Huge journal/BoS

[Susurrus]

Oh those are good ones! I’ll have to see what else I have from my family that has passed.

One thing I received was a tote of dolls. Antique & vintage dolls… from 1930s & earlier. My kids were like, that is a box of nope. I have my grandfather’s trunk with his military ID & different items of his in it too. Some hand mirrors & personal mirrors that were my Great Grandmother’s.

But, I also have things from my father’s side. Pictures & my Grandmother’s jewelry mostly.

Some things I can’t keep. A few of the dolls I did. My mom collected Native American things, so they are on my altar to represent her.

I always think of her when I see them even though they were my Grandmother’s toys & she is technically my step mother… no relation to my Grandmother. The others I have wrapped & stored right now.

My great grandfather used to write everything down in the bible I have:

Marriages, Birthdays, Divorce, you name it, it’s in there.

Then I have a book that does one of my family lines & another one for direct descendants to another line that were given to me.

The first book, I have 1 of 2 copies. The Bible is the only copy & it’s the original, so thats packed up right now because I’m afraid to open it too much & tear pictures & pages. The other book is nationally published & current as of the early 1900s.

I’m going to have to go down a Pinterest Rabbit Hole

[jan_TheGreenWitch]

@Susurrus

I’m going to have to go down a Pinterest Rabbit Hole

Girl, you’re not kiddin’, you should see my Pinterest feed - I’m sure I’m not alone!!! I love all the history you were left. It’s cool to have time to look and think through different uses, representations and ways to honor their memory and your history.

[Amaris_Bane]

@Susurrus

that is a box of nope

Without seeing the dolls, I’m going to go ahead and agree with your kids, . I don’t know what it is about dolls, any dolls but especially antique/old ones, they creep me the hell out. I just can’t do it. Nope.

I was going to suggest something like a shadow box! My Aunt Shelly did that with my grandfather’s metals and awards from his time in the army and post office (he retired from both) after he passed away from lung cancer. She was the closest to him and was angry that he didn’t tell any one he had it until it was too late. Not like we would have forced him to do any treatment he didn’t want to do, but it was more we could have spent more time together knowing it would be shorter than we expected.

Sorry about the tangent. I love Pinterest for gaining inspiration for projects like that.

@Susurrus

I did receive a Family Bible

I think my mom received her family Bible. Not sure why as she’s adopted other than she’s the oldest girl in the family. Now I’m going to have to ask.

[jan_TheGreenWitch]

@Amaris_Bane

I’m going to go ahead and agree with your kids, . I don’t know what it is about dolls, any dolls but especially antique/old ones, they creep me the hell out. I just can’t do it. Nope.

I feel like it’s those old dolls and clowns that are so eerie, they make them to look so real AND CREEPY…. My dad had a huge clown collection my mother left to my brother once she passed (my dad passed years ago), and she knew to do that because we told her she didn’t dare leave them to us lol hahahahha.

@Amaris_Bane

My Aunt Shelly did that with my grandfather’s metals and awards from his time in the army

I did it with my father’s Air Force items, he was in WWII although we appeased my brother and gave him the flag from the funeral which made me sad, but I did get many other nice things. Long history there with my brother and I didn’t think he should get anything, but he did get that clown collection!!!

@Amaris_Bane

he didn’t tell any one he had it until it was too late. Not like we would have forced him to do any treatment he didn’t want to do, but it was more we could have spent more time together knowing it would be shorter than we expected.

Having cancer myself, it’s often very hard to tell loved ones you have cancer and especially if you know you’re going to die - you would think you would want to do one thing but then BAM!, you have it and you don’t do exactly what you thought you would do in those regards. My condolences on your grandfather and I hope everyone got to see him enough to love and closure in his last days.

@Amaris_Bane

I think my mom received her family Bible. Not sure why as she’s adopted other than she’s the oldest girl in the family.

My family left us about 30 bibles I $h!t you not and they all have family stuff, papers and a long genealogy in them. We lived in the Texas/Okla area, born in TX and raised in OK we were in the BIBLE FREAKING BELT! My mom lived there until 1.5 years before her passing and she was with my sister in TN after that, and they are Ulta Maga Christian Bible Belt Church of Christ. So it was weird that my sister didn’t want any of the Bible’s so I literally paired down to about 12 of them to keep with bibles in my family on both sides passed down through mid 1800. I was also adopted by this group of people, so my family grimoire was from another portion of my family and I was the lucky witch to get it! Oh the family stories.

OK, I know I’m typing a lot in these posts and posting a lot the last few days but I’m trying to take my mind off of the surgery and chemo tomorrow. Love to you all!!!

[Susurrus]

Lol… yeah, my kids & dolls & clowns… nope. I had to remove the tote from the living room. I have the ones I am going to keep, but I am going to be going through my basement & cleaning it out. We have Habitat for Humanity Restore for furniture. The dolls & vintage toys I’m just going to make a lot & sell on Max Sold, but we aren’t starting that until the fall. We have 20 years of just my family… nevermind the things accumulated over the years

My father’s 4th wife gave me this 3-foot-tall clown doll, we put it downstairs. One night my oldest went downstairs & didn’t turn all the lights on, so the light across from the doll made its eyes shimmer in the dark. He about jumped into my arms (17 years old at the time ) so that one was destroyed with a splitting maul… my son is terrified of porcelain dolls that are dressed as clowns… unfortunately for him, my Grandmother had a smaller one that she gave me when I was younger. Once I figured out he had an issue with the porcelain dolls I removed them from the first floor & put them in basement in their boxes.

Oh wow! My family bibles & books & history (pictures, documents, letters to loved ones, birthday cards, programs to plays & shows, pictures of the cast of plays way back then that my family played in a the time. They were colonial settlers in PA. Actually, my 20-something Great Grandfather is the founder of the Mennonite Church in PA. Bishop Hans Herr, I had a lot of clergy & military in my family. As well as politicians, lawyers, doctors, bakers, farmers, an Olympic gold medal winner for the track, a little of everything really

I have to go through some of my father’s things & see what else I have aside from furniture of his mother’s. She gave me some old pictures & jewelry & furniture & knick knacks… but she collected clowns… so they are porcelain collectibles of a famous clown whose name escapes me right now, but any other time, I would know it off the top of my head.

I also wound up with my Aunt’s things, she passed a few years ago. So I have her dolls… & a photo album that was supposed to stay with her husband… but my other Aunt took it & then left it at my mother’s house… so my mother kept it & when she passed away last August… it was in her things from the nursing home. However, her husband has passed away. Her son though, I feel like he should have it. It’s the only memories that his mother kept & right now he is a little lost.

He lost his mother & before 2 years passed lost his adopted father. So he went looking for his biological family & they don’t want anything to do with him. So I feel like he should have her things & decide what he would like to do with them. He has a small family and started & a career in the Navy. I think it would be good for him to have those things from her.

[Artemisia]

I really admire your journaling system! How you’ve organized and recorded thoughts and spells and knowledge is something to which I aspire.

I’ve always been a lover/collector of journals that started back when I kept a diary in grade school and continued into high school but somewhere along the way since then, I’ve lost track of the habit.

Currently I have a soft cover B5 notebook that carry with me that drawings, spells, tarot readings, shadow work, Lenormand study, and more are collected. My inclination is to have separate journals for separate tasks but then I’d be carrying 5 or 6 with me at all times

The other part is I’m pretty much in the closet / discrete at home, so putting everything in one makes it easier to keep things private.

Your system and longevity of it are very inspiring! Just the push I need to encourage me to get back to writing something daily.

[jan_TheGreenWitch]

@Artemisia

I really admire your journaling system! How you’ve organized and recorded thoughts and spells and knowledge is something to which I aspire.

Thank you, I have had a lot of trial and error actually and this is what just fell into place in my late 20’s and the system was honed over the years.

@Artemisia

I’ve always been a lover/collector of journals that started back when I kept a diary in grade school and continued into high school but somewhere along the way since then, I’ve lost track of the habit.

The love of reading, all things books and journaling is something I have done since I could nearly write — it was my escape and so personal and something I value more than any other inanimate object(s) - sounds like you have that ‘bug’ too.

@Artemisia

The other part is I’m pretty much in the closet / discrete at home, so putting everything in one makes it easier to keep things private.

The kicker of it is, is that most people don’t suspect anything and don’t read things I ask them too, let alone read things I don’t lol. So even hidden in plain sight is sometimes hidden for people you are around that don’t read or aren’t snoopy like that.

For my comrade witches in the broom closet, what we call the journal you have is a Commonplace Book or Journal which is something that dates back to Aristotle and the mid 300s BCE! Once you look into commonplace books, they are literally everywhere on the internet and YouTube and you can’t unsee how many there are! I love this ‘kid’ on YouTube and follow him and he has an episode I like on the Commonplace Book, but I’m sure that is what you are describing that you already keep! Witches back in the day coded their books with discreet sigils or drawings so that if anyone saw them they would not understand, know or even suspect anything ‘witchy’.

How To Keep A Commonplace Book - 2022 Edition

@Artemisia

Your system and longevity of it are very inspiring! Just the push I need to encourage me to get back to writing something daily.

I write for those that couldn’t. That inspires me. I honor my fellow lights in the world in the future, now and in the past who are called by many names and persecuted for what they believe and what they do and practice - the mages, healers, truthtellers, magickcians, herbalists, bards, fortunetellers, gypsies, lightworkers, soothsayers, sorceress/sorcerer, enchanter, hag, crone, harpy, battle-ax, she-devil, fairy, pixie, and yes WITCH and there are more names I left off than put on this list. Interesting enough, everyone and I actually mean EVERYONE does witchcraft in subtle ways and not so subtle ways, and as long as I’m subtle about what I do, nobody cares or pushes anything as long as I do not push it either. Nobody wants other beliefs thrown on them. I don’t want any of them to “do me” either, I do me just fine - I am not here to save the world or make people believe anything - I am here to live, love and be happy and be the best person, partner, mother and friend I could be.

I just want to be left in peace and all of us can relate to that.

[Amaris_Bane]

@jan_TheGreenWitch

I don’t want any of them to “do me” either, I do me just fine - I am not here to save the world or make people believe anything - I am here to live, love and be happy and be the best person, partner, mother and friend I could be.

I just want to be left in peace and all of us can relate to that

I agree with this sentiment so fully.

[Amaris_Bane]

So I bought the giant journal’s little sister today! I was there picking up some crystals and incense for Hel’s altar and said F it.

3-ring binder for size comparison.

I love how many pages it has. And I didn’t realize they were handmade pages! I love it even more now.

Now to practice my calligraphy skills again so I can make it look pretty, lol.

[Susurrus]

Oh, that is lovely! I have been thinking about doing a scrapbook type of grimoire for my daughter, or to pass down to who will have it.

I agree that I would be brushing up on my calligraphy skills too! I actually bought calligraphy pens & a workbook in 2020. My daughter, then 10 decided she wanted to learn too & Mommy should share. The next day… poof… gone… I bet now that she is “older” & being a teenager I could actually use my own pens & workbooks

I really like them both though! Ack, I’m going to be all over Etsy tonight

[jan_TheGreenWitch]

Ooh @BryWisteria we should do a challenge with calligraphy and sigil drawings or something of the sort, that would be fun! You probably already have done this I would imagine, but thought I’d put it out there!

[ColletteMary]

@Amaris_Bane Love your book, mine is smaller than yours it’s A5 size ut I love it and it’s really special to me as my partner surprised me with it at Christmas 2020, he said he saw me looking at them on line so knew he had to get me one x

[Susurrus]

Well, I’m just going to have a version of one of these

@jan_TheGreenWitch I 2nd the calligraphy or hand written challenge maybe with drawn sigils. @BryWisteria will be able to make it work

[BryWisteria]

@jan_TheGreenWitch It’s a very fun theme- thank you for suggesting it! We did do the Sigils & Symbols Challenge not too long ago, but handwriting wasn’t a key part of it. I can definitely put it on the list to run in the future- sigils/symbols/writing is certainly a popular topic and one that I imagine folks would love to explore again!

@ColletteMary Your BoS is gorgeous!!!

[Amaris_Bane]

@ColletteMary that is beautiful! I had thought about getting the A5 for my book of mirrors but I fell in love with the below cover. I can input an A5 journal inside and change them out when it gets full.

@BryWisteria I am so game for a calligraphy/sigil challenge! I have many sigils that I use but I could make them prettier. Plus with a new deity, I will need to make new sigils soon.

[ColletteMary]

I love that cover x

[Amaris_Bane]

I found it on Amazon! Moon Refillable Faux Leather Journal by SohoSpark, 6x8 Vegan Lined Writing Journal

They also have this cool tree design:

[Susurrus]

I need to stop looking at all of these lovely versions of Grimoires, BoS, Books of Mirrors… I’m going to run out of room for them all if they make it off the wishlist

[Ostara]

I am not allowed any more BOS’s until I fill what I have. I’m a BOS junkie!!!

[Susurrus]

I am the same way, I have this thing for writing in journals, books, scrapbooks. I was just downstairs looking through ones that my daughter & I made over the course of a year. Oh the memories, but having a BoS or Grimoire that way.

Journals & Books of Mirrors galore though. The one I am finishing right now has a crow on it. The next one has just a black cover with a button closure. So I’m always looking for new ones. I had seen these ones in varying sizes & types through my travels. I just could never figure out what I would use one for in my practice.

Now I know!