How to Start a Grimoire (And Why You Should)

A grimoire is one of the oldest things a witch can keep. Before digital tools, before printed books, there were personal records of practice — handwritten notes on herbs, copied spells, moon observations, records of what worked and what didn't. The tradition is older than the word itself.

Starting one doesn't require a leather journal, a calligraphy pen, or a ceremonial intention. It requires the same thing all practice requires: a beginning.

What a Grimoire Actually Is

A grimoire is a personal record of your magical practice. Not a textbook, not a published book of spells — yours. It holds what you have learned, what you have worked, what you have noticed. Some witches keep one volume; some keep many. Some are beautifully illustrated; some are spiral-bound notebooks with coffee stains on the covers. The form is secondary. The practice of keeping one is what matters.

Unlike a Book of Shadows (which tends to be more formal, often associated with Wiccan tradition), a grimoire can be entirely personal in structure. There is no required format, no standard arrangement. It is organised around what serves your practice.

What to Put In It

The question most new practitioners ask is what to include. The honest answer is: whatever you'd want to find again. Consider these as starting points:

• Rituals and workings. What you did, when you did it, and what you noticed afterward. Moon phase. Planetary hour. Outcome, even if the outcome was nothing.
• Herb and ingredient notes. Your working knowledge of the materials you use. Not copied from a book — your actual observations. How mugwort smells in smoke. What frankincense does to the quality of a space.
• Moon observations. Brief notes on how each phase feels. What kinds of thoughts arise at the dark moon. What energy the full moon brings in your particular life.
• Dreams. Especially recurring symbols, figures, or places. Dreams speak the same language as magic. Recording them builds fluency.
• Correspondence tables. Your own — built over time through use, not copied wholesale from a reference. When you discover that amber incense works better than frankincense for your devotional work, write that down.
• Questions. A grimoire is not only a record of answers. The questions you're sitting with are worth writing down too.

How to Begin Without Overthinking It

The most common reason a grimoire never gets started is the pressure to begin it well. The blank page feels final. The first entry sets a precedent.

It doesn't. The first entry is just an entry.

Begin with what is in front of you. Today's date, the moon phase, and one observation about your practice. That's enough. The record will grow around the practice it documents.

Write what you know tonight. There will always be more to know tomorrow.

If you're using a paper grimoire, dedicate the first page to intention rather than index. If you're keeping a digital grimoire — in an app, in a notes document, wherever — the principle is the same. The first page is a beginning, not a contract.

Making It Yours

A grimoire is not a reflection of your ideals. It is a reflection of your actual practice. If your actual practice involves tarot and astrology but not herbs, your grimoire will look different from someone who works primarily with botanicals. If you work with specific deities, your grimoire will carry the language and imagery of those relationships.

Resist the urge to make it look like anyone else's. The witches whose beautifully photographed grimoires appear online are sharing an artifact. You are not building an artifact — you are doing the work. The record follows the practice, not the other way around.

The only thing your grimoire absolutely requires is that it be honest. Record what you did, not what you meant to do. Record what you observed, not what you expected to observe. That honesty is what makes it useful.

A grimoire that's been kept for two years — even messily — is worth more than a beautiful empty journal. Start somewhere. Start tonight. Start with the moon phase and a single sentence about where your practice is right now. That is how every working grimoire in every tradition was started.