The Incredible Disposable Spell

I was turned on to sigils by Damien Echols. I saw an art installation of his at Day for Night, a music festival that happened in Houston in 2016, and it planted a seed. There were neon symbols tracing themselves onto the walls and a rotating circle of symbols projected onto the floor. I was enveloped by an incredible feeling of awe and inner stillness. My favorite aspects of magic are all ways to circumvent the conscious mind, and creating sigils is definitely a part of my more frequent practices for this reason. 

A sigil is a symbolic representation of the spellcaster’s Will. The word Sigil comes from the Latin sigillum, meaning “seal.” The use of symbols for magical or ritual purposes has been widespread since the Neolithic era. The first Sigils called specifically upon angels and demons. They were typically created using special grids of magical numbers, where the spirit's name was converted to numbers that could be located on the magical grid. Each number was connected to form an abstract figure. Among the most well known of ancient Sigils is probably the Sigillum Dei, “Symbol of the Living God,” which was purported to give skilled magicians the ability to control all living creatures except the archangels. It is a complex symbol built from geometric shapes and labeled with the name of the Hebrew god and his angels. The most famous list of sigils has to be The Lesser Key of Solomon, which contains 72 seals that call on various planetary energies and correspond with the 72 princes of the hierarchy of hell. These can be used for various purposes. This form of sigil was considered to be the equivalent of the true name of the spirit, thereby granting the magician some control over the being. 

Our modern usage of sigils stems from Austin Osman Spare, an English occultist and artist. He lifted the concept of the sigil and imbued it with modern understanding. He essentially connected our own psychological desires to the process of sigil creation, arguing that these supernatural beings were just aspects of our own unconscious, and could be actively created during the process of sigilization. He looked at this method as a way to plant seeds in the mind of the magician, thereby controlling those unseen forces within our psyches to aid in our goals. This is a method that became a cornerstone of Chaos Magic. Chaos Magick was initially developed in England in the 1970’s, and is also known as “success magick” or “results-based magic.”

How to Create a Sigil

Start with a very specific wish. The more specific the better. Write down a detailed statement expressing your desire and don’t be shy about the length of the sentence. Once you have this statement written down, start crossing out the letters that appear more than once in the statement. Start with the vowels and go from there. Once all of the duplicate letters are crossed out, you have the unique letters for your sigil, and you’ll have to choose what method you prefer for creating the shape.

The first option is to form a symbol with the shapes of the letters. You’ll use the letters themselves to build a unique shape. This shape can be symmetrical or not, they can be aesthetically pleasing or not, the only thing that really matters is that the symbol contains your intention. It doesn’t have to look beautiful or perfect, it just has to hold the meaning when you see it. Example of this method is below, with a Lilith sigil.

The second option is to use a sigil board, like the one I’ve included. This is very similar to how the first sigils were created. Just start with the first unique letter in your list and draw a line to the next remaining letter, and then the next, and so forth. Again, you’re only using the letters that appear once in the whole phrase. You’ll be connecting each letter to the next in the sequence and end up with a zig-zagged shape that holds the full power of your request. This is how the neon sigils at the top of this page were formed, using a chart similar to the one below.

You can add planetary symbols if you desire, if you’re calling on their specific energy to help with a situation that they could be great to assist with. I do the work of creating the symbol as well as recording the finished copy in my journal/grimoire before I proceed, and fold the page inward so that I have the record of the symbol for future reference. Once your symbol feels right, it becomes your sigil. It doesn’t have to be beautiful, the only priority is that this symbol resonates this special meaning to you. Sigils are a super easy way of connecting with your intentions, and as a visual artist, I find the process of creating this symbol really satisfying.

To activate your sigil, draw your finished symbol onto a piece of thick, beautiful, well made paper. If you choose to add a border or to colorfully express the corresponding energies that you’re calling on, that just adds your personal touch which can reflect your devotion, dedication or commitment to the work at hand. Trim the extra edges away once you’re finished. You can carve it into a candle instead if this is part of a greater spell-working, depending on what type of ritual you are employing. When you’re ready to proceed you’ll need a lighter, a pair of tongs or a tweezer, and a cauldron, burn bowl or censer.

Once you’re ready to begin charging your sigil, gaze upon your creation. Meditate on the symbol and trace its shape with your eyes and fingers. You can keep it as-is, or if you feel like making it more ceremonial, the paper can be rolled into a scroll and tied with a cotton string or sealed with wax. When you’re prepared to activate it, light the paper on fire. You can use the tweezers or tongs for safety if desired. Once it is consumed with flames you can place the paper into the receptacle. Now, repress all memory of its shape and commit to deliberately forgetting the symbol itself, letting it live only in your subconscious mind. This is where the spell does its work. By circumventing the conscious mind and supplanting the desire deep within, it allows us to give space to our own creation who is there to reprogram our decision making processes and act in the interests of our successful future self. 

You can also create a sigil and place it anywhere meaningful to your purpose. Draw a sigil under your doormat in the dust for protection, draw one with frosting in the filling inside a birthday cake to promote happiness in the year to come, use perfume or oil to draw one on your body as a form of glamour magic. The act of destruction activates it, whether it’s the knife carving the cake, the vapor of perfume evaporating, or the weight of feet moving the rug around on top of it. Sigils can be used for nearly any purpose.