Introduction To Sigils

Introduction to Sigils

What is a Sigil

A sigil is a symbol that is drawn for a specific magical purpose; to represent the intent of the drawer or to represent a specific entity.

In Medieval systems of ceremonial magick systems, a sigil was the symbol of a specific entity, an angel or a demon which allowed a magician to summon and control the entity. In modern magical systems, a sigil is often used in magical work to represent a specific intention or to give shape to a thought form. In Chaos magic, a word or a statement may be reduced to symbolic form to create a sigil for ritual use using Spare’s technique. Sigils may also be created using someone’s name and used as a target for sympathetic magical practice.

A sigil may be drawn, carved or wood burned using any medium you like, but a pen and paper is usual. When the sigil is no longer needed, it can then easily be destroyed by tearing it up and/or burning it. While rituals surrounding drawing and activating sigils vary, the most important thing is to keep your mind on the goal while drawing the sigil. It can then be carried, hidden nearby or hung up where people can see it as is appropriate.

The word sigil derives from the Latin sigillum meaning “seal” and is likely also related to the Hebrew segula meaning “word, action, talisman”. The plural of sigil may be sigilla or sigils.

Spare’s Technique

Spare’s Technique is a method for creating sigils that was developed by Austin Osman Spare right around the turn of the 20th century. It involves creating a sigil using the letters in a written statement of intent.

First, the statement of intent is written on a piece of paper.

Traditionally, the statement begins with “This is my will…” or “This is my wish…” Though I’ve seen modern practitioners use “MY Will = …” etc. Or dispense with this part altogether.

Most modern practitioners who have dispensed with the “MY WILL” statement, avoid any statement indicating “wishing” or “hoping”, lest one continue wishing and hoping.

The statement must be a positive statement, that is, the words “no”, “not”, “never”, etc. should not appear in the statement. Instead of saying “This is my will that I will never get in a plane crash” you would write “This is my will; I travel safely by plane.” Instead of “This is my will; That the floodwaters do not reach my house.” you would write “This is my Will, that my house is safe from the floodwaters”.

It is also important that the statement be very specific to avoid any situations that could involve your Will coming to pass in a way that is unacceptable to you. The statement “I have a new home.” Could be brought about by a serious accident that put you in a nursing home, or the death of a family member resulting in your inheritance or a transfer in your job that causes you to move out of necessity. Best to state “I have purchased a three-bedroom home in Birmingham.” or “It is my Will to purchase a three-bedroom home in Birmingham.” – but try not to use any extra words, be concise.

Next, Reduce the Statement to an Image

Remove all the vowels and write down the consonants, but only write down each consonant one time. You can convert numbers written as words into numerals if you like. At this time, you may also wish to convert the English letters into another language, an ancient or magical alphabet or whatever suits you. Or leave them in English as Spare did. Combine the remaining letters into a single image. Use the lines from one letter to make the lines for another letter, put letters within letters until you get the simplest image you can manage.

Voila, you have a sigil.

Spare was not the first person to use this method. It is reminiscent of sigils used by Agrippa and sigils found throughout the world in various languages, including bindrunes. The technique has been further refined since Spare’s time as well. Grant Morrison is credited with the most modern variant of this technique.

Using the Sigil You can use this sigil in a variety of ways. While the act of creating the sigil itself is a magical act that naturally causes you to focus your energy on the desired result, some prefer to use the sigil as a part of a larger spell. You may wish to use it for a petition or add it to a container spell or dress it and focus on it while raising energy- direct the energy into the sigil. You may choose to light a candle and chant over it or put it within your field of vision while raising energy in a  more physical way. You can then hide it somewhere around your house or carry it on your person to bring the desired effect. Some schools of thought suggest you hide the sigil and forget all about it while others prefer to display it prominently.

“I Am Strong”

Draw this on yourself somewhere (not with toxic marker please) during times when you need to be strong

Here is my updated Difficult Conversation spread.

college witch tips!

being a witch and living in a tiny dorm or apartment is a hassle… but here’s some (cheap and easy) tips to make your life a lot easier coming from a college witch!

quick note: if you are a student, you can get six months free of amazon prime with a student email account, and from then on out prime is only $50 instead of $100! amazon is a great place for tons of cheaper witchy resources (and really worth it for textbooks).

💎 crystals! whether you’re sharing a room with someone or in a room by yourself, plenty of people collect and use crystals. check for local flea markets or see if there is an occult shop in your area, there’s bound to be some there. great starter crystals are clear quartz (an essential crystal), amethyst, and rose quartz!

📚 the library! your school library will have some sort of resources. also don’t worry about people thinking you’re strange for checking out books on magick… i promise they don’t care!

🕯 candles and incense! when i lived in a dorm, i hated not being able to light candles and burn incense. invest in some battery powered candles! you can get packs at local dollar stores or walmarts. as for aroma related magick, purchase some oils and mix them with some salt water and spray them around your room! oil warmers or wax warmers are also wonderful alternatives. 

📖 a grimoire/book of shadows! i highly suggest keeping a personal book. no, you don’t have to get some elaborate leather bound book that came straight out of hocus pocus for it to be legit. you could find a sketchbook somewhere, use a three ring binder, or buy a hardback book at a thrift store and paint over the pages! your book is what you make of it. it is your own novel of personal magical experiences and knowledge, so make it your own!

🌵 plants! invest in cacti and succulents especially if you are a beginner or live in a tight space, they’re easy to manage throughout the rough mishaps and late nights of school work. cacti are great for protection and banishing negativity, where succulents bring love and healing. both plants can represent the ability to survive through conditions others cannot. if you have a balcony, take advantage!

⚗️ jars! now is a great time to collect containers from thrift stores, gather old pickle jars, and look for sales and coupons craft stores may have since most of them will have all sorts of neat jars.

🔮 an altar! if you don’t have a roommate to worry about, great! do your thing. if you do (and the don’t exactly seem cool with the whole witch thing), you can make a subtle altar of candles, crystals, and some plants or flowers. they don’t have to be elaborate. you could keep a small altar in a shoe box or draw one in your bos/grimoire! get creative!

✍️ sigils! use sigils. abuse sigils. put them everywhere. write them in binders or on your skin, write them on sticky notes or ripped paper and put them places you’ll see them or bury them outside. sleep with a protective one under your pillow. there’s so many things to do and its so easy to use them!

🎨 get creative! you can make crystals out of salt (another thing you should invest in), learn how to read playing cards if you can’t afford a tarot deck, and never forget you can find the coolest things at thrift stores. paint can be your best friend!

☕️ tea and coffee! a keurig is a wonderful investment. whether you like coffee or tea, it gives you boiling water fast without leaving a dorm. enchant your keurig and remind yourself of the properties in your drink to help you learn.

✨ decorating! take advantage of things like twinkle lights and washi tape! if you don’t know about washi tape, its a decorating tape that does not damage walls. create constellations or sigils with washi tape on your walls! amazon also sells many cheap tapestries. give yourself a comfortable and pleasant space to live and work!

⏳ plan! enchant your planners to help you remember due dates, and while you’re at it, keep track of moon phases and other events! many calendars will tell you when full moons are.

⚖️ meditate! this is something i find very important to stay sane during hard semesters. if you have a roommate, maybe meditate in the morning or late at night laying in bed. you could also meditate when they have classes. its okay if you cant every day, but its important to remember to save time for you.

🏃‍♀️ walks! if you live in a dorm there’s a big chance you’ll be walking to class. enjoy these walks with nature, read outside every now and again, but make sure that you are always safe.

⏱ take your time! you do not have to collect all of these things in a week, month, or even year. witchcraft is all about intent and energy. you hold the power, the items are only there to help. manifest your own power, collect at your own pace.

🔎research! always research properties of things. buy cheap dried herbs from grocery stores and work with them, figure out what to put in your coffee to help you with your day, and learn how to enchant crystals to help you feel a little more confident about your studies. most importantly, learn to balance your studies and your witchy research, and don’t let witchcraft get in the way of your schoolwork. school should come first always!

i hope this helped some of you college witches, new and experienced! i am always open to answer questions! happy casting!

Heatproof (Pokemon Inspired)

A spell to help you continue on when under pressure and keep going. Good for when you have a big or busy day that you are nervous about.

You Will Need:

🔥 Black Tea of your choice 🔥 Cinnamon (I use powder) 🔥 Cinnamon Incense 🔥 Orange Candle 🔥 Warm fuzzy blanket you like

Steps:

🔥 Heat your water for your tea, steep your tea leaves and cinnamon stick/powder in your tea for 3-5 minutes

🔥 While it steeps light your orange candle and incense in a room that is cozy and comfortable for you

🔥 Retrieve your tea and wrap yourself up in your warm blanket. Visualize this blanket acting like a cloak of protection for you, keeping away the flames of stress and pressure

🔥 Drink your tea watching the flame of your orange candle, feel it empower and strengthen you. Feel the warmth of the tea inside you and how it spreads through your body. 

🔥 Once you finish your tea blow out your candle and watch it and the smoke of your incense disperse into the air

🔥 Once you feel ready, begin getting ready for your day

I got another witchy FAQs question so I want to go ahead and share it.

This time, we're talking some basic chaos magic with different types of thoughtforms!

Please note that I am not an expert in chaos magic, nor do I consider myself a chaos magician, so feel free to (kindly) leave feedback or corrections as needed. ^^

Thoughtforms 101

Definition of Thoughtform: Thoughtform is a catch-all term from any entity that was created with or by human thought (conscious or otherwise).

Types of Thoughtforms: Common thoughtforms include sigils, servitors, thoughtform companions (aka tulpas), daemons, and egregores.

Sigils: Most folks who create sigils and use sigil magic probably don't think about sigils as a type of chaos magic or a thoughtform. However, sigils actually do fall into this category. Think of a sigil as being like a simple computer program that's powered by your mind. You give the program a basic function (such as protection or prosperity) and the magical "coding" of your intentions allows the sigil to carry it out.

Servitors: If sigils are basic computer programs, then servitors are robots. They're not sentient per se, as they still require the coding and programming that comes with intention and magical energy. Yet they're much more complex than a sigil and can carry out higher-level functions & multiple tasks (e.g., drawing in people to shop on your Etsy page for prosperity, or actively guarding a space or casting a magic circle for protection).

Thoughtform companions: The widespread term for this type is "tulpa," and creating/having one of these thoughtforms is commonly referred to as "tulpamancy." Since there's also a widespread controversy over these terms, I don't use them myself. I say "creating or working with a thoughtform," and I'll refer to the entity as a thoughtform or thoughtform companion. Regardless of the terminology or beliefs behind this category, they are defined as a separate consciousness created by the thoughts and actions of a human. The human is typically referred to as the "host," since the companion is typically treated as its own separate consciousness. These are fully sentient, autonomous beings with their own thoughts and feelings. They're generally created, either intentionally or not, as friends for the host (hence my personal terminology for them).

Daemons: This category is similar to a companion, but with a different origin and function. Daemons have been documented since ancient Greece, to my knowledge. A daemon is also a sentient entity, however, they are not created intentionally by the host (although they can be brought to the forefront by the human in question). A daemon is instead a conscious entity created by, and representative of, the human being's subconscious mind. They typically serve as helpers and mental guides for the human. They are not considered separate entities; instead, they're part of you.

Egregores: These are essentially the AIs of the thoughtform world. Whereas companions and daemons exist within the human mind, egregores are similar to servitors and sigils - created by the mind, but separate from it. Egregores are often made or manifested by a group of people intentionally for a purpose. E.g., a coven may create one as a guardian or a spiritual guide. They're also often created by accident from widespread symbols - for example, branding. And nations. Every time somebody posts a picture of the Starbucks logo, you're most likely feeding an egregore, according to one theory I've heard. Do I believe that personally? Not sure. (I do have an exact source for this one available on request.) As far as I know, egregores exist with varying degrees of sentience, power, and free will depending on the individual scenario (much like artificially intelligent computers & androids in science fiction).

Pop Culture Entities / Deities: These are often referred to as PCEs or PCDs. I prefer the former but I often use them interchangeably. Some folks prefer to be more specific. For example, Raiden from Mortal Kombat is considered a god in that series, so many folks would consider him a pop culture deity. Whereas Dean Winchester is *not* a deity in Supernatural - so he could be considered a pop culture entity instead. However, this is up to the preferences of the individual entity & practitioner.

Differences between PCDs and Egregores: Egregores are ALWAYS created, intentionally or not, by human energy and thought. PCDs, on the other hand, can have a mixed origin sometimes. Some of them may be pure egregores, manifested on purpose or by accident. Others may be preexisting spirits - often nature spirits that are aligned closely to the fandom content - that latch onto a fictional work as a power source, and eventually fuse with it. And then another theory is that PCDs are *all* preexisting spirits or even deities wearing a mask - so for example, folks with this belief would say that PCD Marvel Loki is just Loki appearing in a different form/aspect. I personally think that all PCEs have a unique origin and I try not to make any assumptions.

Where do I fact check you and/or learn more?: Unfortunately, it is *really damn hard* to find good, solid information on pop culture work because it's very new. And while there's *lots* of info on chaos magic, you have to be careful to check the reliability of the source, much as is the case with demonolatry sources. Fortunately, Tumblr is a great source to find other pop culture practitioners. I personally also have *some* sources available for these topics on request, I'm just too lazy to dig through my Drive right at this moment. :)