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The Witch's Tools #5
The Witch's Book of Shadows: The Craft, Lore & Magick of the Witch's Grimoire
Discover the fascinating history, tradition, and modern uses of the witch's Book of Shadows. From creating, buying, and finding a Book of Shadows to its place in ritual, this guide provides everything you need to use this important and cherished tool in your practice. A great Book of Shadows is a chart that tells the Witch where she's been and where she's going; it's a personal guidebook for exploring the magic and mysteries of Witchcraft.
276 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 1, 2017
I've always been fascinated with Witchcraft and even dabbled in it when I was in my late teens. This book was an interesting and engaging look at the different types of Book of Shadows used and was filled with a lot of practical information for making your own Book of Shadows.
Told through the author's own personal experiences. As well as Including the history of witchcraft and examples of ceremonies for cleansing and protecting you own BOS, this book offers both the beginner and experienced Witch a little something worth learning.
Told through the author's own personal experiences. As well as Including the history of witchcraft and examples of ceremonies for cleansing and protecting you own BOS, this book offers both the beginner and experienced Witch a little something worth learning.
December 21, 2019
3.5 Stars
So this is a nice little book if you're new to the idea of a Book of Shadows but for me... I learned nothing new. Wish I'd found this years ago as it would've been a big help!
So this is a nice little book if you're new to the idea of a Book of Shadows but for me... I learned nothing new. Wish I'd found this years ago as it would've been a big help!
March 27, 2021
I enjoyed reading the section on history and different pagan authors, however, the book is repetitive. I was also very uncomfortable with the initiatory and hierarchy type of practice that the author constantly mentions. I love the cover art and illustrations.
August 29, 2026
The blank first page of a new magical journal can be strangely intimidating. You know this is supposed to become your Book of Shadows, something important enough to preserve your rituals, spells, discoveries, and spiritual experiences, and suddenly your handwriting looks terrible and nothing seems significant enough to deserve the opening page.
The Witch's Book of Shadows helped cure me of that anxiety. Jason Mankey presents the Book of Shadows less as a sacred object that must emerge fully formed and more as something that becomes sacred because a witch actually uses it.
That difference changes everything.
A pristine book can be beautiful, but a working Book of Shadows should eventually acquire history. Pages get revised, ingredients are crossed out, rituals are rewritten, notes accumulate in margins, something that once seemed profound becomes embarrassing five years later, and a technique you nearly abandoned suddenly turns out to work after one small adjustment.
Those traces are valuable. They show that a practice is alive.
Mankey covers an impressive amount of territory, from the history of magical books and the origins of the modern Book of Shadows to different forms a personal grimoire can take. He discusses what might be included, how the book can be physically constructed or decorated, magical alphabets, inks and symbols, divine figures associated with writing and books, ritual uses, cleansing and consecration, and contemporary possibilities such as digital Books of Shadows.
There is certainly enough here to help someone create their first magical book. What I liked more, however, was the way Mankey gradually dismantles the idea that there is one correct thing a Book of Shadows is supposed to be.
Some people want a carefully organized ritual manual. Someone else might create something closer to a laboratory notebook filled with experiments and results, while another person may emphasize prayers, spirit communications, dreams, divination records, herbal formulas, drawings, poetry, or devotional material.
All of those choices reveal something about the witch making the book.
That is why I began thinking of the Book of Shadows almost as a fossil record of magical development. If you keep one long enough, older layers preserve earlier versions of your practice even after you have grown beyond them.
There can be something humbling about encountering those older layers. You find correspondences you once accepted unquestioningly, rituals written when you believed every ceremony required half the contents of an occult shop, or confident declarations about magic that experience later complicated.
I would rather preserve some of those things than erase them.
Growth becomes much easier to recognize when there is evidence of where you started. A Book of Shadows can show that a practice has changed because the practitioner has actually learned something, and an abandoned technique can be as informative as a successful one when you remember why it was abandoned.
That makes record-keeping itself a magical skill.
If a spell works spectacularly, write down what happened. If nothing happens, write that down too, and record enough surrounding information that you might eventually notice why.
What phase was the moon in? What planetary conditions were present? Which ingredients were used? What emotional state were you in? Did something unexpected occur during the ritual? How quickly did results appear, and did they resemble the outcome you intended?
Memory is wonderfully unreliable about this kind of thing. Once we know the outcome of a working, it becomes very easy to remember the original intention as more precise than it really was or overlook all the unsuccessful experiments surrounding one dramatic success.
A written magical record gives us something to argue with.
That may be one of the least glamorous and most valuable functions of a Book of Shadows. It allows magical practice to develop through observation rather than anecdote alone.
Mankey's historical material is useful for a similar reason because he separates several kinds of magical books that modern practitioners sometimes collapse together. A Book of Shadows, grimoire, spellbook, magical diary, and personal journal can overlap enormously, but they do not necessarily serve identical purposes.
Understanding those distinctions frees the reader to decide what functions their own book needs to fulfill.
I also enjoyed the excerpts and examples drawn from other practitioners. Seeing what experienced witches actually preserve in their books is far more useful than being handed a universal table of contents.
Different people consider different information essential, and that becomes instructive in itself. Someone's Book of Shadows inevitably reveals what kind of practitioner they have become.
A devotional witch may fill pages with prayers, feast days, offerings, and encounters with deity. Someone deeply involved in operative magic might accumulate formulas, seals, timing information, spirit protocols, and detailed reports of results.
A coven's Book of Shadows may preserve shared ritual material that helps maintain continuity across generations. A solitary practitioner's book may instead document the gradual construction of a highly individual spiritual language.
Mankey has room for all of these possibilities.
The sections on magical writing materials add another dimension because writing itself can become ritualized. Choosing particular inks, alphabets, symbols, papers, or methods of inscription can transform the act of recording something into part of the magical operation.
I liked being reminded that the physicality of writing matters.
Typing is extraordinarily convenient, and I have no objection to digital grimoires, especially when they make enormous bodies of information searchable and portable. Handwriting, however, has its own tempo.
You have to slow down enough to form each word. Diagrams are drawn rather than inserted, corrections remain visible, and the page becomes marked by the body that produced it.
Neither format needs to defeat the other. Mankey's openness to modern forms suggests that the important question is what the chosen medium allows the practitioner to accomplish.
A digital archive can store thousands of pages, photographs, scans, links, audio recordings, and searchable notes. A handwritten book can become a singular magical object carrying years of physical interaction.
Some witches will understandably want both.
The material on cleansing and consecration is particularly useful because it addresses the Book of Shadows as more than an information-storage device. If the book participates in ritual, contains sacred names, records initiatory experiences, or becomes an extension of one's magical identity, treating it as a magical tool makes perfect sense.
Consecration can establish that change in status. A notebook becomes this particular book, dedicated to this particular purpose.
Yet I appreciate that Mankey never allows reverence to become paralysis. A Book of Shadows should be sacred enough to matter and usable enough to use.
That balance is harder than it sounds.
People can become so invested in making a beautiful grimoire that they start drafting everything elsewhere because they are afraid of making mistakes in the “real” book. Eventually the sacred Book of Shadows contains almost nothing while the ugly notebook next to it contains the actual practice.
I think the ugly notebook may have won.
There is genuine magic in beauty, craftsmanship, calligraphy, illustration, handmade paper, elaborate bindings, and carefully designed pages. A gorgeous Book of Shadows can absolutely enhance one's relationship with the material.
The trouble begins only when presentation becomes more important than participation.
Mankey's approach gives permission for the book to be messy because Witchcraft itself is learned through doing. A magical record should have enough flexibility to accommodate the fact that tomorrow's understanding may contradict today's certainty.
That is another reason I love the idea of a Book of Shadows as a chart rather than a finished statement of belief. Charts are navigational.
They tell you where you have traveled, help you understand where you presently stand, and give you information useful for deciding where to go next.
After reading this, I wanted to open old magical notebooks rather than start a beautiful new one. I wanted to look for abandoned ideas, forgotten workings, practices that quietly became foundational, and questions I asked years ago without realizing I would eventually spend enormous amounts of time answering them.
That reaction may be the best compliment I can give the book.
The Witch's Book of Shadows made me appreciate the magical record itself as part of the Craft. Our grimoires do not merely contain our practices because, over years of recording and revising them, they become witnesses to the witches we were, the witches we are, and the witches we are slowly becoming.
The Witch's Book of Shadows helped cure me of that anxiety. Jason Mankey presents the Book of Shadows less as a sacred object that must emerge fully formed and more as something that becomes sacred because a witch actually uses it.
That difference changes everything.
A pristine book can be beautiful, but a working Book of Shadows should eventually acquire history. Pages get revised, ingredients are crossed out, rituals are rewritten, notes accumulate in margins, something that once seemed profound becomes embarrassing five years later, and a technique you nearly abandoned suddenly turns out to work after one small adjustment.
Those traces are valuable. They show that a practice is alive.
Mankey covers an impressive amount of territory, from the history of magical books and the origins of the modern Book of Shadows to different forms a personal grimoire can take. He discusses what might be included, how the book can be physically constructed or decorated, magical alphabets, inks and symbols, divine figures associated with writing and books, ritual uses, cleansing and consecration, and contemporary possibilities such as digital Books of Shadows.
There is certainly enough here to help someone create their first magical book. What I liked more, however, was the way Mankey gradually dismantles the idea that there is one correct thing a Book of Shadows is supposed to be.
Some people want a carefully organized ritual manual. Someone else might create something closer to a laboratory notebook filled with experiments and results, while another person may emphasize prayers, spirit communications, dreams, divination records, herbal formulas, drawings, poetry, or devotional material.
All of those choices reveal something about the witch making the book.
That is why I began thinking of the Book of Shadows almost as a fossil record of magical development. If you keep one long enough, older layers preserve earlier versions of your practice even after you have grown beyond them.
There can be something humbling about encountering those older layers. You find correspondences you once accepted unquestioningly, rituals written when you believed every ceremony required half the contents of an occult shop, or confident declarations about magic that experience later complicated.
I would rather preserve some of those things than erase them.
Growth becomes much easier to recognize when there is evidence of where you started. A Book of Shadows can show that a practice has changed because the practitioner has actually learned something, and an abandoned technique can be as informative as a successful one when you remember why it was abandoned.
That makes record-keeping itself a magical skill.
If a spell works spectacularly, write down what happened. If nothing happens, write that down too, and record enough surrounding information that you might eventually notice why.
What phase was the moon in? What planetary conditions were present? Which ingredients were used? What emotional state were you in? Did something unexpected occur during the ritual? How quickly did results appear, and did they resemble the outcome you intended?
Memory is wonderfully unreliable about this kind of thing. Once we know the outcome of a working, it becomes very easy to remember the original intention as more precise than it really was or overlook all the unsuccessful experiments surrounding one dramatic success.
A written magical record gives us something to argue with.
That may be one of the least glamorous and most valuable functions of a Book of Shadows. It allows magical practice to develop through observation rather than anecdote alone.
Mankey's historical material is useful for a similar reason because he separates several kinds of magical books that modern practitioners sometimes collapse together. A Book of Shadows, grimoire, spellbook, magical diary, and personal journal can overlap enormously, but they do not necessarily serve identical purposes.
Understanding those distinctions frees the reader to decide what functions their own book needs to fulfill.
I also enjoyed the excerpts and examples drawn from other practitioners. Seeing what experienced witches actually preserve in their books is far more useful than being handed a universal table of contents.
Different people consider different information essential, and that becomes instructive in itself. Someone's Book of Shadows inevitably reveals what kind of practitioner they have become.
A devotional witch may fill pages with prayers, feast days, offerings, and encounters with deity. Someone deeply involved in operative magic might accumulate formulas, seals, timing information, spirit protocols, and detailed reports of results.
A coven's Book of Shadows may preserve shared ritual material that helps maintain continuity across generations. A solitary practitioner's book may instead document the gradual construction of a highly individual spiritual language.
Mankey has room for all of these possibilities.
The sections on magical writing materials add another dimension because writing itself can become ritualized. Choosing particular inks, alphabets, symbols, papers, or methods of inscription can transform the act of recording something into part of the magical operation.
I liked being reminded that the physicality of writing matters.
Typing is extraordinarily convenient, and I have no objection to digital grimoires, especially when they make enormous bodies of information searchable and portable. Handwriting, however, has its own tempo.
You have to slow down enough to form each word. Diagrams are drawn rather than inserted, corrections remain visible, and the page becomes marked by the body that produced it.
Neither format needs to defeat the other. Mankey's openness to modern forms suggests that the important question is what the chosen medium allows the practitioner to accomplish.
A digital archive can store thousands of pages, photographs, scans, links, audio recordings, and searchable notes. A handwritten book can become a singular magical object carrying years of physical interaction.
Some witches will understandably want both.
The material on cleansing and consecration is particularly useful because it addresses the Book of Shadows as more than an information-storage device. If the book participates in ritual, contains sacred names, records initiatory experiences, or becomes an extension of one's magical identity, treating it as a magical tool makes perfect sense.
Consecration can establish that change in status. A notebook becomes this particular book, dedicated to this particular purpose.
Yet I appreciate that Mankey never allows reverence to become paralysis. A Book of Shadows should be sacred enough to matter and usable enough to use.
That balance is harder than it sounds.
People can become so invested in making a beautiful grimoire that they start drafting everything elsewhere because they are afraid of making mistakes in the “real” book. Eventually the sacred Book of Shadows contains almost nothing while the ugly notebook next to it contains the actual practice.
I think the ugly notebook may have won.
There is genuine magic in beauty, craftsmanship, calligraphy, illustration, handmade paper, elaborate bindings, and carefully designed pages. A gorgeous Book of Shadows can absolutely enhance one's relationship with the material.
The trouble begins only when presentation becomes more important than participation.
Mankey's approach gives permission for the book to be messy because Witchcraft itself is learned through doing. A magical record should have enough flexibility to accommodate the fact that tomorrow's understanding may contradict today's certainty.
That is another reason I love the idea of a Book of Shadows as a chart rather than a finished statement of belief. Charts are navigational.
They tell you where you have traveled, help you understand where you presently stand, and give you information useful for deciding where to go next.
After reading this, I wanted to open old magical notebooks rather than start a beautiful new one. I wanted to look for abandoned ideas, forgotten workings, practices that quietly became foundational, and questions I asked years ago without realizing I would eventually spend enormous amounts of time answering them.
That reaction may be the best compliment I can give the book.
The Witch's Book of Shadows made me appreciate the magical record itself as part of the Craft. Our grimoires do not merely contain our practices because, over years of recording and revising them, they become witnesses to the witches we were, the witches we are, and the witches we are slowly becoming.
July 7, 2022
The Witch’s Book of Shadows (Witch’s Tools series 5) by Jason Mankey
9780738750149
312 Pages
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications, Llewellyn Worldwide
Release Date: February 8, 2017
Nonfiction (Adult), Religion, Spirituality, Book, Journal, Writing, Magic, Grimoire
The book is divided into the following sections
1: Some Different Types of Books of Shadows
2: Putting Together a Book of Shadows and Making It Your Own
3: A Brief History of Magical Books, Words, and Symbols
4: What to Put in a Book of Shadows
5: The Book of Shadows – Out of the Shadows
6: Alphabets, Fonts, Inks, and Symbols
7: Goddesses and Gods of the Books
8: The Book of Shadows in Ritual
9: Cleansing, Consecrating, and Other Rituals
10: New Frontiers and the BoS
In the past, I read books that said you “must do this” or you “must do that.” This book is not like that at all. The author does a great job of telling the reader that the book of shadows is whatever you want it to be. It is a personal book to you. I learned the history behind Lady Sheba’s Book of Shadows and its connection to the Gardnerians. It was one of the first books I read when starting out.
Chapter 6 contains not only suggestions for inks and pens, but the history of alphabets including the Ogham, which I use. I absolutely love the idea of using berries for ink. I was pleasantly surprised to see Seshat’s name included in chapter 7. She is the Goddess of writing, libraries, and architecture but not many people know about her.
I am glad the author included a section on retiring a book of shadows. I never thought about what to do with mine and now I have some ideas.The author has an easy-to-read writing style. This is an excellent resource for a new practitioner or if you are looking for new ideas.
9780738750149
312 Pages
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications, Llewellyn Worldwide
Release Date: February 8, 2017
Nonfiction (Adult), Religion, Spirituality, Book, Journal, Writing, Magic, Grimoire
The book is divided into the following sections
1: Some Different Types of Books of Shadows
2: Putting Together a Book of Shadows and Making It Your Own
3: A Brief History of Magical Books, Words, and Symbols
4: What to Put in a Book of Shadows
5: The Book of Shadows – Out of the Shadows
6: Alphabets, Fonts, Inks, and Symbols
7: Goddesses and Gods of the Books
8: The Book of Shadows in Ritual
9: Cleansing, Consecrating, and Other Rituals
10: New Frontiers and the BoS
In the past, I read books that said you “must do this” or you “must do that.” This book is not like that at all. The author does a great job of telling the reader that the book of shadows is whatever you want it to be. It is a personal book to you. I learned the history behind Lady Sheba’s Book of Shadows and its connection to the Gardnerians. It was one of the first books I read when starting out.
Chapter 6 contains not only suggestions for inks and pens, but the history of alphabets including the Ogham, which I use. I absolutely love the idea of using berries for ink. I was pleasantly surprised to see Seshat’s name included in chapter 7. She is the Goddess of writing, libraries, and architecture but not many people know about her.
I am glad the author included a section on retiring a book of shadows. I never thought about what to do with mine and now I have some ideas.The author has an easy-to-read writing style. This is an excellent resource for a new practitioner or if you are looking for new ideas.
December 30, 2017
This book was a very quick read considering how much information was packed into it. The author has a way of writing that makes you feel like you’re having a conversation with him which I thoroughly enjoyed. I got some great ideas for my own BoS that I want to implement plus it had some great thoughts on digital cloud BoS storage and how the word of witchcraft is changing in this modern era. I highly recommend this book to any witch out there that wants to get more out of their Magickal book.
June 3, 2021
Great book which contains lots of ideas to create and manage your own books of shadows. I liked the personal stories a lot because this is ultimately a personal witch's tool and I wouldn't have wanted a dry listing of grimoires past and present. That's not this book and that's wonderful.
June 7, 2023
Where do I begin... First, I suppose I'll say the only reason I gave it 3 stars rather than 2 is because I understand how much work and soul goes into writing a book. That being said, this is not a book I would personally recommend. The idea behind the book was great. However, it was poorly executed.
The first 70 pages could have been summarized into 10 or less. Reading it was like talking to someone who loops conversation and tells you the same story over and over with slightly different sentence structure. The author of the book is from what I gathered a more traditionally practicing witch from the gardnerian tradition. Most of the book is laced with his repeated justification for using a ring binder book of shadows during his coven ceremonies.
The book talks about the history of some sacred texts, many of which feel unrelated. As if they were compiling a list of loosely related topics in order to reach a word count for a school essay. No where does the author address the topic of the book of shadows vs. grimoire. In my previous research, it would have been a more appropriate term for many of the books he is describing. However, it is mentioned on the very last page of the book, "I feel like this book is only the beginning of the discussion when it comes to the history of grimoires and other magical writings." Little late to start using the correct term.
There are some mentions of things to include, like alphabets, diety information, and opening and closing for rituals. However, I have sadly read blogposts and watched 10-minute youtube videos that were much more informative than all 271 pages of this book.
The author is clearly of a Wiccan tradition and approaches the subject matter through that lense. Offering little use for a book other than reading out rituals during a circle. Which is totally fine, to each thier own. However, witchcraft and magical books have been around long before the Wiccan tradition. Which leaves the title and description of the book very misleading as it suggests a more comprehensive and historically accurate guide.
He does try to suggest that one can use thier own book of shadows in whatever way they like. However, with the repeated example of using his computer printed binder style book of shadows during a coven ceremony, it is almost impossible to imagine anyone using a book in any other manner.
The author clearly had some hangups and insecurities while writing the book. Which are very evident from the over repeated personal justifications. Notes on things he and the editor chose not to include in the book. As well as the kicker final chapter in which he writes, "When people offer advice on what to put in a book, I sometimes get the feeling that they don't trust me as a writer." It gave the essence of reading a letter to his therapist, not ending a book that's supposed to be informative and empowering. At no point did I feel inspired or encouraged to start compliling a book of my own as a singular practicing eclectic witch.
Even though the book is one, I wouldn't recommend it. I do want to acknowledge the author for putting himself out there. Writing a book good or not is a great deal of work. He clearly tried his best. Had the title and description of the book been more accurate in describing his personal writing and the topics he chose to focus on, I might have had a different experience.
The first 70 pages could have been summarized into 10 or less. Reading it was like talking to someone who loops conversation and tells you the same story over and over with slightly different sentence structure. The author of the book is from what I gathered a more traditionally practicing witch from the gardnerian tradition. Most of the book is laced with his repeated justification for using a ring binder book of shadows during his coven ceremonies.
The book talks about the history of some sacred texts, many of which feel unrelated. As if they were compiling a list of loosely related topics in order to reach a word count for a school essay. No where does the author address the topic of the book of shadows vs. grimoire. In my previous research, it would have been a more appropriate term for many of the books he is describing. However, it is mentioned on the very last page of the book, "I feel like this book is only the beginning of the discussion when it comes to the history of grimoires and other magical writings." Little late to start using the correct term.
There are some mentions of things to include, like alphabets, diety information, and opening and closing for rituals. However, I have sadly read blogposts and watched 10-minute youtube videos that were much more informative than all 271 pages of this book.
The author is clearly of a Wiccan tradition and approaches the subject matter through that lense. Offering little use for a book other than reading out rituals during a circle. Which is totally fine, to each thier own. However, witchcraft and magical books have been around long before the Wiccan tradition. Which leaves the title and description of the book very misleading as it suggests a more comprehensive and historically accurate guide.
He does try to suggest that one can use thier own book of shadows in whatever way they like. However, with the repeated example of using his computer printed binder style book of shadows during a coven ceremony, it is almost impossible to imagine anyone using a book in any other manner.
The author clearly had some hangups and insecurities while writing the book. Which are very evident from the over repeated personal justifications. Notes on things he and the editor chose not to include in the book. As well as the kicker final chapter in which he writes, "When people offer advice on what to put in a book, I sometimes get the feeling that they don't trust me as a writer." It gave the essence of reading a letter to his therapist, not ending a book that's supposed to be informative and empowering. At no point did I feel inspired or encouraged to start compliling a book of my own as a singular practicing eclectic witch.
Even though the book is one, I wouldn't recommend it. I do want to acknowledge the author for putting himself out there. Writing a book good or not is a great deal of work. He clearly tried his best. Had the title and description of the book been more accurate in describing his personal writing and the topics he chose to focus on, I might have had a different experience.
June 21, 2022
It's cool to read a book focused solely on the grimoire/Book of Shadows, and this one in particular has a lot of wonderful information that can validate new witches and interest those with more experience in magick. It's also interesting to hear about his own experiences using the BoS in his witchcraft. His writing style is generally engaging, though it can be repetitive. However, this book is not one of my favorites due to it having some errors in it, sometimes grammatical. I'm not too much of a fan about how Jason Mankey is a big part of "closed" witchcraft that hides information from non-initiates, though I guess some people really are into that.
August 20, 2022
This book had much more in it than I expected. It is quite thorough in discussing different types of Books of Shadows (generally abbreviated as "BoS"), ways of making your own, BoS history, what to record in one, how to use one in ritual, and consecrating one for use. I was surprised and pleased at the amount of information contained in it. The bibliography contains five pages of references for further reading.
Read
September 8, 2022Jason Mankey's 'The Witch's Book of Shadows' is a great introduction for any newbie witch who isn't quite sure where to start with her own grimoire. It feels like such an imposing thing, when really it should be something that is both practical and holy to you. That's a difficult balance to strike but Mankey really manages to guide a reader through the process by combining tradition and history with easy steps to follow.
October 10, 2023
I think this book would be a great resource for someone who wants to make their own Book of Shadows and learn to decorate it. Mankey provides a lot of information on the various kinds of books one can make and how to make them while providing a history on them.
It just wasn't for me I guess. I felt that some parts were repetitive and could've used some editing.
Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy. All opinions are my own.
It just wasn't for me I guess. I felt that some parts were repetitive and could've used some editing.
Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy. All opinions are my own.
March 22, 2017
A very good grimoire about grimoires. The information is exceptional, and I feel that the author did his due diligence in researching and writing this book. I honestly would have given this book 5 stars, if not for some minor grammatical errors and the instance where the author attributes the Half Blood Prince's potions book as belonging to Tom Riddle, which is incorrect. I understand that errors happen, but the editors at Llewellyn sort of dropped the ball on that. As I stated, some minor errors in grammar and one major error about a book in the Harry Potter series but, if you don't mind a few errors that ultimately don't detract very much from the overall content, I'd highly recommend this book.
July 11, 2017
This is a useful guide to making your own Book of Shadows. It's primarily aimed at people who haven't made one before, with information on the history of magical books, suggestions on what to include and how to organize what you've included, information on different formats, how to decorate a BoS, and how to cleanse and consecrate one. That same breadth of coverage, though, means that a more experienced practitioner may find ideas and inspiration about what they can do with a BoS they've already created. Mankey writes a lot about his own experiences, which I found interesting, but then, I knew I liked his writing style from having just read The Witch's Athame: The Craft, Lore & Magick of Ritual Blades. While he's a Witch, and while this book was written for Witches/Wiccans, a lot of it could be adapted to other traditions. Many of the ideas presented didn't appeal to me (write in a special alphabet?) and the thought of destroying an old BoS made me feel a bit faint, although I could see why you might want to do that. But I found a few ideas in this book that I plan to try, and I'm glad I read the book.
August 19, 2021
What a great book! Especially pertinent for new Witches starting out on their path. It includes some fun little craft activities too like making your own ink and witchify'ing a binder! I tried the binder one and it worked a treat! Jason has a fun, light hearted, conversational tone to his writing which makes you feel safe, like chatting with a friend. Loved this book.
May 12, 2024
J'ai adoré ce livre. Meme si je ne crois pas en tout ce qui est dit, toutes ces infos sont très intéressantes et je suis persuadé que ça m'aidera beaucoup. Impatient de lire les autres livres sur les outils de la sorcière. Pour la première fois de ma vie, j'ai écris dans un livre. J'avais tellement d'infos à conserver. J'ai annoté et mis un code couleur.
December 26, 2019
Easy to read, well written and perfect for those just starting to out. Had some great ideas and tips.
June 27, 2020
Jason is a fraud who supports abusive cults.
August 2, 2020
I have read many how to books on making your own book of shadows and this by far has had the best tips, tricks and information.
December 17, 2020
Felt like there was a lot of filler.
March 1, 2021
loved all the historical stuff. definetly set aside a list of reading based on the bibliography. Would be the perfect book for a new witch to learn all about the history and uses of a book of shadows.
May 27, 2022
Encore un livre très complet et utile
Un vrai petit guide abordant chaque aspect
Attention tout de même, si l'on décide de me lire d'une traite il devient très rapidement très lourd...
Un vrai petit guide abordant chaque aspect
Attention tout de même, si l'on décide de me lire d'une traite il devient très rapidement très lourd...
July 25, 2026
Rien de personnel juste pas mon genre...
July 9, 2020
Certainly a useful and inspiring little guide to creating your own book(s) of shadows. It presents various types (books for covens/traditions vs. personal books) as well as hints for exterior and interior design, for example, hints how to make and use coloured ink and self-made pens, details some rituals for blessing, protecting, dedicating and even disposing of a Book of Shadows as well as (a little bit of) history of famous grimoires. I especially liked the section “every trick in the book”, where various authors present their unique view of what the essence of a book of shadows could be (in one case, it’s compared to the family cook book/recipe collection, passed down for generations and still being added to, in another case, it’s described as being a mirror of the witch’s career, a bit like a magical diary). In my opinion, it could have done with a bit less bragging about the scores of oath-bound secrets the author has to protect – and, consequentially, the section how to create “book curses” – but I suppose there will always be people out there who can’t or won’t do without that sort of thing. Apart from this, I found it worthwhile reading.
February 24, 2017
Very simple and interesting. Lots of historical facts.
November 15, 2016
This review was previously published on NetGalley.
Great book! I was really surprised with the style of writing, it's very personal and I could feel that this is an important part of Mr Jason Mankeys' life. The research and the knowledge, not only the one that comes from books but also the knowledge that comes with life experiences, transpires in this wonderful guide through magic and history.
In all, I enjoyed reading it and I learned a lot. From the different types of Book of Shadows, how to create and personalise your own, the history, the symbols, just makes me want to own this book and re-read it because there are so many things to be understood and studied.
An addiction to any that enjoy Magic, Book of Shadows and want to understand it better.
Read my other reviews at: http://booktraveller.weebly.com/
Great book! I was really surprised with the style of writing, it's very personal and I could feel that this is an important part of Mr Jason Mankeys' life. The research and the knowledge, not only the one that comes from books but also the knowledge that comes with life experiences, transpires in this wonderful guide through magic and history.
In all, I enjoyed reading it and I learned a lot. From the different types of Book of Shadows, how to create and personalise your own, the history, the symbols, just makes me want to own this book and re-read it because there are so many things to be understood and studied.
An addiction to any that enjoy Magic, Book of Shadows and want to understand it better.
Read my other reviews at: http://booktraveller.weebly.com/
April 28, 2017
If you've never kept a journal of any sort, this is a really darling little primer. However, if you are an avid journaler/diarist, I really don't think you're going to find anything new to help you put together a grimoire/Book of Shadows. At least, I, as someone who has been keeping diaries and journals since I was a child, didn't find anything particularly mindblowing. It's also a great book if you're the sort who is paralyzed by the idea of "ruining" a notebook: it just might give you the inspiration and enthusiasm needed to overcome such a fear. Jason is a firm believer that if YOU believe something is of spiritual note, then that's good enough reason to document it in your Book of Shadows, Book of Light, grimoire, etc., which is something a lot of people need to here. I see far too many people stress over the idea of having a "perfect" working notebook, which does not serve us at all!
May 2, 2017
I kept coming back to this book, reading ten pages or so, and then reading the next set of pages a couple of days later. I don't know if this added to my enjoyment, but I loved the history and creativity Mankey put into what could have been a very dry and didactic volume.
I had the fun of listening to Mankey present a workshop on this before I got to read the book. As a result, I read the whole thing with his voice in my mind. I think that did contribute to my personal experience. What I do know is that the information he provides is succinct and well-sourced, and that works well for me.
There are numerous mini-essays with creative and capable people on how to make a Book of Shadows more your own. I came away with some very strong ideas on how to combine and personalize the various papers I have floating around the house into a complete and very me grimoire, although in my tradition the Book of Shadows is not personal - it's the coven group book instead, with the personal book called a grimoire.
Well worth the read. Four stars!
I had the fun of listening to Mankey present a workshop on this before I got to read the book. As a result, I read the whole thing with his voice in my mind. I think that did contribute to my personal experience. What I do know is that the information he provides is succinct and well-sourced, and that works well for me.
There are numerous mini-essays with creative and capable people on how to make a Book of Shadows more your own. I came away with some very strong ideas on how to combine and personalize the various papers I have floating around the house into a complete and very me grimoire, although in my tradition the Book of Shadows is not personal - it's the coven group book instead, with the personal book called a grimoire.
Well worth the read. Four stars!
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