Witchy Terms
Grimoire vs Book of Shadows
by Elder Tehilah Firewind
16 September 2017
Spend time becoming accustomed to occult sources on the web and elsewhere, and the terms “grimoire” and “book of shadows” will seem to be essentially interchangeable. Each appears to refer to some kind of magical journal in which practices, magical experiences, and knowledge are recorded, but the exact difference between the two is less apparent. Some differentiate them by keeping one for personal information and the other for public information, but there appears to be no consensus as to which is which, and every group or individual seems to have their own definition of each term. Perhaps by reviewing the etymology or roots of these terms, it can become clear how each should be used.
The term “grimoire” does not have any one clear origin. In order to understand how this could be the case, some understanding of linguistics is required. The term originates from an ancient region known as “Gaul”, which was originally settled tens of thousands of years ago by ancient peoples migrating from the northern mesopotamian regions. Gaul is the region where all roads meet in Europe, so it was never consistently ruled by any one culture for too long. Sure enough, Gaul steadily became home to more and more proto-Celtic-language speakers, and by around 500 B.C., thousands of small Celtic clans had settled into this region. Led religiously by priests known as Druids (proto-Celtic “druwits”, or “oak-knowers”), these clans never unified having too many differences in religion and practice to easily come together.
When Julius Caesar invaded in the early days after the death of Christ, something like 1 in 5 Gauls were killed, while another 1 in 5 were enslaved (though these numbers can’t be stated with certainty), and still more fled across the waters into what is now Ireland and Britain, bringing their distinct form of Gaulish practice back to the other Celts who had originally continued on to Briton. Shortly after this, the Roman empire took control of Gaul, and Latin become a required language for all citizens.
With this context in mind, it can be understood what “grimoire” meant to the Gauls left in the region. The Frankish root “grima”, meaning “mask” or “sorcerer”, became crossed with the Latin word “grammatica” (which actually originally comes from Greek originally), meaning “grammar”. Old French adopted directly the word “gramaire” to mean “grammar”. However, due to the staunch distaste Gaul’s had of Roman religious dogma, particularly the heavy focus on Christianity coming forth in Latin-bound books, the term “grimaire” became popular slang amongst Druids for referring to the “lesser religion’s” texts, which were seen as poorly constructed instruction manuals for only the most basic of spiritual practices.
The magic of the Druids was legendary, but they were not fond of writing down their religious practices. More commonly, they organized their traditions into poems or ballads to be remembered and performed at great village gatherings. The incoming Latin bound books of primarily Christian-themed ritual was particularly distasteful to the already vagabond group of remaining Gauls. The Francophone locals, with their vulgar based version of Latin and strong ties to their Germanic and Celtic roots, took to calling all works of religion written in Latin “grimoires”, basic instructions similar in every way to the basic rules of language (it was like a pun).
Eventually, Christianity won out, and was adopted by the majority in the region. Druidic culture was pushed out and up into Southern Ireland and Britain almost entirely. Some actually headed off towards the Iberian penninsula as well, affecting the evolution of the Gallacian region. Grimoires were demonized, condemned as dangerous books which led to Satanic worship (or “diabolical acts”) and acts of maleficia (or “pure evil”). As science progressed and religious dogma began to wane in the region, the negative connotations of the term faded and people instead grew indifferent to its use.
In modern times, the term “grimoire” is often used to refer to religious texts meant for instruction or personal reference. For example, a grimoire might contain lists of herbs and their magical uses, the means to identify each herb, and any dangers associated with harvesting the plants. A grimoire might also contain spell or ritual instruction, astrological charts, or any kind of information which is hard to remember and which the keeper of the book may want to reference.
The term “book of shadows” as used by modern occultists first appeared out of Gardner’s writings in the early 1950s. There is an anecdote from Doreen Valiente, the High Priestess of his coven, that this terminology was inspired by the title of an article in an occult-themed magazine which referred to an entirely different topic. She says after that publication, which appeared opposite from one of Gardner’s own contributions to the magazine, Gardner began to use the term “Book of Shadows” to refer to a journal of his own making which documented any and all of his Bricket Wood coven rituals, practices, and beliefs.
In modern times, the term “book of shadows” is used to refer to a religious or spiritual journal, where seekers of the mysteries keep track of their practices and ritual experiences. There may be spells, recipes, ritual design, and even to some extent reference material; however, in this case, the reference material is less about things known to many, and more about referencing past experiences for inspiration and self improvement. For instance, in the Gardenarian Book of Shadows (now available for publication), there are some rituals defined early on which are later redefined again. This is because Gardner referenced the earlier rituals and then designed slightly modified versions based on what worked and what didn’t work the first time.
In traditional covens, there is one book of shadows for the whole coven, which everyone copies from during their studies (sometimes after dedicating and before initiating, and sometimes only after initiating). Most keep a second book just for themselves detailing their own private practice, but some refrain from calling this a book of shadows. The term “book of mirrors” is used very similarly to refer to a diary of one’s psychic experiences. Many who are in traditional covens would have their copy of the coven book of shadows and a personal book of mirrors where they write dreams, predictions, conversations with deity, epiphanies, signs, and so forth.
So to summarize, the term “grimoire” has very ancient roots, and refers to reference material used for any kind of magical or spiritual practice. The term “book of shadows” hails from the mid 20th century Wiccan movement, and refers to any kind of magical or spiritual journal wherein one can reference their own (or their coven’s) past experiences with spell and ritual design. The lesser known term “book of mirrors” is just like a book of shadows, but instead of referencing past magical or spiritual acts, it instead allows for reference of past experiences and psychic knowledge. There is no one way to use any of these terms, so of course, how you make use of these is up to you! Blessed be!