Book of Shadows, or the Magickal Commonplace Book

If you have been in the magickal community or are someone who just dabbles, you may be familiar with the term “book of shadows.” The practice itself is not dissimilar to a commonplace book. This is the first approach I will share.

The book of shadows is a log book of different practices, techniques, synchronicities, and outcomes as they come through. It’s also a place to collect notes and sources for further exploration or reference.

This is the first way I propose we work with our journal, as it will inform the rest of the work moving forward.

When we keep track of the data of our workings, it allows us to engage in pattern recognition of periods of time. It also extends the capacity of our brains. If we record such information down, we do not have to put ourselves through the mental strain of having to remember various details.

If you are unsure if you should include something, jot it down regardless. You can always cross it out later.

Practice: Start your log

For now, simply begin by jotting down the spiritual activities you already do. If you have a small meditation practice, each day you meditate, log it in your journal. Try to do this consistently.

If you do a lot of different things, write them in list form. Remember we don’t have to be perfect. The important part is building the habit of showing up. It doesn’t have to look a certain way, it just has to exist.

Another great use for this section is to record the sigil glyphs you create. The purpose here would be to keep an ongoing list of sigils to return to and meditate on. As time continues, the intention behind specific sigils will leave your mind. This is perfect and adds the layer of surrender that aids in this magick’s effectiveness.

Practice: Sigils

When it comes to sigils, there is no shortage of information online and in books on different ways to create a sigil. I plan to share my technique as a baseline. If you already have a preferred method, or have found a technique you’d rather try instead, please do so. Part of the magick is being excited about what it is we intend to do.

To create a sigil, you first need to create a statement of intent. This should be made in the first person, and in the present tense as though the intention has already come to pass. My statement of intent will be:

I am confident in public spaces.

The next step is to cross out the vowels and repeating letters. You will then have a collection of letters remaining. Below are the letters remaining from my statement of intent:

M C N F D T P B L S

Then, we use the letters that remain to combine them into a shape. This will take some time to tinker with the different layouts. My favorite way is breaking each letter down into lines and curves. I use this to build geometric-type glyphs which appear magickal.

Draw the new glyph on your sigils list page.

On the page you created the sigil, where your statement of intent was made, scribble over it with various art materials. You could also collage over it. Then rip it up and collage that into your journal.

Take some time to meditate on the image you created. Return to do this several times. Eventually, you will have a whole page of sigils to meditate on, and you won’t know the meaning of any of them. This is a part of the process.

Planning Pages

Planning is another aspect of journaling which we can fold into our magickal work. We can use our journals to track significant dates that align with what we might be working on.

There is the Wheel of the Year to consider, which are different witchy holidays which coincide with the agricultural calendar. There are mainstream holidays as well as birthdays that could also be tracked. You could also think of astrological transits, lunar phases, and planetary days or even hours. Other considerations are feast days, sober birthdays, the first and last day of the month, and whatever else feels significant to you.

Keep an open mind, try to find something time related you’d like to tap into, and try not to overdo it.

It is not necessary to line a project up with a significant date. It is just another method used to add an energetic layer of intention. If this feels out of reach for you, do not allow that stress to land on your shoulders.

That said, there is also the practical aspect of adding planning to one’s journal. Keeping track of what we need to get done day in and day out is helpful when we don’t try to keep track of it all in our head. It allows us mental clarity and cognitive space so we don’t have to keep our minds in a frantic overload.

Planning has been incredibly helpful for me. As a person with ADHD, keeping track of the everyday events along with magickal timelines I may want to keep sometimes feels next to impossible. My planning life works in phases. Sometimes, when life isn’t as busy, it’s not included. When the school year starts for my kids, however, that is a time where things must be written down.

I usually track plans in my journal and reminders, but also keep a wall calendar and pocket planner. Again, this is what I have found works for me. Having your calendar in a place you will see it everyday is essential.

A monthly layout may be the best to start off with. You can log magickal activities done on each day in one color pen, and then synchronicities and results in a separate color. You could also keep notes here about your dreams. Having all of these written in one place (especially color coded) could help you easily spot patterns that arise.

Practice: Create Your Monthly Calendar

How you wish to go about this is up to you. There are several ways to print calendar pages online that could be pasted into your journal. This is also something that could be drawn in.

Drawing in your own calendar with significant colors for that season (or astrological transits), and decorating it with stickers, illustrations, ephemera, or even corresponding sigils could add extra layers of intention. I also believe that making something ourselves gives extra spice to our magick. I will reiterate here that no one will be grading your journal pages, so please feel free to do what feels right and release any judgement that comes up.

Record important astrological dates, the full and new moon, any Wheel of the Year holiday, any significant personal days, and make notes on any project or ritual you’d like to plan. Make a little reminder column for planetary days and hours so you can tap into that current if it feels right. Write down your paydays in green. Keep track of outgoing expenses.

Make a blessing sigil to draw in the four corners of your calendar pages to bring in positive energy and release negative or stagnant energy, and keep it aligned with the energy of the season (perhaps a restful, cozy winter month is just as abundant as a busy, fun-filled summer month).

For a month, track your magickal activities (throw in daily activities as well, having the magickal and mundane in one place can be helpful!). Use different color pens or highlighters to track specific results or synchronicities. Try to check in with it daily. Consider it your touchstone, a space you can enter and hold the interwoven aspects of your life.

After the month is over, write and reflect on the practice as a whole. Think about what worked and what didn’t. Plan ways you’d like to customize or tweak it further. Proceed if the practice is resonant for you.

Plain old journaling

It may seem like a silly part to point out, but journals are perfect spaces for just that…journaling! Ultimately, the pages can be a space where you spill out whatever is running through your head. It’s a great method of record keeping, while also being a wonderful contact point to dig deeper into ourselves.

This would be a great way to work with any journaling prompts we may want to try. We can also write reflections after certain workings or meditations. You can tap into the somatic experience of those that came up, as record that as well.

Any memories or emotions that are bubbling under the surface, whether from a magickal working or just a weird day, can be explored further in the pages of your journal. You can write this in the form of letters to your Higher Self, an ancestor, or Higher Power if you feel as though answers lie outside of yourself.

Whether we walk away with answers or not, the cathartic act of writing down everything we are thinking and feeling is powerful. It’s a great form of energy clearing, and letting things go.

Practice: Free write to let it go

On Saturday night, or at the end of the month, set a timer for fifteen minutes. Sit with some loose leaf papers. Plant your feet on the ground. Make sure you’re comfortable.

Write non-stop for the entire fifteen minutes. Write about all of your joys, worries, fears, anger, sadness. Let it all go on the page. Do not worry about making it legible. In fact, if you find it hard to write quickly, just scribble as close to the words as you can.

The purpose is to get it onto the page. When you feel stuck, begin a sentence by writing “I release…” and keep writing. Return to that beginning every time you feel like you might be stuck. When you’re done, use crayons, markers, paint, or paper to cover up what you’ve written.

Then, rip up the pages. Glue them into a page of your journal. It doesn’t have to be aesthetic, it doesn’t have to be perfect. We are simply releasing the energy and letting the ripped paper to help us transmute it into a fertile space for something new.

A popular journaling practice comes from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Cameron emphasizes the power of writing three long-form, stream-of-conscious pages first thing in the morning, every morning. This practice has been fruitful for me in the past. I also don’t believe the “first thing in the morning” aspect is practical for people with demanding jobs, or stay-at-home parents. The “three long-form pages” aspect is difficult if you struggle with chronic pain. Allow this practice to meet you where you are, and don’t allow the constrictions of it to dictate whether you participate in it or not.

Practice: Observation

A great method of getting used to writing in our journals, especially in public (this adds to the challenge!), is by simply recording what we observe in our natural environment.

Imagine you are a scientist, or an alien, sent to study the environment and creatures within it. What do you notice first? What questions come up from that noticing? Do some occurrences feel silly compared to others? What sensorial information is available to you?

Record a conversation you hear. Describe something incredibly mundane from your everyday life in ornate detail. Write only what you see.

This is a great practice to tap into the present moment. It can feel very grounding, and produces a swelling sense of gratitude. If writing this out feels like it could be a strain, try simple list-making to get started. You’d be surprised at what you normally don’t pay attention to, and what you start to pick up over time.

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Paid Subscriptions are back on

I removed anyone who had previously paid for this newsletter and made them a free member as all memberships had expired. Once the school year is in full swing, I intend to start a Q&A, or group creative coaching sessions, where you all submit your questions and I film responses. This will be a paywalled podcast, also a recorded video. There may also be month ahead tarot art collective readings for paid members, but that would not begin until September.

Ko-Fi has tarot art readings, stickers, zines, and more

If you’d like to support the shop or like something I’ve shared, my many offerings are available here.

The First Essay from Strange Static is available

Read my essay on Jim Henson’s The Cube here.

The Newest Segment of Letters to Imaginary Friends is available

You can read the newest part on the Indigo Road here. You can find the entire archive of the Refraction Road adventure here.

My chapbook grace in every moment is available for sale! Signed copies are available on ko-fi

Buy my book: grace in every moment

The option to buy a signed copy is available here.These I will ship personally, and I usually include some extra thank you gifts.

Let’s Connect!

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Bluesky

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Living Practice will begin following a bi-weekly schedule. At this time I am hoping to shift podcast release days to Friday.

Creativity is a powerful force. One could argue it is a fundamental force behind the workings of magick. What do I mean when I say magick?

When we set about to change circumstances to align them with our Will, that is magick. When we seek to initiate transformation internally or externally, that is magick. When we live in a relationship to the world beyond that which can be seen, that is also magick.

This definition is vast, and that is on purpose. We could busy ourselves arguing about semantics, or we could begin to play with magickal technologies, such as what I plan to write about in this book, and see what magick is for ourselves.

So, don’t take my word for it. Don’t even believe that magick is real, if you don’t want to. Simply suspend your disbelief within the ritual space (we will discuss this in a bit) and stay open to possibility.

It is my belief and practice that magick can be executed within the pages of a journal. Now, what do I mean when I say journaling? Perhaps you think of the diary you kept as a child, recording the events of each day to help aid your memory. That is a journal. Perhaps you think of a planner which helps you to keep track of what needs tending to. That is a journal. Perhaps you think of a place where you draw freely whatever you please. That is a journal. Perhaps you think of collage, stickers, and other ephemera. That, too, is a journal.

There’s also bullet journaling, junk journaling, art journaling, stitch journaling, scrapbooking, list making and logging, and so much more.

I guess what I’m saying is, just like magick, we’re going to keep the idea of a journal a little open-ended. This is the way of creative expression. If we find ourselves too boxed in, it may limit the way we approach our journal. Limits can sometimes be generative when it comes to creativity. This is not helpful when we are first traversing our creative terrain.

I am a long time student of journaling and magick. These practices have come in and out of my life since childhood, however it wasn’t until I combined the two that I found myself hooked. The two work in tandem, my journaling practice and my magickal practice, holding each other up as the foundation of my creativity. What really helps with all of this is the right mindset.

To cultivate a magickal mindset is to reconnect with our imagination. What better way to do so than through the act of journaling? There are no rules when it comes to journaling. No one is going to grade you, judge you, tell you are doing it wrong, or tell you it is ugly. It’s simply a book, which you can choose to share with others or not.

An argument could be made for the potency of not sharing our journal pages with others. The secret nature that sometimes accompanies the journal is a tool that could add to the layered energy of your magick. Ultimately, you are the practitioner, and it is up to you how you choose to proceed.

Practice: Meet your Imagination

To start off with, let’s journal about when we were last in a relationship with our imagination. Use a pen and write quickly.

When did you last use your imagination? Did you follow your curiosity? Did you allow your imagination to impact your real life in any way?

Now, imagine your Imagination is a character. Draw what they would look like (yes, even if you think you’re “bad at drawing”). What would they say to you? What would you say to them? Can you imagine collaborating with them? How does that make you feel? Are you excited, ashamed, nervous? Can you sit with your Imagination as well as these feelings? Can you name these feelings? Can you honor them with space and then assure them it’s okay?

Come back and spend time with your Imagination character whenever you feel as though you’ve lost the thread to that part of yourself.

Getting Started

There is no shortage of journaling supplies. It would be easy to fall into the world of stationary, stickers, different pens, and notebooks. I have done so many times. For the sake of this practice, I will invite you to pick a journal that brings you joy, and that is relatively inexpensive.

The purpose behind this is simple: our Inner Perfectionist, who is really just a smaller version of ourselves wanting to create physical objects that match the beautiful visions in our minds, might make it difficult to work fully within a journal deemed “aesthetically pleasing.” I find that a composition notebook or a simple blank notebook can be helpful. You can choose dot grid, graph, lined, blank pages.

You can use pens, pencils, crayons, or markers. You can use stamps, stickers, and washi tape. You can use anything that can be pasted into a book. It’s important to remember investing a lot of money into this endeavor does not necessarily lead to more success. It can be fun to build a stash of supplies to use slowly, over time. This will allow you the time to get to know the intricacies of each supply while also building a relationship with them and the practice as a whole.

The tools you want to use will depend on the vision you want to bring forth. There are times I am trying to engage my imagination and develop ideas, and I find myself drawing or writing more. Other times, when I am looking for images and colors to evoke a feeling or sense, collage and stickers have proven useful.

The importance here is remembering that ease in your body, heart, and mind will lead to a nourishing journal practice. It will be difficult to step into a flow state and enact our magick if our mind is preoccupied with the fact we have spent all of our money on supplies (I say this with no judgment as I have spent more than my fair share of money on journaling supplies).

The point I am trying to make is that it’s easy to get caught up in the comparison of social media and feeling as though our work should look like everyone else’s. Let me put those worries to rest.

Whatever you create is a manifestation of the truest, most authentic version of you. That, my friend, is the magick. We are tapping into the creativity field and channeling that which only we can channel.

This is partially why this book is a collection of ideas and formats, rather than walking through specific projects. It’s important to follow the impulse that arises when you read a specific idea or think about a certain concept. Allow that inner voice to come through. With daily practice, it will come through louder and clearer. You will find yourself amazed at the collection of work that blossoms from this approach.

Give yourself permission to be amazed.

Practice: Self-Contract

Copy this contract, or create one that is similar to it, to be put into your journal. Do this on the first page of your journal. It will serve you well in helping to set up the notebook, and will be used later for transferring into a new notebook. This will serve as a reminder of the intention we are setting for this work, as well as entering into an agreement with the notebook itself.

I, , vow to approach this work as my most audacious, fearless, true version of myself within that moment of time. I promise to myself, here and now, to remain open to possibility, and to experiment with the different technologies presented in this text. I will remember to take the work that resonates, and leave the rest, as not everything is meant for everyone. Finally, I will remember spending money on supplies is not the currency of magickal power. In doing so, I will remain flexible in what I am attempting to do.

Preparing Your Tools

If you have a small collection of tools you know you will be using strictly for the purposes of your magickal journal, you might consider consecrating them

To consecrate something means to put it through a process and initiate it into its sacred purpose.

How you choose to do this is up to you. There are several common ways to consecrate an object. Smoke is a popular choice. I am partial to frankincense incense. You could also anoint your objects with oil or blessed water. You could write a small incantation to speak over your objects.

Another practice that might be helpful is when your journal, pen, and other objects are not in use, you can leave them on your altar if you have such a space. An altar can be as simple as a white candle you light before your sacred practices. It can also have icons of devotion, and items that connect you to various elements, gods, goddesses, spirits, etc. Leaving your tools on the altar will help to charge them.

I also find I like to keep my journal with me a lot of the time. When I carry my tools, it helps me to feel connected with them, and fosters a deeper relationship. I can pull out my journal during down times while I’m out, such as waiting at the doctor’s office, and write or draw. This provides more energy to the entire working, and only strengthens it over time.

If we’re trying to build energy into our journaling practice to cultivate more potent magick, we also must discuss the power of creating our own tools.

I want to add a note here and say this is completely optional. This is an accessible and easy-to-learn option, however if it feels overwhelming in any way, do not allow it to hinder you from building your practice.

Creating your own tool can add extra intention and energy into a tool you’ll already be spending a lot of time with. Going about this process intentionally will foster a foundation of greater connection with the journal. Finding the paper and substrate for a cover can be a practice in personal preference. Using thread (any color that has powerful significance for you) to bind this journal only amplifies the building up of power. Consecrating each object before assembly adds to the sancity of your tools.

How do you make a journal? I am so glad you asked.

Practice: Making a Journal

My favorite way to make journals is using recycled materials and not being afraid to make it messy. I will share a basic methodology here. Know there is no shortage of online tutorials about creating and customizing your own notebook to use as a journal. This is simply your introduction to the beautiful magick of bookbinding. May it be enough of a teaser to pull you in further.

First, we’ll make the cover. To keep it simple, I will share how to make an A5 notebook. This is the standard, measuring at 5.83” x 8.27”. If you took a US letter paper (like a standard printer paper) and folded it in half (hamburger style, iykyk), that is the size of an A5 notebook. standard printer paper is 8.5” x 11”.

I would gather the papers you want to use. Sticking with printer paper may be a good start if you don’t have access to a lot of supplies. I like to use some of the Astrobright papers available at office stores. They have neon and pastel colors. I also like graph paper, but really it’s all about preference.

To start, collect about 20 pages of paper. We are making a single signature notebook, so you don’t want it to be too thick. If some of your paper is thicker (such as cardstock), you’ll want to lower the amount of pages you use.

A note about consecration

Depending on the process you’d like to follow, and time allowed, you could spend your time consecrating every single item that goes into making your book. This is not something I do, but it would add to the culmination of overall magick.

Do not fold your pages in half yet. Use them as a way to measure for your cover. The cover can be made with nearly anything. You can use recycled cardboard, a squishy packaging envelope, cardstock, or even two pieces of paper glued together. You also *techniquely* don’t need a cover, but let’s go through the process just for the sake of it. Find your cover, and aim for a size that has about a quarter inch to half inch of space past the edge of your paper. If you can’t find something that fits this on it’s own, you can cut down something larger.

I, personally, like to collage the outside and inside of my cover. You can use any assortment of papers, fabric and stickers for this. There have been times I have used a glue stick for this, you can also use matte medium or Mod Podge. If you choose to use these two, ensure you place a layer of glue on your substrate, place down your papers or stickers for collage, then add another layer on top.

A note about liquid glue

When using matte medium or Mod Podge, it’s important to know that it may cause some of the ink to smudge from your papers depending on what you’re using for your cover. If you have papers using water soluble tools, or if its paper with ink that’s not 100% waterproof, it may move color around on your cover. I have learned that, if this will bother me, that’s when I use a glue stick or tacky glue to place my images on the cardboard, and then I don’t add a layer on top. This provides a different tactile experience that I find satisfying, but again, it all comes down to preference.

Allow your cover to dry. If you’re using Mod Podge or matte medium, this can take at least two hours, but it also couldn’t hurt to leave it to dry overnight. How patient are you able to be? Turns out I am not super patient.

Once your cover is ready and dried, fold it in half. This is where a bone folder, or ruler, could come in handy. A bone folder is a bookbinding tool used for pressing down the crease of a fold to ensure it’s crisp. Again, a ruler can be used for this as well.

Now fold your pages. You’ll want to take the time to fold each individual page in half. This ensures a proper fold for each paper, and will help the book come together in a more uniform manner. Now, gather the pages together to make a book. Insert them into your folded cover, and use some clips on each corner to hold them in place.

This part is where you’ll need something sharp. The bookbinding tool used to poke holes is called an awl. It’s a sharp, metal rod. I have also used needles, really sharp scissors, or I’ve scavenged in our toolbox here at home to find something sufficiently sharp.

First, you’ll poke one hold in the middle of the spine. Next, you’ll poke a hole above and below the first, also along the spine. You should have three holes poked along the spine that are big enough for a needle and thread or yarn to be pulled through.

For a binding thread, I have used yarn, embroidery floss or waxed thread. Waxed thread is certainly the most sturdy, and if you purchase a beginners bookbinding kit, this will be included.

You’ll want to snip off enough thread so you’ll have enough to bind. If you measure out the width of our book three times with your thread, that should be a sufficient length.

You’ll need a needle that has a larger eye for threading. A darning needle works great. Thread your needle. From the inside of the booklet, insert the needle through the middle hole. Pull it through just enough so a little tail is left in the middle of your book. You may want to use washi tape to hold down the tail so you don’t accidentally pull it through.

Next, from the outside of the book, insert your needle through the top hole. Pull through so it’s taught, without pulling the tail through. The needle will then go through the bottom hole from the inside of the book. Finally, push the needle back through the middle hole from the outside of the book. There will already be your tail there, and a length of thread along the spine connecting top and bottom holes.

Once you pull your needle back through the middle hole, you can remove it from your thread. For extra secure binding, ensure your tail from the beginning is on one side of the length of thread mentioned previously, and the tail from the end is on the other side. Then, tie the two tails into a double knot. Snip them to the desire length, leaving enough space from the knot to ensure it doesn’t untie.

You have now made your very first journal!

I am going to share some YouTube series that I’ve done that are helpful with what we may be covering. The first is POCKETS, which is my journaling class where we make a journal from security envelopes. If the instructions I’ve provided are difficult for you, please check out this playlist. The second is Layered Intention. Here I share about and discuss the concept of energetic journaling. This is the foundation of spell-casting in our journals.

POCKETS

Check out this video specifically for video instruction on building your own journal.

Layered Intention

Paid Subscriptions are back on

I removed anyone who had previously paid for this newsletter and made them a free member as all memberships had expired. Once the school year is in full swing, I intend to start a Q&A, or group creative coaching sessions, where you all submit your questions and I film responses. This will be a paywalled podcast, also a recorded video. There may also be month ahead tarot art collective readings for paid members, but that would not begin until September.

Ko-Fi has tarot art readings, stickers, zines, and more

If you’d like to support the shop or like something I’ve shared, my many offerings are available here.

The First Essay from Strange Static is available

Read my essay on Jim Henson’s The Cube here.

The Newest Segment of Letters to Imaginary Friends is available

You can read the newest part on the Indigo Road here. You can find the entire archive of the Refraction Road adventure here.

My chapbook grace in every moment is available for sale! Signed copies are available on ko-fi

Buy my book: grace in every moment

The option to buy a signed copy is available here. These I will ship personally, and I usually include some extra thank you gifts.

Let’s Connect!

Website

Bookshop

Instagram

TikTok

Bluesky

Ko-fi

Redbubble

YouTube