Empower Your Intentions with Sigils.

Quite simply, a sigil is a symbol or design which is crafted from shapes, letters and maybe numbers, to create magical power by representing your intentions.

The term sigil derives from the Latin 'sigillum', meaning seal. There is evidence of the use of sigils back to ancient times, however, historical practitioners may have used sigils in a different way.

In medieval times sigils were more commonly occult signs or symbols used to represent angels and demons the magical practitioner summoned, an example of this is The Lesser Key of Solomon, a Grimoire from the medieval period which contained 72 sigils to ‘control’ the 72 demons of hell. Thankfully, modern witches may still create sigils to work with deities they honour, but they are more commonly used as a tool for manifestation and to create charge and intention in your spell and ritual work as opposed to demonology.

Modern day sigils are an example of chaos magic, where sigils are created with our deepest intention from an affirmation, statement, word, etc, and simplified into a design or symbol which after charging, our subconscious mind will intuitively decipher as needing to fulfil that desire, changing and creating a part of our own reality.

The same theory is behind companies using branding and logos, you see a logo or sometimes even the colour or sound associated with the company and think you need to go and eat/drink there or buy the product.

Sigils are the power of subliminal persuasion!

Sigils give physical form to our intentions, and you can create and charge (or activate) them using all the elements, which is thought to increase their power and intensity.

Sigils can be either temporary, permanent, or destructible.

Temporary sigils are those such as carving them into your candles and being burned away by the flame, being drawn in condensation on your window, mirror, or water bottle, drawn on to your skin and wearing away throughout the day.

Destructible sigils are basically that, destroyed quickly. Those written onto a piece of paper (or bay leaf) and burned. Those carved into food and eaten, for example, cutting your sigil for health into an apple, and eating it.

Permanent sigils are those such as pyrographing a protection sigil onto a keyring for your car keys, the active charging method here of pyrography – burning it with fire or heat is the key to a powerful sigil.

Using Sigils in Daily Life

Sigils can be used in so many ways that you can incorporate into your day-to-day life, for example:

First thing in the morning you can draw a protection sigil on your body, then either wash it off in the shower (activating it with water) or leave it on all day under your clothes and let the day wear it off. I nearly said sweat it off, but I won’t.

I used to sew sigils (unseen) into my children’s school uniforms for protection and I do this in my own clothes and on the soles of my shoes. The back of the label can be a good place.

You could even have your sigils made into jewellery. If you heat or hammer the jewellery, even better! This is active activation! You could also have one engraved into a wedding or commitment ring?

Draw them on the outside of your water bottles for motivation and confidence to sip throughout the day.

Draw a banishing sigil on a stone or twig and throw it into moving water.

Draw a protective sigil on the doors and windows of your home, this can either just be with your finger or a light pencil, even a small wooden sign. I’m not saying daub it on in black paint across your front door, your neighbours may gossip.

Always put sigils in your purse or wallet to attract finances. My mother used to always keep the same £20 note with a sigil written on in her purse and never spent it. I don’t have the cash or willpower to do that.

I have a travel protection pouch in my car containing crystals and a pyrogrpahed wooden sigil. You can also draw one on a keyring for your car keys.

Your pet’s collar or coat/rug is the perfect place to sew or draw a sigil. Also, underneath their food or water bowls.

Carve it into your lipstick or makeup and use for confidence.

Some people like to simplify empowering affirmations as tattoo designs.

I think the list is endless, anywhere you want to use a physical representation of your intention, use a sigil.

Creating Your Sigil

There are two ways to create a sigil, one is using the wheel method, and the other by designing your own symbol.

Whichever method you are using you need to begin by writing out your intention.

Think it through and try to be specific as with any manifestation. If you’re unhappy at work and you want a job with more job satisfaction, say, ‘I am fulfilled in my job.’ Try to avoid using terms like ‘I want.’, and use present terms like ‘I have, or I am.’

To ease anxiety, try, ‘I am calm and relaxed’.

For love - ‘I am in a happy loving relationship.’

Health - ‘I am strong and healthy.’

Write these out in an affirmation, say and feel them as you are writing. If the affirmation you have written is long, you can simplify it down to a few words providing the intention is there and means something to you. It will all be condensed anyway.

Using Vowels

It’s up to you whether you cross out your vowels or not. Some do, some don’t.

Personally, if I’m using the wheel method, I leave the vowels in, if I’m using the design method, I take them out or it can look messy.

So, ‘I am fulfilled in my job’ can become ‘Fulfilled’, so - FLLD.

Then cross out the repeated letters. So, FLD.

This is the part where you can draw a design of the letters, and try to do this instinctively, it doesn’t matter how abstract it looks.

Using The Wheel

When you design your sigil, you can use the method above or use the wheel method.

You create your affirmations or words in the same way, and again, either use vowels or leave them. If you are planning on not using vowels then it might be best to draw your wheel without them. The choice, as always, is yours.

When you have your finished letters, then just use the wheel to draw a pattern or path, from letter to letter.

Then you have your finished design!

Activating Your Sigil

Once you draw your sigil, putting all your intention into the design, it is time to activate or charge it.

I like to use all the elements here, some only use fire, it really is your choice. If the sigil is to be destroyed, then running water or fire (or both! Burn it then throw the ashes into water).

Using your spirit, holding the sigil in your hands and visualising your light flowing into it, infusing the symbol with your energy and intention.

Using earth, burying it, wrapping it around a crystal or drawing it in soil or dirt.

Air, singing to it, chanting, drawing it on wind chimes or a feather and releasing it into the wind.

Water, make it dissolvable (rice paper?) and watch it melt away, putting on a piece of toilet tissue and flushing it (banishing!), drawing it on a tea bag and drinking it, carve it onto soap and washing with it.

Once your sigil has been activated it is time to forget about it!

Your intention is out there with the universe, your work has been done!

It is always a good idea to write it down in your Book of Shadows or Grimoire as a record of your magical workings.