Grimoire: Spell That

On the Halloween special for the radio program Says You, one of the questions was "In which room would a witch keep a grimoire?" The contestants were slightly baffled. One said "the bat room." Eventually, the answer was uncovered: the library. A grimoire is a book of spells or a "textbook of magic."

If you do an online image search you will find everything from games to manga to handmade books to rare books from the 18th century that contain the word "grimoire." Obviously, lots of people know what it means (Buffy the Vampire Slayer does). Or, at least, they have their own interpretation. One website explains that the word derives from the word "grammar:" a set of symbols that together form sentences. A grimoire, then, would be an explanation of how to combine symbols to make magic. Another source mentions that one kind of grimoire was the "founding text of Rastafarianism."

Since a friend's birthday is Halloween, I had to make one for her.
  • Distressed Cover (Posted here)
  • Tea and walnut ink-stained pages, torn (These techniques, different colors—I also scratched into the paper with a skewer)
  • Quotes from Macbeth (Witches scene) scanned, flipped, and transferred with Ad Marker Blender pen (Posted here)
  • Coptic binding with a Curved Needle (pp. 174-177 Making Handmade Books)







Ready for spells, charms, clippings, recipes or dreams.

Comments

dinahmow said…
Ah! The true meaning of sorcery and invention.Not a plastic pumpkin from China.If someone made me such a book I'd treasure it!
Unknown said…
As a ebook cover designer &
book cover designer i could say this the alternative way of making a book great. :)
Velma Bolyard said…
i wonder if, given the chance, this grimoire would have a conversation with one of tim ely's books…