Book of Shadows
Evan Badr
In recent years there has been a renewed and growing societal interest in previously taboo ideas of the occult, the mystical and the otherworldly. With fast moving technological advancements vastly increasing the knowledge and information available to people around the world, there comes a distinct curiosity related to the ideas and practices that cannot yet be explained with modern knowledge. This, paired with the freedom to study traditionally “blasphemous” practices due to an increasingly secular world view, has led to a resurgence of interest in lost historical religious practices. With this comes the need for a resource that tells of the history, practices, holidays and traditions of neo-paganism in an accurate and contextually respectful representation. By building a witches grimoire using the collective patchwork texts of The Book of Shadows by the “founder” of modern Wicca Gerald Gardner, a good basis of information can be created for anyone looking to delve into the Wiccan practices of old and modern times. This grimoire allows one to begin to create or discover their own spells that can be added to the empty second half of the book, thus morphing a concrete text into a living tome filled with the findings and collections of whoever possesses it.