A Practitioner’s personal collection of spells, rituals, and other knowledge.
General[]
The Book of Shadows is primarily associated with Witchcraft, but similar concepts exist in other Practices. It will contain the Practitioner’s most private spells, rituals, and knowledge.[1] Witchcraft is mostly orally based, and the individual Book of Shadows is created with a personal connection to its writer and their magic.[2]
Books or collections of similar sort are held by many Practitioners, though the emphasis on a personal connection is probably not as strong.[3] It is possible to mass-produce other books of magic or spellbooks, though this might partly depend on the exact Practice; Hermeticism in specific seems to allow mass production of books.[2]
Known examples[]
- Elizabeth’s Book of Shadows was bequeathed to Molly and Onyx after her death, causing quite a stir in the Seattle Practitioner community.[1]
- Michiko’s copy of the Family’s unique spells was taken and retained by Zafirah. However, it was not a Book of Shadows in the strict sense.[3]
- Shadow and Echo by the witch Justina Straliene might be an example, since the printed copies of it were hand-set and hand-bound by the writer.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Authenticity”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “Legitimacy”
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Past Due, chapter 16