What's in the Holler

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Handwriting the Book of Psalms as a BoS

I just came across a forum conversation on my Tapatalk site from six years ago and decided to share it here. I think it may be of interest to many of y'all. :) If you have a view to share, please do so to this post or follow the link to the forum to share it there. Blessings!

Nephthys posted:
In the Wiccan tradition, specifically Gardnerian (I believe...) there is a persistent myth of the "burning times" (which can be debunked in an afternoon with research and math) that insists that modern witches and Wiccans should hand-write their Books of Shadows "just in case". While this justification for a handwritten BoS is not as widely disseminated anymore (I can only think of a couple contemporary authors who still insist on this justification), it gave birth to a new justification in that, while writing out individual spells and rituals, you are charging the work before it is ever performed. In this way, one is basically taking normal words and phrases and turning them into words of power. This got me thinking. The Bible is, by far, the most powerful spellbook in the world. Its words are believed by billions (1/6th of the world's population is Catholic, alone) and read daily. Even those who do not believe still study it (biblical scholars, ceremonial magicians, etc.), so at any given moment all across the world, the words of the Bible are vibrating with power out into the ether. So, that being said, if one were to hand-copy the Psalms or any other part of the Bible, focusing on the uses of the individual Psalms as they are being written, and charging them with the worldwide vibrations, how powerful would that copy of the Book of Psalms become? I have begun copying them as an experiment. If nothing else, it would become an interesting curio for my own collection. But I am interested in feedback, just because. :)

My response:
I think your project sounds like a good one, definitely. They should most definitely have added personal power for you since you'll have them written in your own hand. Great project! Love the idea.
Your statement regarding the "myth of the burning times" however, I do disagree with. While the vast majority of those who were tried, imprisoned, and/or killed as witches, were in fact not, the fact that they were tried, imprisoned, and/or killed is fact. The Wiccans do not hold that those who lived through this tortuous time were all witches, but they do make the statement of "no more the burning times" because of the ignorance of those who attacked and, in essence, murdered these people.
I do not hold to the "covens" that are said to have been all over the place, visited by those from neighboring towns. This would not have happened, as travel was extremely dangerous, and going from your town to a neighboring town was not the norm. Merchants, soldiers, and thieves were about the only ones who traveled from town to town. It would be a rare thing for people of one town to know or have anything to do with those in a neighboring town, which most likely would be at least 10-20 miles away. The average village person would have no reason to do such traveling. Everything they would need could be found on their property or in their village or the nearby woods for hunting.
Wiccans today do not hand write their BoS "just in case". Today it is done for the same reason you want to hand write the Psalms. To bring their own power into the words that mean a great deal to them. They're words, whether copied from old Grimoires, passed down from family or coven members, or newly written by themselves, all hold the power of the Divine. It is all Divine inspired. Yes, the Psalms are very old, but so are the Kabbalah, and the Egyptian spells & writings, and the ancient Grimoires of Abremalin, Agrippa, the Books of Moses, and the Lemegeton Books to name a few, and all are extremely powerful, especially due to their age and the numbers of practitioners & clergy (up until the 14th century) that used them over those centuries. These writings were also believed, when written, to be "charging the word before it is ever performed". The writers may have had specific rites in mind, but then again maybe not. But the Divine power that was inspiring them to write those words is no less than the Divine power that inspires Witches to write their spells & rituals.
Through personal experience, I have worked with many deities, as well as the Divine One Itself. What I found was that the ancient deities who are not called upon as much any more, are very excited to be called upon again. Almost to the point of over-excitement. Like answering the door to find someone standing there that you haven't seen in a very long time, and honestly never expected to see again. That thrill of excitement & joy that is overwhelming. Once the excited greetings are out of the way, then the true visit & communion can begin.
All Gods are a part of the Divine One. Each, like the Saints & Angels of the Christian faith system, have their purpose. And that purpose is to be a comfort and help to those who believe in them. Just because one does not believe in the power of the Saints does not lessen their power, because there are those who do. The same goes for the Gods & Goddesses. Just because Christians don't believe in them does not mean they do not exist, have their place in the realm of the Divine, and are not powerful & helpful and offer guidance to those who do believe in them. Just as their is a mate for every person, so there is a faith system sent by the Divine to those who wish to find & know the Divine. But each in their own way, each coming in on their own Path. There are as many Paths to the Divine as there are people. What is right for one may only be partially right for another, and completely wrong for another. None of which are wrong Paths to take to the Divine, only individual. The important thing is that we find our way to the Divine!!
Strict purists have a hard time, and usually can't grasp this concept.


https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hoodoorootworkconjure/handwriting-the-psalms-as-a-bos-t297.html