Shownotes
What if you could have a living book that held all of your most precious spells and secrets? Well, you can! The witch’s grimoire isn’t just any old book made of paper and words, it’s a living, breathing entity. A friend to the witch. A familiar spirit. In this magical episode, we scour the pages of history in search of the most powerful grimoires, learn the importance of magical record keeping, and how to craft our own enchanted tome. So grab your cuppa, your pen and paper, and settle in.
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Order YOUR custom couture grimoire at the Otherworldly Market. And grab a Tarot and numerology reading at Allorah's website.
As discussed in the episode, the HathiTrust Archive can be accessed to view over 1400 early American cookbooks here.
Find The Art of the Grimoire by Owen Davies here.
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Transcripts
You are listening to the Otherworldly Oracle Official
2
:Podcast, A Burning Hallows production.
3
:We are your other worldly hosts,
ALO, rain, and Kitty Fields.
4
:If you like what you're hearing,
hit the subscribe button for
5
:notifications of future weekly episodes.
6
:Head on over to patreon.com/burning
hallows to grab your exclusive
7
:book of shadows pages.
8
:To go along with each episode,
pay a visit to the other worldly
9
:market@otherworldlyoracle.com to order
your custom couture gir and stop by
10
:my website for tarot and numerology
readings, as well as custom candles.
11
:And now onto the show.
12
:Kitty Fields: What if you could have
a living book that held all of your
13
:most precious spells and secrets?
14
:Well, you can the witch's grimoire isn't
just any old book made of paper and words.
15
:It's a living breathing entity,
a friend to the witch, a familiar
16
:spirit in this magical episode.
17
:In this magical episode, we scour
the pages of history in search of the
18
:most powerful grimoires, learn the
importance of magical record keeping and
19
:how to craft your own enchanted tome.
20
:So grab your cuppa, your
pen and paper and settle in.
21
:This is the end of the video.
22
:Please like, comment,
share, and subscribe.
23
:Kitty Fields: All right.
24
:What's up?
25
:What's up?
26
:So I had a problem with the zoom
thumbnail being where I needed
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:to scroll down on the script.
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:Oh, nice.
29
:That's always good.
30
:Mercury retrograde.
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:Anyway.
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:It's almost over.
33
:Or just user error on my part.
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:Well,
35
:Allorah Rayne: I say almost over.
36
:Aren't we like, halfway through?
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:Halfway, yeah.
38
:Yeah,
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:Kitty Fields: just about, yeah.
40
:A little over, maybe.
41
:I don't know.
42
:Halfway.
43
:Yeah, we'll go with that.
44
:Allorah Rayne: Okay, so did you
keep a journal or a diary as a kid?
45
:Yeah.
46
:Yeah.
47
:How about you?
48
:Oh, yeah.
49
:Kitty Fields: I'm a child of divorce.
50
:Yes.
51
:Yes, I did.
52
:Exactly.
53
:I still have one of my composition poetry
books from high school and it is very emo.
54
:Allorah Rayne: Hmm.
55
:So did you always, did you always
write in composition books or
56
:did you have other diaries?
57
:Yeah,
58
:Kitty Fields: I think I had like a
fancy diary one time with a lock.
59
:And then do you remember there was
like an electronic diary at one point?
60
:Oh yeah.
61
:And that was like all the rage.
62
:I don't think I had one,
but I was one of one.
63
:Allorah Rayne: Go ahead.
64
:Oh no.
65
:I was just going to say, yeah, like that
was the pinnacle of diaries, but I never,
66
:I always just wrote in composition books.
67
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
68
:Same here.
69
:I had a lot of those.
70
:Oh yeah.
71
:A lot.
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:They were cheap.
73
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah.
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:Yeah.
75
:For sure.
76
:Right on.
77
:So our obsession started early.
78
:Kitty Fields: Oh yeah, definitely.
79
:I love, I've always loved
writing just in general.
80
:So the obsession started at a young age.
81
:Oh, when I was in third grade, I
won an award for writing a story.
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:Shut up.
83
:I swear.
84
:No, because.
85
:Allorah Rayne: So did I.
86
:Kitty Fields: Same grade.
87
:Well, tell me if your story was like
mine and that would be really weird.
88
:So the story was that we were forced to
go to a boarding school where we had to
89
:dress up like clowns and eat cold oatmeal.
90
:Allorah Rayne: Oh, no.
91
:I would have never written a story about
clowns unless it was a horror story.
92
:True.
93
:No, I had to write a fable.
94
:That's all I remember about it.
95
:Oh, okay.
96
:I had to write a fable and I, and it was
about it was about a dad and three sons.
97
:I remember that, but I don't remember the
details of the story, but I do remember
98
:that it was made into a little book
and it was laminated and everything.
99
:And then they had like a
parent night or whatever, where
100
:they put them all on display.
101
:And mine was like first place.
102
:And I was like, Oh, that's awesome.
103
:That's adorable.
104
:That's so funny though.
105
:Third grade.
106
:I was actually telling my husband
last night that third, like
107
:third grade was pretty much
when I really got into reading.
108
:Same here.
109
:Like I had been reading since the
age of four, but like third grade
110
:was when I started chapter books.
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:I was going to say
112
:Kitty Fields: I was
reading like whole series.
113
:Yeah, exactly.
114
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah.
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:And now I think, and now like
kids coming up now, I just.
116
:It amazes me that, you know, third
grade, they're still reading Dr.
117
:Seuss.
118
:Kitty Fields: Well, I think that
depends on the kid, but I, I hear you.
119
:Yeah.
120
:Allorah Rayne: You, I mean, like
the whole, like, The vast majority.
121
:Yeah.
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:Like
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:Kitty Fields: I
124
:Allorah Rayne: was reading James and
the Giant Peach and Charlotte's Web
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:Kitty Fields: Chronicles
of Narnia in third grade.
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:Allorah Rayne: Yeah.
127
:Kitty Fields: Yep.
128
:All right.
129
:So magical books.
130
:Yes.
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:Books are magical.
132
:They are.
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:And everyone should keep
their own magical book.
134
:AKA the grimoire, AKA book of shadows.
135
:Right,
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:Allorah Rayne: right.
137
:Kitty Fields: So,
138
:Allorah Rayne: okay.
139
:So let's talk about the
history of grimoires.
140
:So what exactly is a grimoire for
everybody listening who may not know?
141
:And how does it differ
from a book of shadows?
142
:Yeah.
143
:Kitty Fields: So there's a couple of
different schools of thought on that.
144
:But basically a grimoire is a book
of magic put simply and can truly
145
:contain anything you want it to.
146
:The term is actually close in origin
or etymology of the word grammar.
147
:So it actually originally once
meant a book, but became used
148
:specifically when it comes to you
know, magic books or books of magic.
149
:Right.
150
:Right.
151
:Allorah Rayne: Right.
152
:Kitty Fields: As far as the difference
between a book of shadows and
153
:a gir, often the terms are used
interchangeably depending on the
154
:person and the tradition, I think.
155
:But the real difference is that
the Book of Shadows term was
156
:invented or, and or made popular
by Gerald Gardner, the founder of
157
:Wicca in the early 20th century.
158
:The book of shadows basically means
keeping your spells and recipes
159
:and things hidden from others.
160
:So hidden in the shadows.
161
:But to me, my personal opinion is
that you can call it what you want.
162
:You could also call it your magic
book, your book of magic, your
163
:spell book, your book of spells.
164
:I mean, I don't really think for me,
the terminology doesn't really matter.
165
:Allorah Rayne: Right.
166
:Yeah.
167
:It doesn't matter for me either.
168
:I think
169
:Kitty Fields: people would disagree
with that, but that's okay.
170
:Allorah Rayne: I think.
171
:Just because I like
the way that it sounds.
172
:I prefer grimoire.
173
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
174
:Allorah Rayne: But that's just me.
175
:Kitty Fields: A hundred percent.
176
:Allorah Rayne: It just
sounds more magical.
177
:Magical, yeah, exactly.
178
:Exactly.
179
:Okay, so let's talk about what the first
grimoires would have looked like because
180
:Just hot take it wasn't pen and paper.
181
:Kitty Fields: No, no, no, no.
182
:So people have been writing or basically
etching and other materials for
183
:numerous reasons for thousands of years.
184
:One was to preserve a memory or
knowledge and stories of their people.
185
:Taken up like real far back.
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:Another was for ritual purposes.
187
:So they would record prayers
incantations to gods and spirits.
188
:They would also record medicinal,
what were actually magical
189
:medicinal remedies as well.
190
:Basically though, before paper and pen,
they were using things like stone slabs.
191
:Or stone tablets.
192
:And like I said, they were, they
would etch or carve into the stone.
193
:That's basically what we know of
the first earliest written magic.
194
:Allorah Rayne: I need
to interrupt you here.
195
:So in saying this, and this might ruffle
some feathers to people who have stumbled
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:upon this podcast, who are not taken, but
now that you're saying stone slabs, wasn't
197
:Ten commandments on a stone slab to saying
yeah Like I have always said the Bible
198
:is a great book of magic Yes, like if you
can look past Dogma Psalms, it's fabulous.
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:Kitty Fields: Yes.
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:Okay.
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:Can you read that you bring this up?
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:Cuz I just started reading
the New Testament again for
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:my own personal education.
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:Allorah Rayne: That's so funny.
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:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
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:Yeah.
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:I agree with you though.
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:A hundred percent, but there's
so many of the books that were
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:left out of the Bible too.
210
:Allorah Rayne: Oh yes.
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:I know.
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:Growing up Catholic, we had
seven extra books in the
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:Kitty Fields: Bible.
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:So,
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:Allorah Rayne: but anyway, in
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:Kitty Fields: addition to that, there's
all the Gnostic gospels that were
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:purposely left out of the new Testament.
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:Allorah Rayne: Like
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:Kitty Fields: the gospel of Mary, the
gospel of Thomas, I forget the other ones.
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:There's a bunch.
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:Allorah Rayne: Like I said.
222
:It's an excellent book of magic
if you know where to look.
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:Agreed.
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:Okay, continue.
225
:100%.
226
:That's my, that's my little
two cents for the day.
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:Kitty Fields: No, I agree with you.
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:So, and, and, and saying that, if I
haven't said this already, the grimoire or
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:even the, the tradition of magic does not
discriminate when it comes to religion.
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:Right.
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:Exactly.
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:I mean, it's every religion.
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:It's a part of every culture, right?
234
:So the war itself is not
one religion or another.
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:It could be anything.
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:Allorah Rayne: Oh yeah, definitely.
237
:I mean, the Torah there's been, there's
a long history of Jewish mysticism.
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:So yeah, there's magic in every religion.
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:Kitty Fields: So as far as the
earliest written magic that we know
240
:of Sumerian cuneiform clay tablets.
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:So on these tablets, we know
there, because of these tablets,
242
:we know that there were physician
magicians thousands upon thousands
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:of years ago, and also exorcists.
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:They actually wrote rituals on these clay
tablets that consisted of protection from
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:ghosts and demons, and also from people
that might be casting malefic magic.
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:At the time.
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:Right.
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:What we would call which is many
thousands of years later on.
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:Right.
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:So that's all very interesting.
251
:Allorah Rayne: Well, I mean, and
the history of medicine as well
252
:was very magical for a long time.
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:Right.
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:Like even up until.
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:The early modern era, I'd say they
were still believing in humors,
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:Kitty Fields: right?
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:And every, everything, well, not
everything, but a lot of people
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:believe that spirits caused disease.
259
:Right.
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:Right.
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:Allorah Rayne: Right.
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:Which is a whole nother subject
on that, but just saying like,
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:this has a very long history.
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:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
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:Agreed.
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:Medicine was intertwined with magic.
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:Allorah Rayne: Oh yeah.
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:Kitty Fields: And to some
extent it still is today.
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:I was going to say that you beat me to it.
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:That's
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:Allorah Rayne: so funny.
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:Kitty Fields: Ah, okay.
273
:So another part to the
history of grimoires.
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:There's a book called the art
of the grimoire by Owen Davies,
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:and it's actually, I believe
edited or published by Yale.
276
:I can't remember which, but it's
a beautiful book that I picked
277
:up that shows all of these
different examples of ancient art.
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:Magical texts and tablets.
279
:And there's actually like what
you were talking about, the Jewish
280
:mystic like pottery where they're
drawing like spirits on and things.
281
:It's really interesting if anyone's into
this topic, I recommend that book, but
282
:also a big part of this is curse tablets.
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:So these were where people wrote or, you
know, etched on slabs of lead and they
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:were super popular during Roman times.
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:They're called the defictionists.
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:They were thinner sheets that were
easier to transport and work with
287
:than, you know, the heavy stone
tablets of the Sumerian times, I guess.
288
:So at this point we see like
kind of an evolution with, with
289
:writing starting to happen.
290
:Allorah Rayne: I'm just laughing
because I'm thinking to myself.
291
:This would be the equivalent
of an ancient Kindle easily
292
:portable to fit in your pocket.
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:Kitty Fields: Right.
294
:What gets me about these curse tablets
though, is that it still took a lot of
295
:effort to, to write, you know, to etch
out these curses on these, these tablets.
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:Slabs.
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:Right.
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:So I'm like, wow, you really had
to hate somebody to be right.
299
:Not taking the time to etch
all this out onto lead.
300
:You know?
301
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah.
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:You had to be dedicated.
303
:Kitty Fields: Really dedicated.
304
:And then so they're often inscribed
with curses that were against
305
:thieves and other people, like other
enemies of whoever was writing them.
306
:And then they were thrown into Roman
baths, or they could also be buried in.
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:In tombs or, or in grave sites.
308
:Yeah.
309
:So the idea there was the ones that were
thrown into the Roman baths, they were
310
:likely sort of thrown in there as a prayer
to whatever God or goddess, you know,
311
:whoever's domain that was at that specific
bath house or, you know, thermal spring.
312
:And as far as like burying it at a grave
site or a tomb, they were trying to,
313
:Either summon someone from the underworld
to carry out this curse or you know,
314
:or like symbolically putting it into
the other world, if that makes sense.
315
:Allorah Rayne: I was just going
to ask these baths, if, if it was
316
:like a natural, yes, bring, yes,
317
:Kitty Fields: literally called bat.
318
:It's called the town's
called bath England.
319
:And it's, it was.
320
:Name that for a natural
spring that was there.
321
:And they actually found some of
these curse tablets in that Roman
322
:bath house that had been there.
323
:Allorah Rayne: Okay.
324
:I was just curious because I was
thinking to myself, I wonder if.
325
:They had sulfur in them
and if it ate the thin
326
:Kitty Fields: iron sheet,
Oh, I don't know about that.
327
:I'm not sure.
328
:I know that they believe that they had,
you know, these springs or whatever, had a
329
:lot of healing abilities and interesting.
330
:Allorah Rayne: Okay.
331
:And then,
332
:Kitty Fields: yeah, then we see, you
know, there's a lot of magical writing
333
:and rituals drawn and painted and etched
onto things like pottery and walls of
334
:tombs and temples and things like that.
335
:Yeah.
336
:Yeah.
337
:Allorah Rayne: Which then
evolves into a form of papyrus.
338
:Kitty Fields: Have you ever seen, there
was a whole documentary on discovery
339
:where there's these archaeologists
in Egypt that recently found, it's
340
:something called the Waziri papyrus.
341
:Allorah Rayne: It's,
342
:Kitty Fields: it was pretty awesome
because in the documentary, they,
343
:they show the archeology, excuse me,
the lead archeologist and his team
344
:descending into this passageway that
they'd found in the Valley of the Kings.
345
:I had to remember the name of
it and they find like a tube and
346
:they're like, is this papyrus?
347
:And they all like freak
out because it's papyrus.
348
:It's pretty hard to come by to find a
perfectly preserved papyrus roll, right?
349
:That's thousands of years old, right?
350
:So anyway, this, I also recommend people
look this up because it's pretty cool.
351
:It is one of the longest and most
important works from the Ptolemaic
352
:period of Egypt and contains hundreds
of chapters of the book of the dead.
353
:Allorah Rayne: Oh, Oh, Huh.
354
:Kitty Fields: Yeah, it's like 30
or 50 feet long or something crazy.
355
:I
356
:Allorah Rayne: just
357
:Kitty Fields: got
358
:Allorah Rayne: chills.
359
:Kitty Fields: I know.
360
:It was pretty awesome when they found it.
361
:Like even my son was like, that's so cool.
362
:Allorah Rayne: I can
363
:Kitty Fields: see him.
364
:Oh yeah.
365
:Oh yeah.
366
:So, yeah, so then after the papyrus, at
some point, I think people started using,
367
:we, we came up with parchment and then
the parchment eventually led to paper.
368
:I should do.
369
:Yeah.
370
:I mean, not that quickly,
you know, but over centuries,
371
:Allorah Rayne: yeah.
372
:Cause then when we get in the
medieval era, we start seeing
373
:illuminated manuscripts.
374
:Oh, I was just going to
say the construction of
375
:illuminated manuscripts
was like years long.
376
:Kitty Fields: Oh, some people, some
of the monks that, that created
377
:them worked on them for a lifetime.
378
:Which is pretty awesome when you think
about if you have your own grimoire,
379
:it is something that you should work
on and use your whole, your whole life.
380
:Allorah Rayne: Yes.
381
:You
382
:Kitty Fields: know, I mean, I have
a bunch of little ones that are just
383
:journals and things, but if you have
a main massive Supreme grimoire,
384
:that is something that you could
add to and work on your entire life.
385
:Allorah Rayne: And what, so look for
anybody listening who may not know
386
:what an illuminated manuscript is.
387
:It's basically a book with hand
drawn colored illustrations, all
388
:kinds and the books are really big.
389
:A
390
:Kitty Fields: good example
of one is the Book of Kells.
391
:Which has all kinds of really
cool folklore around it.
392
:And there's a movie actually
made called the secret of Kells.
393
:Have you seen that?
394
:I don't know.
395
:Oh, please.
396
:You need to see that.
397
:It's so good.
398
:It's a cartoon.
399
:It's animated, but it's, it's just a
really cool look into that time period
400
:when the book of Kells is made and.
401
:You know, it's a Christian time period,
but it's also the age of the Vikings.
402
:So they're, they're showing the
Vikings like raiding the monasteries
403
:and it's really interesting, but it's
all about how that book was created
404
:and then how they tried to protect it.
405
:Allorah Rayne: Very cool.
406
:Yeah.
407
:So tell us about some
grimoires from medieval times.
408
:Kitty Fields: So, yeah, when we
think of the grimoire, we, most of
409
:us might picture the medieval style
where there's these huge books, like
410
:what we're saying, beautiful cursive
letters and beautiful illustrations
411
:of angels and even devils and herbs.
412
:But some of the famous ones from the
medieval times include the Picatrix.
413
:Allorah Rayne: That's the
one I always think of.
414
:Kitty Fields: Hildegard
von Bingen, who was.
415
:She's actually canonized.
416
:She's a saint now, I believe, in Germany.
417
:She was a nun and an abbess.
418
:She wrote a couple of different
grimoires, but her most famous
419
:one's called the Physica.
420
:And there's also a grimoire from
Iceland called the Galdrabalk,
421
:which is pretty popular among
like Norse pagans and heathens.
422
:Allorah Rayne: I've heard of that one too.
423
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
424
:In addition, we have the grand
Albert and the petite Albert.
425
:Allorah Rayne: Why?
426
:Cause I'm telling you what I'm
thinking about when I hear that.
427
:And I know me too.
428
:Kitty Fields: I thought that too.
429
:I'm like, I got to talk about this though.
430
:Cause it's funny.
431
:So the The Grand Albert was a grimoire
that was written in the mid:
432
:and finished in the 1300s with the
slation in French in the year:
433
:It's attributed to Albertus Magnus,
so it's named for him, AKA St.
434
:Albert the Great, who was a
friar, a scientist, a bishop, a
435
:philosopher, and the list goes on.
436
:Hmm.
437
:Hmm.
438
:The book itself is supposed to
contain Albert's secrets on the
439
:powers of stones, herbs, and even
some animals as far as using them
440
:for healing and magical purposes.
441
:So, yeah, so I pulled this from Wikipedia.
442
:Yes.
443
:I'm quoting Wikipedia.
444
:The book contained instructions on how
to summon the spirits, demons, and other
445
:supernatural beings as well as spells
and incantations for various purposes,
446
:such as healing protection and love.
447
:It also recommends herbal remedies and
potions for common ailments, such as
448
:the use of theory yak, a concoction
made of serpent's flesh and opium.
449
:As a remedy for animal poisons.
450
:I'm like, I need to read this.
451
:Allorah Rayne: All I'm thinking
is, I don't think that's a remedy,
452
:but it would definitely put the
person in a different world.
453
:Agreed.
454
:They wouldn't know what was going on.
455
:Kitty Fields: For sure.
456
:Yes.
457
:However, the use of folk
cures and occult rituals.
458
:Like the ones in the grand
Albert was actually much more
459
:common with peasants at the time.
460
:So those who had access to like
the mainstream medical care at
461
:that time tended to avoid these
practices as they were often viewed
462
:as superstitious and ineffective.
463
:And there was a stigma attached to
reading grimoires like the grand Albert.
464
:You weren't supposed to do that back then.
465
:Well,
466
:Allorah Rayne: which is
hilarious because again.
467
:Magic and medicine went hand in hand,
though the mainstream medical service was
468
:probably we're still talking about like
469
:Kitty Fields: a guy with like a jacket
and an alley, like, hold on, I may
470
:have something in the back here.
471
:Allorah Rayne: But I mean,
it's just a different person
472
:with different occult remedies.
473
:Kitty Fields: Just what it was.
474
:Absolutely.
475
:So continuing on about the grand and
petite Albert, the grand Albert's
476
:popularity was also partly due
to his reputation for granting
477
:spiritual powers to its readers.
478
:Some people actually believe that if
you read the book, it could result in
479
:possession while others saw it as a
means of gaining supernatural powers.
480
:Allorah Rayne: Like what?
481
:Kitty Fields: Supernatural abilities.
482
:I don't know.
483
:I haven't read the grand
Albert, but maybe I need to.
484
:I know.
485
:Allorah Rayne: If it gives you
the ability to teleport, do it.
486
:Kitty Fields: I find it interesting too,
yeah, that it's, it was the mainstream
487
:religious authorities who were saying
that this could be potentially dangerous
488
:and it was heretical and all this.
489
:It's like, was it really, or
y'all just trying to hide all
490
:the powers that be, you know?
491
:Right?
492
:We want to fly too.
493
:Take it for themselves.
494
:All right.
495
:So the petite Albert, meaning the smaller
Albert is often, is often mentioned
496
:in conjunction with the grand Albert.
497
:However, they're supposedly separate works
and written by two different Alberts.
498
:Allorah Rayne: Okay.
499
:Then
500
:Kitty Fields: I know the petite Albert
was written supposedly by Albert of
501
:Saxony, who was a German philosopher
and mathematician in the:
502
:But apparently there was some confusion
and there still is about whether
503
:Albert the great contributed to this.
504
:Grimoire or not.
505
:So this lesser Albert or petite
Albert contains love and sex
506
:spells, tips and tricks for a
better harvest recipes for cooking.
507
:Cause you know, that just,
just thrown in there.
508
:I mean, like a typical grimoire nowadays
and household and hygiene products
509
:and how to make a hand of glory.
510
:What, wait, stop.
511
:What's
512
:Allorah Rayne: a hand of
513
:Kitty Fields: glory.
514
:Oh, you don't know what the
hand of glory is for real.
515
:Ooh, we needed a whole episode on that.
516
:Cause it could literally
be a whole episode.
517
:So the hand of glory was a candle
made from a dead man's hand.
518
:And it was used popularly, supposedly,
this is the, the history behind it by
519
:thieves, because yeah, if you took it
into wherever you were about to rob,
520
:it would render the victim paralyzed.
521
:And I'm like, yeah, I guess, cause
I'd be, they'd be scared shitless.
522
:Right.
523
:Allorah Rayne: I, yeah.
524
:Yeah.
525
:No kidding.
526
:But so I have seen that.
527
:I've heard about it.
528
:But I didn't know it was
called the hand of Lori.
529
:Like that was new for me.
530
:But also we were talking about.
531
:The great Albert and the little Albert,
and then we have the hand of glory.
532
:I mean, come on.
533
:That's why I need to get you Albert
534
:Kitty Fields: in there somewhere.
535
:Okay.
536
:So hand of glory though, if anybody
wants to learn more about that, we
537
:have an article on which is cabinet.
538
:com on the hand of glory.
539
:Allorah Rayne: And I'll put it in
540
:Kitty Fields: the info box too.
541
:Cool.
542
:Yeah.
543
:So then we could also talk about the
greater and lesser keys of Solomon, but
544
:we're not going to, cause I think most
people have heard of those and you can
545
:find a lot of information on those online.
546
:Yes.
547
:And there's also the Munich manual
of demonic magic, which sounds crazy.
548
:The book of Abraham Mellon, the
mage, hopefully I said that right.
549
:The Emerald Tablets of Hermes
Trismegistus, and there's
550
:many, many more I could list,
but we would be here all day.
551
:Is that how you say
552
:Allorah Rayne: that?
553
:Kitty Fields: Trismegistus?
554
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah.
555
:Kitty Fields: Sure.
556
:Allorah Rayne: I've, I've
well, yeah, I don't know.
557
:I've pronounced it different, but
I have no idea how it's pronounced.
558
:So I was like, Ooh, do you
know how to pronounce this?
559
:Trismegistus.
560
:Kitty Fields: Well, listen, what
I do with all these words is I
561
:just fake it until I make it.
562
:If I don't know, I try to act
like I do because, you know.
563
:Okay.
564
:So in more recent years, so fast
forward past the mEdieval times,
565
:what old grimoires can we access?
566
:I tend to say if you want to go for
more of a grandma folk Remedy recipes,
567
:that kind of thing, two to three
centuries ago, you can actually find
568
:cookbooks and remedy books online.
569
:There's an online archive actually,
that's free here in the U S that
570
:I've used for a number of things.
571
:That's pretty interesting.
572
:Cause you can, you can literally read
through someone's recipe book from the
573
:1800s and a lot of them have old recipes.
574
:Like I found one with Florida water.
575
:Ooh, neat.
576
:Which is pretty cool.
577
:Yeah.
578
:Yeah.
579
:So I, I think, I mean, they're not
going to be called Grimoires, right?
580
:But it just depends on how, what
you look at and view as magic too.
581
:Allorah Rayne: What is
the name of that archive?
582
:If you don't mind
583
:Kitty Fields: sharing.
584
:Allorah Rayne: Yep.
585
:I'll
586
:Kitty Fields: pull it up right now.
587
:I have it.
588
:Allorah Rayne: I have it bookmarked.
589
:Kitty Fields: I do.
590
:Okay.
591
:It is.
592
:Yep.
593
:On actually nyu.
594
:edu, you would look up, you can just
look up early American cookbooks.
595
:nyu.
596
:edu.
597
:Allorah Rayne: So NYU has them.
598
:Kitty Fields: Yes.
599
:Gotcha.
600
:Yep.
601
:And it's a huge collection.
602
:I mean, they have a collection.
603
:Okay.
604
:1, 450 cookbooks.
605
:Allorah Rayne: That's a
606
:Kitty Fields: lot.
607
:Published in the U.
608
:S.
609
:between 1800 and 1920.
610
:But I would actually tell you
that there are some from the.
611
:Late 1700s that I've even found in there.
612
:Allorah Rayne: I wonder if other
universities have something similar,
613
:like in different parts of the country.
614
:Kitty Fields: That'd be pretty awesome.
615
:I mean, well, this is, this is
from all over the country though.
616
:So you're getting from
different libraries.
617
:Huh.
618
:Oh,
619
:Allorah Rayne: it's called,
620
:Kitty Fields: okay.
621
:It's called the Hathi
trust digital library.
622
:I can put this in the
info box too, for folks.
623
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah.
624
:Cool.
625
:Okay.
626
:So
627
:Kitty Fields: where else can we look?
628
:In addition to that, you can look up
actual books of shadows written by
629
:20th century Wiccans and witches like
Doreen Valiente or Gerald Gardner.
630
:You can find those on
Sacred Texts for free.
631
:Yeah.
632
:Sacred Texts is a really cool site.
633
:How many times have you and I used that?
634
:I'm sure over the years.
635
:A million.
636
:A
637
:Allorah Rayne: million at night.
638
:I took a class in university
that was science, magic, and
639
:religion in the medieval era.
640
:And I used it every day in that class.
641
:Oh, that's awesome.
642
:Yeah.
643
:Well, we did.
644
:Oh, it was a cool class.
645
:Cause we did, we role
played the trial of Galileo.
646
:Oh, so we each were ascribed
a role and I was a Cardinal.
647
:That's cool.
648
:So you had to access.
649
:Actual documents from the
trial of Galileo and, you know,
650
:Bible pages and all this stuff.
651
:So yeah, it was, it was really fun.
652
:That is cool.
653
:I like that.
654
:Sounds fun.
655
:Okay.
656
:So the importance of record
keeping and personal traditions.
657
:Kitty Fields: So in building your
own grimoire and keeping your own
658
:grimoire, adding to it over the years.
659
:You're.
660
:Not just keeping a record
of what you've done.
661
:You're actually building
your own personal tradition,
662
:Allorah Rayne: right?
663
:Kitty Fields: So if we don't do that,
we don't record our own, you know,
664
:recipes, spells, rituals, experiences,
dreams, all those things, then
665
:all of those things die with you.
666
:I mean, it's sad to say, but right.
667
:That's what happens.
668
:So I'm kind of.
669
:I'm not kind of, I'm very passionate about
telling people to write this stuff down.
670
:Even if you don't have a big elaborate
grimoire, like what we've said
671
:before, your composition book, right.
672
:You can get those at the
dollar store, you know?
673
:Right.
674
:Yeah.
675
:I just think it's really important.
676
:And I wish more people would, would do
it and, and keep it, keep it sacred.
677
:Keep it.
678
:You know, be more religious
about it, I guess you could say.
679
:Allorah Rayne: And you know what?
680
:It's funny.
681
:There's even a third term for your
personal experiences in performing magic,
682
:or it's basically known as a mirror book.
683
:Oh, yes.
684
:Kitty Fields: I've heard that term.
685
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah.
686
:So if you are thinking, Oh, but that's
not really a grimoire when we're
687
:talking about composition books.
688
:Yes, but I mean, if you, if you,
if that's your mindset, it most
689
:certainly can be a book of mirrors,
which is your personal experiences.
690
:It's basically a witch's
diary, if you will.
691
:Yeah.
692
:Kitty Fields: I mean, I like that.
693
:I think if you want to keep that
separate from your actual spells
694
:and recipes, that makes sense
695
:Allorah Rayne: for
696
:Kitty Fields: me.
697
:I kind of.
698
:Allorah Rayne: Oh, no,
I put it all together.
699
:Kitty Fields: I kind of just
put everything together.
700
:Yeah.
701
:I'm not even gonna lie to you guys.
702
:I sometimes have like grocery
lists and to do lists in my,
703
:in my grimoire that I'm keeping right now.
704
:But I have like, I have a big one that
I'm working on for myself, but I also
705
:have like a million other journals
that I use as grimoires too, for like
706
:day to day record keeping, I guess.
707
:Allorah Rayne: Right.
708
:Yeah.
709
:Kitty Fields: It's kind
of a problem though.
710
:Cause I, every time I go to the bookstore
and I find a pretty journal, I buy it.
711
:Don't go to Barnes and Noble.
712
:Oh, that's what I mean.
713
:I think I brought three home the
last time that I went there and I
714
:haven't even written on them yet.
715
:So I just started using them as, as
like, as like notebooks, you know,
716
:I'm just writing anything that I feel
like I want to write in them, which
717
:includes grocery lists and Yeah.
718
:Yeah.
719
:Yeah.
720
:Yeah.
721
:Research for podcasts and
you know, just anything.
722
:I think it's kind of cool.
723
:You know, like if someone ever found
my journal in the future, or my note,
724
:one of these grimoires that I'm keeping
separate, they'd be like, this is odd.
725
:Why is it talking about the
hand of glory on one page?
726
:And then the next page, it's like,
need a jar of pickles from the store.
727
:Allorah Rayne: Funny.
728
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
729
:Anyway, I guess we should talk about how
to start crafting your own tome, right?
730
:Allorah Rayne: Yes.
731
:And before we get, before we get into
that, when we were just talking about
732
:whether the grimoire should be secret
to the witch or pass down, you have
733
:started hand making grimoires, right?
734
:Right.
735
:Which I now own one.
736
:Yes.
737
:Yay.
738
:It's gorgeous.
739
:It's fabulous.
740
:Well made.
741
:Well crafted.
742
:You can definitely tell that it's, you
took your time and it is spectacular.
743
:But I would say the grimoire
that you made for me, that is
744
:something that I will pass down.
745
:Like That to me is an
ancestral type grimoire.
746
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
747
:Yeah.
748
:That's awesome to hear you say that.
749
:That's the goal with, with what I'm doing
with grimoires that I'm making, because
750
:I do want it to be something that lasts
longer than hopefully than a lifetime.
751
:And, you know, with the paper
books that we have nowadays,
752
:They fall apart, you know,
753
:Allorah Rayne: right.
754
:And I will like
755
:Kitty Fields: covers
756
:Allorah Rayne: for anybody
out there who's interested in.
757
:Purchasing one of your grimoires.
758
:So Kitty here, she customizes
everything to what you want.
759
:So you get to pick the fabric, you get
to pick the outside, you get to tell her
760
:different things that you'd like in it.
761
:And you even customize the content
based on where somebody is.
762
:Yeah.
763
:Yes.
764
:Yeah.
765
:Like you can put that in there.
766
:Yeah, I can.
767
:Mm-Hmm.
768
:. And so, yeah, it's just
amazing and magnificent.
769
:And it's also made out of wood.
770
:It's not a regular book, correct?
771
:It's like, yeah.
772
:It's like book from Hocus pocus.
773
:Okay.
774
:Kitty Fields: Yes, they're alive made
of wood and either faux leather or real
775
:leather, depending on what you want.
776
:As well as cotton.
777
:And the, the great part about it is that
you can remove and add pages as well.
778
:I know it's so great.
779
:So it's not as simple as a three
ring binder that you can pop open,
780
:but it's still, it's still, you can
make it what you want basically.
781
:Allorah Rayne: Exactly.
782
:And you even do like the
custom sizing and stuff.
783
:So if somebody wants ginormous
one, you can do that.
784
:And if somebody wants a
smaller one, you can do that.
785
:Kitty Fields: I can, I haven't
gotten to that level yet.
786
:That would probably take a little more,
just some tweaking on my end, but yeah.
787
:Allorah Rayne: Well, in saying
that mine's pretty freaking
788
:huge, like it took two hands.
789
:And some leverage to
pull it out of the box.
790
:I know.
791
:I know.
792
:Yeah, they're not small.
793
:Okay.
794
:They're pretty large.
795
:But if you want to craft your own
and forgo Kitty's gorgeous work.
796
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
797
:So how I first started this actually
was that I have an ancient ancestor
798
:that I've been working with.
799
:Allorah Rayne: The only
800
:Kitty Fields: one that I've ever worked
with, honestly, that came forward.
801
:And she was a What they
call a spell weaver.
802
:She was a scribe.
803
:She would write the spells and
rituals for her coven down.
804
:And so she kind of has been
pushing me to do this work.
805
:And so if you want to tap into some kind
of ancestral guide or, you know, use
806
:energy, then you can always ask your
ancestors, one of them to come forward
807
:and help guide you through the process.
808
:Cool.
809
:Yeah.
810
:Next though, there's different
ways to make your grimoire.
811
:Obviously we said you can just use
a composition or spiral notebook.
812
:I mean, that's worked for me for
many years, journals and diaries that
813
:you buy from Barnes and Noble even.
814
:A three ring binder with sheet protectors.
815
:We've talked about those in the past.
816
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah.
817
:If you're a Virgo,
that's, that's your go to.
818
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
819
:And those are great for like
kitchen type witchcraft too.
820
:Cause with recipes you, most
people want to preserve them.
821
:And if you're using them a lot in the
kitchen, the paper might get stained.
822
:So something to consider there,
you can also do junk journal style.
823
:And if nobody knows what that is, it's
like you're upcycling using, using junk.
824
:Basically, you can use any
kind of scrap paper boxes.
825
:I, I used a cake box and made it
into a little fairy spell book.
826
:And all I did was like print out
some paper, you know, some pretty
827
:paper, some pretty pictures.
828
:From online and then I use lace
scraps to, to bind it all together.
829
:Very cool.
830
:It allows you to be super creative.
831
:And like I said, if you, if you can't
afford much, you can literally make,
832
:make these books out of anything.
833
:It just takes a little bit of time
and practice and trial and error.
834
:Interesting.
835
:Yeah.
836
:And then, you know, moving forward,
once you have your grimoire
837
:made, then you think about what
content you want to put in it.
838
:For me, I'm just putting
literally everything that I want
839
:to in it, which could include.
840
:Like I said, grocery lists.
841
:No, I'm not going to put that in my main
one, but spells of rituals, your Sabbath
842
:information, your full moon information.
843
:Something that I think is really important
is your familial traditions for holidays,
844
:your heirloom recipes, any recipes that
you got from your grandmother or your
845
:mom, superstitions and old wives tales
from your families are important too.
846
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah, that's
definitely the most cherished.
847
:Thing I would think in a grimoire.
848
:Kitty Fields: So if you still have some
old folks that are alive in your family,
849
:you should be asking them those questions.
850
:If you don't know your family
stories or superstitions and whatnot,
851
:and then obviously info on tools,
like your best, some of your
852
:cauldron, your wand, you want
to keep info on herbs, crystals.
853
:If you're into tarot, any form of
divination signs and omens dreams.
854
:I mean, we could go on and
on about all this, right?
855
:Allorah Rayne: Oh yeah.
856
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
857
:And I mean, also too, it can, you can
have all this typed and printed out.
858
:You can hand write it, you can
pull things out of other books and
859
:magazines, like for a junk journal
type style, and so much more.
860
:They're the, the, the
options are limitless.
861
:Allorah Rayne: The options are limitless.
862
:The limit does not exist.
863
:Hey, I do have a question about
your GRS that you're making.
864
:Yeah.
865
:Okay.
866
:I know that you said that you're gonna
have a couple different styles in stock.
867
:do you have those up?
868
:No.
869
:In your, in your marketplace?
870
:Mm-Hmm.
871
:The only one I have right
872
:Kitty Fields: now is the
Practical Magic style, the
873
:trifold with the two books in one.
874
:Got you.
875
:But the one I'm working on right now
is gonna be the second style, which
876
:is just, it's, it's not, the two
books in one is just one large grima.
877
:Allorah Rayne: Right.
878
:Got ya.
879
:But the point in saying that is if you
are not into the practical magic style
880
:grimoire, keep looking on other worldly
marketplace because Kitty is going to
881
:stock a couple of different styles.
882
:She just hasn't gotten there yet.
883
:Kitty Fields: Yeah.
884
:And I'm, I'm also planning on making
a smaller, I think it's a four
885
:size or maybe it's a five a five.
886
:Allorah Rayne: We use a
four paper here every day.
887
:So I know exactly what a four is.
888
:And it's not a four.
889
:I knew you were going to know.
890
:Kitty Fields: I knew you were going
to know it was either a four, a five.
891
:I'm like, I think it's a
four is the larger one.
892
:So it's a five, a five.
893
:Mm hmm.
894
:And I have it's, it's actually a
leather like style that will be a
895
:ring binder for those, and this will
be a little bit more affordable too.
896
:Allorah Rayne: Right.
897
:Cause there's actually,
898
:Kitty Fields: you could hide those
easier if you're in the broom closet.
899
:So look out for those too.
900
:Allorah Rayne: Yeah, definitely.
901
:Yeah.
902
:I'm so excited about your new
adventure because it's so good.
903
:They're so good.
904
:Thank you.
905
:You're so gorgeous and you get bookmarks
and they're so cool and just so good.
906
:Pockets too.
907
:And pockets.
908
:Mm.
909
:Yeah, definitely.
910
:Yeah.
911
:Very cool.
912
:I try to
913
:Kitty Fields: add little details that
really, to me, make it more magical.
914
:Allorah Rayne: And more unique.
915
:I have never seen a grimoire with pockets.
916
:Me neither.
917
:So.
918
:Kitty Fields: So.
919
:Allorah Rayne: Don't touch you apart.
920
:Oracles, we need your help.
921
:If you haven't had a chance yet, open your
podcast app, rate, and review our podcast.
922
:Every good review helps us become more
visible to other oracles out there.
923
:And don't forget, whether you're in
the land of the Fae or the land of
924
:the ancestors, stay otherworldly.
