Rune Leather Blank Book, 5" x 7"

The runes are the old writing of the Germanic and Norse world, and this is a journal that wears them. A 5 by 7 inch leather blank book embossed with an eight-armed stave ringed by runes, closed with a latch over 240 unlined 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 runes and the stave on the cover suit rune work and Norse-flavored practice, a fitting face for a book of your own workings.

Key Features

• Runic stave and ring of runes. An eight-armed stave embossed at the center with runes set around it. The art is the heart of the book, for practitioners drawn to the runes and Norse tradition.
• Leather cover with latch. A leather cover closed by a latch, holding your writing shut and private at home, in circle, or in a bag.
• 240 unlined pages. No ruling, so you can write in any hand, draw staves and sigils, or press herbs flat between the leaves.
• 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"
• 240 unlined pages
• Leather cover embossed with an eight-armed stave ringed by runes
• 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 runes are the old writing of the Germanic and Norse peoples, carved on stone, wood, and metal from the early centuries of the common era, and long used for more than plain writing: for marking, for charms, and in later practice for divination. The cover sets a ring of runes around an eight-armed stave of the kind often sold as a Viking compass. That stave, the vegvisir, is worth naming honestly: it comes from Icelandic grimoires of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries rather than the Viking age itself, a later piece of Icelandic magical tradition that has become popular shorthand for Norse mystery. Old runes and a younger stave together make a fitting cover for a book of one's own workings.

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 rune castings and their readings, spells and their results, correspondences, dreams, and the questions you are working through. A Book of Shadows is most useful when it is honest.
4. Tend the book. 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.
• Runes for Beginners by Alexandra Chauran: a working guide to the runes to read alongside the book you write.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes this different from the other leather journals?

This one is embossed with a runic stave ringed by runes, where others in the line carry the pentacle, triquetra, or Tree of Life. It suits rune work and Norse-flavored practice, with 240 unlined pages and a latch.

Are the pages lined or blank?

The 240 pages are unlined, with no ruling. That leaves you free to write in any hand, draw staves and sigils, 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.

Is the cover design really Viking?

The runes themselves are genuinely old Germanic and Norse writing. The eight-armed stave often sold as a Viking compass, the vegvisir, is later: it comes from Icelandic grimoires of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries rather than the Viking age, though it has become popular shorthand for Norse mystery.

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.