From: Valkyrie Area: MagickNet To: Joseph Max 10 Sep 94 12:58:06 Subject: Sigils UpdReq Heilsa Joseph! Joseph Max answered Chris Lee thusly: JM>Sigils are encoded representations of literal ideas -- names, images, JM>statements of desire, etc. There are several ways to derive sigils from JM>words. Traditional methods involve converting letters into numbers (as in How would you classify bindrunes? They would not quite seem to be sigils according to how you've described them. (I hesitate to use the term "defined"). :) The runes themselves are metaphorical representations of literal as well as abstract ideas, but so are numbers. The grid, particularly the 9-square grid was used extensively in Celtic and Norse magic, and was at one time used as the basis for accounting. The rune, Ing, is representational of the basic "square" with the expansion inherent in it. How does the grid itself contribute to the development or containment of the factors in a sigil? Would simply placing them in an organized pattern be sufficient, or do they need some kind of further definition such as a grid or geometrical shape? JM>then losing it to the conscious mind. Coming up with the statement of desire JM>is by far the most important part. It must be short, unambiguous and to the JM>point, and contain no "negatives" - ie. "I wish to be healthy" instead of JM>"I wish to not get sick". Be sure there is only one possible way to JM>interpret the sentence- the way you _mean_ it. A *very* good point. JM>then assembling the letters themselves into a combined glyph or pictogram. JM>(It's really hard to demonstrate this with ASCII, but here goes:) JM> /| /^\ | | JM> /--|/___\-----/ JM> /~~\ | | |/ JM> \__/\_| \ JM> / JM>Pretty crude, but maybe you get the idea. There are no hard fast rules to JM>how to do this, except you should be able to make out all of the letters in JM>the combined glyph, even if they "double up" ie. 'W' is 'M' when turned _The Galdrabok_, which is an Icelandic Grimoire, has a section on Runes and Magical signs. Stephen Flowers, who translated the copy I have, makes a distinction between magical signs or sigils that are obvious, and those that are encoded to confuse the actual meaning. You seem to have made the same distinction in your posting, although you described one that is readily "readable" in your example here. Could you elaborate on the difference? JM>After charging, one either destroys the sigil (usually by ritually burning JM>it) or uses it as a talisman (to roll it up and tie it around your neck JM>would be appropriate if it were made for protection). Our dollar bill game JM>was a variation on this. Assuming that one doesn't destroy the sigil as part of the process of charging and releasing, and one found that they'd made a mistake and the result wasn't what they intended, or another person found a sigil and wanted to neutralize it, what process would you suggest? JM>This is only a short summary of the technique; I recommend _Practical Sigil JM>Magic_ by Frater U.D. (Llewellyn Books) as the best book I've seen on the JM>subject. If you don't have an occult or new age bookstore near you call JM>1-800-THE-MOON to order from the publisher directly. Thanks for the recommendation. JM>... Goddess gives us the nuts, but, She does _not_ crack them for us. Being an "ironical" or ambiguous thinker...there would seem to be at least two ways to expand on that statement. Both could be summed up with, "Thank Goddess..." :) Ves Heil, V * SLMR 2.1a * Runes will thou find, and rightly read... Havamal 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718