Record keeping is extremely important for all Wiccan and many pagans. It allows to keep our thoughts organized and helps in our continuing progress at a personal level and a magickal level. Remember that you are constantly evolving, growing, and experimenting as a person and as a spiritual person. And even though memory is a wonderful thing, it is impossible for a person to remember everything.

How many books a witch must keep varies depending on which book on Wicca you have read. Usually you will find that most wiccan keep four:

• Diary/Journal
• Book of Shadows
• Book of Dreams
• Book of Mirrors

You might find that usually authors suggest two or three of the already mentioned ones. I have provided articles explaining each one of them. It is up to you to decide which ones are more acceptable for you.

Keep Your Records Straight

It is very important that you keep your entries well organized. Write the following information on the top of each page every time you make an entry:

• the day of the week (Ex: Sunday, Monday...)
• the full date including day, month, and year
• time you started writing the entry
• phase of the Moon
• what astrological sign the Moon is in
• the weather

I have found out that all these things play a role in what happens to me daily. Sometimes they affect my emotions, or my perception of the events. (For more information about moon phases, astrological signs, planetary hours, and more; go to the working witch section.)
 

Different Kinds of Record-Keeping

There are many ways to keep your journals. The typical one is to use bound books. Many wiccan like bound books because they have leather covers. These come blank or lined. Since bound books are quite expensive, you might prefer to try using a three-ring binder. It is cheaper, and you can divide it into different sections to suit your needs. Now, if you are a computer-witch like me, you might want to keep everything on diskettes, or better yet on zip diskettes (these can hold more information). I just recently got a zip drive installed in my computer which allows me to use zip diskettes of 100 or 250 MB. (Just remember to ALWAYS back up your files!) If you are a beginner, you might want to start with a three-ring binder first. Good sturdy notebooks will do fine too. These make good starting places for your first magickal books. Eventually, as you become more adept in the Craft and your work becomes more complex, you can get bound books then. Here again, I suggest you to use your own judgement and choose the ones you feel comfortable with.