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Sigil questions.........

00:24 / 22.07.01

.......hey there all.

I'm new to the sigil world, having discovered it through Grant M. & The Invisibles (of course), and the cool gang here at Barbelith.

I've done a few, haven't had much success. But I'm still tryin' it! A few questions:

1) how instrumental to sigil magick working is forgetting the intent of the sigil? I know I've read in many sources that one should create the sigil and then put it away for a while so that you mostly forget what it was about, then charge it when you feel the time is right.

my question is: since you've forgotten the intent of the sigil, and maybe even long since thrown away the piece of paper that tells its intent, how do you know if it worked?? (if you have a few sigils you're working on)

I read here on Barbelith the story of someone who needed some cash, did a sigil on Friday, and Monday came into some. Ditto the story of someone who needed a job and did a sigil with that intent.

So clearly these people did not forget about the intent of their sigils when they charged them; they had the intent, did the sigil with that intent in mind, and that was that.

So how important is forgetting the intent?

2) I know sigils can be charged through sexual activity or extreme physical exertion..... anything that produces a highly active, energized state. Here's a bizarre question -- I'll preface this by saying I'm NOT a gross-out kind of guy. But I'll ask the question - here goes.

Since taking a good dump can be extremely satisfying and evoke an extremely cathartic feeling (many have made analogies that taking a piss when you are ready to burst is almost as great a feeling of release as orgasm), can a sigil be charged while taking a really dramatic dump?

I'm not joking; I'm genuinely curious. Especially because I tried it the other day - with a sigil whose intent I've forgotten.

3) If you go the extreme physical exertion angle, how do you charge it? Just look at or picture the sigil when you feel you're at your most worked-up exhausted while exercising? (I know Grant Morrison said he did one while bungee jumping, but I won't be using that method anytime soon.....)

Those are my Q's. Peace to all --

02:56 / 22.07.01

If you're keeping a magical journal, the business of forgetting shouldn't make it hard to figure out if your sigils are working.

From what I've picked up from this board, it seems that forgetting is not so important as not dwelling on the sigil after charging it.

Mordant Carnival

06:30 / 22.07.01

quote:it seems that forgetting is not so important as not dwelling on the sigil after charging it.

What he said.

I usually do nine or ten of 'em, for all kinds of things, then stash them somewhere for a week or two.

There are a couple of other techniques you can use if you just can't get that intent out of your head. One is continuous creation: having devised your sigil, you then draw it repeatedly every day till you get what you were after. Some people talk about using your sigil as graffiti; I suppose that hanging by your heels off a railway bridge in the middle of the night to spray your sigil on the side might well cleanse the mind of extraneous thought, but I'd hardly recommend it.

Another similar technique is to write out your statement of intent fifteen times a day. Absurdly simple, generates surprisingly good results. Don't forget to use a form of words like "I will..." rather than "I want to..."

This isn't an exact science. Try different techniques, find out what works best for you.

[ 22-07-2001: Message edited by: Mordant Carnival ]

19:01 / 22.07.01

I have a question.

What would happen if you made a sigil out of a fairly simple design and it turned out that it had already been designed before with a different intent?

20:14 / 22.07.01

On number two (heh heh heh!) I'd say yeah, that'd work. Anything that makes you feel a little blissed out an unworldly for even a second or two.

I haven't experimented SOLELY with that method, though, so I can't answer definitively.

I will say the Church of the SubGenius refers to the bathroom as the 'Chamber of ExcreMeditation.'

Make of that what you will.

Mordant Carnival

20:37 / 22.07.01

"Behold, the Black Grail!"

Looks like we've found the level...

Mordant Carnival

20:42 / 22.07.01

quote:Originally posted by SMatthewStolte:
What would happen if you made a sigil out of a fairly simple design and it turned out that it had already been designed before with a different intent?

The answer would depend, I s'pose, on whether you belive the sigil has any intrinsic value or not.

For my money, the whole point of making/charging the sigil is to dicker around with one's subconcious mind, and thus dicker around with causality. Your intent, your sigil, and if somebody else comes up with the same random(ish) confluence of lines, so what?

01:17 / 23.07.01

quote:Originally posted by HunterWolf:
I read here on Barbelith the story of someone who needed some cash, did a sigil on Friday, and Monday came into some. Ditto the story of someone who needed a job and did a sigil with that intent.

Correction: If, by the job sigil story, you mean this story http://www.barbelith.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=8&t=000057

then you're a bit wrong. The sigil did work.

20:02 / 23.07.01

You misunderstand me; I wasn't saying the sigil didn't work. In fact, I knew that it did in that instance and was trying to figure out how important forgetting the intent was as a consequence. Sorry if I was unclear.

peace to all ---

12:21 / 24.07.01

I have a related question. Can you use a sigil as a blessing (of sorts)? For example, a sigil of health drawn or mentally projected onto family members?

12:52 / 24.07.01

From everything I've read and learned about sigils, it sounds like you certainly could have a sigil whose intent was to help heal a family member or loved one.

Another question on sigils: can you re-use the same sigil if you didn't feel it "took" (or really worked) the first time you charged it?

13:06 / 24.07.01

In addition, Jakeswolf, from one wolf to another, let me just point out that the boundaries of sigil magic (from what I understand) are limitless as far as realizing desires; intent and ideas that you would like to become reality. I've never read anyting about the topic that went against this one simple notion.