Sigils

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Sigil (magic). (Discuss)

A sigil is a graphic form or linear figure that represents a specific being or intention. The term is from the latin 'sigillum', meaning 'a signature'. In medieval ceremonial magic, the term sigil was most commonly used to refer to the occult signs that represented the various angels and demons that the magician might summon. The magical training books called the grimoires often listed pages of such sigils. The most notorious of these lists is found in the Goetia, in the Lesser Key of Solomon, in which the sigils of the 72 princes of the hierarchy of hell are given for the magician's use. Such sigils were considered to be the equivalent of the 'true name' of the spirit, and thus granted the magician a measure of control over the beings.

In 20th century magic a sigil is most often a linear figure created to be a visual concentration of the will of the magician. The concept was created by painter/occultist Austin Osman Spare. He devised a method by which a statement of intent for any specific magical spell is rendered into a linear design, in which the original intent is completely buried. That figure - the sigil - is then charged with the magical will of the creator, and becomes, in effect, a current of energy with a will, or a 'spirit' that brings about the intent of the spell.