Written by ManifestMoons. Last updated 20 September 2026.
A grimoire is a witch’s personal reference book of magical knowledge. It holds the practitioner’s spells, rituals, correspondences, moon dates, herbal notes, sigils and records of what worked. The word comes from the Old French grammaire, meaning a book of grammar or learning. A grimoire is built page by page over years, and no two are alike.
Grimoire at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What is it? | A working reference book of magical knowledge, kept by one practitioner. |
| Who keeps one? | Witches, folk magic practitioners, ceremonial magicians and many pagans. |
| Where does the word come from? | Old French grammaire (grammar, book of learning). Source: Wikipedia, “Grimoire”. |
| Oldest examples | Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts such as the Key of Solomon, which survives in copies from the 15th century onward. |
| Format today | A ring binder with printable pages, a bound blank book, or a digital file in GoodNotes or Notion. |
| Is it the same as a Book of Shadows? | Close, but no. See the comparison below. |
Grimoire vs Book of Shadows: what is the difference?
A grimoire is a reference library. A Book of Shadows is a working journal. Most modern witches keep both inside one binder, with the grimoire pages at the front and the dated journal entries at the back. Some use the two words for the same book. The distinction below is the one most practitioners recognise.
| Grimoire | Book of Shadows | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Store knowledge: correspondences, spell formulas, herb and crystal tables, sabbat guides | Record practice: dated rituals, results, dreams, tarot pulls, feelings |
| Age of the term | Medieval. In English use by the 1800s. | Mid 20th century. Gerald Gardner, founder of Wicca, used the name for his coven’s manuscript in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Source: Wikipedia, “Book of Shadows”. |
| Tone | Reference. Written to be reread. | Diary. Written once, reread rarely. |
| Typical page | “Rosemary: protection, memory, cleansing. Sun. Fire.” | “New Moon in Virgo, 11 Sep. Cleansing bath, felt lighter by Tuesday.” |
| Shared or private? | Often copied or shared inside a tradition | Private, sometimes destroyed on the keeper’s death in older Wiccan custom |
What goes in a grimoire?
A working grimoire usually opens with a title page and a dedication, then runs through the sections below. Start with the three or four you will use this month. Add the rest as you need them.
- Title page and dedication. Your craft name if you use one, the date you began, and a line of intent.
- Basics. Ethics, protection, grounding, cleansing, how to cast and close a circle.
- Moon phases. What each phase is for, the dates of this year’s new and full moons, and the sign each one falls in.
- Wheel of the Year. The eight sabbats with dates for your hemisphere, colours, foods and one ritual each.
- Correspondences. Colours, days of the week, planets, elements, numbers and directions.
- Herbs. One page per herb: magical uses, planet, element, safety notes.
- Crystals. One page per stone: uses, how to cleanse it, which stones dislike water or sunlight.
- Candle magic. Colour meanings, dressing a candle, reading the flame and the wax.
- Divination. Tarot card meanings, pendulum charts, rune tables, dream symbols.
- Spells and rituals. Written as a recipe: purpose, timing, ingredients, steps, words, how to close.
- Sigils and symbols. The ones you made and the ones you use.
- Deities and spirits. Offerings, epithets, days, what you have promised and what was received.
- Record pages. Spell log, tarot log, moon journal. This is where the grimoire turns into a Book of Shadows.
How to start a grimoire (step by step)
- Pick a binder before a book. A ring binder lets you reorder pages and replace mistakes. Bound books look beautiful and punish the first spelling error on page two. Most beginners do better with a binder for the first year.
- Choose one size and stay with it. US Letter or A4. Mixing sizes makes the binder messy within a month.
- Write the dedication page first. Date it. Say what you want the book to hold. Keep it to five lines.
- Add the moon page and this year’s dates. Moon work is the fastest way to get a rhythm going, because the next new moon is always less than 30 days away. The synodic month averages 29.53 days (NASA).
- Copy in the correspondences you actually use. Colours, days, elements. Skip the ones you have never needed.
- Write one spell you have done. Record it as a recipe with the date and the result. That page is worth more than ten copied from the internet.
- Add a herb page and a crystal page each week. One of each. By the end of the year you will have around 50 of each.
- Keep a log at the back. Date, moon phase, what you did, what happened. Reread it every three months and move the proven material to the front.
Printable grimoire pages: the shortcut most witches use
Hand-lettering every correspondence table takes months. Printable grimoire pages give you the reference material already researched, laid out and ready to punch into a binder, so your own handwriting goes on the pages that matter: the spells you cast and what happened.
ManifestMoons has sold printable grimoire pages, Book of Shadows starter kits, tarot cheat sheets and moon calendars since 2020. More than 14,000 copies have sold since 2020 (figure checked 20 September 2026). Every page is hand-researched and tested in the designer’s own grimoire before it is released. Pages ship as PDF in both A4 and US Letter.
- Grimoire pages and bundles on manifestmoons.com
- Free lunar calendar with new and full moon dates and signs
Frequently asked questions
Is a grimoire the same as a spell book?
A spell book is one section of a grimoire. A full grimoire also holds correspondences, moon and sabbat dates, herb and crystal references, divination notes and records of practice.
Do I need to be Wiccan to keep a grimoire?
No. Grimoires predate Wicca by centuries. Folk witches, kitchen witches, green witches, ceremonial magicians and eclectic practitioners all keep them. The Book of Shadows is the Wiccan form of the same idea.
Can a grimoire be digital?
Yes. Many practitioners keep a PDF grimoire in GoodNotes, Notability or Xodo and write on it with a stylus, or build one in Notion. Printable grimoire pages work in both a physical binder and an annotation app.
What should the first page of a grimoire be?
A dated dedication page: your name or craft name, the date you began, and what you intend the book to hold. Keep it short. The second page is usually a protection charm for the book itself.
How many pages does a beginner grimoire need?
Around 30 to 50 pages covers the basics: moon phases, the eight sabbats, core correspondences, ten herbs, ten crystals, candle colours and a spell log. Most beginner grimoire bundles are sized to that range.
Where can I get printable grimoire pages?
ManifestMoons sells them on manifestmoons.com, in A4 and US Letter PDF. The Beginner Witch Grimoire Bundle is the usual starting point.
