Magic Sigils

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A sigil is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. The term sigil derives from the Latin sigilum meaning "seal," though it may also be related to the Hebrew סגולה (segulah meaning "word, action or item of spiritual effect"). The old Norse binding rune is an example of the idea.

However, sigila differ from runes as they are designed not to represent an alphabet but are created to form a glyph, composed of a variety of symbols or concepts which carry intent and inherent iconic meaning. 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.

A sigil may have an abstract, pictorial or semi-abstract form. It may appear in any medium, physical or virtual, or only in the mind. Visual symbols are the most popular form, but the use of audial and tactile symbols in magick is not unknown.

Sigilia are commonly found in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalistic magic (being an especial focus of Sefer Raziel HaMalakh and other medieval Jewish mystical sources) upon which much of Western magic is based.

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. His technique, now known as sigilization, became a core element of chaos magic and from there, has developed into a popular element of Western magic.

The theory that sigila are consciously used as magical tools by businesses (such as in the highly-recognized corporate logos of Coca-Cola and McDonald's) and invest them with a comparable degree of prestige and power is popular among occultists and a common element in conspiracy theories.