Book of Shadows
A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious text and instructions for
Initially, when Wicca was still dominated by
Numerous associations and traditions have since grown up around the Book of Shadows. Traditionally, "a Witch's book of shadows is destroyed upon death."[2] It can be an experimental practice, everyday ritual works, or a record of magic. This is also a book of inspiration and can be used in future rituals. The concept of the Book of Shadows has subsequently appeared in popular culture, for instance being used in the American television series Charmed, which popularised the Book of Shadows.
History
Origins
Gerald Gardner, the "father of Wicca", first introduced the Book of Shadows to people that he had initiated into the craft through his
Gerald Gardner did not mention any such thing as a "Book of Shadows" in his fictitious 1949-novel about mediaeval witchcraft, High Magic's Aid. High Priestess Doreen Valiente claimed that this was because at the time, Gardner had not yet conceived of the idea, and only invented it after writing his novel.
Valiente made the claim that Gardner found the term "Book of Shadows" from a 1949 edition (Volume I, Number 3) of a magazine known as The Occult Observer. In this edition, she claimed, was an advertisement for Gardner's novel, High Magic's Aid, which was opposite an article titled "The Book of Shadows" written by the palmist Mir Bashir. The article in question was about an allegedly ancient Sanskrit divination manual which explained how to foretell things based upon the length of a person's shadow.[3] Valiente theorised that Gardner then adopted this term for his Witches' grimoire. She maintained that "It was a good name, and it is a good name still, wherever Gardner found it".[3]
A leather bound manuscript written in Gardner's handwriting that was titled Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical was later found amongst his papers from the Museum after his death by
Some people have taken this as evidence that Gardner invented the idea of a Witches' Grimoire, perhaps sometime between 1946 (when he finished his novel High Magic's Aid), and 1949, and had named it Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical. In 1949, he had renamed it to the Book of Shadows, and soon began to make use of it with his Bricket Wood Coven.
Adding weight to the evidence indicating Gardner invented the Book was that other Neo-pagan witches of the time, such as
Valiente's rewriting
In 1953, Doreen Valiente joined Gardner's Bricket Wood coven, and soon rose to become its High Priestess. She noticed how much of the material in his Book of Shadows was taken not from ancient sources as Gardner had initially claimed, but from the works of the occultist Aleister Crowley, from Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, from the Key of Solomon and also from the rituals of Freemasonry.[8] She confronted Gardner with this, who admitted that the text he had received from the New Forest coven had been fragmentary and he had had to fill much of it using various sources. He also stated that "well, if you think you can do any better, go ahead",[9] and Valiente thought that she could, later stating that:
I accepted the challenge and set out to rewrite the Book of Shadows, cutting out the Crowleyanity as much as I could and trying to bring it back to what I felt was, if not so elaborate as Crowley's phraseology, at least our own and in our own words.[9]
Valiente rewrote much of it, cutting out a lot of sections that had come from Crowley (whose negative reputation she feared), though retaining parts that originated with Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, which she felt was genuine witchcraft practice. Valiente dramatically rewrote sections such as the Charge of the Goddess and also wrote several poems for the book, such as The Witches Rune. She also helped to create a poem to include the Wiccan Rede within it.[10]
Valiente also noticed that a chant in one ritual in the book was based upon the poem "A Tree Song" from Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling, which she had enjoyed as a child.[11] The chant in question stated that:
- Oh, do not tell the priest our plight,
- Or he would call it sin;
- But - we have been in the woods all night,
- A-conjuring summer in !
- And we bring you news by word of mouth -
- Good news for cattle and corn -
- Now is the Sun come up from the South,
- With Oak, and Ash, and Thorn![12]
(These eight lines are exactly the final stanza of "A Tree Song".)
This version of the ritual, written by both Gardner and Valiente, but containing sections adopted from various sources, such as Aleister Crowley, Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, and even Rudyard Kipling, went on to become the traditional text for Gardnerian Wicca.
In British Traditional Wicca
In forms of
Although his own book had been put together with the help of Doreen Valiente and included material from a variety of modern sources, (notably from Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches and the writings of Aleister Crowley) it also included sections written in an antique (or mock-antique) style, including advice for witches brought to trial and tortured. Gardner claimed that these sections were genuinely historical in origin, and that witches had not been allowed to write anything down until recently, to avoid incrimination; when at last Books of Shadows were allowed, the rituals and spells had to be written in a jumbled manner to prevent any non-initiate from using them.[13] More recent scholars however have doubted their authenticity.
It seems likely that Gardner told his three subsequent initiatory lines that the book should be copied word for word, and Wiccans descended from Eleanor Bone, Patricia Crowther and Monique Wilson have widely believed that the book was of ancient provenance.[13][14]
Contemporary usage
There sometimes exist two Books of Shadows kept by more traditional Wiccans, one being a coven book of core rituals and practises which remains unchanged and from which new initiates copy, and the second, intended for personal use, which differs from witch to witch and contains magical material collected by the initiate, such as
Publication
After Gardner's death, his rival, Charles Cardell, published much of the material from the Gardnerian Book of Shadows. In the 1970s, the then Alexandrians Janet Farrar and Stewart Farrar decided, with the consent of Doreen Valiente, that much of the Gardnerian book should be published in its true form. Much of it was published by the Farrars in their 1984 book The Witches' Way.
In Eclectic Wicca
In non-traditional or "eclectic" forms of Wiccan or
Other traditions
Not all traditions of Wicca utilize the term "Book of Shadows". In Seax-Wica, a tradition founded by Raymond Buckland, the Book of Shadows is called "The Tree", and in Devotional Wicca, the book is titled "The Book of Ways"; many traditions refer to their Books of Shadows as simply "The Book".
In popular culture
The television fantasy series Charmed features a fictional Book of Shadows which contains spells and arcane law, and has a supernatural ability to defend itself from harm. In the 1996 film The Craft, which some critics saw as a major influence on the series Charmed,[17][18] the Book of Shadows was referred to as an object in which a witch keeps her "power thoughts".
The 2000 sequel to
In the 2011 television series, The Secret Circle each family is shown to have their own "Book of Shadows", with each book containing unique spells. As the book is passed down from generation to generation, each generation appears to write their own spells or notes, as indicated by Cassie's recognition of her mother's handwriting in her own family's "Book of Shadows".
The Japanese horror adventure game Corpse Party: Book of Shadows deals with the eponymous book during its final chapter, in which it is revealed to be an actual Book of Shadows very much in keeping with the description in this article (albeit in the game, there is only one Book of Shadows that exists, containing a complete chronicle of all spells that exist in the entire world, be they Wiccan or not). The Book of Shadows returns in Corpse Party: Blood Drive where it becomes a key element to the story throughout the game.
In the Australian television series Nowhere Boys two characters are known to possess a Book of Shadows. One being one of the protagonists, Felix Ferne, and one being an antagonist, Alice Hartley. Felix's book was first thought to be his diary as he tried to hide its true existence from his friends, and Alice's book was thought to be her sister's.
In the fifth edition of roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons, members of the warlock class can gain a Book of Shadows, which enables them to learn extra spells and rituals regardless of whether or not such magic is ordinarily accessible through the warlock class.
In the roguelike Binding of Isaac, the Book of Shadows is featured as an active item the player can find. When used, it grants the player invulnerability which lasts for 10 seconds. It can be used multiple times as long as the player can recharge it by clearing hostile rooms/waves or by manually charging the item by other means.
References
Footnotes
- ^ Guiley 2008. p. 35.
- ^ Guiley 2008. p. 36.
- ^ a b Valiente, Doreen (1989). The Rebirth of Witchcraft. Hale. Page 51
- ^ Crafting the Art of Magic: Book I, Aidan Kelly, page xvii, Llewellyn Publications, 1991
- ^ "Gerald Gardner – Ye Book of Ye Art Magical". Rare Wiccan Books of Shadows. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Doreen Valiente, page 58
- ^ Valiente, Doreen (1990). Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed. Hale. Page 8
- ^ The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Doreen Valiente, page 54-55
- ^ a b The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Doreen Valiente, page 61
- ^ Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (1999) The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. p348.
- ^ The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Doreen Valiente, page 54
- ^ The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Doreen Valiente, page 55
- ^ ISBN 0-9547230-1-5.
- ISBN 0-9547230-1-5.
- ^ Sanders, Maxine. "A Talk by Maxine Sanders" part 1, Witchcraft and Wicca Issue 3, p. 4. London: Children of Artemis.
- ^ Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, Llewellyn Books, pp. 79-80.
- ^ Cullum, Judge Brett (2005-02-02). "Charmed: The Complete First Season". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
- ^ "Charmed: The Complete First Season". DVD Times. 2005-02-18. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
- ^ "Net debut for Blair Witch 2 trailer". The Guardian. September 29, 2000. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ "Wow, they made a whole movie about the book from Charmed!". The 11th Hour Web Magazine. 2000. Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-8160-7104-3.