What to Put in a Book of Shadows: A Page-by-Page Guide
Most people who search for this already know what a Book of Shadows is. They have the book, or the binder, or an empty notes app, and they are stuck on the first page. After that it is mostly filing.
What follows is a working contents list. There is no one true layout. This is simply the order that tends to stay useful after the first month, when the decorative energy runs out.
Three pages to make before anything else
Leave the first three pages for structure. You can fill them in pencil and fix them later.
A dedication or opening page
Your name or a craft name, the date you started, and a sentence about why you are keeping the book. Some people write a short blessing or a protection line here. Keep it short; you will read it every time you open the book.
A contents page
List the sections below with a page range for each. In a bound book, leave gaps between sections so they can grow. Twenty blank pages after the herb section is not waste.
A key
The symbols and abbreviations you will use: a crescent for waxing, a filled circle for full, a star for results that worked, a cross for ones that did not. A key makes the later pages faster to write and easier to read a year from now.
The core sections, page by page
Books and pages to start with
Moon phases
One page for each of the eight phases with what you use it for, plus a running list of the year's full and new moon dates. Copy the dates from our 2027 moon phase calendar so the whole year is in one place. If the moon is the center of your practice, a dedicated moon magic journal can take this section out of the main book entirely.
Herbs
One herb per entry: common name, Latin name, what you use it for, how you use it, and any safety notes. That last field matters. Several common magical herbs are toxic to eat or to pets, and a note in your own hand is the one you will see. Start with herbs you own. Our guide to herbal witchcraft is a reasonable first list.
Crystals
The same format: name, what it is used for, how to cleanse it, and whether water or sunlight will damage it. Selenite dissolves, amethyst fades. Crystal magic 101 covers the basics if your collection is new.
Colors
A single page is enough: each candle or cord color and what you use it for. See color magic for the common associations, then cross out the ones that do not match your own experience.
Days of the week
Seven lines, each with its planet and the work it suits. Monday and the moon, Tuesday and Mars, and so on.
The sabbats
One spread per sabbat: the date, its themes, what you did last year, and what you want to try next time. Start with whichever sabbat is coming up. Our Yule Book of Shadows pages show what one finished spread looks like, and the Wheel of the Year guide fills in the other seven.
Spells you have actually done
This is the most valuable section and the one most often skipped. For every spell: the date, moon phase, what you used, what you said, how you felt, and a results line you come back to fill in a week or a month later. A spell book full of copied spells is a reference. A spell log with results is a record of your own practice. If you are writing your own, how to write your own spells goes step by step.
Rituals
Your circle casting, your opening and closing words, and any full rituals you repeat. Write them out in full once, then refer back instead of copying them every time.
Tarot and divination log
Date, question, spread, cards, your first reading, and what happened. Over a year the log shows which cards keep turning up for you. Keep a full list of card meanings to hand rather than copying all 78 into the book.
Dreams
Short entries, written as soon as you wake: date, moon phase, images, feelings. Many people keep this in a separate notebook by the bed and copy only the notable dreams across. Dream magic has more on working with them.
Deities and figures you work with
One page per deity or figure: their stories, symbols, offerings you have given, and what you noticed. Keep what you have read and what you have experienced in separate columns.
A simple index
The last few pages. Every time you add an entry worth finding again, write a keyword and a page number. Ten seconds per entry saves ten minutes of flipping later.
Binder, bound book or digital
A ring binder is the practical choice for most beginners. Pages move, sections grow, and mistakes come out. Printed pages slot straight in; a set like the Book of Shadows printable starter pages or the magical herbs printable covers the reference sections so your handwritten pages can go to spells and logs.
A bound book feels more serious and lasts longer, but it punishes poor planning. If you choose one, use the gaps between sections described above, and keep a loose notebook for drafts. A ready-made book with some structure inside, such as the 77-page witchcraft grimoire, removes the blank-page problem altogether.
Digital is searchable and survives a spilled cup of tea, but it is easy to forget. Many practitioners end up with a hybrid: reference material in a file, personal records on paper.
How to start in one evening
Give it two hours.
- Write the dedication page and the key. Fifteen minutes.
- Sketch the contents page in pencil with the sections above. Ten minutes.
- Fill the colors page and the days of the week. Half an hour, from memory and one reference.
- Write up the last spell or ritual you did, with whatever results you remember. Twenty minutes.
- Copy this year's remaining full and new moon dates. Fifteen minutes.
- Start the index with what you just wrote.
That is enough for a working book. Herbs, crystals and deities fill in naturally as you use them. Trying to write it all in a week is how books get abandoned at page twelve.
One journal for the long run
Frequently Asked Questions About What to Put in a Book of Shadows
What should be on the first page of a Book of Shadows?
A dedication: your name or craft name, the start date and a line about why you are keeping it. Some people add a protection line or a short blessing. The contents page and a key of symbols usually follow.
Is a Book of Shadows the same as a grimoire?
The words are used loosely and often interchangeably. In general use a grimoire leans toward a reference book of spells and correspondences, while a Book of Shadows also holds personal records such as rituals, results and dreams.
Can I use printed pages in a Book of Shadows?
Yes. Printed reference pages for herbs, crystals and correspondences save time and free your handwritten pages for spell logs, dreams and rituals, which are the parts only you can write.
Does a Book of Shadows have to be handwritten?
No. Handwriting helps some people remember, but a typed or digital book is just as valid. What matters is that you keep it up and can find things in it.
Make the three structure pages, log the next spell you do with a results line, and leave the rest to grow. A Book of Shadows gets good by being used, not by being beautiful on day one.
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