Book of Shadows
The Sacred Text

A Book of Shadows is personal to the Wiccan who writes it. What it contains depends on your individual journey of discovery. Your Book of Shadows is the roadmap that charts your voyage.

Within a tradition, the initial structure of the BoS will be hand copied from the coven's copy. The BoS will contain copies of rituals, celebrations, prayers, invocations, laws, and coven customs. From there, the initiate is expected to continue to add to this book as s/he continues to learn, grow, and practice the craft.

For a solitary, or a group practicing outside of an established tradition, the BoS will be even more individualized and personal. It will more closely reflect the eclectic sources of information used. It will contain much of the same kind of information, but from a wider variety of sources.

A Book of Shadows generally has this type of information:

  • Established texts such as the Wiccan Rede, Charge of the Goddess, and other coven teachings;
  • Explanatory information like meanings of holidays,  table of correspondences, etc;
  • Outlines or entire scripts of various rituals and celebrations;
  • Prayers, invocations, & sacred poetry;
  • Spells of various sorts
  • Meditations, Dreams, & Visions;
  • A commentary section which is much like a personal journal, and holds notes, reflections, and comments on dreams, visions, spells, rituals, divinations, etc.

    • A final thought:  creating a Book of Shadows is a personal journey of learning, growth, and discovery. You should not accept anyone else’s BoS as anything other than a starting point for your own search. Enjoy the process and allow it to enrich your path of discovery.

    ~Flame RavenHawk
       October 13, 2002