Let's Make Some Sigils
Sigil magick, an important practice within chaos magick, is a form of magick that involves the creation and manipulation of symbols or sigils to bring about desired outcomes or change in the individual's life. The history of sigil magick can be traced back to the medieval period where it was used by individuals to gain power and control over their circumstances.
The practice of sigil magick was popularized in the 20th century by Austin Osman Spare, an artist and occultist, who developed a system for creating and launching sigils that is still used by many practitioners today. Spare believed that the communication with the subconscious mind was of paramount importance to the magickian and that sigils offered a way to bypass the conscious mind’s “censor” and speak one’s intent directly to the subconscious. Sigils were later adopted by prominent chaos magicians like Peter Carroll, Phil Hine, and Gordon White and have become a core component of many western magickal traditions where they are favored for their ease of creation, practicality, and powerful impact on reality.
To create a sigil, the individual first needs to identify a clear and specific desire or goal. This can be something as simple as wanting to increase confidence or something more complex like finding a new job. Once the desire is identified, the individual then needs to put it into a statement of intent, such as "I am confident" or "I have a great job." The magickian then takes the letters of the statement of intent and rearranges them to create a symbol or sigil. This symbol can be drawn or written by hand, or created digitally. The image above illustrated the transformation of “statement of intent” into a sigil.
Once the sigil is created, it needs to be launched or activated. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as meditating on the sigil, carrying it with you, or displaying it in a prominent place. The goal is to internalize the sigil so that it becomes a part of the individual's subconscious mind. The more the individual focuses on the sigil, the more it will influence their thoughts and actions, bringing them closer to their desired outcome. Please note that at the time of activation, the magickian should no longer remember the meaning of the individual sigils and focus instead on the sigil as a powerful spell of making.
The best way to perform the activation is to attain an altered state of consciousness (through meditation, prayer, in some cases entheogens, or sexual ecstasy) and gaze at the sigil until one sees the sigil begin to “waver” or “move”. This movement may look as subtle as heat distortion rising off a pavement on a hot day or as dramatic as pronounced animation; in either case (no matter how dramatic or mundane) once “movement” has been achieved the sigil has been activated.
Once the sigil is activated, destroy the sigils by tearing them up, burning them, or some other method of disposal. Many chaos magicians include a mantra to say during the destruction which is designed to remove the “lust for results” that tends to styme magickal working. A statement as simple as “this no longer matters” is extremely effective during the destruction process.
It's important to note that sigil magick is most effective when done consistently, unless one is using sigils in conjunction with planetary rulers or other advanced magickal techniques. All magickians must have must have patience and persistence in their efforts, recording their results in their magickal diary, and refining their magickal experiments to find the personal sigil methodology which delivers the desired outcomes.