Symbols and Sigils

We are talking about Symbols – what they are and the meaning of them as they pertain to the magic and mystic arts. We’ll also talk about Sigils, what they are and how to create them a little later on.

First, let’s talk about some of the most powerful symbols in magic:

The Cross: This is, of course, the symbol for Christianity and the figure at the center of the religion, Jesus Christ. In the world of the mystic arts, Jesus is revered as a teacher and an Ascended Master. For magicians and non-Christians, the symbol is ascribed to the Christ Consciousness – the awareness of a Divine Source or God, and the divinity that exists within us all. Crosses are commonly used in magic as symbols – I have used the Cross as the figure in some of my crystal gridwork, an emblem of sacrifice and consciousness and purity. The cross reminds us that there is a sacrifice to be made for the higher good – we release parts of ourselves as we progress in our magical workings and along the pathway to our higher divine genius.

Ankh: The Ankh is one of the earliest representations of Christianity, known as the Key of Life and represents I A O in Egyptian folklore – Osiris, the resurrected one. Parts of the mythology of Christ are borrowed from earlier tales about Osiris. The first organized sect of Christianity was the Coptic Church in Egypt, which continues to exist today. The Ankh reminds us that we have the opportunity at rebirth every day, and not to squander it.

Trinity: Sometimes shown with three teardrop shapes, sometimes with three circles, the Trinity is the representation of God the Father, Christ the Son and Christ / God the Holy Spirit. There is a trinity in life, where we exist in three forms – we are our human selves, we are our divine selves, and we are God itself. Different variations of the Trinity have been used in the Iron Age, in ancient Germanic Times, in ancient Buddhist teachings, and by the Celts. Today, it is used by Wiccans and Pagans to symbolize the Triple Goddess. A few years ago, the German television program “Dark” used this symbol to reflect the three experiences in their time travels – the past, the present, and the future changed when we try to alter the past.

Om: Another well-recognized symbol, this symbol is Sanskrit for ultimate consciousness and is pronounced AUM. We will use OM during yoga and meditation and chanting, in order to release our conscious thoughts and allow us to ascend into states of enlightenment and grace. If you feel the need to chant during meditation and are unsure what to say, OM is a perfect word because when you are seated properly (spine straight, chin slightly tucked in) OM creates a vibration at 432Hz – the same vibrational frequency found in all living things in nature. We use OM as a symbol to accept that we are one with the Earth and with Source and with our intentions – and to fill us with peace knowing we are where we belong. Aleister Crowley used the OM symbol (and its numerological equation, 93) as a symbol of infinite knowledge.

Third Eye: This symbol is that of the Third Eye. The Third Eye chakra governs all knowledge – conscious and unconscious. Many people will focus on their third eye during meditation, in order to release the all too human constraints on our imagination, and enter a transcendent state or enlightenment. The Third Eye symbol in the mystic arts is a representation of our infinite knowledge and the possibility of attaining it if we seek the truth and persevere. Eastern traditions such as the understanding of the Chakras are an important part of meditation and the magical arts.

Eye of Horus: This symbol of protection dates back to ancient Egypt. According to myth, Set tore out one of Horus’s eyes and the God Thoth healed it. Horus then gave that healed eye to Osiris, his deceased father, and its power sustained Osiris in the afterlife. This symbol can be found on hieroglyphs dating back to more than 2000 years B.C. The Eye of Horus is symbolic of funerals and the ancient Egyptian rites of honoring their dead. The eye is also associated with Maat - the Egyptian concept of cosmic order. The Eye of Horus reminds us that all things regenerate – and that we each have the power to heal and to share our gifts with others.

Ouroboros: This image of a serpent eating its own tale is a fertility symbol as well as an emblem of regeneration. Often associated with Alchemy, the refinement of raw metals into precious ones – and more importantly the refinement of our human selves into our highest divine genius – the Ouroboros represents the cycle of life, death, and renewal. The Ouroboros is also sometimes interpreted as a dual fertility symbol both male – a phallic symbol – and female – womb-like. Psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote about the Ouroboros: “The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow… a symbol of immortality since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself, and gives birth to himself.”

Pentagram: You’ll recognize this symbol which sometime is presented upside down. The Pentagram or 5-pointed star, is associated with the Occult and modern Paganism. It has earlier associations with Freemasonry and even before that, Christians used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Jesus. Pentagram is a Greek word, associated with Pythagoras (the inventor of math and one of the first philosophers to suggest that the soul was immortal) as well as Neoplatonism, the philosophy of ideas that continue to influence the modern world. If the pentagram is pointed upward, it is often used as an amulet against evil forces. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram literally draws the Pentagram in the four directions of East/Air, South/Fire, West/Water and North/Earth to invoke protection from all negative energies. But when the Pentagram is upside down or inverted, it does have a slightly different meaning. Although there were writings many years ago that associated the inverted pentagram with Baphomet – the half human half goat figure that represents the Devil - today it is simply a representative of the shadow side; darkness and light are opposites, they are partners. We cannot have light without darkness and to ignore the dark is to ignore the truth in life. The past affiliations with devil worship have mostly faded away. Today, the inverted pentagram is used to represent the horns of the goat in Witches’ Sabbats.

By the way, in 2007, Arlington National Cemetery approved the use of the Pentagram on tombs to represent fallen soldiers interred there and their families who practice Wicca.

Qabalah: The Kabbalah (sometimes called the Tree of Life) is part of an ancient esoteric Jewish mystical tradition. In the world of magic, that exact same tree (but spelled with a Q instead of a K) becomes a pathworking from Malkuth at the bottom of the tree – the physical realm we exist within – through the ten Sephirot or spheres (ten emanations and attributes of God with which he sustains the existence of the universe) to Kether, the top of the tree, the Crown, and the unknowable nature of God itself. In the Western Mystery Tradition, this mystical workings becomes the key to our alchemical process of refining the self and ascending to our Higher Divine Genius. It’s a lifetime of work to know the tree and to work the paths in order to ascend, but deeply rewarding. We are reminded that we are so small within the vastness of the Universe, and yet every one of us has our role to play and that we can elevate from the depths to the crown if we dedicate ourselves.

Infinity: This is of course the symbol for infinity and similar to the Ouroboros, is a symbol of the regenerative nature of life. For those of us working magic, the infinity symbol is a beam of light that carries the breath of life, a beam that enters into each one of us and passes again out and into others. It reflects the nature of service, and when working in a circle of practitioners, you can feel that breath pass into your lungs and out again, congruently with everyone else. Sometimes you can see the beam of light that carries that breath and you can see colors in the light, which give you a sense of another person’s energy. Infinity lets us know that our work never ends, and neither does the essence of our work, our light, and us.

There is another symbol I want to mention, one that has a complex and troubled history and that is the Swastika. In the 1930s, the Third Reich appropriated an existing symbol and used it to support their genocidal agenda. Today, if you see the swastika you are likely to have an unpleasant reaction. And the symbol is still used to support racist and hateful movements.

But there will be times when you encounter this symbol and it is not intended to offend or polarize people including in its historical context. The Germans altered the swastika by reversing the image and tilting it on its edge, but it is still the swastika which has not only been used by Native Americans for centuries but also is a common symbol in Sanskrit, the ancient Hindu language.

I have seen small statues that are 100 or 200 years old that feature the Swastika and even though my initial instinct is to recoil when I see that image, I have learned to balance that feeling by remembering that an ancient symbol shouldn’t be judged solely by the ways that people in more recent decades chose to abuse it and use it for their own evil intentions.

So, what are some of the symbols that speak to you – whether it be for meditational purposes, for magic, or your spiritual beliefs?

Now, Sigils are also symbols or signs but they are ones that you create for yourself. They are meaningful only to you and there are a number of ways that you can design and use them.

I have a friend who loves to doodle an ongoing figure 8 loop all day.

She loved those loops so much she incorporated them into her business logo.

Each of us can create sigils or symbols that represent something meaningful, sacred, and just pleasing to the eye.

In magic, sigils are representatives of a word – they create an image of a powerful message that can be used to work with our subconscious, our spirit guides, and with the Divine Source.

Some of the ways you can use to create your symbols include:

Automatic Writing: sometimes involves a trance state in which you connect with your higher self or guides and ask a question. What you are communicating with would share a word with you, and in a subconscious state you would then create an image or sigil of that word with pen and paper.

Numerology: You can transform a word into its numerological formula and then create a sigil around that. Most practitioners will use a magic square such as this.

Pictorial Sigils are those that use existing symbols and images to express your intention. If you are embarking on a journey to become a wayfinder, the image of a lantern or a light might become your Sigil. Or, if you plan to grow something important this season, the image of a flower or a garden might help you focus and remember your intention daily.

Runic Sigils - Using runes, an ancient Germanic alphabet, you can recreate your chosen word. This is a Runic Sigil I created using the name of a loved one who recently passed. This image does reflect the many times that this person tried to move forward in their life but came upon locked doors, and the realization that the only way forward for her was to leave us – the portion of the sigil that is separate and directed away from us.

There is also the Witch’s wheel which you can use to draw lines between any letter combinations to find your chosen sigil.

The Rose of 22 Petals uses the same concept – this one draws upon Rosicrucian tenets – and utilizes the Hebrew letters:

Word Sigils: A common way to create sigils is to write out an intention statement (more than just a single word) and remove all vowels. Then remove any repeating letters. Using what is left over, you move the letters around and form a single image.

So, you can play with any number of sigil making tools and any particular word or intention. Maybe you just want some peace in your life, so use the peace symbol. Perhaps you want to start a new job working in science. Use the atomic symbol and place upon it the numbers of the date you wish to be in your new field. Or try any of the methods that I described to create a sigil based upon a word of intention.

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