Tarot, sigils, potions, spells. All of these practices are regarded as “occult” by the public eye. Many people recognize things like potions and spells as vaguely pagan or Wiccan, while many more will raise an eyebrow at words like “tarot” and “sigil,” not quite grasping what they mean. I myself don’t claim to be an expert in magical workings, but I know enough to get me through a bad day.
One of the simplest magical practices, in my opinion, is the making of sigils. Sigils are symbols imbued with intent. For example, I might take the phrase, “My will is strong,” and turn it into a sigil for personal strength. The intent of the words is carried over to the created symbol, and therein lies the power.
To make a sigil, first you must decide your intent. Do you want to be healthy, happy, or get good grades? Write your intent in all caps – i.e., “I WILL GET AN A”. Now erase all the repeating letters – I, A, L. Left over will be W, G, E, T, and N. Break these letters down into their basic shapes. You’ll have a series of lines and U-shapes, and occasionally a circle, depending on the words you started with. These basic shapes are your tools. They hold the purest form of your intent. Combine the shapes to make your sigil. It can look however you want; after all, it’s yours!
Here’s what I came up with:
Yours might (should!) look different. That’s okay! Sigils are very personal things, so it would be odd if yours looked just like mine. Feel free to add or remove lines after you use up the shapes; personally, I always include a circle in my sigils (with the one above being an exception, of course). Circles symbolize life, nature, and the passage of time, which I feel instills a little extra oomph. My initial shapes might not include a circle, or the parts to make a circle, but that’s okay too! Personalization goes a long way towards connecting your self with your sigil.
Once you have your sigil, you need to do something with it. Draw it on your social studies folder, keep it on a scrap of paper in your pocket, carve it into your favorite pencil. Embed your intent into something meaningful, or it’ll just be potential power, not active power. And remember: these things only have as much power as you give them. If you don’t believe it’ll help you, it probably won’t, but if you do, it just might!