Flower of Life Embossed Leather Journal, 5" x 7"

The Flower of Life is a pattern of overlapping circles spreading out in even, six-fold symmetry into a figure like a bloom. This 5 by 7 inch journal carries it embossed on both front and back, on a light tan leather cover bound with a cord and closed with a latch. Inside are tree-free, recycled pages.

It is made to become a Book of Shadows: the working book where a practitioner keeps spells, rituals, correspondences, dreams, and the turning of a practice over the years. The pattern on the cover, many circles overlapping into one whole, suits writing about balance and the work of bringing a practice into harmony.

Key Features

• Flower of Life on both covers. The sacred-geometry pattern embossed front and back into light tan leather. The art is the heart of the book, for practitioners drawn to geometry, balance, and pattern.
• Cord binding with latch. A cord binding gives the book its old-world structure, and a latch keeps it closed at home, in circle, or in a bag.
• Tree-free, recycled pages. An earth-minded paper with no ruling, room for script, sigils, diagrams, and pressed herbs alike.
• Portable 5 by 7 inch size. One of a family of leather ritual books in the shop, each bearing a different emblem, so you can match the symbol to your practice.

Product Details

• Dimensions: 5" x 7"
• Tree-free, recycled pages, unlined
• Light tan leather cover, Flower of Life embossed front and back
• Cord binding with latch closure
• Sold as a blank book for writing, drawing, and ritual record-keeping

The Spiritual Significance

A Book of Shadows is a witch's working book, and despite the old-world weight of the name it is a fairly modern tradition. Gerald Gardner's mid-twentieth-century Wicca formalized the practice, with each initiate copying rituals and lore by hand into a book of their own. Its ancestors are the older grimoires such as the Key of Solomon, but the idea of a personal, hand-kept book of one's craft belongs to living modern witchcraft.

The Flower of Life is worth describing honestly. The geometry itself is old and widely scattered: a version is incised into stone at the Temple of Osiris at Abydos in Egypt, and similar rosettes turn up across the ancient world. The name Flower of Life and the elaborate sacred-geometry meanings attached to it, the idea that it holds the template of creation, are largely modern, gathered in the late twentieth century. What carries across the centuries is the simple sense of unity and pattern, many circles overlapping into one whole, which is why it sits well on a book about a practice you are trying to bring into balance.

How To Use

1. Cleanse it first. Pass the cover through cleansing smoke or leave it in moonlight overnight to clear the handling it has been through before it becomes yours.
2. Dedicate the first page. Write an opening dedication, naming what this book is for and the work you mean to keep in it.
3. Keep your craft in it. Record spells and their results, ritual outlines, correspondences, dreams, and the questions you are working through. A Book of Shadows is most useful when it is honest.
4. Tend the book. Wind the cord and close the latch to keep it shut, store it away from damp, and condition the leather occasionally so it lasts as long as the practice it holds.

Pairs Well With

• Steampunk Pen and Calligraphy Set: a dip pen for writing entries with more ceremony than a ballpoint allows.
• Dragon's Blood Ink by Espiritu, 1 oz: the traditional red ink for consecrated writing, sigils, and petitions in the book.
• Parchment Paper by Espiritu, 3" x 4": loose petition and spell papers to write and tuck between the pages.
• Sage and Frankincense Smudge Stick: cleansing smoke to consecrate the book before its first use.
• Celtic Harmony Completion Amulet: a geometric emblem of harmony and wholeness worn or hung by the altar, echoing the pattern on the cover.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes this different from the other leather journals?

The Flower of Life is embossed on both the front and back covers in light tan leather, and the book is bound with a cord as well as a latch. The sacred-geometry design suits writing about balance and harmony, where other journals in the line carry the pentacle, the triquetra, or the Tree of Life.

Are the pages lined or blank?

The pages are unlined, tree-free recycled paper with no ruling. That leaves you free to write in any hand, draw sigils and diagrams, or press herbs and petals flat between the leaves without lines getting in the way.

What size is it?

It measures 5 by 7 inches, a portable size that still gives you room to write a full working on a page. The latch keeps it closed while it travels.

What does the Flower of Life mean?

It is a pattern of overlapping circles in six-fold symmetry. The geometry is ancient and widespread, while the name and its sacred-geometry meanings are modern. Across both it reads as an emblem of unity and pattern, many circles overlapping into one whole.

Do I have to use it as a Book of Shadows?

Not at all. It is simply a beautiful blank book. Many keep it as a Book of Shadows or grimoire, but it works just as well as a dream journal, a tarot diary, a sketchbook, or an everyday journal for someone who loves the symbol.