Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

[your_illusion97]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

I know, I never liked the term BOS, but that's technically what a magickal journal would be called. I would never actually put "Book of Shadows" on the cover of my BOS though haha.

Well, it can be something to organize your thoughts on certain subjects. Subject including, but not limited to:
Your personal laws and rules,
What you believe in,
Anything about your deity,
Spells, rituals, and prayers,
Crystals, herbs, etc.
Tarot, astrology, palm reading, ect.
Quotes and passages,

Anything else your mind can come up with. It doesn't have to follow the order or include all those things. It's more of a tool to help you, so as long as you can record, organize, and read it in a way that makes sense to you, that's all that matters.

Wold you reccomend getting more than one Notebook or BOS as such. I am about to start reading Wikka: A year and a day and thought I might devote a journal to that. Then I want to learn Tarot, so maybe one for that as well, and maybe one for diety. Is that ok? I have 4 lined journals and a bigger unlined one. Which should I use for what? Like would the unlined one be good for my studying along wi th the book?

[Jembru]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

I keep a seperate journal where I record experiences, dreams, brain farts, draught spells, and write about excersises I've been told to do by books I'm reading. I call this my 'book of illumination' (very cheesy). When things work, or ring true for me, I then record them permanently in my BOS, so the illuminations that are the brightest flashes of inspiration, that really stand out, cast shadows that are recorded forever in my BOS!

This way, my BOS is a collection of Truths (although I do change my mind so I have things I no longer believe written in my BOS), while my BOI (which I pronounce like 'boy') is more like a rough workbook or scribble pad of trial and error. It keeps my BOS neater, stops me wasting time decorating pointless entries and saves me money on hardback blank art books. My BOI is also hardback and A4, but the paper is very thin so there are many many more pages. I also don't need to decorate these entries so they take up far less space. The result being that although I have filled almost 4 Books of Shadows over 13 years, I still haven't filled my first BOI and have plenty pages left!!

[DeadJellyfish]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

Wold you reccomend getting more than one Notebook or BOS as such. I am about to start reading Wikka: A year and a day and thought I might devote a journal to that. Then I want to learn Tarot, so maybe one for that as well, and maybe one for diety. Is that ok? I have 4 lined journals and a bigger unlined one. Which should I use for what? Like would the unlined one be good for my studying along wi th the book?

It's up to you. There aren't any rules, just guidelines. Go ahead and have separate books if it's easier for you I just like to have one book because it's easier for me to have everything in one place. If you're using an unlined book, perhaps that would be a good book for sketches and charts. For example, sketching herbs, drawing astrology charts, drawing your deity. Whatever you want.

[njsquarebear]

My personal laws and rules,

What I believe in,

Anything about my deity,

- Spells, rituals, and prayers,

Crystals, herbs, etc.

- Tarot, astrology, palm reading, etc.

Quotes and passages,

- Experiences,

Dreams,

Website print-outs.


Btw, the above are all taken from previous posts, by others, in this thread, so I very much thank the folks who wrote it originally. What do I plan to add?

Whenever I read books (comfortably on the couch) or articles on the web, I ALWAYS have a separate little notebook (for the former) and a Word Doc (for the latter) at the same time, to jot down words, phrases, book titles, websites, short quotes that I'm unfamiliar with, want to remember, or want to do further research on. For instance just in reading PF the first day, I jotted these words down:


Mabinogian

Brigid / Brigit / St. Brigid (Ireland)

Folk Christianity

Christian Mysticism

Greek Mystery Tradition / Hermeticism / Ceremonial Magic

Pelagius (man who countered Saint Augustine)

- "Mythos" lectures by Joseph Campbell

- Cernunos / horned god / horned one / Herne

Pagan ForumPFThank Goddess!

[Aeran]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

I just use standard ruled notepads. They get a bit messy and I lose track of what is where, but I tried to go digital and it just isn't the same when you're taking short notes or just brainstorming or jotting down diagrams and symbols.

[TheAdvocate]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

I use a 3-ring binder for my BOS but I call it a "Grimiore". I don't really have much written in it.

[Jera]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

I have the same issue with record keeping: every journal or BOS I start ends up in pieces in the bin, and I don't know why :-(
I keep trying though, and maybe eventually I'll get it right

[Aeran]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

Yeah it can definitely be a pain. I have the same issue with recording daily practice, I know it's supposed to be really important but it just feels like another 5 or 10 minutes I could spend actually, you know, practicing. Sigh.

[TheAdvocate]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

I have to admit I'm real lazy with writing things in my Grimiore. I don't know why I am though.

[njsquarebear]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

Discipline... I try to set aside a specific time to update my 'journal' each week (I'll be doing it right after this email, LOL) If I don't make the time then the papers etc. will get lost and poss. thrown out when I'm not thinking and just in 'super throw-out' mode. I try to remember how aggravated I get when I can't find a piece of info. I need. I try to remember that I can't know how well I'm progressing on this path unless I have tangible evidence of where I've been and when?

I've been evaluating whether I have 'right stuff' (to quote a popular movie) to begin the ADF (Druid) Dedicant's Path training program. It'll require so many different kinds of writing and journaling which'll need lots of organization while I'm working on this (as my mother would say, "Chinese Puzzle") for the next 1-1/2 years probably. I sympathize with y'all... as I see it, it does come down to discipline and prioritizing though?

[TheAdvocate]

Re: Journals, Logs, Diaries, and BOS

I suppose it does, njsquarebear. I'm good with discipline but me, and organzing(and prioritizing) have never got along to well. But tonight I plan on writing in Grimiore, and I will see it through.