Book of Shadows

A Book of Shadows is basically a witch's diary. Your Book of Shadows(BOS) is where you would write down all of your magickal experiences. In it you could put anything from brews, spells, experiences, successes, failures, etc. Your BOS is about your magick and how it is going for you. Often, if your family has a long history of practicing witchcraft then a BOS will be passed down from generation to generation.

In my BOS I will write whatever magickal experiences I've had, ideas for the future, spells that have worked, or just general knowledge that I found to be important.
Your BOS can be written in a blank journal or spiral notebook, it can be on a more fancy journal(there are some journals engraved with pentacles, triquetras, triple moons, and other witchcraft symbols). I use a black folder that has metal tabs that allow you to add or subtract paper as you please. Often, especially for beginners, your beliefs will change and you will want to dispose of any false information in your BOS, that is why I have a BOS that I can add or subtract pages from. To make it a bit more authentic, I painted a pentacle onto the cover with a gold paint marker.
Many witches now have their BOS on their computer. I prefer the traditional paper BOS because I like to write in it by candle light, plus it just seems write to me.
Your BOS is about YOUR magick, not anybody else. Don't let people tell you what you can and cant put in your BOS. Your BOS is your magickal journal so you can put whatever you want into it, I am just trying to give you a feel for what a traditional BOS would be like to help you get started if you don't already have one.