Sigil Magick Symbols are tools of ceremonial magic. They blend creativity, calligraphy, symbols, and ritual. Learn how you can use these to enhance your spiritual practice.
Our inclination towards habitual behavior draws many people to rituals. It doesn’t matter what belief system you ascribe. You can be an Atheist, Theist, or Diest and still engage in practices associated with magic. The concept of magic permeates our lives—for instance, a rabbit’s foot on a key chain. If you take the time to study other traditions, you will find several similarities.
Symbols with Profound Spiritual Meanings
The Japanese Tea Ceremony is a choreographed ritual. It uses ritual implements, such as teacups, teapots, and tea, to focus on developing concentration and presence. The intention is to develop “presence.” The ritual implements are ceremonial objects charged with energy.
“A Sigil is a symbol. It is a pattern that can represent to the subconscious mind your desired goal. What is its practical, magickal potential? A Sigil can release the long-dormant energies contained within the self. Through working with the Sigil, you can bring to waking manifestation anything in the subconscious. It can animate any archetypal force lying latent within you.” ― Laurence Galian, Beyond Duality: The Art of Transcendence
Everybody Loves Ritualistic Magic
Witchcraft’s practice has direct ties to older traditions that pre-date written history. Witches have much in common with the methods of ancient cultures. Witchcraft mirrors many of the techniques from ancient shamanic cultures. Witches individualize their Craftwork much like the ancient traditions of the Crone.
“Sigils are the means of guiding and uniting the partially free belief with an organic desire, its carriage, and retention till its purpose served in the sub-conscious self and its means of reincarnation in the Ego. All thought can be expressed by the form in true relation. Sigils are monograms of thought, for the government of energy (all heraldry, crests, monograms, are Sigils and the Karmas they govern), relating to karma; a mathematical means of symbolizing desire and giving it form that has the virtue of preventing any thought and association on that particular desire (at the magical time), escaping the detection of the Ego so that it does not restrain or attach such desire to its own transitory images, memories, and worries, but allows it free passage to the sub-consciousness.” ― Austin Osman, Spare, The Book of Pleasure (Self-Love): The Psychology of Ecstasy
Almost every branch of organized religion incorporates ritualistic magic. The cross is one of the ancient Sigil Magick Symbols of Christianity adopted from earlier Pagan cultures. Depending on the user, it conveys several levels of meaning.
“Symbolism in a greater or lesser degree is essential to every kind of external worship, and we need not shrink from the conclusion. In such matters as these, Christianity claims no monopoly or originality.” ― The Catholic Encyclopedia and International Work, Vol. 14 (1907)
It’s also important to realize that we cast a spiritual shadow wherever and whatever we do. Make sure your life is full of meaningful actions and rituals. Don’t let your life become habitual patterns without meaning.
Magik with a K?
Magik with a K comes from recent developments in the practice of Witchcraft. It refers to ceremonial and ritualistic magic. The practice of nature-based rituals is what some refer to as High Magick.
Archaic symbols such as Runes or objects that project energy are common in Sigils. Modern inspiration for using these symbols comes from Aleister Crowle. Mr. Crowle was a famous English writer interested in Western Esoteric practices. His fictional and semi-fictional works spawned a renewed interest in the occult.
“Magick is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the Will.” ― Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth
What Are Sigil Magick Symbols?
Let’s break down the terms to make them easier to understand. Sigils are a form of ceremonial or ritualistic magic. These symbols incorporate graphic designs, runes, and symbols in magical workings. It is a device to direct your intent. There isn’t a single unified system for these scripts. They often use symbols that come from other systems. And they are symbols with profound spiritual meanings.
For example, many sigils use runes. Runes are a form of Proto-Germanic letters for the alphabet. Germanic languages contain variations of these symbols. They were common before the adoption of the Latin alphabet. The runes also use symbols from other languages, including Hebrew, Japanese, and Chinese colonography.
You are more familiar with these symbols than you think. Apart from magic, we find these types of characters in the business world as corporate logos. These symbols represent company values and goals. You’ll never look at the Apple logo picture similarly because of its association with the company by the same name. The transition from a corporate logo to a symbol of magic depends on the user.
“The most famous Sigil is the Seal of Solomon, also commonly called a Jewish star, which is a hexagram, two interlocking triangles, representing the perfect union of the male and female principles.” ― Judika Illes, Encyclopedia of Spirits
Using a Sigil Magick Symbols as a Focal Point
Think of the Sigil as a focal point for directing intention and energy. Using a symbol for producing energy is also a common technique. Take the healing system Reiki, for instance.
Reiki uses a series of unique pictograms to focus energy on healing. These designs are not part of the formal Japanese writing scripts, but they use the same general form as the Japanese Kana.
Japanese calligraphy is an artistic writing form using simplified Chinese characters, which form a phonetic script. 六书 (liù shū) is the name for Chinese characters, which are divided into three major categories: pictographs, ideographs, and determinative phonetics. Therefore, it is common for people to use similar pictographs in the design of Sigils.
This means that Reiki is a system of Sigil Magic or Sigil Magick. Reiki practitioners are familiar with the symbol below. “Cho Ko Rei” is the first symbol most people learn. It is a symbol used in gathering and directing healing energy. The Training and initiation into the Reiki healing system include ceremonies of cleansing. They believe this ceremony unlocks the power of ideograms like this one.
As we touched on earlier, many symbols used by Western organized religion are focal points and thus a sigil. The cross is one of the earliest symbols used by ancient religions long before Christianity adopted it. (1) It represented many concepts, including the crossroads, a decision to follow a given path, and the integration of spirit and body. It represented the tree of life.
The point here is that symbols can be used in many ways to convey a specific message. The user decides on the meaning given to the object.
Developing Sigil Magic and Sigil Magick Symbols
A Sigil is simply a focal point for magical workings. It is a way to channel intent and personal energy. The power of the written word or ideogram (2) is just one element of “ritualistic magick.”
Runes are standard in Sigils and provide a benchmark for the meaning of a given glyph or mark. However, you can make up your own just as easily. Go with whatever resonates with you.
These graphic symbols are prominent in ancient and contemporary pagan art. They are seen in everything from Celtic designs to Wiccan inscriptions. Word-of-faith and the law of attraction practitioners use them as well. Seasoned magical practitioners caution against performing curses. This is because the law of karma will bring back anything evil tenfold.
“A big practice in chaos magic is the use of Sigils, which are abstract words or symbols you create and embed with your wishes.” ― Sophia Amoruso
It’s best to start with the goal in mind. Ritualistic magic uses processes or formulas to produce outcomes. Using the circle in a seating arrangement is one that transcends many traditions. You can create a sigil in a circle with other practitioners to magnify the working energy. Many traditions perform ceremonies to celebrate the seasons. The cycles and constellations of the stars, sun, and the moon. These celebrations are prominent in the rituals of Catholicism and Free Masonry. Whether they admit it, they are practicing ritualistic magic.
Some people believe that Sigil Magic or Sigil Magick is part of the lost knowledge of Hermetics. Some believe this is the source of real alchemy and magic, and they may have a point. There are connections to the use of magical energy here. Perhaps Reiki is one proof of the existence of this sacred knowledge.
Create Your Own Sigils
Anyone can create a Sigil. Many people make symbols when practicing automatic writing techniques. The subconscious mind communicates through symbols with profound spiritual meanings.
You can follow the process for automatic writing and set your intention to create a pattern that points toward any desired goal. The only rule is, if it resonates, seems right, feels right, then it’s right for you.
Some people like to use a Sigil when they practice affirmations, and you can create a Sigil that reminds you of any affirmation routine. These can help reprogram your self-talk.
Just remember, ceremonial magic is powerful. Ensure your goal is positive and does not cause harm to anyone or anything.
In Conclusion
Start small and build your own library of symbols and glyphs. Don’t be afraid to revise and update. Make your sigils living representations of the energy you wish to convey. Adding Sigil magic to your practice individualizes and energizes your magical workings.
References
(1) Symbolism of the cross by Guénon, René, 1886-1951. goodreads.com
(2) Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft. Wikipedia.