Digital Journal and Book of Shadows
I have bad arthritis and carpel tunnel in my hands for various reasons, including age and hypermobility syndrome. That means writing and certain crafts are more difficult for me these days. One of the ways that I have adapted and still am able to journal and keep records is by using digital products and adaptive aids.
Modern Tools For Modern Practices
While the traditional practice of a handwritten journal or “Book of Shadows” is deeply valued in many magical traditions for its personal and mindful qualities, using a digital journal offers a host of practical benefits that can make it a superior choice for many modern practitioners. Let’s discuss some key reasons to use a digital journal over a handwritten one, especially for ritual and magical work.
Perhaps the most significant advantage of a digital journal is searchability and organization. A digital journal allows you to have access to all of the tools of a digital archive. You can search for information or a specific detail from a spell you performed three years ago. Instead of flipping through countless pages, you can use a search function to find every instance of a keyword, such as a particular herb, deity, or moon phase. This can allow you to easily track patterns you may not have noticed otherwise. For example, you can see if your prosperity spells were more effective during a certain moon phase or if a specific type of candle consistently worked better for your rituals. Many digital journaling apps even allow you to link entries, so you can connect a ritual entry to a divination reading you did beforehand or link to a separate file with a detailed list of magical correspondences.
There are several other advantages of going digital. Since a digital journal lives on your devices, it is incredibly easy to access and update. Whether you’re at a park, on a hike, or visiting a sacred site, you can pull out your phone or tablet and make notes instantly. You don’t have to worry about carrying a physical book with you everywhere. You have your entire magical library in your pocket. This is particularly useful for impromptu rituals or when you need to quickly look up a correspondence or spell. A digital journal never runs out of pages. You can add as much content as you want without having to buy a new notebook or worry about finding space on your bookshelf. (Even if you still want ALL the pretty, shiny. new notebooks and journals)
One of my favorite factors in going digital instead of old school paper is the pretty pictures that I can use. A physical journal is limited to what you can draw or glue into it. A digital one allows you to include images and videos. You can easily embed photos of your altar, pictures of a specific herb, or even a video of a ritual you performed. This makes the journal a more vivid and immersive record of your practice. You can also include links to websites, articles, or videos that you find inspiring or relevant to your practice, turning your journal into a connected web of magical knowledge.
Here’s the sad part, for anyone who has ever lost anything in a move, or even Goddess-forbid, a house fire. Physical journals are vulnerable to damage, loss, or being read by unwanted eyes. A digital journal offers solutions to these problems. Your digital journal can be backed up to the cloud, protecting your work from fire, flood, or loss. Many apps also offer password protection and encryption, ensuring your personal and magical notes remain private. This can be especially important for those who are “in the broom closet.” A digital journal is much easier to hide in plain sight. It looks like a normal app on your phone or tablet, avoiding any awkward questions from family or friends.
Digital Record Keeping
One of my favorite ways that I have done this, in the last year, has been Goodnotes. I have a couple of different digital journal products that I use on this platform for various purposes. I even recently upgraded from Goodnotes 5 to Goodnotes 6 to take advantage of some of the changes that the software has made. Though I use it on my iPhone and iPad, Goodnotes 6 is now compatible with Windows as well, which really expands the possibilities. (My laptop is Windows, for example, if I wanted to access the app there).
However, you don’t have to spend any money at all or learn a new app, if you don’t want to. Google Docs is free, readily available and cross-compatible. You can easily organize your files, rituals, and ideas in whatever manner that works best for you. I actually like digital files and digital backups. I have lived at like 20 different addresses in the 23 years that I have been married. It is really easy to lose things between moves and storage. The stuff I tend to still have regular access to are digital files.
A lot of younger students also use Notion. I have used it occasionally, and it can be set up more like an interactive web page in my experience. I don’t have much feedback on it, as it isn’t a platform I have a ton of experience with. However, you might want to check it out.
Organizing Your Information
You can organize your digital journal and/or digital book of shadows in any way that works for you. Some people even have their digital journals printed at the end of the year, so you could have a hard copy, if you really like to feel the pages in your hands. I tend to think in outlines and folders, so I automatically break information down that way. You could look at the Study Topics for an idea of the information you might have or want to break down and organize.
Personally, I use folders/documents/divisions in a structure similar to this to make things easy for me to access and understand:
- Intro Topics
- Energy Work
- Wiccan/ Witchcraft Beliefs
- Gods & Goddesses
- Sacred Space
- Elements
- Sabbats
- Esbats
- Other Rituals
- Spells
- Colors & Chakras
- Stones
- Herbs
- Divination
- Runes & Sigils
- Tarot
- Astrology
- Crafts
- Journal
Feel free to use a similar structure if it works for you, but this is just one of many ways that you can do this. Add things, combine things, move them around. Try it out and see if you can make a digital journal and book of shadows work for you.
I hope that you found this information helpful.
