Beginner’s Guide to Filling in a Grimoire

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The coveted witch’s grimoire or book of shadows always seems to have an air of mystery about it. Secrets and spells recorded and closely guarded.

Filling in a witch’s grimoire has the ultimate feeling of mystery to it.

In earlier times, a witch’s grimoire was said to curse any who looked at its contents without permission. If a grimoire of any sort was found, it was considered a death sentence for the person it was linked to.

Now though? Witchcraft has been legalized since the 1950s and with it came flooding of knowledge.

In this day, some witches have published their book of shadows to be sold or they post it online. Heck, even I have posted some resources in our Book of Shadows library.

The key to that last sentence is some. I don’t know that I will ever release all of my Grimoire and personally, I don’t feel like I should.

A grimoire is a sacred text to a witch. The container of spells, rituals, and divinations performed. A house for beliefs and personal gnosis stories.

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How Do You Begin Your Own Grimoire?

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In this post, I am going to show you how I layout my grimoire to be used throughout the year. If you’ve never put together a grimoire or if you are having trouble being inspired, then this is the right place for you!

First, you’ll need to decide on the materials of the book itself. I recommend using a three-ring binder as your first book of shadows. It allows you to fill in as you please and rearrange as needed. The chaos of learning, in the beginning, requires a bit of flexibility in recording things.

As you move along in your craft you may find that the materials you use change with time or depending on what phase of your life you are in.

All of that is okay!

You Can Use Any of the Following for Your Grimoire:

• Three Ring Binder
• Spiral Notebook
• Moleskine Bullet Journal <- My Current Favorite
• Leather Handbound Book
• Computer Document

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What Do You Put in This Grimoire?

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Since the grimoire is a personal collection of your witchcraft, start with where you are and what you practice.

A kitchen witch would list out any herbs they commonly use and any correspondences with them. A plant witch would write out a planting, harvesting, and watering schedule for her plants. A divination witch would record their daily divinations and any insights gained.

And If You Do all Three and Then Some?

Record it all!

When reading, record anything that’s thought-provoking or that resonates with you. Take note of the source and Author. You may want to refer back to it later.

My first grimoire was a black three-ring binder, a pack of paper, and a cheap black pen. As I read through, To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Silver Ravenwolf, I couldn’t take notes fast enough. I was being introduced to a world I’d only dreamed of existing.

For at least a week, I would read late into the night and take notes by candlelight. (My 16-year-old self thought it was cool at least) I would arrange and rearrange until the sections suited me. Eventually, I grew tired of my quick scrawling handwriting and moved on to a spiral notebook.

It was here in my journey that I copied some notes from the previous book, but found that I didn’t necessarily hold all those beliefs from before. So my sections started morphing into a more mature view of witchcraft and the world. Also, I didn’t need to keep recopying my record of a spell done in 2007.

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Year and a Day Grimoire Journal

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Today, I recorded half of my grimoire in sections and half of my grimoire by date order.

For an organizing freak like me, it took finding a blend of the two to help me continue on my magickal journey.

By laying out a table of contents, then sections of topics, and leaving space at the end for recording in date order, I found that I was easily able to find the information needed if I ever needed to look back on a Grimoire for information.

Listed below are some guidelines I use when laying out my Grimoire Journal. Feel free to use as many or as little as you like when laying out your Grimoire.

Remember there is no wrong way to practice your personal witchcraft.

Grimoire Journal Layout

1. Book Blessing – 1-2 Pages
   • Any protection spell and consecration to make this book sacred to you.
2. Moon Phases and Esbats – 13-15 Pages
   • Find a calendar and create a list of moons, their dates, and Zodiac sign.
   • Use about 1 page per moon phase you intend to track.
   • I use the Full Moons mostly. If you were to add in the other phases you would need to set aside more pages.
3. Wheel of the Year – 32 Pages
   • I dedicate about 4 pages per holiday. On the first page of each, I will listed the Holiday and date for it and fill in our traditions and associations. The pages after it are for recording any rituals, spells, or experiences
4. Goddess – 5 Pages
   • Not all witch’s work with a deity. If you happen to or wish to record anything on them you can. I dedicate about 5 pages to each.
5. God – 5 Pages
   • Not all witch’s work with a deity. If you happen to or wish to record anything on them you can. I dedicate about 5 pages to each.
6. Divination Charts – 1- 10 Pages
   • Depending on your Divination tools, you may need only 1 page or several. I rewrite my quick reference Tarot and Rune charts
   • Major Arcana 1 Page
   • Minor Arcana 1 Page
   • Rune Stones: 1 Page
7. Divination Daily Journaling – 92 Pages
   • In this section, I’ll divide each page into fourths. On each section, I’ll write the date and record my divination for the day.
8. Spellwork Journaling – ?? Pages
   • I put spellworking last because this will be the hardest to predict on how many pages are needed for this. I always recommend to record the date, time, and any other references for each spell done with a space to record when this spell manifests.

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Happy Journaling!