Sigil Witchery: A Witch's Guide to Crafting Magick Symbols

by Laura Tempest Zakroff

Know Thyself: Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses, mentally, spiritually, and physically. Maintain Balance: Balance is an idea, not a place. To understand it, we must consider the extreme points as well as moderation, and realize that all actions have a multitude of possible reactions. Accept Responsibility: Be able to acknowledge, accept, and work with both the known and the unknown consequences of your actions and words.

accepted fluidity between mundane and spiritual images. A single symbol can exist in both worlds; its meaning and application is inherent to the person making or using it. It is their belief that guides the meaning for that moment or application—and that can be as obvious and concrete or as spirit-driven and mysterious as the maker intends it to be.

One of the primary benefits of symbols and signs is that they simplify complex ideas.

This makes context all the more important to consider. You can’t just pull a single symbol out of a group to grasp its complete meaning; you need to see the whole picture and the interrelations.

larger. Keep this in mind when crafting sigils. A dot, line, or star gains more complex meaning as it relates to the other shapes and marks placed around it.

These are important things to keep in mind when we discuss crafting sigils: Who are we speaking to? What is our message?

What matters most is answering this question: What works best for you?

Remember, there’s a lot of power and meaning to be found in the most basic of marks, so don’t rush through or overlook them to get to the more complicated ones.

You can work with your familiar spirits and deities to craft a sigil that’s a kind of call sign, mark of familiarity, or symbol of devotion for them.

You can also use a sigil as a mark of ownership (as in, this here thing the sigil is on is mine). You can work with a group, tribe, coven, church, or community to design a sigil that represents the organization and its goals. It can be a logo for your business or a personal mark that identifies and describes you as a being. It can even be a family or household crest.

There are four basic steps to sigil creation: Step 1: Define your goal or identify the problem. Step 2: Brainstorm a list of what is needed to accomplish that goal or solve the problem. Step 3: Design the sigil. Step 4: Apply the sigil, and acknowledge it as necessary.