SigilMagic

byJosephMax

Themeansusedandthewayithappensaresimple,theinverseofscientific.Iuseaformula,
createdbyinstinctiveguessand*arbitrarily*formed,notevolvedbyhypothesisandexperiment.
Thelawofsorceryisitsownlaw,usingsympatheticsymbols.
AustinOsmanSpare

SigilMagicisawidelyusedformofmagicalspellcasting,commontomanyculturesthroughout
history.NorseBindrunes,ArabiccharmsandtheKabbalistsKhemarehistoricexamplesof
usingawrittenalphabetasawayofdevisingmagicaltalismans.
Ingeneralterms,asigilisanyglyphorsymbolwithmysticalormagicalsignificance.Butforour
purposes,wewillusethewordtodescribeaglyphcreatedusingthemethodsoriginatedby
Britishartist,writer,clairvoyantandmagicianAustinOsmanSpare(18861956).

SparelaidouthistheoryofSigilMagic(aswewilldescribeitinthisarticle)in
TheBookof
Pleasure(selflove)ThePsychologyofEcstasy.
Thetextisavailableonlineatseveral
websites,butIrecommendthisPDFversionthatincludesSpare'sartwork:

http://www.rosenoire.org/archives/Spare,_Austin_Osman__The_Book_of_Pleasure.pdf

(Spare'sprosecansometimesseemimpenetrable,butthesamecanbesaidofmostgrimoires.
Althoughonlysomeoftheartisdiagrammatic,somehowthetextmakesmoresensewiththe
artworkincluded.)

Thetheorygoeslikethis:theconsciousmindisnotdirectlycapableofperformingmagic(infact,
it
inhibits
magic,)sothesubconsciousmindmusthavethemagicalintentimplantedinsomehow
itsothatitmight"unconsciously"manipulateaethericinformationtobringabouttheresult.
NotonlydoesthistheorymodelthefunctionofSigilMagic,butcanbeusedtomodelanyform
ofeffectivemagicaltechnique.Shamanisticsorceryobviouslyinvolvesdirectinterfacewiththe
magician'ssubconscious,breakingdownthebarriersbyextremedisciplinesandpsychoactive
drugs.Complexsystemsofritualmagiccanbeeffective,butonlyifthesubconsciousmindis
trainedtoautonomicallyrecognisethesymbolismofthesystemandactonit'slinguistics
unconsciously.Theadeptmaythenusethetoolsofthesystemtoformulateeffectivemagical
procedures.
Thisexplainsthelongapprenticeshipsandintensereligiousinstructionthatcharacterizesmany
magicaltraditions.ButinSpare'sconception,thereisnoinherentmagical"power"inany
particularsetofsymbolsitisonlythesubconsciousmanipulationofwhateversymbolsare
chosenthatmakethemmagical.Butitismoremagicallyeffectiveforthestudentofasystemto
acceptthedogmaofit'straditionthatit'ssymbolsetisinherentlymagicalwithoutquestion,
toprovidetherequiredbeliefstatetomakeitwork.

SigilMagicsubstitutesselfinducedactsofpsychologicalimprintingfordogmaticinstructionand
adherencetoaparticularmagicalmodel.Religiousacceptanceisreplacedwithpassionate
performancethattapsintotheunconsciousarchetypesthatunderlieallthereligioussymbolism
ofhumanity.Byuseoftheactiveimagination,andcertain"slightofmind"trickssuchassigils,
webreachthebarriersofthesubconsciousbyguileratherthanbymainforce(asin
shamanism)orbysiege(asintraditionalceremonialmagic.)

SigilTheory
ThoughSpareneverrevealedexactlyhowtheconceptofSigilMagiccametohim,hewasan
accomplishedgraphicartist,soit'spossiblehegottheideafromseeingwatermarksonpaper.
Thenewly(atthetime)publishedworksofSigmundFreudandKarlJungmighthaveprovided
thetheoreticalfoundationforthe"subliminal"natureofsigilworkingsthatbetweenthe
consciousandunconscious(orsubconscious)mindtherestandsa"safetyvalve",afilterthat
suppressesallnonlogicalthoughtsandimpressions,whichSparecalledthe"psychiccensor".
Sigilsaremonogramsofthought,forthegovernmentofenergy...amathematicalmeansof
symbolisingdesireandgivingitformthathasthevirtueofpreventinganythoughtand
associationonthatparticulardesire(atthemagicaltime),escapingthedetectionoftheEgo,so
thatitdoesnotrestrainorattachsuchdesiretoitsowntransitoryimages,memoriesand
worries,butallowsitfreepassagetothesubconsciousness.
A.O.Spare,"TheBookOfPleasure"

SigilMagicusestheseglyphsasameanstobridgethegapbetweentheconsciousand
subconsciousmind.Itcomparesinsomerespectstotraditional"talismanmagic",inwhich
predeterminedsymbols(suchasplanetaryorastrologicalones)areusedtoembellisha
physicaldevicethatwillencompassthe"power"representedbythosesymbols.Generally,the
talismanissubsequentlycarriedbytheuserasa"charm".
Incontrast,asigilisacustomizedtooldesignedtobringaboutaspecificeffect,andit'sphysical
basisisonlyusedonceatthetimeofthesubconsciousimplantation,afterwhichitisgenerally
(althoughnotalways)destroyed.
Also,asigilisanoriginalartisticcreation,producedbyconceivingasentencethatexpressesa
magicalintent,andconvertingthatsentenceintoapictoralrepresentation.Thepointistoobtain
animagethatcancarrytheintentpastthepsychiccensorandintothesubconsciousmind,
whereitbecomesmagicallyeffective.
ThegreatadvantageofSigilMagicisthatnoparticularbeliefsetisneededtoworkwithitthere
arenodiscarnateentitiestosummon,nodeitiestoappease,noinvisibleraystoemanatefrom
yoursolarplexus(unlessyouwanttocreatethemyourselfasametabeliefdevice).Andthere
arenospecialtoolsorequipmentneededbeyondapencilandpaper,andeventhesecanbe
abandonedbytheadeptpractitioner.

TheMakingofaSigil
Therearethreemainpartstotheconstructionofasigil:formulationofaSentenceofDesire,
conversionofthesentenceintoagraphicrepresentationorglyph,andimplantationoftheglyph
intothesubconsciousness.

Ofthethreesteps,thecreationoftheSentenceofDesireisthemostimportantandthemost
difficult.Duetothepsychologicalmakeupofthehumansubconscious,therearecertain
guidelinesthatmustbefollowedtoobtainpredictableresults.
Firstthereistheneedforabsoluteprecisionandlackofambiguity.I'veheardofatestthatis
usedinmilitaryofficer'strainingschools,inwhichthesquadleaderisassignedamissionand
requiredtodeviseasetofordersforthesquadthatheorshethinksistotallyunambiguous.
Thenthoseunderhisorhercommandwilltrytofollowthoseorderstotheletter,butinsucha
waythatisNOTwhattheleaderreallyintendedinotherwords,theytrytopurposely
misinterprettheorders,iftheycan.Iftheyfinditimpossibletodoso,theleaderpassesthetest.

Soagoodwaytotestone'sSentenceofDesireistoseeifyoucancomeupwithanyalternative
meaningotherthanwhatwasintended.Ifso,tryformulatingitinanotherway.
Thisneedforprecisionmustbebalancedwiththeneedforbrevity.TheSentencemustbe
concise,usingjustenoughwordstoexpressthemeaningandnomore.
Also,thesentencemustbeexpressedonlyinpositive,notnegativeterms.Thesubconscious
hastheannoyinghabitofperceivingeverythingpositively.Forexample,ifyouwanttocreatea
Sentencetoprotectyoufromtrafficaccidents,donotexpressitas"Iwillnotbeinatraffic
accident"thedeepmindignoresthe"not"andhearsthisas"Iwillbeinatrafficaccident"!
Instead,expressitassomethinglike"Iwilldrivesafely".

SpareprecededallofhisSentenceswiththeprefix"THISMYWISH..."followedbythe
descriptionofwhatwasdesired.I'vealwaysfeltthiswasabitsoft,soItendtouse"ITISMY
WILL..."Somepractitionersdroptheprefixentirely,andclaimitworksfine.Butitmaybemore
effectivetomaketheSentenceastrongdeclaration,sotheprefixisaverygoodidea.

ProducingTheSigil
Thesentenceisthenwrittenoutonpaperinallcapitalletters,usuallynearthetopofalarge
pieceofpaperthelowerpartwillbeusedduringtheconstructionofthesigil.
We'lluseasanexample:
ITISMYWILLTOEARNENOUGHMONEYTOBUYANEWCAR
Therearetwowaystoapproachcreatingagraphicsigil,asfollows.

Method1:
Scanthelettersandcrossoutanyrepeatingones,asfollows:
ITxSMYWxLxxOEARNxxxUGHxxxxxxxBxxxxxxCxx
Whichleavesuswiththefollowinglettersremaining:
ITSMYWLOEARNUGHBC

Method2:
Sameasabove,butbreaktheSentenceintoit'scomponentpartsfirst:
ITISMYWILL>ITIxMYWxLx=ITSMYWL
TOEARNENOUGHMONEY>TOEARNxxxUGHMxxxY=TOEARNUGHMY
TOBUYANEWCAR>TOBUYANEWCxR=TOBUYANEWCR

Atthispoint,theresultinglist(s)ofletterscanbeusedtomakeeitheragraphicsigiloramantric
sigil.We'llcovereachoneseparately.

GraphicSigils

Outoftheselettershapes,acombinedimageisformed.InthecaseofMethod2above,the
separateimagesarepreparedfirst,thencombinedtogethertoyieldasingleglyph.Theletters
canbelinkedtoeachother,orsuperimposedontopofeachother,inanymannerdesired.
What'smostimportantisthattheresultingimageis"impressive"andsatisfyingtoit'screator.
Here'sthewayImightgoaboutrenderingthisexample.KeepinmindthatthisisMYwayof
doingitandforittobeeffectiveforyou,itwouldhavetobecreatedbyyouandofcoursewould
bedifferent.
Onaseparatepieceofpaper,Iwouldmakeabasic,roughsketchlinkingthevariousletter
shapestogether,combiningsomeofthemasIgoalong(forexample,an"M"isa"W"upside
down,"I"iscontainedin"T","F"ispartof"E",etc.):

Inthecaseofmethod2,eachsectionisrenderedintoaroughdrawingfirst,thenthedrawings
arecombinedintoasingleglyph.Theprocessisprettymuchthesameeitherway.Method2
makesiteasiertocreateasigilfromasomewhatlongerSentencewithoutendingupwith
almosteveryletterofthealphabetinthemixallatonce!
AtthispointIwoulddiscardthefirstpieceofpaperwiththeoriginalsentenceandlistofletters
onit.Fromthispointonward,itisnotlookedatasderivativeofcertainwords,orevenasalistof
letters,butsimplyasapicture.Butduringtheprocess,yourmindisabsorbingthehidden
meaningunconsciously,andwill"remember"itsubliminally.Keepinmindthatsigilmagicwas
originatedbyahighlyskilledartist,whofullyunderstoodthattheactofcreationitselfispowerful
magic.

Sotheimageissimplifiedandrefined,withthegoalbeingapatternthatthemindcaneasily
visualize.Thisisthereasonfortryingtomakeitartisticallyimpressivesomehow,likeaneasyto

recalllogo.However,whatwe'reaimingforissomethingthatcanberecalledbyshortterm
memory,butnotbylongtermmemorysinceultimatelywewillberequiredtoforgetaboutthe
sigil.Sotoomuchsimplicityisalsonotcorrect.

Totakeitanotherstep:

Nowtheimageislookingmorestreamlinedandelegant.Enclosingtheentireimagesomehow
helpsmakeitmoreconcise,sodrawingacircleorsimilarshapearounditisalsocommon.
Thereisathirdmethodofcreatingagraphicsigil.Itinvolvesdrawingasimplepictureofthe
intent.Thishastheadvantageofstartingfromagraphicimageinsteadofhavingtoderiveone
fromletters,butthedisadvantageofhavingmoreofachanceofbeingambiguous.
Usingtheaboveexampleagain,youcoulddrawalittlestickfigurewithyourinitialsonitsitting
behindthewheelofacar.Thepictureisthen"morphed"insomefashiontoalteritbeyond
recognition,andthentreatedasaglyphinthefirstexample.
Intheexamplebelow,twofiguresrepresentingtwopeople(withtheirinitialsontheirbodies)
haveawalldrawnbetweenthem,perhapsforanoperationtoforceaseparationorenda
relationship.

Theoriginaldrawingiscombinedandsimplified:

Sothereyouhaveasigil!Nowit'stimetobringitto"life."Ifyoulike,doafinalrenderingona
freshpieceofpaper,trimmedtojustlargeenoughtoholdthedrawing,anddiscardallofyour
sketchesandnotes.


ChargingTheSigil

Eventheterm"charging"isanodtotraditionmorethananaccuratedescriptionofwhatisdone
toactivateasigil.Intheoldtraditionsoftalismanicmagic,onceanamuletwascreatedby
whatevermeans,ithadtobeendowedwith"energy"bysomeactionofthemagician.The
worldviewofthedaydeterminedwhatthis"energy"wasinprehistoryitwouldhavecontaineda
spirit,lateragodordemon,eventually"lifeforce"or"vibrations"providedtheexplanation.
(Whetherthatkindofmagiciseffectiveornotisn'timportanthere.Ithinkitcanbe,butnotfor
thereasonsthatit'spractitionersthinkitis.)

SigilMagicisacompletelydifferentapproach.Makingasigilworkis,inaway,theoppositeof
"charging".Theideaistoopenthegatesofthedeepmindandcausethesigiltobe"absorbed"
intoit.Themagiciandoesn'tchargethesigil,thesigilchargesthemagician!
Todothis,astateofecstaticgnosismustbeachieved,andatthatpoint,thesigilmustbe
introducedtothedeepmind.Therearemanyvariationsonhowthiscanbeaccomplished.The
simplestistoholdtheimageofthesigilinfrontofyoureyesandstareintentlyatitatthepeak
ofgnosisand,touseSpare'sdescription,"drinkitintothemind."It'sveryhardtousewordsto
describesomethingsoineffableasthisaction.Formeitisastateofhightrance,of
"notthinking",butatthesametime,withanobsessiveconcentrationontheimageofthesigilto
theexclusionofallelse.
Notthemeaningofthesigil,b
utsimplythegraphicimageitselfaspure
abstract,unconnectedtoanymeaningapictureandnothingmore.

Here'swheresuchexercisesasmeditationanddeathpostureyouencounteredintheprevious
chapterscanbeusedforapracticalpurpose.
Youcanarrangethesigilwhereitcanbeseen,andassumeadeathpostureuntilphysical
collapseoccurs.Youcanmeditateontheimageitselfuntilmeditativetranceensues,or
incorporateitasoneimageinaJuggler'sMeditationexercise.OneofSpare'ssuggestionswas
topaintthesigilonamirrorandstare"through"ittotheimageofyourowneyes,holdingyour
owngazewithoutblinkinguntilthesigil"disappears".(Healsosuggestedexhaustingoneself
playingtennis,butthenhewasabitcrazy...)

Onecanadaptamagicalritualfromanytraditiontoincludethemakingandchargingofasigilin
it.Itcanbeofferedasaprayerorsacrificetoachosendeity,orincorporatedintoagivenform
ofspellcastingsuchasaWiccancordbinding.
Shamanicpracticessuchasdancing,drumming,orotherextremesofphysicalexertioncanalso
beutilized.Sexualmagicisoneofthemostcommon(andfun!)formsofsigilcharging
technique.
What'simportantisthatsomeformofmagicaltranceorecstasymustbeachieved,andthe
imageofthesigilbroughtintoconsciousawarenessatthepointofpeakexaltation(whatthe
ChaosMagicianscall"gnosis".)Themostcommonmethodistosimplyhavethedrawingofthe
sigilinthefieldofvisionatthecrucialpoint.Someoneadeptatvisualizationcansimplycallup
thesigil'simageinthemind'seye.

Sincevocalizationofonekindoranotheriscommoninmanymagicaltraditions,onepowerful
variationofSigilMagicisthecreationofmantrasfromtherecombinedlettersusedtomakea
graphicsigil.

MantricSigils

Themethodofderivingthestringsoflettersisidentical.Tousethesameexampleasabove:
ITSMYWLOEARNUGHBC
Next,thelettersarerearrangedinsomerandomfashionIuse"scrabble"lettertilesforthis
purpose.Theideaistoobtainaseriesof"nonsensewords"usingtheletters.
Soonepossiblecombinationwouldbe:

YARGMESCILBOWTHUN

Thisisthesigilizedmantra.

Again,thesigilmustbecharged,andtheabovemethodsofachievinggnosisareapplicable,but
insteadofstaringatapicture,onechantsthemantra.Ofcourse,thetwomethodscanbe
combinedforevenmoreeffectiveworkings.

LosingtheMeaning

AccordingtoSpare'stheory,asigilwhosemeaningisconsciouslyrememberedatthepointitis
chargedisasigilthatwon'twork.SoyouMUSTfindawayto"forget"themeaningbehindasigil
tomakeitwork.
TherearepracticingSigilMagicianswhowoulddisputethis,andclaimthataslongasyouhave
thesigilwhereitcanbeperceived,eitherinsightorstronglyimagined,itdoesn'tmatterwhatthe
consciousmindisdoingaslongasgnosisisreached.Onepossiblewaytolookatitisthatthe
veryactofachievinggnosisinvolvesshuttingdownthediscursivefunctionsofconsciousness
anyway.Butthenyoucanfindmagicianswhowilldisputejustaboutanyclaimyoucanthinkof,
soeveryonemustexperimentanddeterminewhatworksbest.
Onewayofdeliberateforgettingistocreateafewsigilsfordifferentpurposes,putthemaway
outofsightforacoupleweeksorsountilyoucan'trememberwhichonewaswhich,then
chargethemeitherallatonceoroneaftertheother.

Thereisalsothe"underthenose"method:anobjectthatisseeneverydayinthesameplacein
thesamewaytendstofadeintothebackgroundofconsciousnesseventually,anditisnolonger
actively"seen".Usingthismethodallowsforthecreationofmoredurablesigilsinthemannerof
traditionaltalismans,thoughitwouldhavetobearrangedtobe
seen
ratherthan,forexample,
wornaroundtheneckorcarriedinapurse.

Anothermethodisbyusingritualactiontodistracttheconsciousmindandkeepitoccupiedwith
suchtasksasperforming"meaningless"wordsandgestures,deliveringamemorizedscriptof

actions,strongvisualizationofimagesorotheractions.Mantras,dancing,drummingorother
repetitiveactionscanalsolullthemindintoaquiescentstate.Welldesignedritualsincorporate
aselfconsistantandartisticallysatisfyingsetofsymbolsthatinformthestructureof,and
providedirectionfor,theactionsthattakeplace.Asufficientlywellchosensetofsymbolictools
candrivetheactionitselfwithoutaprearrangedprocedure,allowingforimprovisationalforms
ofritualwork.
Theseideasarecoveredinmoredepthinotherchapters.What'simportanthereisthatsigils
canbe,andoftenare,operativecomponentsofritualwork.Theyareusedasthefocusofthe
ritualitself,andthemechanicsaresimplythemannerinwhichthemeaningislosttothe
consciousmindandthesigilischarged.

Finally,it'simportanttoseparateone'sselffromtheactofchargingaftertheimplantationofthe
sigilisaccomplished.Don'tdoanymeditation,othermagicaloperations,talkabouttheworking
withanyone,havesexualorgasmsorevendoalotofheavyponderingabouttheuniverse.The
ideaisto
shut
thedoorstothesubconsciousandgivethesigil,and
only
thesigil,achanceto
becomefirmlyimplantedwithoutanyspuriousthoughtsconnectedtoit.Italsokeepsitfrom
easilyfloatingbackintotheconsciousminduntiltheshorttermmemorydumpsit,which
accordingtopsychologiststakesaboutthreehours.
Sowashthedishes,goforabikeride,readabookthat'sNOTaboutmagic,watchanoldMarx
Brothersmovie.
Anoteaboutkeepingdiariesorjournalsofsigilwork:
Somemagiciansaremaniacalaboutkeepingrecordsofeverythingtheydo,andthisisa
defensiblepractice.Butthepurposeofadiaryisto
remember
,andthepurposeofasigilisto
forget
paradox!

Onewayarounditistomakearecordofone'sstatementofintent
before
theactualworkingis
performed,andthenputthediariesawayforseveralmonthsandonlythenlookthemoverand
determinewhattheresultshavebeen.Anothersuggestionhasbeentopasteflyleavesoverthe
entries,bearingadateafterwhichthedescriptionunderneathcanbelookedat,soastoprevent
accidentallyinformingtheconsciousmindoftheworkbeforeithasmanifested.
Thiscoversthebasicsofsigilmagic.Aslongasthebasicformulaisfollowed,thereisalotof
roomforpersonalinterpretationandexpression.

VariationsonaTheme

SomeofthemoreinterestingapplicationsofsigiltechniqueIhaveused:
*Createsculptedsigilsoutofclayandmanipulatetheminvariouswaysduringcharging.Thisis
especiallyeffectiveforusingthe"pictorial"method.Forexample,twofigurinescanbemadetwo
representtwoparticularpeople,evenwithsuchthingsashairorfingernailparingsmixedinwith
theclay,avariationonthe"witch'spoppet"orvoodoodoll.Theclayfigurescanbecombined,
mashedtogethertoimplyacomingtogetherofthepeopletheyrepresent.
Claysigilscanbecrushedinthehandorunderfoottodestroythem,orevenhavefirecrackers
imbeddedinthemandblownup!

*Paintthesigilonone'sbody(onavisibleplace,suchasthebelly)withwatersolublepaint,
thentakeabathandletitslowlydissolveawaywhilewatchingit.Thisisespeciallyusefulfor
enchantmentssuchashealingthebody.
*Drawthesigilonpaperorclothwithdisappearingink(availablefromnoveltyandcostume
shops)andstareatitasitslowlyevaporates.
*Createasigilonapieceoffilterpaperusingfoodcoloringasink,choosingacolorappropriate
tothework.Placethepaperinafunneloveracontainerandpourwateroroilthroughitintothe
container.Itwillpullthe"ink"alongwithitandcolortheliquid,whichcanthenbeusedasa
"magicalpotion".
Obviously,thevariationsarelimitedonlybyone'simagination,aslongasthebasic
requirementsofthetechniquearefulfilled.
Sigilmagicissimpleandpowerful.Agoodwaytobeginistochoosesomesimple,unimportant
resultonetowhichyouaren'tpersonallyattached.

Like:

ITISMYWILLTOSEEATALLWOMANWITHPINKSHOES

Suchawishisentirelyunimportant,butnotsomethingthatonerunsintoeveryday,soit'sa
goodtest.Seehowlongittakesforthewishtomanifest.Thepracticalsideofsuchexercisesis
thatsuccess,thoughtheresultisnotimportantitself,increasesone'sconfidencethatMAGIC
WORKS,whichinturnmakessuccessmorelikelyformoreimportantobjectives.
Thereisnowaytoprovetheefficacyofsigilmagicexceptbytryingityourself.

Thechaptersheredescribemanywaystoincorporatesigilsintoritualaction,wherethe
additionalmanipulationofthesubconscious,anddistractionoftheconsciousmindcanenhance
theeffectivenessofthetechnique.
1996,2000,2009Allrightsreserved.
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