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I鈥檓 a studious person by nature and I like to give myself topics to study. Because there are too many things that interest me to pursue academically 鈥� I have neither the time nor the finances to spare for this 鈥� I do a lot of self-study. Most of this is from books. But within the last ten years or so, internet sources have become readily available. There are YouTube videos, podcasts, lectures given by educators that are published online, and various ways of learning things at my own pace or within my budget.

Taking notes and keeping records are still my standard of practice.

So, when talking about keeping records, specifically for study or spell work, what is involved? Why do it in the first place?

I came into the craft as a self-taught solitary Witch. I didn鈥檛 even meet another Witch or have any type of guided instruction until after I鈥檇 been practicing three or four years on my own. I鈥檇 read many books by that point, and one of them I really got a lot from was To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Silver RavenWolf. I loved that her book had an outline for keeping records of spellwork and ritual. This was an invaluable tool to me that I have adapted and utilize in teaching my own students.

I also read and studied The Power of the Witch by Laurie Cabot, who embraces and teaches Witchcraft as a science.

Between these two wonderful Witches, my little nerdbrain was in love.

For magical record keeping, I believe spell craft should be treated similarly to a scientific experiment. In science, something must be repeated and the same end result achieved in order to be classified as a good theory. So in spell work, we follow similar steps to the scientific process.

The Scientific Method is:

1. Define a question to investigate
   
2. Make predictions (hypothesis)
   
3. Gather data
   
4. Analyze data
   
5. Draw conclusions

Adapting this for spell craft is as follows, and this what you keep as your records:

1. Set a goal or intention
2. Formulate a plan of action 鈥� what type of work is best for your goal? What do you wish to achieve?
3. Gather your information and spell components
4. Perform your spell
5. Record the after effects and revisit the record to note how effective your working was (or wasn鈥檛)
6. If your goal was achieved, note that in your records so that you can repeat the spell again in the future if that goal arises again. If it was not achieved, go through your steps and reevaluate if you should change something.

Many Witches, if not most of us, will answer a request for spells by saying, 鈥淵ou should really write your own. That鈥檚 how they will be most effective, because they are coming from you and based on your experience and desires.鈥�

Which is great advice!

And which is no help at all for someone who doesn鈥檛 know how to write a spell!

That鈥檚 where the record keeping comes in.

Through keeping records of your work, you will be creating and keeping track of your own spells and rituals. You can certainly use the spells and rituals presented in books to help you get started, but those aren’t there for you to rely on indefinitely. Try to use the spells and rituals in the books to learn what is involved in doing this stuff so that you can create your own.

And then keep a record of what you do because these record sheets will become your personal grimoire.

This is an adaptation of a spell/ritual record sheet I use and I give my students to use in their practice.

Spell/Ritual Record Sheet (pdf)

You may download it or adapt it for your personal use.