Soft Leather Journal with Double Latch & Pen Pocket, 6" x 8"

Not every working book needs an emblem on the front. This 6 by 8 inch journal is plain soft leather, closed with a double latch, with a pocket on the cover to hold the pen so the whole kit travels together. Inside are unlined, 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. With no symbol stamped on the cover, its meaning comes entirely from what you write inside it.

Key Features

• Plain soft-leather cover. No emblem at all, for practitioners who want the symbol to come from the writing rather than the cover. The soft leather grows supple with handling.
• Double latch and pen pocket. Two latches hold it securely closed, and a pocket on the cover keeps your pen with the book so nothing is left behind.
• Tree-free recycled pages. Unlined, earth-minded paper with no ruling, room for script, sigils, diagrams, and pressed herbs alike.
• Portable 6 by 8 inch size. A comfortable everyday size. A compact 4.5 by 6.5 inch plain brown journal with a strap is also offered, for those who want something smaller.

Product Details

• Dimensions: 6" x 8"
• Unlined, tree-free recycled pages
• Soft leather cover with no emblem
• Double latch closure with a pen pocket on the cover
• 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.

This one wears no emblem, and for many that is exactly the point. A plain, well-made book carries no meaning of its own to work around; everything it comes to mean is built up out of what you write in it, page by page. The soft leather, the double latch, and the pen tucked into the cover make it a practical, portable working book, the kind you actually carry and use rather than keep on a shelf for its looks.

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. Close both latches 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.
• Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland: a classic guide that walks through keeping a Book of Shadows, a fitting companion for a plain working book.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between this and the Brown Leather Journal with Strap?

This is the larger 6 by 8 inch plain journal in soft leather, with a double latch and a pocket for your pen. The Brown Leather Journal with Strap is a compact 4.5 by 6.5 inches with a simple strap and 240 pages. Both are undecorated, so choose by size and closure.

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, and what is the pocket for?

It measures 6 by 8 inches. The pocket on the cover holds a pen or a slim tool so it travels with the book, and the double latch keeps everything closed while it moves.

Is there a symbol on the cover?

No. This journal is plain by design, with no emblem, for those who prefer an undecorated book whose meaning comes from what they write rather than from a symbol on the front.

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

Not at all. It is simply a well-made blank book. Many keep it as a Book of Shadows or grimoire, but its plain cover and practical design suit a dream journal, a tarot diary, a sketchbook, or an everyday journal just as well.