Barbelith Underground > Temple > Magic and Free Will

It depends what your religious dogma is like when it comes to sigils, doesn't it? Why not try to find as many explanations as possible for how they might work and refuse to fully believe any of them, just that they work.

If Illmatic's suggestion that it's the forgeting that makes the difference, then a publically placed sigil instantly has an ongoing property that one charged once does not. The sigil may not be charged in the slightest by other people, but there's an extra kick for the magician knowing that it is still out in the world and in a continual process of being noticed.

Or you could talk in terms of Jung's ideas of collective unconsious which seems to often work at a highly symbolic level. The deconstruction of meaning into the sigil makes it a doorway to the intent for everyone who sees it, because the unconsious of one is a drop in the unconsious of everyone.

Or you could contruct a belief system around breaking down the dualism of observer and observed, in that they are both part of the same system in which the context also plays a part. Each time the one changing component of the system is the observer - construct the system well enough and a similar effect can be had in a significantly higher proportion of cases.

Or take linear time out of the equation and every observer is part of the same organism seeing the sigil through a different set of eyes at different times.

Ad infinitum. There are loads of different frameworks in which you can choose to place your faith and belief, but to rigidly adhere to one at all time means that you have to accept that theology's ethical baggage at all times. Try and be honest with yourself concerning whether you believe you're getting results in accordance with that belief. Don't worry about the science of it too much, you can save that kind of thinking for other things in life - if a daft irrational or pseudo-scientific belief helps you get better results or explains your existing results in a better way then play with it until something better comes along.

So you find it helpful to impose upon yourself a belief that you're infringing on other people's will when you use certain technqiues? OK... and I can even see that being helpful in some contexts (respect-for-that-which-I-perceive-to-be-not-self, changing oneself through paying attention to ones own motives, understanding of ecology and one's place within a larger context - or the breaking of tabboos and going all out to control and manipulate to release extra charge). Have a play with different theories and see how they effect the working, bearing in mind that any working is an act of self-change and that this is just as important as what you might perceive to be your primary intent.