Creating a Physical Grimoire Without Artistic Talent
- Marisela G.
- Jun 26, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 26, 2018
Anyone passionately enamored with anything "witchy" like me knows that the massive, tome-like grimoires or Book of Shadows in shows such as Charmed, Salem, and even Sabrina the Teenage Witch are some of the most inspiring television props to be created in the fantasy genre. It's easy to get carried away in a romantic boat of make-believe where we somehow learn to bind books, write flawless calligraphy in a foreign hand, and acquire medieval-monk level illustration techniques overnight. Ah, won't it be great once I have a giant dusty book of my own to draw knowledge from?
Unfortunately, most of us are only gifted with a mediocre level of talent in one of the above areas, causing us to end up with a product that feels unfinished, or just plain ugly. So if appearance is something you feel is important in your book of shadows, read on! As someone who has been through this process numerous times, allow me to share some of the things I learned about actually getting down and dirty with the pen-and-ink (or the keyboard of your computer) and how to compensate for those areas of art and book composition that you just don't know where to start with. Disclaimer: A grimoire is something very personal, and is unique to every person like a thumbprint. Aesthetics are not necessary in any capacity to make one grimoire more valid, or more useful than the other.
Picking Your Book:
Assuming that you don't want to bind a book by hand with goat leather and marbled pages (more on that in a future post), this can be one of the hardest parts of starting the process. Since a grimoire is something of a magical, spiritual journal, it should be fitted to your lifestyle. Someone with kids might be more inclined to have their book made of thicker pages and a hard cover, or even have the pages laminated and hole-punched to protect from sticky fingers and spills in a binder. Someone who travels a lot would probably lean towards smaller, lightweight books to fit in their carry-on without breaking any airline weight limits. With that in mind, here are some potential vessels for all that hard-studied material you want to record:
Small: For the mobile, on-the-go witch
Moleskine Classics - Great for a very abbreviated grimoire, or one you would like to split into a series, i.e. one subject per notebook.
Index Cards - No, seriously! A single hole-punch in one of the corners of each card and a ribbon or ring clamp can make a quick-reference guide for rituals, prayers, etc.
Medium: It'll fit most bookshelves and won't take up your whole desk
Rustico - Their notebooks are a bit pricy, going for about $40-$50 per notebook, but if you're looking for something made of real leather, I find that these fit the bill. They also have refillable inserts.
Padfolio - These come in various sizes and can be useful if you want to keep things like a small wand or other materials with your notes.
Faux Leather - If you like to support at-home artists, and don't like the idea of real animal leather, give these Etsy shops a try! They have some great options for faux leather journals of most every size and color for decent prices.
Large/Ornate: For the real heavy-hitters. I recommend drafting whatever you'll write in these on another sheet of paper first, then copying it into the book as they can be very expensive.
Jenni Bick - There's certainly no lack of options on this site, from small, ribbon-wrapped journals to 10x14 inch monstrosities with embossment.
Oberon Design - Very detailed, very expensive. I certainly can't afford them, but if you have some money saved up, these are some of the most durable that I've come across. A friend of mine has owned one for years and it still looks brand new.
The Money Savers: You know, for people like me that don't have money coming out of their ears (Or are just trying to save).
Spiral Notebooks, Composition Books, Index Cards, and even the product of one of my first ventures-- two pieces of cardboard with holes and paper in between tied together with string. Your grimoire does NOT have to be made of "genuine Italian leather handcrafted in the hills of Florence" to be useful! The point is to have all of your magical needs in one place for reference.
Decorating the Covers
For me, the most exciting part of starting a new Book of Shadows is decorating the cover and doing all of the protection/invisibility spells for your new companion. You can plan out a design beforehand, or just start painting and ironing until you feel it's complete.
For leather journals, you can use acrylic paint and stencils if you don't feel confident in your freehand abilities. With this technique, I like to layer some floral patterns over leaf-like patterns, including the shapes of faeries, gargoyles, and the like. It's a lot easier to add details later to an existing shape and use it as a guide than try to copy an image from the internet, squinting at your computer for hours. With leather, you can also get gold leaf and your favorite stamp and create designs along the edges of the covers or the binding.
Cloth, and even some paper/cardboard cover journals take fairly well to iron-on designs (just be careful not to set it on fire or burn it!). The glue-on decorations that are typically for scrapbooking that you can find at Michael's or Hobby Lobby can add some 3-D effects too, for example. For cardboard, you might even
cut the edges into a unique shape and decorate it like that for an only-you design.
Don't forget about texture! Take scraps of fabric of different colors and textures and glue them willy-nilly about the book to provide a full sensory experience (I even drip a couple drops of my favorite essential oils or perfumes onto cloth covers to give them a nice smell and charge their properties!) Just be careful with some essential oils, they can be very strong and potentially burn your skin if left on or undiluted. Do your research!
If your grimoire has a theme, say, you have dedicated it for plant magick only, the cover could be themed as such with images of gods or goddesses corresponding to gardening and fertility, or pressed flowers could be glued to the insides.
The most important thing is to let your imagination fly. Don't be afraid to try different, unorthodox methods to get your book to be completely yours. After all, we're making these books because we are unorthodox!
There you have it! These are just some ideas for getting that mystical book started. Part two of this post will include some ways to make your pages as colorful and magical as the outside, along with ways to protect your book from prying eyes, cleanse it of negative energy, or dedicate it for different purposes. If there's anything else you'd like to see in future posts, feel free to leave me a message!
Blessed Be!
Marisela G.
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