Well in my world there is a Book of Shadows. It's somewhat central to the plot, and I've basically broken it down into three main parts. As there are three main groups, as I have humans, Pixie's (faery) and Sidhe (faery)
⅓ to Aisling – sun magic, weather magic, craft of the birds and trees, air and water magic (Sidhe)
⅓ to Annwn – fire and earth magick, dark aspects of magick, moon magic (Pixie)
⅓ to Advent Mor – heathen craft / folk magic (Humans)
all possess knowledge of herb lore
I'm basically wondering how to incorporate this book within a book, so to speak into my novel, without it just being dumped into the novel.
Any ideas?
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Dez 4, 2007 - 20 45
well as far as your universe goes thare are any number of things you can do as it is your universe.
No existsing tradition that I know of considers fire and earth as dark aspects. but that's how it is in your story.
As for how to include it in your story. you can have excerpts of the great book of shadows as chapter lead ins. or as scene breaks or as whispers upon falling asleep from the threshhold crossed on travels from one realm to another.
The Dune books often have quotes from memoirs and religious texts that set the mood for each chapter.
You might want to think about how you define dark magic too. As for many it has negative implications while for others it simply is the hidden, primal or balancing aspect of things.
Each of the first two groups has both a masculine and a feminine aspect and therefore has a balnce that may be represented by a preist and a preistess who may carry the books with them and or fragments of them copied, or chant them as part of pryer or oral tradition.
It's hard to offer much more then that without more specific data about the needs of the plot that the book would fullfil. Is it singular book, that cannot be coppied or removed from a location?
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Dez 4, 2007 - 22 49
rovingjack,
Sorry, I forget that others do not know my story as I know it.
The "Book of Shadows" is written during the lifetime of Adwenna ... its her personal Book actually ... and upon her death it was split into three peices. It was used as an inheritance. And as an attempt to bring peice between the three groups.
Yeah some of the ideas do probably need refining. The book of shadows itself is only in the early stages.
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Dez 4, 2007 - 23 39
Also ... in my world ... Pixie's are the embodiment of dark and Sidhe are light.
Pixie's live underground (hence the earth aspects of magic), while Sidhe live above ground in trees and such (air aspects)
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Dez 5, 2007 - 14 40
you can A. have an appendix with all of it (It'd probably be loads of fun to write the entire thing and shove it in the end of the book, or, at least, some excerpts from it.), though that doesn't help with the story.
Have quotes before each chapter, as suggested above, or you could have people of these races reference it and talk about it. Work it into a conversation, maybe?
----------“We don’t have time for training,” Hazel cried.
“Then we’ll have to use a substitute as old as time,” Jasper said softly.
“And that is?”
“Near-death experiences.”
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Jan 30, 2008 - 10 27
My name is Robin and I am a practicing green witch. You can call me pagan or Wiccan if that suits you better. Now, while I love and appreciate creativity, such as novel writing and art, I do have some problems with the idea of this novel. A book of shadows is very personal and important tool for wiccan practices. It is a cute idea, which is exactly the problem. These things are a way of life for pagans and, turning a something like a book of shadows in to a fictional piece of work, perpetuates the problems we already have with the community taking our 'religion' or way of life serious. It would be like creating a fictional Bible or Kaballah.
I think that your creative ideas are wonderful, but It would be better if you could call it something other than a Book of Shadows or a Grimore.
I could be wrong here, but the way your idea is conveyed it reminds me of one of those cute illustrated Pirate or Dragon books that you see at Target or Barns and Noble. If its your personal novel idea, then go to it! Be your creative bad self!
Just remember that there are people out there who do practice sun magic, weather magic, craft of the birds and trees, air and water magic fire and earth magick, dark aspects of magick, moon magic. There are people who believe in faries (not the cute winged ones, but the elemental spirit kind)
We are already ostracized for practicing the old ways. Please don't aid society in turning our kind into a joke.
Thank you very much,
sincerely,
Robin
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Jan 30, 2008 - 21 16
Kitten don't go tromping all over this.
I'm a practicing pagan if you take the term (I prefer craftsman myself for reasons too complicated to get into here), and have no problem with this.
the book of shadows in this story concept seems to be well thought out and not in the least bit disrespectful. Not that that truely matters.
It's a work of fiction and within it is magic. Nobody is all in a huff about Tolkien or Rowlings use of magic in their story is a disrespectful portrayal of devine powers and elemental forces that some truely do connect with.
Infact I for one think any portrayal of a BOS in fantasy and fiction in general should be interesting and creative as possable, let it expand your mind a bit about what yours could hold in the real world. For that matter crack open any number of fantasy or roleplaying books and look at their mythos and magic and try and find a way that something of that idea could be wrought in our world.
Could you look at a D&D fearie fire spell and think is there a way for me to mark an object of mine with aura patterns that would be like this.
How is a bind spell similar to a wizard spraying out a net of spider silk to restrain something. Is using ribbon more successful or spider silk and using it solely as the webbing of a dream catcher is meant to filter the bad but leave the good unbound.
BOS are not the pompus sacred texts, there isn't even any evidance of their existance before the witch hunts. Considering their high rate of illiteracy I'd say that most early pagans never wrote anything down.
Let this fictional work be as the author describes it, a magical collection of the great womans spells, that reflect her aspects good and bad (denying the shadow self is folly) and sundered among followers and taken to new hights and depths.
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Jan 31, 2008 - 10 51
Let's keep in mind guys, that much of the early history of the first pagans was destroyed. All we know about these ancient peoples come from the writings of the people that conquered them (usually the Church). And knowing the church in those days, they weren't about to let anything 'heathen' remain in their conquered towns when they wanted their beliefs to reign supreme. So it's unfair really, to say that such people were illiterate when we really have no reliable proof one way or the other. I agree, that the BOS she's illustrated is very creative, and sounds very wonderful. But I can agree that there could be a very big misunderstanding towards modern pagans and wiccans as a result. Whether they were used by ancient folk or not, the fact remains that a Book of Shadows is a very personal thing to modern practitioners. That's something that one should be a little considerate of. I suggest maybe giving it a different name - why does it have to be called a Book of Shadows? Can it be called something else instead?
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Jan 31, 2008 - 17 18
Ok, I am hearing some good arguments here. Obviously you are creating a Book of Shadows. When we are discussing your creation, we are talking about a BOS and there's no harm, no fowl, in calling it a BOS. In your own world, you will want to call it something else. "The Legacy" maybe or "The Book of the Three" or "Adwenna's Gift".
I have a Book of Shadows. Don't do anything with it really. I've often thought it was a doofus name, but that's what everybody calls it. Maybe if I give mine a cool name, I'll use it more.
By the way, pairing up fire and earth is extremely evocative. Like the Balrog in Moria or Frodo at Mt Doom, or Anaken becoming Darth Vader in the lava flow. Go with it. And as an aside, remember that the religions you create can become very real for you--and for your readers. Treat them with respect.
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Jan 31, 2008 - 21 59
Let me ask you this are you setting your minds up to more of this Burning books that don't agree with your thoughts of the way things should be shown. These hard core fanatics that burn Harry potter because they teach kids that magic is exciting. Is that who you want to follow.
This is fiction. It uses real terms. It's allowed, and creative and interesting. If you want to be true to facts
Here.
It not only reliable to say many of them are illiterate but it's practical.
Did the celts have Ogham? yes but I bet you dollars to donuts that the sheep farmer didn't know one symbol from the others. Was he pagan? yes.
Runes. Born as a mystical system for the use of a few. Then applied to language as the culture grew from contact with christian cultures and their contemporaries.
The Norse books were Eddas, not BOS.
The term itself comes from a specific witch trial I believe in france (the the specifics escape me) and thus were obtained under tortured confessions. The fact that the idea is a valuble one and more readily availabel to us who have access to paper (a rarity before the printing press made new markets for mass production) doesn't change that.
Nostrodomus didn't call his works BOS or Grimore or any variant of that. It was simply an almanac he published (with recipes and astrology and herbals and predictions).
The adaptation of the BOS by neopagan culture is not even a century old yet. Not everyone has one, and not everyone calls it the same thing. What they contain varies so widely that to say that you could be offensive to someone by doing it wrong seems silly.
The only way I would ever consider it offesive is if the characters where good god feariing christian children who found a satanic blah blah blah.
Any book that shows magic proper to it's setting and is the work of one that came before and has touch a magic source and explored it is entirely valid in my mind.
Otherwise what would it be. The recipe for mead and honey cakes. a remark of care to be used in belladonna as a sedative. Or should we also get all goofy about the referance of charmed BOS.
Heck the Wizardology book for kids is incredibly respectfully done, it's fictional but it contains some very real information. Does anybody think they can fly after reading it no.
Relax. Ask yourself what it is that you are taking offense to. Is it that there is a fictional book that contains spells and magic that has the name of book of shadows (and why is that a bad thing)? Or that somebody is touching your religion?
As for the the original poster, I'd like to see the book shown in part. Excerpts or page titles. I would very much like to know that this ancient books contents bind it to your universe so that it runs a course through the story. So It's almost a charater itself.
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Feb 1, 2008 - 07 33
Everything is staying civil so far, but let me remind you guys to keep it respectful, okay? If there are any posts that cross the line, please don't hesitate to use the "report" button.
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