Balsamic Moon moves into Taurus

"I'm one with the Goddess
and open to Her Wisdom."


29th Day of the 5th Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Hecate
Lunar Tree Cycle ~ Saille/Willow
28th Day of the Celtic Tree Month ~ Saille/Willow
Moon Phase: Balsamic - Dark
Moon rises: 4:51AM EDST
Moon sets: 7:24PM EDST
Moon in Aries v/c 12:11AM EDST
Moon enters the Fixed Earth Sign
of Taurus at 2:48AM EDST
Ceridwen's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: The times when
 things seemed hopeless but came right.
Sun in Taurus
Sunrise: 6:07AM EDST
Sunset: 8:25PM EDST
Solar Question for the Day: "What do
you appreciate most about your life?"
Beltaine (Calan Mai) Quarter of the Year
May 12th, 2010

The Moon moved into the Fixed Earth sign of Taurus early this morning in preparation for its New Moon phase tomorrow....the beginning of a new lunar cycle.  With the Sun in Taurus and the Moon also, we should be feeling really grounded today.  The energy flow during a Taurus transit is even and a time for us to experience the sensual.  After the mishaps and confusion of Mercury Retrograde now gone from our lives, we can appreciate an even energy flow - gives us a chance to catch our breath before this lunar cycle begins.  In the Seasons of the Witch datebook there is the notation that there are minor magickal energies for working in your Book of Shadows and to defend against psychic attacks.  There are grey cloudy skies outside here again this morning so this can be a good day to catch up in my BOS the workings and such I've done in the passing lunar cycle - to turn the page for tomorrow's New Moon and a new cycle.

Book of Shadows

A Book of Shadows is the individual Witch's record of the Rituals they perform and the Spells they work.  It may also include notes on divinations, meditations, dreams and even recipes. Books of Shadows are not to confused with what has become known as The Book of Shadows. This is actually the record of Gerald Gardner's Coven, and in reality is no more valid than the record of any other group.

  Many Covens require the keeping of a Book of Shadows to demonstrate commitment on the part of each person, and because it is a useful record of which workings have been done. Indeed, many Witches find that, however, arduous it may have been to complete in the early days, it soon becomes an invaluable reference. It is helpful if the record includes details of when and where workings took place, including day, time and phase of the Moon. It should also include information on how the individual felt and the results of the workings. What it should not include are details of other members of the group which would enable them to be identified should it fall into the hands of a non-member. Many Covens also insist that Books of Shadows should be kept in the almost forgotten art of handwriting. This is partly because bitter experience has taught some of us that the computer is not a reliable way of storing information. Even if you don't have the bad luck to experience problems caused by viruses or a crash, as software is upgraded you can easily find that your hard work becomes inaccessible.
[From Kate West's "The Real Witches' Year"]

    Myself I find that I like to keep a physical form of a Book of Shadows - I like doing little art work forms in it along with printed words.... yes, I type out the notes for BOS on the computer, print them out and then paste them into my BOS.  I guess you can view as being a combination of old and new methods.  Keeping an order to a BOS can be difficult if you are seeking a particular item and don't have an Index of where things are.  One of the ways I have learned to keep a bit of an order is to keep information in lunar cycle 'chapters'.  Lunar cycles follow each other in a steady order, and I keep what I have done during each one in a particular 'Cycle Chapter' and in the start of each chapter I go back at the end of the cycle and list by a title of some sort what occurred during that cycle.  Some chapters can seem a bit thin but I find this works best for me.  I also store informative essays that I learn from in each cycle chapter. For instance if I learn about a new Full Moon ritual I will enter that into the cycle chapter where I first read of it.  I may try not use it that particular cycle but it will be ready for me to refer to later and perhaps write up a description of its use in a later chapter. 

    Tho loose leaf binders are probably the best format in which to keep an ongoing BOS, you could arrange a bound book format to be used in perhaps a date year sequence. So that one bound book is date a certain year or years and then when it is full, move into another bound book and use that one until it is full.  Remember this is your own individual creation.  You can use as you feel comfortable with.  There are no grades on this project... LOL...