The Magickal Grimoire

Grimoire......there is just something so magical and mysterious about this word don't you think? A Grimoire for those of you who HAVEN'T seen the musical WICKED, is a 'textbook of magic' so to speak. Magical books in almost any context, especially books of magical spells...are referred to as Grimoires. Books of this genre, typically give instructions for performing divination, contain astrological correspondences, directions on casting charms and spells, mixing herbs and medicines and making amulets and talismans among other things. They have circulated throughout Europe since the Middle Ages. Magicians were frequently persecuted by the Christian church, so their journals were kept hidden to prevent them from being burned. The most famous 'fictional' Grimoire was the Necronomican cited in author, H.P. Lovecraft's stories. And of course there is the modern day Grimoire as seen in the musical WICKED.

I love the whole idea of a big old secrective book full of magic, mystery and whatnot. So this Good Witch has decided that she MUST be in possession of one of these charming tomes. There are many gorgeous handmade versions like the one below available for sale at http://www.brahmsbookworks.com/. But since I don't actually have any spells and magick invocations to put in it...I felt they were just a bit out of my league. So as luck would have it, I just so happen to have a very big book that has a nice brown suede covering and brass studding on it that I got at Target a couple of years ago as a 'witchy' prop for a 'Witch Coven' photoshoot I was doing. I leave it out year round because it is just so big and awesome looking, but I decided to personalize it to make it my own. So I added some decorative brass corner pieces and a brass Owl handle to make it look sufficiently 'Wendyish". And now I am in the process of finding things to put inside. I intend to fill mine with copies of all of my Halloween art, photos and writings. I also have printed out info on herbs, gemstones and animal totems that I find particularly interesting. I used parchment paper for these so it would have an old world feel. I will also include vintage photos of witches and halloween postcards, recipes, party ideas, thoughts and musings on all things creative and magickal...YOU NAME IT! Basically anything and everything that speaks of who Wendy is...the eclectic Halloween loving eccentric. And then I shall keep it to give to my daughter when I pass into eternal Autumn (aka my version of Heaven). If you'd like to know everything there is to know about Grimoires...check out the Grimoires Galore blog at http://grimoiresgalore.blogspot.com/...fascinating stuff!