My tech BOS

[Celestria]

Happy Wednesday to all!

Many moons ago I started my BOS. It was before computers,tablets and cell phones. I reorganized it about a year ago. I didn’t realized that had so much in it. As I am getting older(crone here) I have been streamlining my life.
So, I decided why not utilize the items(computer, and tablet) that were not available when I started on my journey.
So, I started digital BOS. Its pretty cool, learning alot of new stuff on the computer, while I am doing this.
So, after my long winded explaination, heres my question to everyone. Do you have a digital BOS or ever thought of making one? And if you have one how has it helped or hindered you in your practice?
Blessed be
Celestria

[Feathertip]

I have a rather skimpy one at the moment - it is physical, and it’s skimpy because I’m trying not to overwhelm it too fast!

It could be that in the future it would be easier for me to have it in a digital format. But for now, part of why I enjoy it is because of the tactile nature of it: just touching the pages, using my hands, doing a random sketch or notes - that makes me feel more connected to it.

But it is true that it’s more about the content, and not so much how it gets in there. So I say whatever is working best for you is the right way to do it!

Blessings!

[Amethyst]

I have files on my computer that I back up. I have no real book, mainly because ink is too expensive and my handwriting is AWFUL. I can’t even read it some days. I even have pics and things saved.

[leilani1]

Witchy Wednesday Denise,

I have reached “crone” age also and have been streamlining many things. This past winter, I got rid of 8 bags of books and clothes, doesn’t sound like much, but by bus, it was not so easy. However, I am a very tactile person and still have a touchable BOS. I have changed mine, I now use a small (3.75 x 6.75) binder so that I can add and change pages instead of having a bazillion different places in one book. With the binder, I can add, change, delete anything, and I have the Tabs between the pages so that I have sections, like circle work, section by itself. Chants section, Notes section….and other spaces/tabs as I see fit to change things.
At my age, but always even has a wee-one, I was into books and tangibles. I use the computer at home, now, but that is it with electronics for me. I still have a land-line, and I was dishes by hand…..Anyway, my BOS is still a literal book. I am afraid to not have tangible documents. I know that if I rely on electronics they’ll get lost somehow. So, I always keep an “hard-copy”.

Lady Gene

[BryWisteria]

@Celestria

So, I started digital BOS. Its pretty cool

Congrats on your new digital BoS, Denise! May it serve you well

@Celestria

Do you have a digital BOS or ever thought of making one?

I have a series of folders on my computer where I store magickal stuff, but over the many years of practicing while posting online, at some point, I think Spells8 itself has become like my BoS! It houses both the spells and readings and other magickal things I’ve shared while also having a vast amount of spells and content shared by others. At this point whenever I have a question, I usually end up here searching the forum to see what others have done or hear their thoughts. It’s like a big interactive BoS I can access anywhere, at any time, as long as I’m on the internet. Not a traditional BoS by any means, but it’s working for me!

[michele12]

I have both kinds. I really just started doing my digital BOS and I think that one is bigger that my actual notebook

[rebecca8]

I too love being able to change out the pages in a binder. I keep two sizes, the smaller, as a “working” book of shadows and if I find the need to condense 4-8 pages into one or make a “formal” page for I can make that for the big A4 book. In theory. At the moment the big book has a nice wheel of the year and like 3 sabbats done but its a work in progress

The smaller book I make lists, drawings, collages, stick in random things I’ve printed or collected. Some pages are made from old sketches, paper bags or recycled seed catalog pages etc. I love to trade pages too. Whenever it gets too full to use the binder rings well, I’ll go through and prune, refresh and remake pages as needed.

I do use the bookmarks and online BOS here, but it tends to be more as a part of a reference library. If I need to look something up I can, but it doesn’t feel real and I tend to forget it compared to if I write something down on paper.

[katharina]

I pretty much live inside my Book of Shadows, it´s a sacred space to me and it houses spells, paintings, tarot readings, recepies, pages I´ve coloured in, printables, observations of the sabbats…and so much more. In no particular order. lol
I do have some folders on my laptop with witchy information, printables etc., but I´m not doing any journaling or keeping record of my spellwork on here.
I love writing by hand, it makes me slow down and relax.

[Celestria]

Merry Meet Rebecca,
My original book is hand written and copies from my computer. I love my BOS, but, I however have major neck and back issues and my handwriting has gotten bad over the years, So my digital is really an extension of that one. What I would really love to do is scan all my older pages and add it here but that would take days to do.

[dan3]

I’m a computer nerd so… yep, I have a digital BoS. I started out with a paper one and realized it was growing rapidly and I would have several so I started collecting (and backing up) on the computer.

I generally group things but, as happens to me, I can misplace items and have to do global searches to find them. Otherwise, it works great. I absolutely think it is easier than paper. Hence I tend to collect more things because it is so much easier.

[Celestria]

Your BOS is beautiful. You did alot of work on it.

[dan3]

@katharina
.
I love your BoS! Nice looking stuff!

@BryWisteria re: “using Spells8”

Good point. I have a separate file with links into Spells8 and elsewhere. I save stuff in Spell8 format so I can reference links to others.

[georgia]

I am still building my digital BOS- started after my arrival online just three years ago. It is quite vast, and I think I have some doubles of spells I saved, possibly from several different sources. I definitely need to edit. Still collecting all the spells which have been posted in the forum and on the main Spells8 site, which numbers in the thousands, and I’m nowhere near done, yet!

(Hmm. I’m a babe in the internet woods, a tech dummy, yet a crone in real life! What a concept! Sorry for the aside. It just hit me.)

When I save pages and spells, I put them on an external hard drive. This keeps the pages safe from theft, accidents, or viral destruction, but it also puts the resources away from on- hand usage, not unlike having everything in a physical book at home when I may want to refer to something on the fly. Thus I end up looking for the same thing repeatedly online, making copies I don’t realize I already have, and making myself a mess to clean up later. I’m sure this is just me. I have attempted to cut down on making doubles by marking each thread I have finished, but that only works in the forum and in the courses.

I’m also saving multimedia in an attempt to make each page pop. This will take some finagling and software learning for which I may not be ready, but the ideas are there. I could have a rabbit hole and I don’t even realize it.

My last physical copy of my BOS bit the dust when an apartment I lived in smelled of sewage for no apparent reason for an entire summer and no one would help. That’s not a smell one would enjoy when attempting Sacred work! Happily, I had photocopied each page to my computer.

When I caught Covid and honestly didn’t think I’d survive, I posted my photocopies here in Sacred Space so only members could access them, so I wouldn’t get in trouble for publishing unpopular ideas, yet so that someone might possibly find something of value in the way I spent my life.

Since I move often, it’s not convenient to keep 5 shelves of binders. Then again, I have not typed my handwritten pages to make them easier to access digitally, either. If I wrote out all I’ve found since and added it to what I already had, I’d probably have triple the number of binders, now. Thank Heavens for digital! And deeply honored thanks to each and every member, here, past and present, for sharing your wisdom! I’ve learned so much from all of you!

@rebecca8

I tend to forget it compared to if I write something down on paper.

I do, too. Then again, I used to need a regular edit to remind myself of what I had on paper, too. Such edits always surprised and delighted me because I always found so much I had forgotten!

[katharina]

@Celestria

Your BOS is beautiful. You did alot of work on it.

@dan3

I love your BoS! Nice looking stuff!

Thank you, @Celestria and @dan3
I´m viewing it as my “safe place” for all my witchy shenanigans.

[BryWisteria]

@dan3

Good point. I have a separate file with links into Spells8 and elsewhere.

Saving links (rather than entire copies) certainly saves a lot of space on the drive! Plus I love how, even if something happens to my computer and hard drives, I know that everything shared here will survive. And we can access it from anywhere, at anytime! It definitely puts some of my anxiety at ease

[leilani1]

Fantastic Friday Georgia,

@georgia

I’m a babe in the internet woods, a tech dummy, yet a crone in real life!

Me too.

[dan3]

@BryWisteria

I know that everything shared here will survive

War stary:

Linus Torvalds (creator of Linux) figured that trick out in a big way. Back when only a few thousand people were using his creation he was asked about his backup system. He was, after all, creating what would become a trillion dollar package. He said he backs nothing up - he just publishes the free source code…

and suddenly he could get the latest version in a dozen places.

@leilani1

@georgia

I’m a babe in the internet woods, a tech dummy, yet a crone in real life!

Me too.

Techy stuff is fun for me but I fell in love with it when the first DIY computers came out and have grown with it. However, I think both of you would leave most Gen Z or Gen Apha people in the dust. Posting selfies and slang is not tech savvy - you step beyond and actually communicate - and you do well.

[georgia]

@dan3

you step beyond and actually communicate - and you do well.

Thank you. I needed to hear that, today. Have a great day!

[Greenbriar]

I started out with a lovely little A5 size binder that I ordered from Etsy. Unfortunately, being small, it filled up very quickly and I ended up getting several with some of them dedicated to green witchcraft and herbology, divination and other subjects.

But a long time ago I started with a digital note system called Evernote. At the time it was free and I used it to create garden journals, keep journals of roadtrips etc.

When I started my witchcraft practice it was a natural move for me to create a digital Book of Shadows within Evernote. Sadly it’s not free anymore, in fact it’s pretty pricey, but I tell myself I am worth it.

I’ve got a few of them on the go at the same time. I like them because they are scalable. Whereas my binders are full and I can’t get any more pages in them, the notebooks in Evernote have no limits on size (because I paid for the pro version)

One notebook is my general grimoire, in which I keep records of all the rituals and spells I do (including our group rituals here in the coven). It has rituals that I have created with the help of Co-Pilot and spells and other witchery that I have been able to collect online.

I’m in the process of adding a page for each of my crystals, with their properties and a photo. I think I will start a section on herbs too – my herbology binder is stuffed and there’s a lot more I could put in it if it had room – the digital version should work out great. I tag each note with the appropriate keywords so I can easily find what I’m looking for when I need it.

Another notebook is dedicated to my tarot journey, with my daily tarot pulls and interpretation (I also include Co-Pilot’s review of my interpretation and its been interesting to see how much better I am getting at reading the cards).

Another notebook is dedicated to my rune practice (such as it is)

The thing I like most about it is that I can access it from my desktop Mac, my phone and my iPad, so wherever I am I can search and find stuff, and add new stuff on the fly.

[Moonbeam]

@Celestria Hi. As I love technology and keeping everything organisation and easy to keep on top as it suits my path and ethos as everyone will have now come to realise as I know that I have repeated if too much!!! I do apologise to everyone.

I have found an APP on IPhone called Neumoire which I can write the spell and then upload a photo to it edit etc. There is a version for IPad as well not sure if you can get it Android. I attach a photo to give you and idea. I do realise that having a physical copy of a BOS in a way is more meaningful as you can really create artistically but for me it is ok as I am not artistic. I create new spells and put them together

but as for putting pen to paper, making them athletically beautiful with artistic expression sadly I am not blessed in that way. Just thought I would post in case it

Brightness Blessingd