Building off the introduction to Planetary Magic Squares posted earlier, this is an example on how to use them to create sigils to manifest a desired outcome. The Grant Morrison video, I posted a while back provides a great introduction into sigil magic. At its core is the concept of abstracting a directed intent into a symbol that effects the practitioner at a subconscious level. There are many ways to create sigils and perform sigil magic, what I outline here is a method that I have used and continue to use to great success.
The process of creating the sigil is a magical act in itself, and this is an important point. Any generative process is an act of creation as it is imbued with an intent and desired outcome, this should remain instilled in the back of our minds throughout the process.
There are 4 stages that I employ in my practice, these are as follows:
1. Formulation of Intent
2. Selecting a Planetary Energy
3. Reduction of Magical Intent to a Numeric Cipher
4. Creation of the Sigil
These stages are quite simple and give a general overview on the creation of a sigil. To examine this process we will use a hypothetical situation of embarking on a new business venture and some of the challenges and desires such a project needs to ensure its success.
1. Formulation of a Magical Intent
The first stage is to identify just what it is that we desire. At first this is simply a broad idea along the lines of “I want my business to succeed”; however, this is just the starting point and we need to examine the business and delve within ourselves to identify the key points that will help it succeed. Let’s say our business relies on certain levels of promotion and social interaction, we need to get the word out and interest people in our idea first and foremost. The key here is our ability to sell ourselves and the business. With that identified we can formulate a starting statement:
“I want to improve my communication skills so that I can grow my business network and trade relations.”
Such a statement is a good first pass, it clearly states what we are trying to improve and hoping to achieve. However, a magical intent must be more poignant. It is important to use affirmative language, and not use words such as “want” or “can” or “try”, but rather direct words like “will”. The phrase should reaffirm our success in obtaining the desire and not leave room for any doubt. As such we refine our statement to read:
“I will improve my communication skills and expand my business network and trade relations.”
This is the magical intent of the sigil that we are about to create. It can be beneficial to meditate on the the phrase and envision oneself obtaining the goal prior to going forward and creating the sigil, this will help shift our mentality over from desiring something to putting forth a direct intent to achieve that something.
2. Selecting a Planetary Energy
Normally, this stage can be somewhat difficult as a desired outcome may rely on multiple planetary energies. The point is to hone the intent to a single measurable and digestible unit. The more aspects and complicated it is, the more points of failure that exist. As a rule of thumb, if the intent cannot be achieved by a single planetary energy, it is too broad for this approach and should be revisited and fine tuned. If necessary, we can always create multiple sigils each with its own specific intent as part of a macro exercise in planetary sigil magic. The key is to work in harmony with the specific planetary energy, not have to fight against it or reinterpret it to fit into a model for which it is not ideally suited. Because we are dealing with business, we could draw on the shrewdness of Saturnian energies, the judicious and monetary currents of Jovian energies, or even the balance, wealth and success of Solar energy; however, our focus is on communication and for this purpose the ideal planet is Mercury.
Once a planet is selected, the more we can do to harmonize with its energies, the stronger our sigil will be therefore making our intent more likely to manifest. For one, we may wish to spend some time in meditation contemplating the planet and inviting its energies into our temple and our lives. Ideally, we should also plan the creation and most importantly the charging of the sigil during a day and time ruled by the planet and ensure that it is in favorable astrological aspects (i.e. in its own house, exalted, above the horizon, in conjunction with beneficial planets,etc.). Note that it is very unlikely that all astrological aspects will be favorable and thus we should make an effort to select a time and date that is most beneficial. If astrology is not your thing, consult with an astrologer to provide a window of optimal times to work with the chosen planet.
Another celestial body that we must consider is the Moon. Regardless of the final planet we end up working with, the Moon can provide and amplifying or muffling effect. It is the nearest astronomical body to us and therefore has the greatest effect on magical workings. Since our intent is to grow our communication skills, we should look towards timing the creation and charging of the sigil to coincide with waxing moon. Again, the core principle is to work in harmony with the rhythms of the heavens.
3. Reduction of Magical Intent to Numeric Cipher
From our statement of intent we can extract a few keywords. Let’s focus on Communication, Network, and Trade. These three words encapsulate the intent and are three concepts that traditionally fall in the domain of the planet Mercury. They will suit our purpose perfectly.
First, we remove the vowels. This results in:
Cmmnctnntwrkngtrd
Next, we remove the duplicate letters and are left with CMNTWRKD
This works out nicely, we now have an 8 letter cipher that corresponds on a numeric level with the planet Mercury whose kabbalistic number is also 8.
At this point we need to convert our cipher to a numeric formula. To do this, we substitute the letters for numbers using the following table of Latin gematria:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R |
10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 |
S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | |
100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 | 600 | 700 | 800 |
C-M-N-T-W-R-K-D yields 3-40-50-200-500-90-20-4
The Mercury square only contains numbers between 1 and 64, so some of those numbers above will need to be further reduced. This is achieved by simply moving up one tier on the table; in other words, removing the 0 until the number falls within the range of the planetary square. We reduce 200 to 20, 500 to 50, and 90 to 9.
3-40-50-20-50-9-20-4
Note, that despite the numeric manipulation, the essence of the numeric formula remains the same in terms of Pythagorean numerology since 500 = 50 = 5 in that 5+0+0 = 5.
4. Creation of the Sigil
At this stage, we simply need to draw lines on the Magic Square of Mercury ensuring that each node touches the square defined in the numeric formula. We can embellish the line as we see fit, perhaps adding some curves to make it more aesthetically pleasing, a circle to define the starting point and a perpendicular line to indicate the end point.
Superimposing the sigil back onto the Hebrew version of the square results in a Hebrew letter formula (Gimel-Mem-Nun-Kaf-Nun-Tet-Kaf-Dalet) . This provides a name, a nomina barbara of sorts, that can be used to charge and activate the sigil or as a mantra to meditate on at a later time and breath power and life into the intent. Additionally, we can use the letters individually to help raise energy and draw intent to the sigil in a vibratory formula similar to how YHVH is used in the pentagram rites of the western magical traditions.
Greetings,
Nice blog I just started following today. Reminds me of the topic of my post the other day. Rather than trying to match concepts exactly, I’ll just cut and past it. Let me know if you see some connection . . .(nordavinci@gmail.com)
[Nordavinci’s reflection:)
Concerning the spiritual meaning of numbers, I was thinking some more about the 1, 4, and 13 as being ADM in Hebrew, and that these three letters are actually 1, 11, and 111 in base 3 and that the Mem as the 13th letter in Hebrew is assigned the value of 40, which in base 3 is represented as 1111.
Thinking about the 4 and its meaning in Divine Principle, it is interesting that 1111 base 1 is just 4 base 10 and is associated with the letter Dalet, the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
The similar process with 1111 base 7 is equivalent to 400 base 10, which is the value assigned to the Tav, the 22nd and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
To summarize:
1111 base 1 = 4 base 10 = Dalet (also a double letter, but which one?)
1111 base 3 = 40 base 10 = Mem (3rd mother letter)
1111 base 7 = 400 base 10 = Tav (7th double letter, connecting Yesod and Malchut)
Looking at different bases in general it turns out that:
If the base is X, then if X mod 9 = 1, 3, 4, or 7,
then [1111 base X] mod 9 = 4.
1111 base X is a way to represent the sum of the first 4 powers of any number X.
It’s interesting that because of this rule mentioned above, it’s quite easy to say which 1111 base X is in the mod 4 conguence class, which means that when expressed in base 10, the number adds across to equal 4, which is the same as casting out 9s, or figuring the one digit spiritual significance number.
4 as we know is associated with Direct Dominion (Divine Principle term)since it represents going past the 3 stages of growth during the Indirect Dominion (Divine Principle term).
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turiya (4th state, return to one body with God)
Reblogged this on ThelemaSpain.
Symbols have played a key role in describing many of the components in Alchemy: solutions, solids & gases, along with the seven ruling planets and noble metals. By using geometry we have created new calendar and crystal symbols based on the relationship that exist between mathematics and the ruling planets. Read more about it on my blog: http://www.glennwestmore.com.au.
please advise
What to do if 2 or 3 consecutive letters have the same value? Or when a line repeats itself (Example: 50-1-50-1)?
Hello Vasilisa,
That’s a great question. There are a couple things you can do. For one it is perfectly ok to have a sigil that is simply a squiggly line. In this case you would have a line that goes from 1 to 50 and maybe loops at 50 back to one (think of it like an elongate ‘U’ with a squiggle at the base to indicate two letters). Take a look at the sigil for the planetary intelligence of Saturn: http://voces-magicae.com/2013/08/13/magic-square-saturn/ for something similar. Note that the two side-by-side Alefs (1s) are represented by a squiggle indicating that the letter occurs twice, and the third Alef simply lands back on the same square.
Alternatively, you can scale the numbers up/down (so 50 can become 5 or 500) to make a more aesthetically pleasing sigil. This method of Pythagorean reduction is used for when numbers are greater than the highest number of the square.
Practical Sigil Magick describes complete reduction even when partial reduction would have brought it inside the bounds of the kamea (they go from 200 to 2, when 20 would have worked). Thoughts?
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