Episode 3 Show Notes: Grimoire vs. B.O.S., Witch's Pyramid, Men and Magick...and am I crazy?

Happy Friday Everyone! 

Sorry these notes took so long to load but hopefully the links below will help guide anyone looking for some deeper research. Probably my most favorite part of the research for this episode was finding an actual link to Gardner's Book of Shadows...although we do discuss the fact that your B.O.S. can be pretty much anything you want it to be. 

Like always, keep an eye out for the italics for any notes added post show. Much love to all of you and like/share/comment on our Facebook, YouTube, and our PodBean channel! Any and all sharing most definitely helps and we're all about spreading fun words of wisdom :-)

1) Grimoire vs. Book of Shadows 
Book of Shadows Definition

• Term created by Gerald Gardner in or around 1949. Gardner told his early students in the Brickett Wood coven that the Book of Shadows was a personal cookbook of spells that have worked for him personally, and that they were welcome to copy from it, and to add or remove material as they saw fit. - this has to be one of the coolest ways of collecting information....if you can actually be a part of a good coven that will pass down something like this; which can be rare in certain places around the US. Outside of being handed down a full B.O.S. it's pretty much up to the witch to put together whatever he/she wants to represent her witchy-ness.
• Gardnerian Book of Shadows - :-)!!!! Ok, can't lie...I was pretty stoked when I found this, if even it's just a guideline. My first B.O.S. happens to more focused on myself and the things I would like to remember off the top of my head, such as my favorite herbs, gemstones and my tarot cards but once I have filled that one up it's on to more about early spells that Feather calls her "recipes." Like we said though, it's all about whatever makes you feel witchy. 
• Book of Shadows Definition by Aleister Crowley: “A book of rituals, recipes, journal entries, laws/rules, chants/poems to gods and goddesses, magick, advice, and coven laws (if a coven B.O.S.) among other things.”
• A B.O.S. can be a coven book, detailing that coven's craft, or owned by an individual wiccan with a more personal style.
• Traditional covens like Gardnerian/Alexandrian covens pass down their group B.O.S. to new initiates, eclectic do not as often

Grimoire Definition

• It is believed grimoire originated from the Old French word grammaire, which was used to refer to all books written in Latin. By the 18th century, the term had gained its now common usage in France and had been used to refer purely to books of magic."
• All Books of Shadows are Grimoires, but not all Grimoires are Books of Shadows
• In the Book of Enoch found within the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is information on astrology and the angels. In possible connection with the Book of Enoch, the idea of Enoch and his great-grandson Noah having some involvement with books of magic given to them by angels continued through to the medieval period.
• Members of the clergy (Popes & Archbishops) in the medieval Europe were attributed with having the most grimoires, both natural and demonic.
• German abbot and occultist Trithemius (1462–1516) supposedly had a Book of Simon the Magician, based upon the New Testament figure of Simon Magus. Magus had been a contemporary of Jesus Christ's and, like the Biblical Jesus, had supposedly performed miracles, but had been demonised by the Medieval Church as a devil worshiper and evil individual - We didn't really go into the deeper history behind Grimoires but that simply is because the history is HUGE...pretty much any book that was thought to be magical would be considered a Grimoire. Throughout history the different major religions have put the title of "Grimoire" on anything they considered heretical or against their teachings thus giving this word a bit more of a negative filter. Alternatively, Feather and I both consider a Grimoire our big book of awesome....the big book that every Hollywood movie tries to recreate. Although neither one of us have a book made out of human skin or anything like that; we do hold our Grimoires in extremely high regard and treasure them amongst our prized possessions.

2) Witch's Pyramid 
Aka The Four Pillars

• To Know, To Will, To Dare, To Keep Silent

To Know (corresponds to Air)

• Relates to the witches knowledge and understanding of the craft on all levels, from their understanding of rituals, spellcasting, herbs, astral travel, candle magic, crystals, spirit connection, deity invocation, ceremony, spell work, psychic awareness, divination and how to use tools. The more a witch knows, understands, and continues to learn, the more powerful and effective the magic and healing will be.

• Association:  reason, intellect, intuition, wisdom, psychic awareness, abilities, rationalising, analysing, imagining, skills in the art of magic and mystical knowledge gained on any level, either through tutors on the earthplane or those from other realms. - Sometimes the easiest for witches, other times the most difficult when you become a little locked up in research. Whether this has to do with a lack of books at your disposal (lack of funds being especially difficult) or you just can't find what you're looking for online...this can be a bitch. Luckily Feather and I are basically trying to alleviate this problem by sharing as much info as we can. This blog is my direct goal for sharing this information and hopefully inspiring some of you witches to delve as deep as your hearts desire. Granted, a lot of what you find online can be questionable at times...this was a difficult thing for me to look past as it seems like one site says one thing and another will say the exact opposite. It took me some time to realize that this path is literally about finding what works for you and letting everyone just do what they want to do.

To Will (corresponds to Fire or sometimes Earth)

• Relates to the way a witch conducts their life, and their belief and commitment to any spell or ritual they are conducting, it is the ability to raise, manage, and manipulate the power, and maintain focus and intention. To will has to do with the utter conviction and energy to manifest magic. - Like I said in the show, this one can be sometimes my most difficult tier to approach. Regardless of my brain's sponge-like ability and my sheer drive to constantly learn about new stuff, the actual act of taking all that info and turning into a recipe can be difficult for me. Like Feather said, a lot of the time it's just about finally acknowledging that I know what the hell I'm talking about and putting it into action. This doesn't always mean doing something grand like a ritual, it can be something as simple as appreciating the awesomeness of nature and learning to connect with it.
• Association: the witch’s will, belief system, discipline, application of magical skills, approach to life, approach to magic.

To Dare (corresponds to Water or sometimes Fire)

• Relates to daring to do magic without fear, daring to invoke with understanding, daring to experiment, daring to push forward, daring to experience new things. Daring to go beyond the physical limitations and surrendering to the universal energies, traveling to astral realms. Daring to be a part of the cosmic order and letting the energies flow. - Both Willing and Daring to perform magick can be difficult. Having the balls to actually do what you say, walking the walk or just finally acknowledging that you have the power within to do what needs to be done can be the greatest release. This is the exciting part! The time where you take all that you know and finally make it happen.
• Association:  the witch’s emotions, heart, sense of challenge, drive to overcome and courage.

To Keep Silent (corresponds with Earth or sometimes Water)

• Relates to not always saying exactly what you know when it comes to witchcraft, some things are better off being quietly understood by the individual witch, and don’t necessarily need to be shared. Because you know, you don’t necessarily have to say, there is a certain power in being silent and understanding. Keeping silent also has to do with the silence within, being centered and grounded before beginning any magical work is essential to maintain a clear intent.
• Association: inner calm, silent knowing, protecting sacred knowledge. - Yeah...having a podcast seems kinda the opposite of this tier but it goes a little deeper than just talking about magick. Luckily Feather and I go pretty deep into this one and hopefully we explain how this has more to do with your personal intentions. Staying silent allows your magick to go out into the universe without bringing it back or affecting the outcome. If you talk about what you've been up to, who knows what kind of comments (positive or negative) may come your way and may affect your own energy....it's better to just shut your hole and let the universe do what you've asked and let it be.

***Optional 5th: To Go or To Love (corresponds with Spirit)

• Relates to putting your soul into your workings by not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. Witchcraft is not just an interest or a passive pursuit, but a lifestyle. Through your service to yourself, your community, and your world, you truly become a Witch and reach your potential.

3) Men and magick

• Middle English Warlock: oathbreaker, devil, equivalent to betrayer- Ok, I initially came off a little harsh towards the dudes that want to call themselves "Warlock." Just like everything else, do what you want, call yourself whatever the hell you want...but back up what you are saying and doing. We all know Hollywood has made the word "Witch" a female term but honestly, it's just a term for magical practitioner. There are plenty of awesome male witches that have strongly affected the path and we both are all about having some awesome dude energy around. It's important to remember that Wicca/Paganism really likes to focus on duality which means...yup...female AND male energy. We can't have the moon without the sun and creation needs both. Hopefully in the future Paganism will become mainstream enough where more of the guys will be willing to embrace their inner witch and join us in celebrating how awesome the path is.
• Famous male witches: Scott Cunningham, Aleister Crowley, Robert Graves, Raymond Buckland, Stewart Farrar, Gerald Gardner, Isaac Bonewits, Charles Godfrey Leland,Sir James Frazer, Sir Francis Bacon
• Male Witch Facebook Page
• Women only covens: Dianic, Circle of the Spiral Moon, many eclectic individual covens

4) Psychology and magick: am I crazy?

• Carl Jung studied the world of our conscious and unconscious thoughts. Jung considered the search for meaningful religious experience to be the driving force of the human psyche.
• Jung defines two of the most potent of these archetypes which dwell in the mysterious depths of the unconscious mind of man as 'The Great Mother' and 'The Old Wise Man’
• “Psychology is simply a branch of magic” - Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, 1979
• Weren’t the original witches probably the closest thing to the local doctor/psychologist/dentist/midwife?
• Drawing Down the Moon, Margot Adler wrote that much of the theoretical basis for a modern defense of polytheism comes from Jungian psychologists, who have long argued that the gods and goddesses of myth, legend, and fairy tale represent archetypes, real potencies and potentialities deep within our psyches.
• What about the people that believe they are 1000 years old, can fly, can cast spells from far away/sell spells online? - I really wanted to address this one...I personally have not met a whole lot of individuals that are this far to the left but after trying to research different connections between psychology and paganism I consistently ran into different blogs that asked about these kind of people. Feather had a great comment about the fact that these people are just some of the Picasso's out there, the fun interesting ones that really make the world entertaining. I do wonder about them and their grasp on reality but as long as they don't harm themselves or their friends...what does it matter? I'm definitely a logical person and of course my fist thing I do is start dissecting the situation...a thing I'm working on, trust me. As I grow older though, the less I give a shit about what everyone else is doing...I have this time to focus on myself and my progression and worrying about what everyone else is up to will just get in the way of my own self improvement.
• Does meditation/ritual/energy raising have a physical effect on our bodies? Raising dopamine, serotonin, aiding in brain elasticity, increases gray matter (What this means is brains age at a slower rate. Cortical thickness is also associated with decision making, attention and memory), aids in sleep and blood pressure, protects telomeres (the protective caps at the end of our chromosomes), relieves pain
  There is so much more I would love to delve into on this topic and someday I hope we can get a clinical psychologist on the show...even better if they happen to be Pagan. It would be amazing to get a full biological/psychological understanding on all of the benefits of practicing the craft or any type of meditation/self-analysis. Obviously there are a ton of articles online about the benefits of one thing or another but I think it would be incredibly interesting to delve a little deeper into the social effects of this as well. 
  
  Ok! I think this is my end point for the night....looking forward to another show coming up in about a week. Looking forward to having you all listen, commenting, and sharing our show and again...THANK YOU very much for your support, it means the world to us!
  
  -LeFay