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How detailed should I be in my diary?

19:39 / 24.12.03

I’ve decided to become a fully fledge "wizard" and was wondering how to proper go about it in reference to my diary. how detailed should it be? specifically, when doing a sigil should I write down it's intent or even draw it? I am planning on buying some reference to this (ie a book. maybe Condensed Magick) some time soon and I know it's a very basic thing to be asking, but, I want to be serious about this and was wondering what you lot do personally. I know there are no hard and fast rules on this but I was just looking for a little advice. I will be checking Phil Hines web site before I look back here for your answers but really I was wondering about you, what you do.

Dances with Gophers

21:11 / 24.12.03

Really it's up to you, it's a personal thing. What I would suggest is that you write it up as if it was an experiment, how, why, where, when. Any other factors such as emotions, moon state and weather.
Some of these things may seem trivial but may jog the memory when you read it in the future. Put down as much as possible so you don't get annoyed with your past self.
Most importantly don't think of it as a chore because there will be big gaps in it like mine

Nietzsch E. Coyote

06:44 / 26.12.03

When I used to use sigils a lot I would seal them in dated envelopes along with the statement of intent. Then in the journal I would describe the technique but not the goal of the workings. Only after the deadline for the sigil would I open it up and see if it had come to pass and check the techniques against the success of each working.

14:52 / 26.12.03

I just open up my journal whenever I feel like I have to. I write down anything I've done that I'm expecting future results from, I write down anything I've done that I think might have had a result in my past, and I write down interesting omens and symbols and ideas and whatever. I also tend to write briefly about the state of my life. I like it to be readable, not just a series of timestamped entries.

When it comes to sigils in specific, I usually say something like "I launched a sigil for X today" and that's all. I don't include the sigil or statement of intent in my journal because I like to keep my mind off it once it's done -- you know, to avoid polluting it with other psychic associations. However, I do keep all my sigils along with their original statement of intent and a brief synopsis of their intended purpose in a tiny notebook-grimoir so that I can refer back to the specific wording of a sigil if I have to. I keep the grimoir in my camera case. I generally don't open it unless I'm adding a sigil, charging a sigil or showing a sigil to someone.

But it's not my magic journal. My magic journal is more like a weblog that no-one gets to read.

Um, I mean a diary.

12:29 / 09.01.04

I've just started making a physical Magickal Diary. I got this great notepad/book for xmas which has a cool tribal/goth design on the cover and blank pages. I had been making the occasional note of my workings in a Word document so I decided to print it out and stick in the book, along with other essays, ideas and images I found suitable.

For example, I have a couple of postings from the Barbelith, Grant Morrison's tutorial on sigils and some Lucid Dreaming stuff in there as well. I plan to addd to it so that it becomes a record and a source of inspiration. I already love it and it's much more satisfying to have a physical record rather than just some text on a computer screen.

16:57 / 09.01.04

I like the idea of making a multimedia/artbook version of a magickal diary, similar to Burroughs' scrapbooks filled with cut-ups/collages, photo-montage, and those grid-things Gysin was into. Lots of potential to explore there, especially with regards to creating hypersigil workings.

19:59 / 09.01.04

this is the aproach i've decided to take. make it all Burroughsian. rather than a pure diary. i could never be bothered to write everyday or everything i was doing. i don't do that many workings anyway.

20:59 / 09.01.04

Among other things, I like to track synchronicities, as well as dominant memes of the day/period. Like if the notion of the Abyss comes up in Barb, then I research a number of other links related, then later on I find myself thinking about Daath and its meaning. Astrological events and major socio-political-global stuff that may seem pertinent to whatever I'm currently holding in my head. An of course, all workings and magickal research. Also I tend to record novel events between me and my spouse, and occasional dream fragments (I've been very lazy with my dream diary for some reason).