Any new witch will hear pretty soon about the Book of Shadow, or any other word use to represent that book full of mystical knowledge sometimes secret, sometimes not. Many books are sold online and in some libraries as complete Book of Shadow, and everywhere we learn it’s a must to have for every witch.
We less often hear about the Book of Mirror. Sometimes, people mix them up, considering the Book of Mirror as another word for the Book of Shadow, or using their Book of Shadow like you would use a Book of Mirror.
There’s no specific rule about how you should make the use of both unless you are in a particular coven or tradition with such rules, but I like to put guidelines to differentiate the two of them and at the same time, making it easier to use both.
The Book of Shadow
The Book of Shadow and what it is exactly, even how you call it, greatly depend on the path you follow. The first important thing to know is that there’s not one original Book with all the secrets written in it and all the other being new versions of that one particular Book.
Those books are as many and as diverse as the different paths of witchcraft and individuals practicing the craft. Some are written reconstruction from the oral tradition of one particular path. Some are new materials composed of the teaching of many cultures. Some have been mass-produced to be sold to the public. Others are secretly kept in a particular coven and given to initiates only.
The only similar thing is that it’s a collection of knowledge about the occult. It may be laws, principles, descriptions, recipes, spells, rituals, pictures, drawings. All knowledge deemed necessary for the path of the owner on the book.
Usually, it is in a book format. Some purists would say it’s best if it was handwritten or hand transcribe by its owner on paper, often in a beautifully decorated leather notebook or something. The most handwritten it is, the most good it is. But what is best for some is not always the best for all.
Many don’t know how to start to make their own, so buying a complete book and using it is entirely fine. You can now buy some pages on Etsy or other shops like that to make your own with already made templates if it’s easier. There’s no need to handwrite it either. I make my own pages on photoshop, print them, and put them in a binder book. That way, I can easily change their organization or add pages in any order.
Also, there’s no limit to the number of Book of Shadow that you have. Some like to keep it all in one, others like to have one for spells, one for rituals, one for astrology knowledge, or even one for curses, one for blessings. You don’t have to have just one. Maybe you would like to buy several, and make one with only the transcription of the pages you liked in each one.
But one thing is for sure, it’s sure is useful to have a physical format of the Book of Shadow so you can have it at hand to refer to it while doing a spell or a ritual. Unless you know your ritual by heart, it’s always easier to glance at it on a book with the current page open in front of you than keeping the page open on your device.
The Book of Mirror
The Book of Mirror is more like a mirror of the practice of the individual. You can’t sell them, buy them, or transcribe one of another. It’s not the knowledge of the occult or particular spell or recipe. It’s a mirror of an individual, and often should only be used by that one individual.
Think of it more like a private journal. It is used to write about the experience of a meditation session, what was said and interpret in a Tarot or Rune reading, what was the dreams of the individual, what are the numbers that were overwhelming in a person day.
It’s a good way to put down in word, analyze and reflect on the practice and the experience of the individual. It’s also very helpful to see if there’s a pattern in your life, for example, if you write the phase of the moon in each entry, you can analyze if you have more vivid dreams around the full moon, or if you often feel drained around the new moon.
But the Book of Mirror has also many other uses. You can write in it all that you wish to study and research. You can write the spells and rituals you want to try but are not sure if you want them in your Book of Shadow. You can write drafts of poesy or spells, or write any tidbit of information you find but want to double-check. You can write your feelings and thoughts, your fear and doubts, hopes and objectives. It’s not a book of facts and knowledge, it’s a book of your current experience and progress.
In that way, there’s no limit to the format it takes. You can handwrite it in a journal. You can do it in a podcast form, or even as a video journal. I personally like to do it as a simple word format since I find it easy to search for information in it, add things everywhere, organized it, everything. I use it a lot, so when you have over a hundred thousand words, it’s easy to find exactly what you need in your document. But that book is yours, and you are free to use the format that you like.
In the end, a Book and Shadow and a Book of Mirror are two different things, but they complete each other very well. In my opinion, both are important to any witch journey, but they are personal, often made for you, by you. Also, they don’t have to cost you the moon, what is important is there content, either the collection of the knowledge useful for your path, or the reflection of your progress on your path.
Moonflower Coven 