Good Morning and Blessings Everyone!
When did you start your first Book of Shadows? Don't remember? Once again, I do! I was about thirteen years old when I started my first Book of Shadows, I called it my journal. Which when you think about it that is what a Book of Shadows is. It is writings of your daily activities, lessons learned, friends made, love flourishing, spells that work and didn't work. It could be short stories or poetry or both whatever you want to put in it since it is a journal of your life.
Of course I didn't know at the time I was writing all this down that it was called a Book of Shadows. I had fun developing my first BOS and all the ones since. Yes I have more than one BOS. I mean I am fifty seven years old if I don't have more than one then I am not keeping track of things at all. I love to look back over my writing to see how it has matured over the years. The way I word things, the way I write poems, what I write about, it has all changed year to year for the better.
Now your own Book of Shadows or life journal how ever you want to look at it, is very easy. You can go from the affordable to the ouch status. At the age of thirteen I can assure you I went the affordable. Like any teenage girl I wrote it in a notebook because that was what I could afford. Then I made that note book my own. Meaning I decorated it with stickers, doodled on the cover, wrote my name on it in block letters. I claimed it as my own. One thing that was really nice in my house, my siblings never tried to read it. They respected my privacy. Of course my older sister, Donna, I used to read my stories and poems to. She always told me I needed to get them published. Donna was good for my ego. Now I can feel her pushing me from the other realm making sure I get my work out there. It's good to have a big sister no matter where she is.
Some of the poems I published in my book "Glimpses In To My Soul" were from when I was growing or about how I grew up. My book is in fact yet another form of one of my Book of Shadows since it tells a story about my life, who I love, what I care about, the things which have impact my life. I will not take credit for the amazing cover since it was done by my publisher so to them I say, thank you Publish America for all the wonderful help you gave me getting this journal of poetry out there for everyone to enjoy.
Now I have an amazingly beautiful Book of Shadows leather bound. Not something I would usually buy for myself but I started it when I had my store. It was originally the book for the store but now it is home with me for safe keeping. A lot of people believe you BOS should die with you but if that was the case then we would not have the knowledge Gerald Gardner gathered in his years here with us along with so many others who have published their work to share and learn from. No I don't think when someone who enjoys their life, the work they do, the path they walk, writes it all down in a journal, that journal should be destroyed. I think it should be shared if they wish it to be. Me I want to share my work, my knowledge, my ideas, and opinions with anyone who wishes to hear them while I am still living in this realm.
I like to see the light go off in their head when they get what you are talking about, when they begin to understand and see your point. Not saying that my point is the only point of course. I have learned from many a student as well which is as much fun as them learning from me. It's important in a BOS to write down the work you do and to note whether or not it work for you. Then again what didn't work for you may work for someone else. It's all in the way it is done and the belief you put into it. Same as anything in life, if you do the work, believe in yourself, put your magick into it, yourself, your essence it will work. Remember to be pure of heart and pure of mind.
One thing that I like to put in my Book is the Law of Three. Oh not for me, I would never forget the law as well as the power of three. I want it there so a hundred years down the road when someone uncovers my lost work :) they know to treat it with the respect it deserves. The words written in anyone's BOS are not to be taken lightly. They were written for a reason, with a specific topic in mind. No one should ever look at it as just another Book! Me I protect my writing and my Book from damage, from harm, just like I do all those I love. Yes I love my Book of Shadows because it is a place where I can be me, express myself, never be ridiculed. It is my canvas, where I create, learn, explore, and be myself!
As I said before I didn't have a lot of money growing up to buy an expensive book to do my writing in. I used what I had and you could too. There are a lot of people these days who are putting their Book of Shadows on the computer then downloading it to a flash drive. I think that's great! Just remember before you do any of the spells in that BOS write them in your own hand on a piece of parchment paper or simple brown paper. It is important for any spell to be have you included in it. If you just copy, paste, and print there is nothing of you put in there, no feeling, no emotion, no spirit, no intent. So just take a few moments and do things right.
If you ever need any help remember I am only a click away. Contact me any time either here or at my email address michelinascloset@gmail.com. Blessed Be one and all!
I sat at my desk to write,
The notebook was blue and white,
My favorite color seemed to fit best,
I know I wrote more then when I was stressed,
Growing up I had some pains,
But I didn't strike in anger I used my brains,
Instead I wrote a story or two,
It just seemed the right thing to do,
Poetry just flowed from me,
Expressing happiness and beauty,
Bringing out the glow from within,
Helping my anger to spin,
Around and take a turn,
There were lessons I needed to learn,
And as I did over the years,
The anger and stress disappears,
Giving way to someone new,
The me you see before you,
My Book of Shadows has matured,
It still shows what in life I endured,
But it is lighter and more free,
The way I always wanted it to be,
My spells and poems written with pride,
With Arch Angel Gabriel by my side,
My guides are with me in all I do,
Especially the knowledge I pass on to you.
To Be Continued........
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