Sigils: Process & Application
A Sigil is a symbol that is created with intention, will, focus, and correspondence. Historically, the term comes from the Latin term “Sigillum '' and was popularized during the Medieval period and was defined as “...occult signs which represented various angels and demons which the magician might summon.” This usage and definition of the term originated from ceremonial occult practices. The contemporary definition of the term has become “An inscribed or painted symbol considered to have magical power.” This definition has expanded the meaning of the word to include a plethora of magical systems that span over many different traditions and schools of thought. At their core, sigils are vessels that carry your intentions and are a vehicle/anchor for them. There are four distinct views on this matter: Instant, Passive, Psychological, and Active. I personally believe all are correct. However, one method may be more suitable for certain Sigil purposes than the others. We will begin with the ideas and concepts around their applications and proper usage before getting into the method of creation. Before continuing, allow me to define a term that I will be commonly using throughout this article. Intent/Intention: a personal truth, either conscious or subconscious. Not to be confused with desire.
All sigils have three/four phases that they move through. (Design), creation/infusion, charging, activation. “Design” is in parentheses because some sigilcrafters do not have a design phase at all but prefer to go straight into the creation/infusion phase. Sigils are technically activated upon creation but their potency can be further amplified afterwards by charging and then activating. What separates the Design and Creation phases will be discussed in depth further down in the article. The methods used for both charging and activating sigils are what decide the “Type” of sigil you are casting.
There are really two categorical types of charging: Active and Passive.
Active charging is when you consciously take an object and purposefully infuse it with energy through whatever medium is currently desired/appropriate. The charging process can be anything from rubbing/tracing to orgasms. I will create a list of as many possible charging methods as I can think of at the end of this article.
Passive charging is when an object is charged through unintentional interaction with the object, whether that be by making physical contact with the object or just simply being within the “space” or energetic field of the object. These are just two examples, but there are a variety of creative ways to unintentionally interact with an object for charging purposes. Where Passive Charging gets tricky is that the sigil must be designed to be passively charged; part of its intent must be to absorb energy from the actions of those who unintentionally interact with it in a specified manner.
There are three categories for Activation: Action, Instant and Mental.
Action based Activation is a non-destructive but intentional means of catalysing the effect of a sigil. This can be achieved in a litany of ways, however most of them should be programmed into the sigil during its creation. One popular example of this method is that the sigil will become more active upon interacting with it and/or the object/space that it is bound to. Another is programming the sigil to activate whenever a specific action is taken near it, like snapping, clapping, rubbing your temples, etc. Furthermore, sigils can be activated by specified emotional states and//or thoughts.
Instant Activation is an intentional but destructive method. This style of activation works off the idea of releasing the totality of the energetic system into the environment by destroying its vessel. By utilizing an instant activation, if the sigil’s purpose is capable of manifesting, the caster should expect an instantaneous manifestation of its effect that decays exponentially over time. Instant Activation can be accomplished by burning the sigil, submerging a sigil created with water-based inks in an aqueous solution, tearing/ripping the medium that the sigil was created on, burying the sigil, and/or erasing/lifting the sigil from the medium.
Mental Activation is achieved once the creator of the sigil, or any other persons that are designated during creation, completely forget that the sigil exists. Once the sigil has been forgotten, its effect lives on in the subconscious of those who know of it and its purpose. These sigils are best used for shadow work, behavioral modification, study, etc. This can easily be accomplished by hiding the sigil in a place where you know you will never find it; or by destroying it.
Underneath each description there is an example of the combinations of charging and activation of Sigils (in that order). These combinations are what create different types of Sigils.
Instant Sigils are any sigils that utilize an instantaneous activation. Any other type of sigil can become an instant sigil by destroying it, which can make sigils potentially dangerous/risky to get rid of. One way that this risk can be averted is by either modifying the sigil energetically before destruction by adding to it; or, by creating an entirely new sigil on top of it that negates the effect of the sigil below it during activation.
Instant sigils are best used for very simple purposes. They work well for quick and dirty curse-work, stress alleviation, summoning spirits/entities, or as offerings to deities (depending on your theological situation). This, of course, isn’t a complete list but should give you an idea as to their most affluent applications.
• (Active/Passive) + Instant
Passive Sigils are any sigils that are charged passively but activated via action. This means that they are charged through unintentional interaction of some kind and activated through a specified type of action. These types of sigils are best used for warding, however some other uses of this could be: sigils of protection or sigils for objects to go unnoticed. Passive sigils are most effective when bound to objects and have effects that are either energetic or related to human perception/emotion. In some schools of magical thought, Passive Sigils are also used to summon spirits/entities.
Active Sigils are any sigils that are charged actively and activated via action. This means that they are charged through intentional interaction and activated through a specified action. The most common action for Activating these sigils is actually the creation of the sigil; meaning that the sigil is created and activated simultaneously and is then fed energetically via active charging to variably control the intensity of the effect. These sigils make for the best tattoos, as by tracing them their effects become more intense. Active Sigils are most effectively used on your person, such as glamors, bodily wards, and/or emotional/behavioral reinforcement.
Psychological Sigils branch from an entirely different line of thinking than the other three methods; as they are derived from the Chaos Magic approach to sigil making in which a sigil is only effective as a tool to manipulate the subconscious. These sigils are designed (usually via the Spare Method) and then placed somewhere where it is likely to never be found again; or then destroyed. It is relatively common for these sigils to be charged actively, if at all.
• (Active/Passive) + Mental
Some schools of magical thought see no difference between designing a sigil and creating/infusing a sigil. The largest proponents of this distinction are the Chaos and Ceremonial schools of thought. These magical theories operate under the idea that the symbol itself has its own inherent magical/spiritual/natural influence and that any input from the castor will be irrelevant. While this approach is valid, I am still going to describe the other side of the matter.
In many schools of magical thought (primarily Eastern Asian) a sigil or talisman does not function until it has been imbued with its purpose, which is most commonly done during the creation of the symbols. Contemporarily, sigils have moved into a more secular space in which the progentive line of thinking is that a sigil does not have any inherent effect, but requires the direct energetic influence of the caster in order to operate. Operating under this idea, a sigil can be designed in an energetically sterile environment before being created on a separate medium while infusing it with intention.
To infuse a sigil, requires at least a mild meditation, and at most an energetic state of gnosis (An altered state in which the mind is focused on a singular concept, physical or otherwise. Not in any way associated with “HGA/PGA” or “Higher-self” emanations.)
At its core, the infusion process is the practice of existing in a state of focus on the purpose of the sigil while simultaneously drawing the finalized form.
The simplest form of infusion is existing in an intentional desired emotional state while drawing it.
My personal approach is to enter a state of gnosis on the purpose before pooling that energy in my chest before steadily moving it down my arm and into the writing utensil throughout the entire creation of the sigil.
Regardless of your approach, as long as the purpose is somehow infused with the symbol, once the sigil is completed it begins lightly radiating its effect.
If you have a book made specifically for Sigils, (especially if you create or keep Sigils for cursing) be sure to create or draw Sigils on the front and back covers that will cancel the effects of all other sigils within the book. These sigils would be best created using the Passive approach.
Using salted inks can increase the duration of sigils energetically infused onto parchment, fabrics, or paper. As energy does have a half-life when not within a controlled environment (I.E. charging or anchored onto a charge generating material like piezoelectric crystals such as quartz.)
Until I personally view evidence otherwise, sigils can be created via digital mediums as well, which opens a lot of possibilities for creating Hypersigils within art and suchlike.
Sigils can be created with very simplistic meanings that can then be strung together to create more complex and specific Metasigils. This modular system makes it possible to create only a handful of symbols that can then be combined to create more in depth purposes.
It can be very helpful to have/design a handful of very simplistic sigils that are used to do very simple actions such as: binding, banishing, warding, reflecting, etc.
Utilizing materials and mediums that also correspond to the desired purpose can further benefit the manifestation of the sigil.
Rather than applying multiple independent sigils towards a specific object/purpose, which could compromise the means of manifestation, try to create a singular Sigil that encompasses the entire intent as succinctly as possible.
If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to ask it in the comments. Remember that everyone’s craft is different- These points are primarily from my craft. Though, I try to include concepts from as many possible viewpoints as possible, without revealing any protected practices.
