Friday, 17 November 2017

WW/MM. What to write in your Book of Shadows / Grimoire etc. P3/5

So you broke in your book, if you didn't click here to find out about that first!

Now what?  I personally spent time combing through Pinterest and putting together a BoS / Grimoire etc board of
- Prompts (All round ideas).
- Content Ideas (stuff I might like to include in my book).
- Layout & Design Inspiration (How I might like my book/pages/content to look).
- Tools & Materials (Things I might like to use to create in my book like stencils and journaling cards).
- Finally I created a section for my actual BoS / Grimoire for anyone interested in seeing my progress..  

So you might like to follow my board, perhaps make one of your own (public or secret).  Gather some ideas together, similar to how I have or create your own style and way of putting ideas together such as download images and save them to your PC/Laptop/Tablet/Phone.. Sketch your ideas, make lists or wing it!

So you've gathered some ideas..  Or decided to use my collections either is fine!!  What are we going to do now?

Well for me I went onto Evernote and I wrote a list of all the things I wanted to include (probably missed a lot and doubled up on a few) and then tried to organise that into an order of which I might like to put in my book..  

Assuming you wish to work this way.  I know some people may wish to work as they go, using their book as more of a diary/journal working chronologically through the year/sabbats while others may wish to have sections, tabs and organised 'departments', some may have a plan of exactly what and how they want to include information.  For me I'm working from my list being sure to leave pages or add pockets where I know later I may wish to add more about a subject.  Alternative to that would be to add tip-ins (extra addon such as taped in fold out pages or stuck in pockets ect).

A practical idea - I happened to remove some sheets from my book; 50 to be exact (100 pages) to make room for tip-ins.  I took 5 of those, folded them in half and created a little book to use as a pen test.  (some people opt to use the back few pages where as others get a second one of the same book/paper), or one they went wrong and so bought another - fools!!  But doing a pen test or ink / stamp test, marker, pencil, paint, glue etc anything which you want to make sure doesn't ghost (appear on the other side of the page) too badly and definitely doesn't bleed and make a mess, warp or cause the paper to fall apart.  My friend Rhomany has the same book as me and she advised anything with alcohol in it such as copics, pro-marker, sharpie etc are a no go..  And I found out that Versa magic chalk inks do ghost so I may not use stamps as much as I had initially planned..

But from here it's almost like pick a subject and run with it.  Don't forget to use your own works and workings not just cookie cutter everything and copy from others.  You want this to be YOUR book not a copy of everyone else's - not saying don't copy anything sometimes art, lettering, workings, spells etc are going to be the same but try to present them in your own way.  For me I'm going to try to limit the print outs but what print outs I do will be 6x4 with rounded corners and inked edges stuck down in the middle of my page.

Still stuck for where to start?  Well most books start with a book blessing - write your own or copy one from the Internet.  (I wrote my own and it's personalised for me and my book and the intentions I have).  I haven't yet decorated that page.  To create it I simply drew some lines with a pencil and ruler, wrote out my chosen words in pencil, went over with Pilot G2-07 in black ink then once dried I erased the pencil giving me clean and straight wording.  I have yet (as mentioned) to ponder the artwork, perhaps I'll draw a book of shadows at the bottom or something..    But there's no rush to hurry and get it all done right how.  Take your time..  Think and then do!  Ps. There's nothing wrong with tracing images, using other peoples art (as long as your not selling it), using stencils, stamps or even stickers - I will detail all of this in my next post!!

Most books are then followed by a personal dedication, maybe a set of foundations such as Wiccan rede, 10 commandments, 13 goals of the witch etc..  Then for me I'm going to follow this up with an about me, star sign, element, tree, birthstone, zodiac stones, day of the week, number, Chinese zodiac, astrological birth chart..  Etc followed by familiar and other personal details before delving into the stuff I want this book to be about - for me I want this to be a reference book like correspondences and recipes.. I don't need to know about how to set up an altar (I've done that for years) or what tools mean, cos well I know..  Or the basics..  And perhaps I won't write about herbs and crystals because well that's been done and is A LOT to write about..  But perhaps a working that includes a certain herb or stone then that would work fine..  

 For you this book can be whatever you need.  A corresponding guide, a journal, recipe book, spell book, record book, a mixture..  Presented in a number of beautiful ways.  For me, as a Goth-y type, I love the dark romance of monochrome, black, skulls, decay a more oldy-worldy look with a more traditional style appeal.    

I hope this has perhaps given you some food for thought..  I know Molly Roberts -HerSpeak has a few prompt videos which you may deem useful, as I have so pinned them to my previously mentioned prompts section of my Pintrest BoS board.  Also RhomanysRealm on YouTube but for more indepth information I recommend you also (for $1 minimum) you can get access to Rhomanys Patreon where she has more indepth posts about starting your new (BoS) books!

Good luck.  - I'd love to see what you do!  And feel free to follow me and my progress on Instagram

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