Book Review of Shadows: Coloring Book of Shadows Planner (2018) by Amy Cesari

•  Monthly 2018 calendar spreads 
•  Weekly planning pages with lined space for each day 
•  Moon phase and moon sign tracking 
•  A spell for each month and a ritual idea for each Sabbat 
•  Lots of magical illustrations to colour plus extra space for notes – Amazon.com
  

I am a certified planner and organization tool NERD. I live to buy a new calendar and planner in the new year, and the last 10 years I’ve made it a point to buy almanacs and calendars that offered magickal info, or even just with enough space that I could fill it in myself. I like to track the moon phases and astrological cycles, and often use this info to choose my daily schedule and even wardrobe. (I know, boujie ass witchcraft. Whatevs.)

For all of these reasons, Amy Cesari’s amazing Coloring Book of Shadows Planners are my new go-to for my obsessive almanacing! Like other magical planners, it offers insights into astrology and moon phases, and offers seasonal magick and spells, and lists magickal tools for sabbats and celebrations. Of course, the twist is that the incredible artwork is all made for you to colour in yourself!

Every single page in this planner has designs that range from fine art quality to fun doodles, and somehow it all seems to match. The stones, herbs, magickal tools, and animals you colour throughout the year correspond to the magick of that particular season or even day. Pictures of plants, trees, and flowers are all labelled so you can colour it realistically and research its other uses on your own. Crystals are also labelled and drawn differently the match actual cuts or growth patterns of that crystal! That being said, there’s nothing to say you have to go hyper realistic with your colouring, and your violets and garnets can be whatever colour you like!

The dedication to educating the witches who buy all of the colouring books from this author and illustrator is apparent in every one I’ve seen. The book features beautiful wheels to show the changing of the seasons, the zodiac, and times of day at the beginning of the book to help you add to your planner and make it a true magickal almanac and predictive planning tool.  All the spells featured are simple enough for the average witch, are all different, and don’t adhere to any specific theology or religion. It makes it so that everyone can get information out of it, no matter their path, and I love that.

As far as the artwork and colouring are concerned, I mean… I could go on about how much I love it forever. I have almost every colouring book Amy has made and they’re all stunning. They’re the only colouring books I have that I actually reach for on a regular basis. You could be an absolute novice at colouring and not even stay inside the lines (I literally go outside the lines every time, Y’all) and come out with something gorgeous! Then again, if you are a fine arts major, there’s enough room in the drawings to add your own shading and colours and extras to make it the Da Vinci of planners.

Finally, probably my favourite thing about this year’s planner is the fact that the author and illustrator took customer feedback to heart and changed the layout a bit! Last year’s planner was a large size that was best kept at your desk or in your office, while this one is a smaller and more purse or bag appropriate size. It’s also spiral bound to make it easier to use on the go, and the date sections have lines for easier organization. Since I work from home I didn’t mind the size of last year’s planner, but I definitely prefer the spiral binding! Mostly I appreciate and respect how involved and connected Amy is with her fan base and customers. It shows how dedicated she is to making this planner, and all of her other colouring books, truly magickal and inclusive of everyone.

Five crystal balls well-deserved!

 A couple of my pages from this month! I made the salt bath and really loved how it smelled and felt, and I was so excited to see violets here! I have African violets in a window that gets lots of full moonlight an I love adding them to my magick.

If you want to see more of the pages in the planner, buy a copy for yourself, or just shop Amy’s other works head to her website at coloringbookofshadows.com!