Sigil Creation with Planetary Magic Squares

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:

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.