Introductory Sigil Magick

Greetings, all you wonderful, witchy folk!  I have what I hope is a little treat for you, today.  I’m beginning to unlock some of my previously gated content from 6 months or so past. I hope you enjoy it and remember, if you don’t care to wait all that time for these magickal recipes, instructional and informational and apothecary recipe posts, come join our supporter community at my Patreon.  There are a wide range of tiers to choose from to suit every need and budget.

Modern Sigil Crafting

Today I’m going to offer you three modern traditional ways to craft your sigils.  I’m using the term “modern traditional” to refer to magickal techniques put forth in the last couple of centuries, as opposed to the sorts of symbol and sigil magick that have been practiced by all cultures all over the world since the dawn of time. We’ll get into that, along with ways to create very personal symbols and sigils utilizing that timeless iconography, in a future lesson or lessons. For today we’re going to focus on the power of words crafted into magical symbols which become sigils.

Doing the Work

Start by preparing yourself for the work.  Gather your materials. You may need:

• Paper
• Writing implement (pen, pencil, chalk)
• A  knife or other carving tool if you’re inscribing your sigil

I find that this time assembling my tools is a good focus and grounding for me.  Of course, I’ve been doing this a loooong time, so you may want to get more into your magickal groove in other ways.  Get grounded.  Music is good, meditation also. If you’re feeling particularly tense or scattered, have a nice ritual bath with some of my Ritual Bath Salts, or other salts, oils and/or herbs before you begin.

If you have an altar or other sacred space prepared, by all means craft your sigil magick there, but if you don’t, worry not. (We’ll talk about creating, cleansing and consecrating altars in another post.)

First light your incense and prepare your workspace in a way that facilitates your concentration and empowerment. Burning incense during our magickal workings also enhances our magick.  I prefer loose incense blends and resins on charcoal, but cone incense or stick incense will also work. I usually use my Powerful Magick for the duration of almost any magickal working.

All of that said, sigil magick can be done almost anywhere, with almost any tools and with no more preparation than a strong and clear statement of will. It’s a form of magick that lends itself extremely well to working on the fly, (or flying by the seat of your pants!) So if it suits you, by all means grab a scrap of paper and a pen and doodle at your desk.

And remember, the time to do urgent or emergency magick is always now!

Let’s start with this simple Magick Square method. The top designs are examples of sigils using this method. The Rectangle is the English alphabet laid out in such a fashion as to apply each letter to a number, one through nine. Use any alphabet you choose to create your own, non-English template.

First write your statement of will.  Try to condense it to it’s simplest form, even to one word. Alternately, see my instructions for condensing your statement of will below, on the Chaos Magick technique instructions.

Begin your sigil with the tiny, open circle in the number that corresponds to the first letter of your statement. Draw a line to the next letter and from there to the next and so on to the end.  Finish with a crossbar.

The Witches’ Circle is a technique that allows for a bit more creativity in line and flow.  That said, your goal is still to create a simple, memorable design. Again, begin with a closed circle and end with a crossbar.

This last Chaos Magick technique is probably the most difficult to master, but produces stunning, empowered sigils in the creative practitioner’s hands. I’ve scribbled a couple of illustrations that I hope will clearly describe the technique.

The first illustration shows my statement of will along the bottom, and each step in a different color ink.  If it’s hard to understand, please feel free to ask me to clarify or elaborate, I’ve only ever taught this method in person.  Perhaps a video in in order at some future time.

• 1) Write out your statement of will. Be clear and concise.  My example reads: It is my true will that (your will). So mote it be.
• 1a) Cross out all the vowels. The example is left with: tsmytrwllthtsmtb (Or leavethe vowels in and go to step 2; it’s a matter of preference, but including the vowels will leave you with more letters to include).
• 2) Remove letters that appear more than once to get: tsmyrwlhb

This becomes the condensed form of my statement of will that I will use to craft my sigil. If you look at the symbol taking form above, you will see that the first form (in teal/blue) forms the letters t, r, y, and l.  We are left with smwlhb.

The second shape, in red, completes the h and the b.

The pink lines complete the m, w and s.

I’ve drawn this in three colors above, only adding to lines already present to illustrate the technique. When you craft your sigil, you will trace the previously drawn lines as necessary to draw each letter you add. So you’ll be going over lines you’ve already drawn to shape each new letter.  Make sense? Finish your sigil off with a thick line pen (or chisel tip, as I’ve done here).

Try out each of them and see how they feel to you.  My suggestion is to make one magical statement and then use each of the three techniques to create a sigil for the same purpose.  This is just a practice exercise, but choose something important to you anyway. Perhaps something self affirming or protective. Even practice magick works.

Then consider:

• Did one technique feel more natural to you?
• Do you like the way they look?
•  Which one appeals to you the most?
• Which one feels the most powerful?
• Have you created a form you can easily hold in your mind?

Don’t feel like you must choose and stick to one method.  You may find that the different techniques work better for you depending on the purpose you intend.  I use them all at will in different situations and for different purposes.

So, okay.  Your sigil is crafted.

Now What?

Sigils may be used in myriad ways, limited in truth only by your imagination and their purpose.

Crafted a home protection sigil? Scribe it using chalk, marker, paint, or bodily fluids on your gate, your door, your windows and entrances into your domain. Alternatively hold it in your mind and let it grow huge above your head to encompass your home or property and then bring it down over it until it’s buried in the ground beneath you.

Carve your sigil on a candle and burn the candle.

Paint it on your skin.

Use your finger (or bubble bath) to draw it in your bath water.

For a sigil to protect or affect another person or outside situation, again hold the shape clearly in your mind and raise power however you choose- sing, dance, rage, raise your root energy in sexual arousal then release your sigil into the ether with a primal scream or a forceful exhalation or orgasm.

Bury, drown or burn your paper sigil when the power has been released into the wild.

I hope this short  lesson starts or enhances your journey in sigil magick. Please don’t be shy if you have questions.  Feel free to ask here in comments, on my Patreon or in our Supporter group on FaceBook.

Blessed be,

93

In Light and Shadow,

~Thorne  

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