SigilMagicbyJosephMaxThemeansusedandthewayithappensaresimple,theinverseofscientific.Iuseaformula,createdbyinstinctiveguessand*arbitrarily*formed,notevolvedbyhypothesisandexperiment.Thelawofsorceryisitsownlaw,usingsympatheticsymbols.AustinOsmanSpareSigilMagicisawidelyusedformofmagicalspellcasting,commontomanyculturesthroughouthistory.NorseBindrunes,ArabiccharmsandtheKabbalistsKhemarehistoricexamplesofusingawrittenalphabetasawayofdevisingmagicaltalismans.Ingeneralterms,asigilisanyglyphorsymbolwithmysticalormagicalsignificance.Butforourpurposes,wewillusethewordtodescribeaglyphcreatedusingthemethodsoriginatedbyBritishartist,writer,clairvoyantandmagicianAustinOsmanSpare(18861956).SparelaidouthistheoryofSigilMagic(aswewilldescribeitinthisarticle)inTheBookofPleasure(selflove)ThePsychologyofEcstasy.Thetextisavailableonlineatseveralwebsites,butIrecommendthisPDFversionthatincludesSpare'sartwork:http://www.rosenoire.org/archives/Spare,_Austin_Osman__The_Book_of_Pleasure.pdf(Spare'sprosecansometimesseemimpenetrable,butthesamecanbesaidofmostgrimoires.Althoughonlysomeoftheartisdiagrammatic,somehowthetextmakesmoresensewiththeartworkincluded.)Thetheorygoeslikethis:theconsciousmindisnotdirectlycapableofperformingmagic(infact,itinhibitsmagic,)sothesubconsciousmindmusthavethemagicalintentimplantedinsomehowitsothatitmight"unconsciously"manipulateaethericinformationtobringabouttheresult.NotonlydoesthistheorymodelthefunctionofSigilMagic,butcanbeusedtomodelanyformofeffectivemagicaltechnique.Shamanisticsorceryobviouslyinvolvesdirectinterfacewiththemagician'ssubconscious,breakingdownthebarriersbyextremedisciplinesandpsychoactivedrugs.Complexsystemsofritualmagiccanbeeffective,butonlyifthesubconsciousmindistrainedtoautonomicallyrecognisethesymbolismofthesystemandactonit'slinguisticsunconsciously.Theadeptmaythenusethetoolsofthesystemtoformulateeffectivemagicalprocedures.Thisexplainsthelongapprenticeshipsandintensereligiousinstructionthatcharacterizesmanymagicaltraditions.ButinSpare'sconception,thereisnoinherentmagical"power"inanyparticularsetofsymbolsitisonlythesubconsciousmanipulationofwhateversymbolsarechosenthatmakethemmagical.Butitismoremagicallyeffectiveforthestudentofasystemtoacceptthedogmaofit'straditionthatit'ssymbolsetisinherentlymagicalwithoutquestion,toprovidetherequiredbeliefstatetomakeitwork.

SigilMagicsubstitutesselfinducedactsofpsychologicalimprintingfordogmaticinstructionandadherencetoaparticularmagicalmodel.Religiousacceptanceisreplacedwithpassionateperformancethattapsintotheunconsciousarchetypesthatunderlieallthereligioussymbolismofhumanity.Byuseoftheactiveimagination,andcertain"slightofmind"trickssuchassigils,webreachthebarriersofthesubconsciousbyguileratherthanbymainforce(asinshamanism)orbysiege(asintraditionalceremonialmagic.)SigilTheoryThoughSpareneverrevealedexactlyhowtheconceptofSigilMagiccametohim,hewasanaccomplishedgraphicartist,soit'spossiblehegottheideafromseeingwatermarksonpaper.Thenewly(atthetime)publishedworksofSigmundFreudandKarlJungmighthaveprovidedthetheoreticalfoundationforthe"subliminal"natureofsigilworkingsthatbetweentheconsciousandunconscious(orsubconscious)mindtherestandsa"safetyvalve",afilterthatsuppressesallnonlogicalthoughtsandimpressions,whichSparecalledthe"psychiccensor".Sigilsaremonogramsofthought,forthegovernmentofenergy...amathematicalmeansofsymbolisingdesireandgivingitformthathasthevirtueofpreventinganythoughtandassociationonthatparticulardesire(atthemagicaltime),escapingthedetectionoftheEgo,sothatitdoesnotrestrainorattachsuchdesiretoitsowntransitoryimages,memoriesandworries,butallowsitfreepassagetothesubconsciousness.A.O.Spare,"TheBookOfPleasure"SigilMagicusestheseglyphsasameanstobridgethegapbetweentheconsciousandsubconsciousmind.Itcomparesinsomerespectstotraditional"talismanmagic",inwhichpredeterminedsymbols(suchasplanetaryorastrologicalones)areusedtoembellishaphysicaldevicethatwillencompassthe"power"representedbythosesymbols.Generally,thetalismanissubsequentlycarriedbytheuserasa"charm".Incontrast,asigilisacustomizedtooldesignedtobringaboutaspecificeffect,andit'sphysicalbasisisonlyusedonceatthetimeofthesubconsciousimplantation,afterwhichitisgenerally(althoughnotalways)destroyed.Also,asigilisanoriginalartisticcreation,producedbyconceivingasentencethatexpressesamagicalintent,andconvertingthatsentenceintoapictoralrepresentation.Thepointistoobtainanimagethatcancarrytheintentpastthepsychiccensorandintothesubconsciousmind,whereitbecomesmagicallyeffective.ThegreatadvantageofSigilMagicisthatnoparticularbeliefsetisneededtoworkwithittherearenodiscarnateentitiestosummon,nodeitiestoappease,noinvisibleraystoemanatefromyoursolarplexus(unlessyouwanttocreatethemyourselfasametabeliefdevice).Andtherearenospecialtoolsorequipmentneededbeyondapencilandpaper,andeventhesecanbeabandonedbytheadeptpractitioner.TheMakingofaSigilTherearethreemainpartstotheconstructionofasigil:formulationofaSentenceofDesire,conversionofthesentenceintoagraphicrepresentationorglyph,andimplantationoftheglyphintothesubconsciousness.

Ofthethreesteps,thecreationoftheSentenceofDesireisthemostimportantandthemostdifficult.Duetothepsychologicalmakeupofthehumansubconscious,therearecertainguidelinesthatmustbefollowedtoobtainpredictableresults.Firstthereistheneedforabsoluteprecisionandlackofambiguity.I'veheardofatestthatisusedinmilitaryofficer'strainingschools,inwhichthesquadleaderisassignedamissionandrequiredtodeviseasetofordersforthesquadthatheorshethinksistotallyunambiguous.Thenthoseunderhisorhercommandwilltrytofollowthoseorderstotheletter,butinsuchawaythatisNOTwhattheleaderreallyintendedinotherwords,theytrytopurposelymisinterprettheorders,iftheycan.Iftheyfinditimpossibletodoso,theleaderpassesthetest.Soagoodwaytotestone'sSentenceofDesireistoseeifyoucancomeupwithanyalternativemeaningotherthanwhatwasintended.Ifso,tryformulatingitinanotherway.Thisneedforprecisionmustbebalancedwiththeneedforbrevity.TheSentencemustbeconcise,usingjustenoughwordstoexpressthemeaningandnomore.Also,thesentencemustbeexpressedonlyinpositive,notnegativeterms.Thesubconscioushastheannoyinghabitofperceivingeverythingpositively.Forexample,ifyouwanttocreateaSentencetoprotectyoufromtrafficaccidents,donotexpressitas"Iwillnotbeinatrafficaccident"thedeepmindignoresthe"not"andhearsthisas"Iwillbeinatrafficaccident"!Instead,expressitassomethinglike"Iwilldrivesafely".SpareprecededallofhisSentenceswiththeprefix"THISMYWISH..."followedbythedescriptionofwhatwasdesired.I'vealwaysfeltthiswasabitsoft,soItendtouse"ITISMYWILL..."Somepractitionersdroptheprefixentirely,andclaimitworksfine.ButitmaybemoreeffectivetomaketheSentenceastrongdeclaration,sotheprefixisaverygoodidea.ProducingTheSigilThesentenceisthenwrittenoutonpaperinallcapitalletters,usuallynearthetopofalargepieceofpaperthelowerpartwillbeusedduringtheconstructionofthesigil.We'lluseasanexample:ITISMYWILLTOEARNENOUGHMONEYTOBUYANEWCARTherearetwowaystoapproachcreatingagraphicsigil,asfollows.Method1:Scanthelettersandcrossoutanyrepeatingones,asfollows:ITxSMYWxLxxOEARNxxxUGHxxxxxxxBxxxxxxCxxWhichleavesuswiththefollowinglettersremaining:ITSMYWLOEARNUGHBCMethod2:Sameasabove,butbreaktheSentenceintoit'scomponentpartsfirst:ITISMYWILL>ITIxMYWxLx=ITSMYWLTOEARNENOUGHMONEY>TOEARNxxxUGHMxxxY=TOEARNUGHMYTOBUYANEWCAR>TOBUYANEWCxR=TOBUYANEWCR

Atthispoint,theresultinglist(s)ofletterscanbeusedtomakeeitheragraphicsigiloramantricsigil.We'llcovereachoneseparately.GraphicSigilsOutoftheselettershapes,acombinedimageisformed.InthecaseofMethod2above,theseparateimagesarepreparedfirst,thencombinedtogethertoyieldasingleglyph.Theletterscanbelinkedtoeachother,orsuperimposedontopofeachother,inanymannerdesired.What'smostimportantisthattheresultingimageis"impressive"andsatisfyingtoit'screator.Here'sthewayImightgoaboutrenderingthisexample.KeepinmindthatthisisMYwayofdoingitandforittobeeffectiveforyou,itwouldhavetobecreatedbyyouandofcoursewouldbedifferent.Onaseparatepieceofpaper,Iwouldmakeabasic,roughsketchlinkingthevariouslettershapestogether,combiningsomeofthemasIgoalong(forexample,an"M"isa"W"upsidedown,"I"iscontainedin"T","F"ispartof"E",etc.):

Inthecaseofmethod2,eachsectionisrenderedintoaroughdrawingfirst,thenthedrawingsarecombinedintoasingleglyph.Theprocessisprettymuchthesameeitherway.Method2makesiteasiertocreateasigilfromasomewhatlongerSentencewithoutendingupwithalmosteveryletterofthealphabetinthemixallatonce!AtthispointIwoulddiscardthefirstpieceofpaperwiththeoriginalsentenceandlistoflettersonit.Fromthispointonward,itisnotlookedatasderivativeofcertainwords,orevenasalistofletters,butsimplyasapicture.Butduringtheprocess,yourmindisabsorbingthehiddenmeaningunconsciously,andwill"remember"itsubliminally.Keepinmindthatsigilmagicwasoriginatedbyahighlyskilledartist,whofullyunderstoodthattheactofcreationitselfispowerfulmagic.Sotheimageissimplifiedandrefined,withthegoalbeingapatternthatthemindcaneasilyvisualize.Thisisthereasonfortryingtomakeitartisticallyimpressivesomehow,likeaneasyto

recalllogo.However,whatwe'reaimingforissomethingthatcanberecalledbyshorttermmemory,butnotbylongtermmemorysinceultimatelywewillberequiredtoforgetaboutthesigil.Sotoomuchsimplicityisalsonotcorrect.Totakeitanotherstep:

Nowtheimageislookingmorestreamlinedandelegant.Enclosingtheentireimagesomehowhelpsmakeitmoreconcise,sodrawingacircleorsimilarshapearounditisalsocommon.Thereisathirdmethodofcreatingagraphicsigil.Itinvolvesdrawingasimplepictureoftheintent.Thishastheadvantageofstartingfromagraphicimageinsteadofhavingtoderiveonefromletters,butthedisadvantageofhavingmoreofachanceofbeingambiguous.Usingtheaboveexampleagain,youcoulddrawalittlestickfigurewithyourinitialsonitsittingbehindthewheelofacar.Thepictureisthen"morphed"insomefashiontoalteritbeyondrecognition,andthentreatedasaglyphinthefirstexample.Intheexamplebelow,twofiguresrepresentingtwopeople(withtheirinitialsontheirbodies)haveawalldrawnbetweenthem,perhapsforanoperationtoforceaseparationorendarelationship.Theoriginaldrawingiscombinedandsimplified:

Sothereyouhaveasigil!Nowit'stimetobringitto"life."Ifyoulike,doafinalrenderingonafreshpieceofpaper,trimmedtojustlargeenoughtoholdthedrawing,anddiscardallofyoursketchesandnotes.

ChargingTheSigilEventheterm"charging"isanodtotraditionmorethananaccuratedescriptionofwhatisdonetoactivateasigil.Intheoldtraditionsoftalismanicmagic,onceanamuletwascreatedbywhatevermeans,ithadtobeendowedwith"energy"bysomeactionofthemagician.Theworldviewofthedaydeterminedwhatthis"energy"wasinprehistoryitwouldhavecontainedaspirit,lateragodordemon,eventually"lifeforce"or"vibrations"providedtheexplanation.(Whetherthatkindofmagiciseffectiveornotisn'timportanthere.Ithinkitcanbe,butnotforthereasonsthatit'spractitionersthinkitis.)SigilMagicisacompletelydifferentapproach.Makingasigilworkis,inaway,theoppositeof"charging".Theideaistoopenthegatesofthedeepmindandcausethesigiltobe"absorbed"intoit.Themagiciandoesn'tchargethesigil,thesigilchargesthemagician!Todothis,astateofecstaticgnosismustbeachieved,andatthatpoint,thesigilmustbeintroducedtothedeepmind.Therearemanyvariationsonhowthiscanbeaccomplished.Thesimplestistoholdtheimageofthesigilinfrontofyoureyesandstareintentlyatitatthepeakofgnosisand,touseSpare'sdescription,"drinkitintothemind."It'sveryhardtousewordstodescribesomethingsoineffableasthisaction.Formeitisastateofhightrance,of"notthinking",butatthesametime,withanobsessiveconcentrationontheimageofthesigiltotheexclusionofallelse.Notthemeaningofthesigil,butsimplythegraphicimageitselfaspureabstract,unconnectedtoanymeaningapictureandnothingmore.Here'swheresuchexercisesasmeditationanddeathpostureyouencounteredinthepreviouschapterscanbeusedforapracticalpurpose.Youcanarrangethesigilwhereitcanbeseen,andassumeadeathpostureuntilphysicalcollapseoccurs.Youcanmeditateontheimageitselfuntilmeditativetranceensues,orincorporateitasoneimageinaJuggler'sMeditationexercise.OneofSpare'ssuggestionswastopaintthesigilonamirrorandstare"through"ittotheimageofyourowneyes,holdingyourowngazewithoutblinkinguntilthesigil"disappears".(Healsosuggestedexhaustingoneselfplayingtennis,butthenhewasabitcrazy...)Onecanadaptamagicalritualfromanytraditiontoincludethemakingandchargingofasigilinit.Itcanbeofferedasaprayerorsacrificetoachosendeity,orincorporatedintoagivenformofspellcastingsuchasaWiccancordbinding.Shamanicpracticessuchasdancing,drumming,orotherextremesofphysicalexertioncanalsobeutilized.Sexualmagicisoneofthemostcommon(andfun!)formsofsigilchargingtechnique.What'simportantisthatsomeformofmagicaltranceorecstasymustbeachieved,andtheimageofthesigilbroughtintoconsciousawarenessatthepointofpeakexaltation(whattheChaosMagicianscall"gnosis".)Themostcommonmethodistosimplyhavethedrawingofthesigilinthefieldofvisionatthecrucialpoint.Someoneadeptatvisualizationcansimplycallupthesigil'simageinthemind'seye.

Sincevocalizationofonekindoranotheriscommoninmanymagicaltraditions,onepowerfulvariationofSigilMagicisthecreationofmantrasfromtherecombinedlettersusedtomakeagraphicsigil.MantricSigilsThemethodofderivingthestringsoflettersisidentical.Tousethesameexampleasabove:ITSMYWLOEARNUGHBCNext,thelettersarerearrangedinsomerandomfashionIuse"scrabble"lettertilesforthispurpose.Theideaistoobtainaseriesof"nonsensewords"usingtheletters.Soonepossiblecombinationwouldbe:YARGMESCILBOWTHUNThisisthesigilizedmantra.Again,thesigilmustbecharged,andtheabovemethodsofachievinggnosisareapplicable,butinsteadofstaringatapicture,onechantsthemantra.Ofcourse,thetwomethodscanbecombinedforevenmoreeffectiveworkings.LosingtheMeaningAccordingtoSpare'stheory,asigilwhosemeaningisconsciouslyrememberedatthepointitischargedisasigilthatwon'twork.SoyouMUSTfindawayto"forget"themeaningbehindasigiltomakeitwork.TherearepracticingSigilMagicianswhowoulddisputethis,andclaimthataslongasyouhavethesigilwhereitcanbeperceived,eitherinsightorstronglyimagined,itdoesn'tmatterwhattheconsciousmindisdoingaslongasgnosisisreached.Onepossiblewaytolookatitisthattheveryactofachievinggnosisinvolvesshuttingdownthediscursivefunctionsofconsciousnessanyway.Butthenyoucanfindmagicianswhowilldisputejustaboutanyclaimyoucanthinkof,soeveryonemustexperimentanddeterminewhatworksbest.Onewayofdeliberateforgettingistocreateafewsigilsfordifferentpurposes,putthemawayoutofsightforacoupleweeksorsountilyoucan'trememberwhichonewaswhich,thenchargethemeitherallatonceoroneaftertheother.Thereisalsothe"underthenose"method:anobjectthatisseeneverydayinthesameplaceinthesamewaytendstofadeintothebackgroundofconsciousnesseventually,anditisnolongeractively"seen".Usingthismethodallowsforthecreationofmoredurablesigilsinthemanneroftraditionaltalismans,thoughitwouldhavetobearrangedtobeseenratherthan,forexample,wornaroundtheneckorcarriedinapurse.Anothermethodisbyusingritualactiontodistracttheconsciousmindandkeepitoccupiedwithsuchtasksasperforming"meaningless"wordsandgestures,deliveringamemorizedscriptof

actions,strongvisualizationofimagesorotheractions.Mantras,dancing,drummingorotherrepetitiveactionscanalsolullthemindintoaquiescentstate.Welldesignedritualsincorporateaselfconsistantandartisticallysatisfyingsetofsymbolsthatinformthestructureof,andprovidedirectionfor,theactionsthattakeplace.Asufficientlywellchosensetofsymbolictoolscandrivetheactionitselfwithoutaprearrangedprocedure,allowingforimprovisationalformsofritualwork.Theseideasarecoveredinmoredepthinotherchapters.What'simportanthereisthatsigilscanbe,andoftenare,operativecomponentsofritualwork.Theyareusedasthefocusoftheritualitself,andthemechanicsaresimplythemannerinwhichthemeaningislosttotheconsciousmindandthesigilischarged.Finally,it'simportanttoseparateone'sselffromtheactofchargingaftertheimplantationofthesigilisaccomplished.Don'tdoanymeditation,othermagicaloperations,talkabouttheworkingwithanyone,havesexualorgasmsorevendoalotofheavyponderingabouttheuniverse.Theideaistoshutthedoorstothesubconsciousandgivethesigil,andonlythesigil,achancetobecomefirmlyimplantedwithoutanyspuriousthoughtsconnectedtoit.Italsokeepsitfromeasilyfloatingbackintotheconsciousminduntiltheshorttermmemorydumpsit,whichaccordingtopsychologiststakesaboutthreehours.Sowashthedishes,goforabikeride,readabookthat'sNOTaboutmagic,watchanoldMarxBrothersmovie.Anoteaboutkeepingdiariesorjournalsofsigilwork:Somemagiciansaremaniacalaboutkeepingrecordsofeverythingtheydo,andthisisadefensiblepractice.Butthepurposeofadiaryistoremember,andthepurposeofasigilistoforgetparadox!Onewayarounditistomakearecordofone'sstatementofintentbeforetheactualworkingisperformed,andthenputthediariesawayforseveralmonthsandonlythenlookthemoveranddeterminewhattheresultshavebeen.Anothersuggestionhasbeentopasteflyleavesovertheentries,bearingadateafterwhichthedescriptionunderneathcanbelookedat,soastopreventaccidentallyinformingtheconsciousmindoftheworkbeforeithasmanifested.Thiscoversthebasicsofsigilmagic.Aslongasthebasicformulaisfollowed,thereisalotofroomforpersonalinterpretationandexpression.VariationsonaThemeSomeofthemoreinterestingapplicationsofsigiltechniqueIhaveused:*Createsculptedsigilsoutofclayandmanipulatetheminvariouswaysduringcharging.Thisisespeciallyeffectiveforusingthe"pictorial"method.Forexample,twofigurinescanbemadetworepresenttwoparticularpeople,evenwithsuchthingsashairorfingernailparingsmixedinwiththeclay,avariationonthe"witch'spoppet"orvoodoodoll.Theclayfigurescanbecombined,mashedtogethertoimplyacomingtogetherofthepeopletheyrepresent.Claysigilscanbecrushedinthehandorunderfoottodestroythem,orevenhavefirecrackersimbeddedinthemandblownup!

*Paintthesigilonone'sbody(onavisibleplace,suchasthebelly)withwatersolublepaint,thentakeabathandletitslowlydissolveawaywhilewatchingit.Thisisespeciallyusefulforenchantmentssuchashealingthebody.*Drawthesigilonpaperorclothwithdisappearingink(availablefromnoveltyandcostumeshops)andstareatitasitslowlyevaporates.*Createasigilonapieceoffilterpaperusingfoodcoloringasink,choosingacolorappropriatetothework.Placethepaperinafunneloveracontainerandpourwateroroilthroughitintothecontainer.Itwillpullthe"ink"alongwithitandcolortheliquid,whichcanthenbeusedasa"magicalpotion".Obviously,thevariationsarelimitedonlybyone'simagination,aslongasthebasicrequirementsofthetechniquearefulfilled.Sigilmagicissimpleandpowerful.Agoodwaytobeginistochoosesomesimple,unimportantresultonetowhichyouaren'tpersonallyattached.Like:ITISMYWILLTOSEEATALLWOMANWITHPINKSHOESSuchawishisentirelyunimportant,butnotsomethingthatonerunsintoeveryday,soit'sagoodtest.Seehowlongittakesforthewishtomanifest.Thepracticalsideofsuchexercisesisthatsuccess,thoughtheresultisnotimportantitself,increasesone'sconfidencethatMAGICWORKS,whichinturnmakessuccessmorelikelyformoreimportantobjectives.Thereisnowaytoprovetheefficacyofsigilmagicexceptbytryingityourself.Thechaptersheredescribemanywaystoincorporatesigilsintoritualaction,wheretheadditionalmanipulationofthesubconscious,anddistractionoftheconsciousmindcanenhancetheeffectivenessofthetechnique.

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