Frater FP - Sigils in Theory and Practice

Small treatise on the use of Sigils as a means of causing change in an individual's life.

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Theory

The word sigil is derived from the Latin, signum, a sign, and is also the root of sigillum, a seal. It is part of our common English words signature, sign and signal. Its meaning can be seen in three ways;

*A thing by which something is made known or represented
*Anything visible that indicates the existence or approach of something else
*Evidence of confirming, authorising (or shutting and securing) something

Sigils are commonplace. In mundane terms, we use our name as a representation of ourselves, we use a signature as authorisation, and we see traffic lights or signals as evidence that a train is coming! A sigil is hence a visible symbol, representing something else. In esoteric terms, we have the signs of the Zodiac as representing abstract qualities given to each sign. For example, the sign represents qualities of balance, harmony, justice, and so forth.

Magical literature is littered with seals, symbols and sigils used for various purposes. These are often drawn on talismans, staves, wands, pantacles, or inscribed on robes during ritual. They can also be drawn on the ground to act as magical circles of protection. However, a sigil has a far more specific use to the practical magician, and this is as a tool to effect changes in accordance with will.

The esoteric artist, Austin Osman Spare (1888-1956) defined sigils as the means of guiding and uniting the partially free belief. By partially free belief he meant anything desired that was not yet an obsession. This reminds us of Aleister Crowleys injunction to work without lust of result. That is to say, if the change you require to take place is bigger than you, and you are not in control of it, then you are unlikely to succeed in bringing it about. Fanatical love or revenge spells rarely work if the person is consumed by the desire. It is far easier to bring change through already available channels in small ways than it is to change the entire universe to suit you! It is easier to work for promotion if you are already in a job; if you cast a luck sigil, start playing games of chance; and if you do decide on a love sigil, get out of the house more!

There are many ways of describing or explaining exactly how a sigil - or any magick - works. These are fairly irrelevant to the chance of the spell working. You do not have to believe anything to perform the activities of sigil magick. Here are a few of the general beliefs that can be adopted :

* Higher Powers

When you cast a sigil you are calling upon unseen beings who can interact with the visible universe and bring about the changes you require. These beings have certain characteristics that you must know to work with them.

* Magical

The universe is connected by occult links, which can be mapped by correspondences. Thus, by burning a red candle one can cause anger on the part of another person without there being a visible connecting agent.

* Unconscious

Our unconscious mind is tied to the rest of our species. By focusing on the desired aim we alert the racial mind to our need and it responds accordingly, usually through the actions of others.

* Morphic Field

An invisible field is generated or forms our species and that of other species. By casting a sigil we link to this field and cause resonant changes in our environment.

* Retro-Temporal Engineering

Time does not work in a linear fashion as we perceive it. All events have and are happening at the same moment By casting a sigil we place ourselves in the universe where the desired event is taking place, even if this means that events in the apparent past must have happened to make the future event transpire. The sigil affects both apparent past and future.

Practice

The creation of a sigil has two phases; construction and casting. In the first part, the sigil is planned, designed and created as a physical item (although it can be created as a visualised sigil with the same process), and in the second part, it is empowered to make it live.

Construction Phase

Begin by stating your aim m one sentence. If it is more complex, simplify it. As m busmess, if you cannot state what you are aiming for m a single sentence, you are making too much of a hard job of it. Start the sentence with My aim is ... or My will is ...

For example, My will is to meet someone who can advise me about my health problem.

Another useful rule is that You have to know it when you see it. That is to say, avoid vague statements such as My will is to be happy when my parents visit. You must be able to recognise immediately the result which has been aimed for. In such a case, you might wish to redefine your aim as My will is to be able to stop drinking alcohol whilst my parents visit. Which will be far more easier to judge - either you are or you arent.

We can construct the sigil from a number of symbolic systems. In rune-lore, this is known as loading. The basic rule is that all elements of the sigil must be harmonious to both the aim in mind and each other. Do not overload your design with the symbols of three hundred traditions! The final result should feel right to you, whether it is artistically pleasing or not. Use components from :

* Art
* Alphabets
* Correspondence
* Spoken Language (mantra) (In rune-lore known as Galdyr)
* Gestures (mudras)
* Numerology

For example, you could take the 1st, 20th and 40th letter from the sentence and turn it into a design, like:

MNT

Drawn into a sigil form might look like this:

You could further stylise the design, adding other components to it. You could perhaps paint it on a certain type of wood suited to healing, in a healthy golden colour.

The next stage is to devise a mantra to repeat in order to charge the sigil, which will be covered later. This mantra can be derived from your basic sentence, but must not remind you of your aim. The trick is to bypass your conscious mind which can cloud the will by creatmg imaginary views of success which then limit the nature by which the spell can actually work. Thus, our health advisor spell could have a mantra created for it like so :

Choose relevant key words : -health-advice-meet-

Reversing the words gives us : teemecivdahtlaeh

Which could be pronounced as a mantra : TEEM EKI VAD LAAH

Casting Phase

There are a number of methods by which a sigil - or any other spellform - can be cast. Strangely enough, these boil down to variations of sex, drugs and rock n roll! The common element to these methods, as with ritual, is a repetitive nature, and the all-consuming manner by which their success takes over the conscious mind. In a sense, they all tend to unity. As we saw in our models of magick, if Unity is the natural state of the universe, methods by which we achieve recognition of that unity are likely to be closer to the mechanics of the universe so that we can cause change.