So I was talking to a witchy sister of mine about Books of Shadows and the ever pressing should ones BOS be a secret book nobody knows, kept and guarded, or should it be able to be seen by everyone. My first comment I must make is that you should do what you feel is right for you. If your not comfortable showing it to friends, family, or strangers then don't.
One popular idea about the BOS is that it should be secret and burned/ buried with the witch when he or she passes. So discussing this with my witchy sister this came up and thinking about this and the times that is was first done, my theory is that because being exposed as a pagan or witch, whatever the term you wish to fill in, could not only damage you but your family and friends. There were so many for lack of better word problems associated with being "exposed" until very recently that it was much safer to take the book with you to the grave as it were. Still to this day even we are met with fear and animosity like the most recent article I had seen about a Arkansas town banning a pagan temple.
That being said, the idea of burning or burying knowledge is a hard one for me. How much information has been lost because of this ritualized burning of knowledge. I have one book that is extremely personal and will have special plans for. As a parent, though, I want to have my child and if I have future children have the opportunity to expand on what I have done if they choose to follow this path as well.
That being said I am not saying that I go showing my BOS to everyone I meet and who come into my home. My books are a little obvious as far as the look of them but no one seems to notice them that much. I have a few and some are more private then others, however, when I pass on I want my children to have the choice. So what I guess I am saying is that even though I see the reasoning of why it was done in the past I feel like that we are in a time that we should start hording our knowledge keeping it and expanding on it.
