on the card looks “wealthy”.

Memorization becomes much easier when based on visual correlation.

11 AM–12 PM

Quiz yourself.

Hide your notes from view. Keeping in mind the word-image associations you made, go through each card, reciting its keyword. Put in one pile all the cards you remembered the keyword for, and in another, the ones that escaped your memory.

Then look at your notes side-by-side the second pile to remind yourself of what you missed. Go through the whole pile again, repeating the process until you can recite the keywords for all 78 cards without making a mistake. One card, one word. Should be as simple as pre-school.

12–1 PM

Take a break.

Have a meal. Nap a little. Stretch a bit. Give your mind space to absorb everything you just memorized.

1–2 PM

Quiz yourself again.

You are guaranteed to forget some of your keywords. That is fine. It is why you are doing this again, to strengthen your memory. Be patient with yourself, and keep going through the whole deck until you are no longer making any mistakes.

2–3:30 PM

Pick a key phrase for each reversed card.

Quickly skim through your resource again. Now that you know the upright meanings, reversals should be fairly easy, because they can only be one of three: the opposite of the upright card; the upright card watered down; the upright card made worse.

To illustrate:

If The Devil upright is “addiction”, reversed it is “overcoming addiction” — the opposite.

If the Nine of Cups is “fulfillment”, reversed, it is “fulfillment delayed” — watered down.

If the Seven of Swords upright is “manipulation”, reversed it is “betrayal” — made worse.

Note it all down next to your upright keywords.

3:30–5 PM

Quiz yourself on both upright and reversed meanings.

Hide your notes from view. Keeping in mind the upright-reversed meaning associations you made, go through each card one by one, reciting its upright meaning followed by its reversed meaning.

Like before, put in one pile the cards you had no problem with, and in another, the cards that escaped your memory. Look at your notes for those you missed. Go through the whole pile again, repeating the process until you can recite the upright keywords and the reversed key phrases for all 78 cards, without making a mistake.

5–6 PM

Take another break.

Have another meal. Nap some more. Stretch again. Let your mind and body breathe.

6–7:15 PM

Quiz yourself again on both upright and reversed meanings.

Go through each card one by one, reciting its upright meaning followed by its reversed meaning.

Like before, put in one pile the cards you had no problem with, and in another, the cards that escaped your memory. Look at your notes side by side the cards you missed. And go through the full deck again until you are no longer missing a beat.

7:15–8 PM

Read.

For the last time today, bring out your resource, and from it, choose any spread you like. But if you really want to do it right, the Celtic Cross spread is recommended. Do not worry about being overwhelmed. You can leave the book or the website open on the page where the spread is.

Ask tarot your question. Without looking at your notes, interpret its answer to the best of your ability using the keywords and key phrases you just memorized.

Congratulations. You are now a tarot reader.

But if you wish to keep learning, then keep reading.

THE DAYS AFTER

Day 1 – Day 4

For the next four days, quiz yourself again on both upright and reversed meanings, to really cement them in your mind. Then perform the same spread you did the first time, but ask a different question each time. Interpret the cards to the best of your knowledge. This should only take an hour at the most.

Day 5

By now, everything you learned has been drilled into memory. Feel free to expand your knowledge. Read your book cover to cover. Fully explore your chosen website.

Most of the new meanings you will learn will be related to the ones you committed to heart, so do not worry about being confused. For example, if your keyword for The Empress is “abundance”, you will find that its other meanings are “harvest”, “creativity” and “fertility”. “Harvest” is financial abundance; “creativity”, an abundance of skill; “fertility”, an abundance of growth. They vary slightly, but they are all the same, essentially.

All the best in your tarot journey.

How to Become a Witch

Witches could already be practicing for decades, and still, every day, they keep learning new things. That is how wide-ranging and wonderful this path is. But when taking your first step, there is no need to be overwhelmed. For now, start with these and forget everything else.

STEP 1: Look within.

Just because Aphrodite is trending on Twitter does not mean you should worship her. And just because crystals look good on Instagram does not mean you should start your own collection. Your practice should be tailored to your soul, not to the posts on your dashboard.

So go to Café Astrology and enter your birthdate. It will calculate your natal chart, which is basically the manual to your life. It lets you know your strengths and weaknesses so you can let the former make up for the latter. This website not only shows you the details, it also explains what they mean.

STEP 2: Look up.

Now that you have a better knowing of yourself, look beyond your existence. Who do you think made you?

Investigate your lineage as much as you can. Was your family always Christian? Jewish? Atheist? Or did your ancestors have a more traditional belief? Having an inherent connection to the old gods means inviting them into your life will be much easier. If you feel a strong affinity with the Greco-Roman gods particularly, use your natal chart to confirm your theory.

But if after much meditation, you find yourself believing that the source is not a divinity, but the cosmos as a whole, then feel free to embrace that energy.

STEP 3: Look closely.

Our eyes can only see what is right in front of us. Divination allows us to see beyond that, and look into the forgotten past… the hidden present… and the future in all its glory.

Tarot is one of the richest divination systems in existence. Here is how you can learn it in one day. But if you feel that it is not for you, there are many alternatives too. Do you enjoy meditating? You might fall in love with scrying.

STEP 4: Look out.

One of the best things about witchcraft and paganism is that they empower you to improve your life with magic.

Is there a danger you need to protect yourself from? A wound that you need to close? A wrong that you need to right? Whatever it is, there is a spell for it.

Start with the simplest ones. All you need are a few ingredients and ton of faith to make them work.

STEP 5: Look around.

Now that you know who you really are… where your faith truly lies… how to see beyond the obvious… and how to tweak reality to make life easier… you are officially a practitioner.

It is time to expand your knowledge even further. Read as many books as you like. Try as many methods of divination as possible. Perform as many spells as you can.

You can start with these lists:

All About Divination

All About Astrology

All About Spells

Take as long as you need with each step. No need to hurry. Good luck in your journey.

The Ultimate Grimoire Guide

So! I have been seeing a ton of grimoire ideas and thought I’d stuff them all together. A lot of ideas are from @manifestationsofasort, @banebite, and @pigeonflavouredcake. Check them out! They have a ton of cool stuff there.

What Do I Use For My Grimoire?

You can use anything for a grimoire! For a physical one, journals, binders, and notebooks are good. For digital ones, Notion, Tumblr, Docs, and even just your file folder are great.

Introduction

A Book Blessing

Table of Contents

About Me

Your Current Path

Your Personal Beliefs

Your Spiritual Journey

Superstitions

Past lives

Favorite Herbs/Crystals/Animals/Etc.

Natal Chart

Craft Name

How You Entered The Craft

Astrology Signs

Birthday Correspondences (birth tarot card, birth stone, etc.)

Goals

Safety

Fire Safety

What Not to Burn

Toxic Plants & Oils (to humans, plants, animals)

Crystals That Shouldn’t Be Put… (in sun, in water, etc.)

Things That Shouldn’t Be In Nature (glass, salt, etc.)

Potion Safety

How to Incorporate Blood in Spells

Smoke Safety

Wound Care

Biohazards

Core Concepts

Intention & How It Works

Directing Energy

Protection

Banishing

Cleansing

Binding

Charging

Shielding

Grounding

Centering

Visualization

Consecration/Blessing

Warding

Enchanting

Manifestation

Meditation

What Makes A Spell Work

Basic Spell Structure

What Not To Do In Spells

Disposing Spell Ingredients

Revitalizing Long Term Spells

How To Cast Spells

What To Put In Spells

Spell Mediums (jars, spoken, candle, sigils)

Spell Timing

Potion Bases

Differentiating Between Magick and Mundane

Common Terms

Common Symbols

Intuition

Elements

Basic Alchemy and Symbols

Ways To Break Spells

Laws and Philosophies

Correspondences

Herbs & Spices

Crystals & Rocks

Colors

Liquids & Drinks

Metals

Numbers

Tarot Cards

Elements

Trees & Woods

Flowers

Days

Months

Seasons

Moon Phases

Zodiacs

Planets

Incense

Teas

Essential Oils

Directions

Animals

Symbology

Bone Correspondences

Different Types of Water

Common Plants

Entities

Deities You Worship

Pantheons

Pantheons & Deities Closed to You

Common Offerings

Epithets

Mythos

Family

Worship vs Work

Prayers & Prayer Template

Altars

Deity Comms

Devotional Acts

Angels

Demons

Ancestors

Spirit Guides

Fae

Familiars

House, Animal, Plant, Etc. Spirits

Folklore Entities

Spirit Etiquette

Graveyard Etiquette

Boundaries

Communication Guide & Etiquette

Spirit Work Safety Guide

How Entities Appear To You

Circle Casting

Common Offerings

Altars

Servitors

Mythological Creatures (dragons, gorgons, etc.)

Utility Pages

Gazing Pages

Sigil Charging Station

Altar Pages

Intent Pages

Getaway Pages

Vision Boards

Dream Pages

Binding Page

Pendulum Board

Crystal Grid

Throwing Bones Page

Divination Pages

Mirror Gazing Page

Invocation Pages

Affirmation/Manifestation Pages

Spirit Board Page

Other Practices

Practices That Are Closed to You (Voodoo, Hoodoo, Santeria, Brujeria, Shamanism, Native Practices)

Wicca and Wiccan Paths

Satanism, Both Theistic and Non-Theistic

Deity Work

Religious Paths (Hellenism, Christianity, Kemeticism, etc.)

Animism

Types of Magic/Spells

Pop Culture Paganism/Magic

Tech Magic

Chaos Magic

Green Magic

Lunar Magic

Solar Magic

Sea Magic

Kitchen Magic

Ceremonial Magic

Hedge Magic

Death Magic

Gray Magic

Eclectic Magic

Elemental Magic

Fae Magic

Spirit Magic

Candle Magic

Crystal Magic

Herbalism

Glamours

Hexes

Jinxes

Curses

Weather Magic

Astral Magic

Shadow Work

Energy Work

Sigils

Art Magic

Knot Magic

Music Magic

Blood Magic

Bath Magic

Affirmations

Divination

Tarot Cards

Oracle Cards

Playing Cards

Card Spreads

Pendulum

Numerology

Scrying

Palmistry

Tasseography

Runes

Shufflemancy

Dice

Bibliomancy

Carromancy

Pyromancy

Psychic Abilities

Astrology

Auras

Lenormand

Sacred Geometry

Angel Numbers

Ornithomancy

Aeromancy

Aleuromancy

Axinomancy

Belomancy

Hydromancy

Lecanomancy

Necromancy

Oneiromancy

Onomancy

Oomancy

Phyllomancy

Psephomancy

Rhabdomancy

Xylomancy

Tools

Crystal grid

Candle grid

Charms

Talismans

Amulets

Taglocks

Wand

Broom

Athame

Boline

Cingulum

Stang

Bells

Drums

Staffs

Chalices

Cauldrons

Witches Ladder

Poppets

Holidays

Yule

Imbolc

Ostara

Beltane

Litha

Lammas

Mabon

Samhain

Esbats

Deity Specific Holidays

Religious Holidays (Christmas, Easter, Dionysia, etc.)

Celestial Events

Altars

Basics of Altars

Travel Altars

Deity Altars

Spirit Altars

Familiar Altars

Ancestor Altars

Self Altars

Working Altars

Self-Care

Burnout Prevention

Aromatherapy

Stress Management

Coping Mechanisms

Theories & History

Witchcraft history

Paganism

New Age Spirituality

Cultural Appropriation

Thelema

Conspiracy Theories

Cults

Satanic Panic

KJV

Witches in History

Cats in History

Transphobia in Witchcraft Circles

Queerness in Witchcraft Circles

Other

Recipes

How to Get Herbs

Foraging

Drying Herbs and Flowers

Chakras

Reiki

Witches Alphabet

Runic Alphabet

Guide to Gardening

Your Witch Tips

Resources

Other Tips

List of Spells

Cryptids and Their Lore

What is a Liminal Space?

Plants & Their Correspondences

At the wonderful suggestion of @practicewhat here is a list of all of my plant posts all in one!

Letter A

Letter B

Letter C

Letter D

Letter E

Letter F

Letter G

Letter H

Letter I

Letter J

Letter K

Letter L

Letter M

Letter N

Letter O

Letter P

Letter Q

Letter R

Letter S

Letter T 

Letter U 

Letter V 

Letter W 

Letter X - No plants under letter X

Letter Y 

Letter Z