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Unintentional harm using sigils

 
 
Mickey
00:09 / 21.11.02
This question has been bugging me for a long time.

After charging a sigil and then forgetting about it, is it possible you might cause harm without meaning to? i.e. you wish to befriend someone, so you state: It is my will to befriend ____. But then something bad happens to you, so that person you wanted to befriend feels sorry for you and so he/she decides to talk to you and later you become friends.

Is it possible this might happen? That is not really what I plan to use sigils for, but that is just the best example I could come up with. oh, please excuse my English. And thank you..
 
 
Tamayyurt
00:25 / 21.11.02
Sigils work on the simplest, most convenient level... so if that's the easiest way then, yeah, something like that could happen. I once sigilized for a new car (I had no money) and 3 months later some old lady slams into my parked car! I wasn't in the car and she wasn't harmed (at least not physically... she was shitting herself though) and weeks later her insurance got me a new car
 
 
Mickey
04:51 / 21.11.02
Thanks. So if it's possible that you might harm others unintentionally, then is there a way to prevent it? Like I can add to the end of the sigil setence in paranthesis (Bring no harm to anyone).. would that work?
 
 
Sebastian
10:53 / 21.11.02
Impulsive, that story is rocking hilarious, and probably the
best graphical and literal example for this thing on "ethics" about magick.

Do your sigils. They work, and nobody is going to sue you for doing them, unless you live in some African countries where some forms of sorcery are considered crime.

Of course, you will tie into others destiny, but, hell, how many people have already tied you into theirs without ever asking or even considering it? How many of your dyspepsias are because of others conscious or non-conscious magickal doings? And how many are because you eat shit?

You can also make a life-long super-sigil for an every-body-always-wins ultimate spell that will permeate all your magickal doings, so that each time your life is enriched, everybody else's involved is also enriched. Go give a penny to a bump, you earned it, he deserves it, and he may start earning. That's the kind of magick I do, and the only one that will change things towards what I want them to change.

And maybe you'll still get old Ms Daisy slamming your car. Hell, that driver she hired definitely was enriched, and she too in the end.
 
 
Badbh Catha
13:11 / 21.11.02
After charging a sigil and then forgetting about it, is it possible you might cause harm without meaning to? – Mickey

Yes. Which is why you must seriously think about what you are doing and what you want to accomplish before you create and charge your sigil. It's rather too late to reconsider your actions once the sigil is charged and sent out.

...Like I can add to the end of the sigil sentence in parentheses (Bring no harm to anyone).. would that work? – Mickey

Yes, that could work, and it certainly can't hurt.

Of course, you will tie into others destiny, but, hell, how many people have already tied you into theirs without ever asking or even considering it? How many of your dyspepsias are because of others conscious or non-conscious magickal doings? And how many are because you eat shit? – Sebastian

That isn't really the point of magick, is it?

If one is going to spend time and effort in learning how to work magick, one must also be prepared to take a greater responsibility for the conscious energy one expends than people who don't practice magick and aren't conscious of what they're putting out.

If one isn't willing to accept that responsibility, one probably shouldn't be involved with magick at all.

You can also make a life-long super-sigil for an every-body-always-wins ultimate spell that will permeate all your magickal doings, so that each time your life is enriched, everybody else's involved is also enriched. – Sebastian

That's a really lovely idea.
 
 
Sebastian
13:39 / 21.11.02


With Great Power Comes...

Ha! I've been waiting years to post something like this.
 
 
Papess
15:10 / 21.11.02
I completely agree that practitioners of MAgick should have some grasp on themselves, their egos, before they attempt a spell.

It is hard to judge what is right and wrong in some circumstances however. Just as a sneeze can cause changes in weather patterns I view magick in the same way. There is a certain amount of projection and calculation to be done to come up with the proper hypothesis and err..anit-hypothesis correctly. The one thing we cannot avoid are unknown variables. Using a safety-latch statement like "My will be done and bring no harm to no one" could help to cover the likelihood of trying to get that raise and totally destroying someone else's career to do it, as an example.

Of course, life has it's ups and downs. At some point if things go terribly wrong it could also just be karma intervening. SOmethings just need to be expressed in particular ways so the universe can keep in check. After all, if one only sneezes in the hurricane, chances are the hurricane will over-ride the force put out by one being. There are much bigger forces out there than us. We may even believe ourselves to be a part of that force, which would give us even greater reason to be inline with it. This reinforces the argument for responsibilty, but also acknowledges, we are not so powerful as to control all the good and bad events that take place supposedly due to a spell we have activated.

That is just egotistical.

Maybe some pre-spell/sigil divinination can also shed light on a situation from the macro-cosmic perspective.

Of course, you will tie into others destiny, but, hell, how many people have already tied you into theirs without ever asking or even considering it? How many of your dyspepsias are because of others conscious or non-conscious magickal doings? And how many are because you eat shit?

THis is a good example of unknown variables. We all effect each other in thousands of ways. There is a phenomenon where a someone (an average joe, no magickal training) may have a particular image of you and if it is a strong image, charged perhaps, with much emotion. You will undoubtly feel the benefits of a positive image, or the malign effects of a negative image, we see this everyday in our lives, but the image doesn't even have to be based in reality. People project emotional energy balls all the time! These thing should be taken into account, but sometimes that is not possible. Anyway, poppets are an example of how this type of projection works in a skilled magician's repetoire.

Whoops, gotta go!
 
 
Less searchable M0rd4nt
20:54 / 21.11.02
Here's my two ha'p'orth: Before you do whatever foul and sordid thing you do to launch your sigil, check your state of mind. Are you anxious? Are you afraid that the sigil might blow up in your (or someone else's) face? Is that butterflies in your tummy, or is it a twinge of resentment towards someone? Do you feel that in some way magick is cheating, and that even if you get what you want you'll be punished?

Relax, and try to rid yourself of this kind of crud. You don't need it. It's a distraction. Small stuff. Find a place in yourself that is at peace with the world and with yourself. Focus on no harm.

Divination is a good first step. Learn to use some kind of divinatiory aid (tarot's a very user freindly tool if your a beginner) and do a reading before every spell you do. Eventually you'll find that wrong, or just not very good, spells will flip an off switch in your head. It'll feel right, or it'll feel wrong. Try to attune yourself with these feelings and go with them.
 
 
Mickey
23:37 / 21.11.02
All right thank you so much everyone. I'm still a bit nervous but I'll try to get rid of the feeling. Maybe I shouldn't have read, "The Monkey's Paw." Well, I am going to add to my sentence, "Bring no harm to anyone." Hopefully that will work. I think it will work, I mean, if it's my subconsious that makes my will happen, then my subconsious will realize I don't want harm brought. Unfortunately I dont know if I can get my a tarot deck any time soon. But I will try. can anyone recommend me any good tarot decks for this kind of thing, and where I can buy some? Any other comments about my original question would be appreciated.
 
 
Badbh Catha
15:02 / 22.11.02
Mickey: Your profile says that you live in the States – You can find tarot decks in most large bookstores. Check out the samples and see which one you feel most comfortable with, then ask at the counter/cash register area. They cost aproximately $15 dollars these days, I think. (It's been a while since I've purchased a deck!)
 
 
Vadrice
15:13 / 22.11.02
'course, some people think you should have someone else buy the deck and give it to you as a gift, so as to not taint it with commercial energy you put into it, instead gratitudinal energy you send out to your giftgiver.

'course, Along that logic, I shouldn't go in the sun, drink soda, talk to anyone, or live on this planet.
Cause, you know... it's got cancerous agents.

As far as unintentional harm using sigils, I don't pay attention to it. I do the best I can to be patient and meticulous about what I do and let it be.
You cause harm to SOMETHING by stepping outside your door in the morning, if you define harm as 'instilling negative energy.'

I say be more spacific than "do no harm." That's so vague it's meaningless.
In some cases, "cause no pain" works. But pain too can be necessary.

One I like a lot is to "waste no resources." This allows everything involved to contribute to the maximum of it's potential, and I find that somewhat beautiful.

Good and evil, help and harm are useful terms.
But like all terms, they can be imprisoning and silly and not apt.

If none of that made any sense, ignore it. Labels cause me grief, doesn't mean they have to do so for you.
 
 
cusm
18:31 / 22.11.02
I like the idea of the "do no harm" sigel. I see a use for this, where one could describe their ethics on the "do no harm" issue, and the restrictions they would want to place on the ways their magcik could manifest. Then, hang this sigel on to the sigel of your intended casting. That way, you are sending the intent, and a sigel for the way the intent will manifest.

As for the hows, I would recommend the "safety" sigel be constructed so that another sigel could be placed within it, so the result is a compound sigel that you cast. The intent is in the center, the "safety net" surrounding it to affect its manifestation. But that's just one way to do it, of course.

I typically skip the lot by asking a relevant diety (those of justice being my favorites for this sort of thing) to look after the process rather than sigeling directly, so if something bad happens, its not because I wanted it to turn out that way, its because it was deserved in some way.

Though I do like the safety net idea. I'll have to work on that, making a sigelized form of The Golden Rule to preface my work with, or something similar.
 
  
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