Difference between a BOS and a Grimoire?

[Blue]

Hey all!

I was just wondering what the difference between a Book of Shadows and a Grimoire was. I've seen both terms pop up while reading and I'm curious, are they the same thing? Are they different?

Blue

[Vesca]

It really depends on who you ask.

To many people, they're considered the same thing because both contain spells, associations, rituals, etc...

To me, I equate a BoS with a spiritually-focused journal. And a grimoire with being focused more on spells and rituals.

I'd be curious to see the opinions of our other members though.

[Naudia Threng]

In my opinion a Grimoire is a family heirloom. You write your BOS and when you pass, it goes into to the Grimoire. And each family members BOS goes into the Grimoire at their death. I think that the Grimoire should always be kept by the direct eldest of the family.

[Echo_of_shadows]

It really depends on who you ask.

Agreed.

I've noticed that some people will say that they are two different books, while other people use the two words interchangeably.
From one source I've read, the author says that the book of shadows is a person's copy of the specific information from their coven's books of shadows, while the grimoire is a collection of information the person gathered from other resources.
In other sources, one book is used specifically for writing spells and rituals, while the other is for notes pertaining to those spells and rituals.
Some times I've seen the book of shadows referred to as one's personal book and the word grimoire used when referring to old magical texts such as "The Key of Solomon The King," "The Lesser Key of Solomon," "The Magus," "The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage," etc..

If you decide to keep a book of your own, you are ultimately the one who gets to decide what to keep in it and what to call it, if you even decide to call it anything at all.

You might be interested in reading What's a Book of Shadows?

[Blue]

Thanks guys.

It's interesting to see everyone's view on this. I'll definitely do some more reading on it, but it seems most places say it's more-so spell and ritual orientated.

[YanaKhan]

Book of Shadows, to my knowledge is more a Wiccan thing while Grimoire is a book of spells, not really connected to Wicca. I don't know if this is true, though. I also call my book a Book of Shadows, and I am not Wiccan.
Anyway, I like Azure Lily's explanation - it makes sense and sounds like a beautiful traditional thing to pass onto one's children and family.

[Naudia Threng]

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Yana was right. The BoS is Wicca specific and the Grimoire isn't. But honestly, I'm pretty sure its whatever you want to be. Call your spell on your Teletubby Wombat if you'd like. I'm still using the Grimoire as a family tradition though.

[Naudia Threng]

My current Grimoire is only 120 leaf. I haven't put anything in it yet. I'm still having trouble with my BoS. But I really want http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A5T35J ... JQSEDAPMAG its 200 leaf. That's much more, but its pretty good. I was thinking about using my current one as a BoS. My ideal Grimoire would giant and hardcover. My family has a family tree/bible and its like a foot tall and had like 2000 leaf. It's so heavy. But I love it! If it were blank it soul be amazing.

[MsMollimizz]

I always thought they were one in the same, just one
is a fancier way of putting it...
Azure Lily,
That's a nice one, but I think I've seen them cheaper
at the same site...that's the one thing I've noticed about
their site, you have to look for awhile but it's possible
to find cheaper ones ! I do like the ones you can add
more pages to it.
My 3 BOS are those zip up three ring binders, I'm always
going to the library and getting things printed to add
to one or the other. My handwriting isn't always neat
enough to hand copy all info I want in my BOS. My
arms and hands burn from nerve damage to my neck
so I can only hold an erasable ink pen for so long.

Gentle Light
MsMollimizz