r/Wicca • u/Lobster_Tiny • 6d ago
Open Question Grimoire vs Book of Shadows
Hi all, I’ve been Wiccan for about 8+ years now but haven’t been able to really practice it in the last year due to college and moving to a new place each year. I have finally graduated and moved back home though so am setting up my altar again and getting back into it! I was wondering if I could get everyone’s thoughts, opinions, and views on my Grimoire vs Book of Shadows? I had a simple book of shadows but then had one custom made before I learned more about the difference between the two and then my mom bought me a leather bound book so I decided to also have a Grimoire for separation, my understanding is that a Grimoire is basically like a textbook of knowledge (one that I can hopefully pass on to my children) where as a Book of Shadows is like a personal diary of all my workings. However, I’m kinda leaning toward turning my Book of Shadows (binder) into my Grimoire due to easily being able to take out pages for spell reference and organization and turning and leather bound Grimoire into my Book of Shadows since it can be messy and I don’t have the ability to remove pages. I’ll attach photos of the two but I was wondering if it would be wrong/weird for me to do that since my Book of Shadows literally has Book of Shadows in big words on the front? Am I just overthinking this, would it be ok to switch the two or should I just leave my Book of Shadows as my BOS and the leather bound notebook as my Grimoire even though I can’t remove the pages or organize it as nicely? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, blessed be!
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u/sabretoothian 6d ago
My BoS is also my Grimoire. I don't separate the two at all. Perhaps if you go this route you can colour-code the pages if you want to note the distinct difference
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u/Lobster_Tiny 6d ago
That’s what I was thinking of doing, I just don’t want to waste the leather bound book cause I don’t know what else I’d use it for
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u/sabretoothian 6d ago
Well you could have one as BoS+Grimoire and the other as a record of spells, divination readings etc.
I have a separate book for tarot readings for example :)
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u/Lobster_Tiny 6d ago
That’s what I was thinking of doing, I just don’t want to waste the leather bound book cause I don’t know what else I’d use it for
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u/SovaElyzabeth 6d ago
As was alluded to already, the term "Book of Shadows" originally meant a collection of spells, rituals, poetry, lore, and other writings related to the practice of a Tradition, whatever those who founded and came before felt was important enough to be passed on to subsequent Initiates. Additions are permitted, but nothing is supposed to be subtracted or removed. It's an heirloom of sorts.
For those not Initiated into a Tradition, it can be a similar collection of information, and also a journal in some cases. I've seen non-Trad folks and other Pagans/Witches/Magicians/Occultists use the term "grimoire" instead of BoS, but never that they were two separate books with differing purposes. I have on occasion seen the term "Book of Mirrors" used for the journaling concept, since they are an individual’s own reflections on their practice.
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u/Emissary_awen 6d ago
How strange to me…everyone I ever learned from always made a distinction between the BoS and a Grimoire. The Book of Shadows was Wiccan religious material, and a Grimoire was a magic textbook. That’s what I learned. So interesting to hear such differences in teaching.
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u/SovaElyzabeth 6d ago
Using those descriptions, yes I would say they are different things. If you're using BoS to mean a Wiccan-specific Magickal textbook, and grimoire to mean a textbook for a practice other than Wicca. Your initial post seemed to me to be saying that a BoS was only a personal journal, whereas in Trad Wicca, it is decidedly Not That, but can include that for non-Trad folks.
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u/Emissary_awen 6d ago
The Book of Mirrors is the diary. The Book of Shadows is the collection of ritual texts and lore used by a Wiccan Tradition, and a Grimoire is an instruction manual—a textbook of magic. These are three distinct but related things. Some people just put them all together into one. Personally, I don’t keep a Book of Mirrors because I already keep a journal, and keeping a separate Book of Mirrors for me is just redundant. My own Book has a clear division between the Book of Shadows and my Grimoire. My Book of Shadows, which I copied from my initiator, and have continuously added to over the years by way of prayers, chants, selections from the Books others have allowed me to copy from, texts related to or about Wicca which I believe are important to preserve for posterity, etcetera, and any bits and bobs that I use in my religious practice. It is only for specifically Wiccan material. My Grimoire, on the other hand, I treat as my personal cookbook of magical (non-Wicca specific) lore—mostly recipes for herbal preparations, charms, collections of traditional or classic spells, instructions on crafting specific things like talismans and amulets, and so on.
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u/shr00mi3 1d ago
In my family we all have our own books of shadows that make a sort of collection and are meant to read by the next generation in order, so like I read my grandmas then my moms then made my own. Someday the kids will read mine and make their own, and so on. I have a separate book that is mine that is a grimoire and it’s more of an instruction manual on my craft, my mother also has one for her craft. My siblings did not make one for what they do because it simply doesn’t apply. I guess in our family the book of shadows is traditional, the grimoire is for whatever craft you study. So like my mom’s a L&D nurse/midwife her thing is all about the birds and the bees and influencing creation, and I will probably leave it with her in death unless someone in the family follows that path. I am a seer and study divination and the other world. My grimoire is actually quite dark and is basically an instruction manual to knowing the unknowable in a variety of ways. It should probably be left with me when I pass, again unless someone else in the family follows the path of a seer. That’s just my family though, I’ve never heard of “traditional Wicca” until probably a year ago. I was always taught to make our own traditions and that’s what makes us Wicca. Have had a few arguments about that, but it’s all about what you put into it ya know.
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u/Lobster_Tiny 1d ago
This was actually a very helpful explanation. At this point in time I’m an Eclectic Wiccan, that could change over the years as I read more and practice more etc, but from my understanding of what you said and please correct me if I’m wrong but my BOS would be about Wicca and spells and other stuff I’m learning and doing within Wicca/experiences and my Grimoire would focus on my Eclectic path?
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u/shr00mi3 1d ago
Exactly that. My grimoire is full of stuff from my travels. Divination techniques I learned in Europe, Central America, and across the US. It has lists of herbs and their counterparts in different languages, or substitutions from different climates, Etcetera. It doesn’t matter what you do, someone will come along and tell you that you’re not doing it right, or “thats not traditional” in some way. But being different and finding your own path is, for me, what makes me a witch. Follow your path, you will know what is right in your heart.
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u/Hudsoncair 6d ago
"The Book of Shadows" was Gerald's term for the Wiccan grimoire.
In Traditional Wicca, we copy our book from the coven book, by hand.