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Sigil Basics

In recent weeks the subject of sigils has come up in several different quarters of my life whichhas caused me to revisit what I know about these obscure occult symbols. There is probably no

other aspect of magick that is so commonly misunderstood as these iconic lineal figures. Often

they are attributed with having an intrinsic magickal power and some are so commonly used thatmost people would not even think of them as sigils at all.

Put simply, a sigil is a symbol that represents a very specific force, most commonly a uniqueentity in a simple, recognizable graphic icon. The Oxford English Dictionary defines sigil as a

seal or signet and gives its derivation as signum, a mark or a token which survives in the archaicuse of the word to mean a small image. It also defines it as An occult sign or device supposed to

have mysterious powers and this usage first appears in literature from the 1650s. There is anotherschool of thought that derives the word from the Hebrew which has been erroneously

translated to mean an item of spiritual effect or a talisman but it more accurately translates assmall possession making this derivation doubtful.

A more practical definition of a sigil by Israel Regardie who wrote; the word Sigil merely means

signature. So that the sigil of an Archangel is really the symbolic signature of that Being. These

sigils were originally extracted from the traditional Kameas or magical squares. Even this only

defines a small set of symbols out of the larger group called sigils and really just refers to thesymbols employed by ceremonial magicians to represent the various spirits and angels that they

conjure in their operations. To really understand the nature of sigils in order to discern theirfundamental uses and the kinds of entities that they can represent requires a closer examination.

Different Classes of Sigils

There are four general types of sigils that represent entities general planetary forces to very

specific spiritual identities. Some of these sigils are universally recognized and understood as isthe case with the astrological signs, some sigils are well known symbols of occultism like the

sigils of the spirits from the Goetia and others are unique and contain the identity of an entity inan arcane symbol, often specifically designed by a magician for an immediate purpose. There are

also seals and personal symbols or signs of rank that can be classified as sigils such as those usedin the Enochian system of magick or the seal of a magickal order.

1. General Sigils

The symbols that are used to represent the planets and the signs in astrology are, strictlyspeaking, the simplest sigils. The symbols for the planets can be traced back to the Second

Century where thet appear in proto-modern form in Bianchini's Planisphere and have had theirfamiliar form since the Renaissance or the late 12th Century. These symbols were first conceived

of as monograms of the gods that they represent so Mercury is a symbol of the caduceus andMars has the point of a spear. Similarly the astrological glyphs are ideograms for the zodiac

creatures that they represent so Scorpio has a scorpion's stinger appended and Capricorn is thehead and body of a goat with the tail of a fish.

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The alchemists also employed a similar set of sigils to represent many of their principals andthese have been adopted by magicians for their own use. The symbol for salt, a circle divided in

four, has become conterminous with the element Earth, while the symbol for Mercury isuniversal to all occult studies. These alchemical sigils are usually formed out of simple, basic

shapes like triangles, crosses or circles to represent specific forces of nature or alchemical

elements.

2. Sigils of Entities

The most developed form of sigils are used to symbolize a specific entity. This class of sigilsincludes the classical icons used to represent the 72 spirits of the Goetia that most people would

associate with ceremonial magick. The designs for these sigils are derived from the letters for thenames of the entities that they represent and generally take the form of a monogram for a spirit or

an angel.

These sorts of sigils first appear in the texts on magick in the 13th Century, most famously in theHeptameron of Peter de Abano published in 1287 in which the sigils are still almost

recognizably letters in some script. By the time of Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Magic orOccult Philosophy was published in the 1530s the form of the sigils had become more linear and

had developed into the stylized designs that are used in modern ceremonial magick.

The next significant development of sigils came with the publication in 1575 of theArbatel ofMagic by an unknown author. This book introduced the Olympic Planetary Spirits and gave

sigils, called characters in the grimior, to represent them. These sigils were probably derivedfrom magick squares of the planets and have become stylized through use.

Perhaps the most developed form that sigils have taken is found in the set that are used to

represent the 72 spirits in the Goetia, or the Key of Solomon. This grimior first appeared in the17th Century although most of the material in it is drawn from earlier sources, most notablyDe

Praestigiis Daemonum (The False Hierarchy of Demons) by Johann Weyer and first published in1563. The significant addition that the Goetia made was to standardize these sigils and to present

them as the focal point of a system of ceremonial magick.

This systemization of the symbols that have become the sigils of modern ceremonial magickcame to its fullest in the fundamental work of occultism published by Francis Barrett in 1801,

The Celestial Intelligencer, more commonly known by the title, The Magus. This bookassembles the graphic icons that are used to represent the planetary forces in magick together in a

recognizable format for the first time. The Magus was known to have had a profound influenceon Eliphas Levi and the Golden Dawn used Barrett's illustrations as a core part of their

instructional literature for practical magick.

These modern sigils are created by a simple method that traces the value of each of the letters ofa name in the magick square of the planet that is corresponding. For example the Spirit of Saturn

is named Zazel ( ) which is then traced on the magick square of three to produce a simplelineal figure. The beginning of the sigil is marked by a small circle and the end is crossed by a

short line to terminate the name. There are simple rules like using a double curve to mark a

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double letter and adding a hump to a line to indicate that one crosses over another. In this way asimple line drawing can be made to represent the name of any entity.

Modern magicians have continued to develop the design and use of sigils and they are often

connected with Chaos Magick. The most notable magician to have developed a system for

creating and using sigils is Austin Osman Spare who published his method in The Book ofPleasure in 1913. Spare was at one time associated with Aleister Crowley's OTO and also theThelemite AA and derived his method from the practice of designing sigils that had developed in

the Hermetic Orders of Ceremonial Magick, most notably among the Golden Dawn Adepts ofthe early 20th Century.

According to Spare's theory of sigil magick the objective of the operation takes the form of the

entity for which the sigil needs to be designed. This is done by synthesizing a graphic symbol outof the words that best express the desired outcome and then using one of several simple methods

for raising the energy to charge the sigil.

3. Talismanic SigilsThe third kind of magickal sigils are also based upon the Kameas, or magick squares of the

planets. The seals that are used to represent the Planets are slightly more complex designs thanthe simple sigils of the various lesser entities but are also based upon connecting the numbers in

the magick squares. In this instance the designs are intended to touch upon every number in amagick square in a manner that represents a balanced expression of the planetary force being

depicted. Because these images are used to show the fundamental nature of a talisman and theauthority that has been invoked to be used to direct the spirit that will charge that talisman these

symbols are generally classed under the talismanic images along with the magick squaresthemselves.

Other simple graphic designs that fall under the general heading of talismanic sigils are the lineal

figures like the pentagram and the hexagram which are used to express a mathematically specificspiritual force. All of the sigils are used together to create a unique talismanic design that

expresses the magician's objective. The general sigils show the nature and the governance of theceremony with the specific sigils being the means by which the specific entity involved in the

operation is bound to the talisman.

4. Sigillum and PantaclesIn the fullest sense of the word sigils are the sign that the magician uses to represent himself or,

more accurately his Great Work. Sigils of this sort often represent the achievement of a specificlevel of spiritual attainment like Crowley's Seal of Babalon which represents the incorporation of

the secret of Babalon and the Beast into his Great Work. These sigils work because they are usedevery time the magician performs a ceremony and these seals connect them all into a cohesive

series of steps towards enlightenment.

This type of sigil may be composed out of components of all of the other classes of sigil to createa potent and unique symbol that represents the whole course of the magician's life as is the case

when they are used to connect the magician to his Magick Disk. In other instances these uber-sigils are used as a symbolic map of the magician's universe as it is expressed in a specific

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system of magick such as John Dee's Sigillum de Ameth which is the pantacle for the operationof Enochian Magick.

Practical Uses for Sigils

The practical use of sigils extends far beyond any individual ceremony as they are commonlyused to mark the magick weapons to indicate the specific powers to which they have beenconsecrated. For instance the Magick Wand should have the sigils of the Divine Name of Fire,

YHVH Tzaboath ( ) and the Archangel Michael ( ) inscribed on it to show whereit's authority is drawn from. Similarly the symbols that the magician uses on his pantacles and

lamens must also show his attainments and the authority that he has for directing the entities thatthe specific sigils used in a ceremony represent.

When sigils are used to represent the objective of a magick ceremony they become the focus of

the spiritual or magickal force that is invoked by the operation. In this instance the sigil becomesa symbol of the will of the magician which is treated as the entity which the character is meant to

represent. Personifying the desires of the magician and synthesizing them into graphic iconsmakes it possible to create a symbol for every possible magickal objective but at the same time it

allows for a broader interpretation of the meaning of the glyphs and so perhaps a less certainoutcome to their operation.

The most common use for sigils is for the construction of talismans and amulets. They are used

to represent the entities that are being invoked or conjured during the ceremony that is performedto consecrate the talisman. Talisman designs usually include the magick square of the planet that

rules the area of operation of the talisman and so the key to interpreting the sigils that have beenused in the design imparts legibility to the symbols that have been used. In this way the sigils

that are used to create a talimanic image can be very precise symbolic representations of themagician's intended objective.

The classical example of using sigils as a talismanic device is in the Goetia where the magician

uses the sigil on a talisman that he places in the Magick Triangle as the basis for the spirit that heis to evoke to manifest upon. The same sigil is copied onto an amulet that the magician wears as

a lamen and from which he draws the authority to direct the spirits that he conjures to do hisbidding.

Sigils are the most elastic and versatile tools available to ceremonial magicians because they can

be used to represent almost any kind of entity or objective. Most magician's collect a number ofpersonal sigils as they develop their skills and progress in their initiations and these arcane

symbols are an important part of the practice of ceremonial magick.