What IS a Book of Shadows?

What IS a Book of Shadows in Witchcraft?

"Book of Shadows" is the name given by modern witches to the book in which they write their rituals, invocations and charms. Witches copy from each others' books that which appeals to them, and things which have been learned from experience; so that in practice no two books are exactly alike.

An old rule of the covens, with regard to written material of this description, is that when anyone died his book was to be burned. The reason for this, from the old days, was to save embarrassment to the person's family. A written book was proof positive to accuse a person of witchcraft; and as the latter was popularly supposed to run in families, the discovery of such a thing might make the position of a witch's surviving relatives very difficult.

Such a writing is called a "Book of Shadows," because its contents can only be in this world's shadow of the realities of the Other World; the world of Magick and Beyond, the world of Gods and Spirits. Even so, I am told, do Freemasons regard their ceremonies; which they preserve "until time and circumstance shall restore the great originals."

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Blessings,
Arabella Jolie

What IS a Book of Shadows in Witchcraft?