Dollar Store Paganism: Book of Shadows

Here I will list how one can practice their Pagan system on a shoestring budget...you don't have to be a millionaire in order to be a Pagan. YAY!!

Book of Shadows

Now, I know not everyone uses a book of shadows...or if they do, they don't call it that, but that's beside the point. In most Pagan systems, practitioners have notebooks in which they write anything from rituals to spells, any divination practices they may do, to even just journaling about the progress of their practice. 

Image from "simplyshoeboxes.com"

But these notebooks need not be overly elaborate, or even overly expensive. I know it's fun to want these elaborate tomes to put your information in, but most of these "tomes" are hard bound (the pages are sewn and glued together), and if you make a mistake on one page...you're done. The artistic nature of the information or the "power" it has is lost because you focus on that one mistake. Here's where cheap notebooks come into play. 

1) They come in a LOT of fun colors and designs (who says Pagan notebooks or Books of Shadows have to only come in black??)

2) If you make a mistake, nothing a little white out tape can't fix (and is fairly inconspicuous)

3) AND...if you make a MAJOR mistake that whiteout can't fix, you can just rip the page out and start again (without leaving jagged edges or compromising the structure of your book).

Now, if you're the artistic type you can always make an alternative cover later on. If the book is wire bound, it's not that difficult to remove the wire binding to add this alternative cover. You can bind it in your own way using either "Chicago" screws (post-bound screws popular with scrapbooks), or binding the book together using strong thread or thick string by threading the string through and around the holes already made in the book. Or...you can re-use the wire that came with the notebook.

Alternatively you CAN use hard bound notebooks, like Composition notebooks, as a rough copy for your book. You can also decorate the cover as you like, either by painting it, gluing decorative paper onto it, using various glues, pens, markers, etc.

A cheap, dollar store note book can become a super meaningful addition to your practice...there's no need to go out and purchase a $500 book (at least right away).

Dollar stores even offer decorative options as well, with a variety of stickers and scrapbook embellishments to use to add artistic flair to your pages. You can even purchase books or magazines dedicated to nature, animals, etc to add to your books.

Don't think that your book of shadows needs to be made with high quality, expensive materials. Its your book, make it within your means...don't go broke.