When I was a child, I’d guess around 4th grade (because that was when I started to carry a “purse”) I started my first grimoire. I didn’t realize that it was a grimoire until I thought back over the years and understood what I was doing. I guess it was instinctive. I read a lot, both fiction and non-fiction; and I took notes in my little notebook, which I carried with me in my purse. It should also be noted that I carried matches in a water proof container; a candle; a little sewing kit and a little first aid kit in my purse – I rarely had money. Sometimes lunch got thrown in there too. But I digress.
The little notebook was perhaps the size of a business card, and of course thicker – maybe a 1/2 inch thick with very tight little lines. In it, I wrote some interesting latin phrases and their meanings; the astronomical symbols for the planets; a list of edible wild plants with little drawings so I would know what to look for; and a variety of other tidbits of knowledge – like arcane books I would like to find and read; and parallels between pantheons of gods, and what they ruled over. I also had notes on gems and rocks. And a list of eclipses both lunar and solar.
Somewhere I had found one of those “perpetual calendars” which was folded and tucked into my notebook, along with the calculations to shift the dates based on where in history one was (since the calendars have been adjusted a few times).
Fourth grade was when I “discovered” and understood that the names of our months and days are heavily dependent on old Roman influences. Our ninth month – September was the seventh month in the roman calendar Sept is seven. Octo is eight, October. November for nine. December for ten. January for Janus, the god who looks forward and backward.
I became fascinated by the influences of these beliefs on our everyday lives. The Norse pantheon influences our names for the days of the week…though not completely, since the Romans also have a hand in our day names. Monday for the Moon. Tuesday for Tyr. Wednesday for Woden. Thursday for Thor. Friday for Freya. Saturday for Saturn. Sunday for the Sun. If you are in a romance country (a country whose language is based in the roman latin) then you will have more of the Roman gods than the Norse for the day names. Woden’s Day becomes Mercury’s Day, for example.
Every little tidbit that I found interesting at the time made its way into that little notebook. And although I have long ago lost that book, the information remains in the deep recesses of my memory because I wrote it down.
Hoping this helps you with creating your own Grimoire. Make it meaningful to yourself… Be well.