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Leah Russell3 min

Notions and Potions: Working with Sigils

In each issue of Kindred Spirit, a guest witch shares their wisdom. Here, Lindsay Squire explains how to work with sigils
 

As a witchcraft mentor on Instagram, I often get asked about sigils and how to create them. Making a sigil is a way to give a physical form to your intentions and goals. You can reduce a word, name or statement to symbolic form which is charged with your specific intention. This is an incredibly powerful form of magick.

The great thing is there are many ways to make a sigil that is packed with the power of your intention, and all you need to do it is a pen and paper. It makes it a great form of magick for those witches on a budget (like me!), and it can also be a discreet form of magick for those practicing in the broom closet. Here’s a step-by-step guide to making your own sigil using the wheel method.  

Identifying your intentions

When creating your sigil, it’s important to take your time to formulate your intentions before you begin. Your intentions are the very heart of your sigil, and they are what gives this kind of magick power and energy. Sit somewhere quiet to think about exactly what your intentions are. Be as specific as you can. Using this method, I have found that it works better to either choose one word to represent your intentions or a short, concise phrase only a few words long. This helps to keep the energy of your sigil focused and prevents more than one goal from being attached to it. As with all spellwork, keep your intentions realistic and phrase them as positively as you can.  

Simplifying your intentions

Once you have your chosen word or phrase, you can simplify your intentions by removing any vowels and repeated letters, but this is an optional step, so do what you feel is right. The more letters you remove, the simpler the final sigil will be.  

Creating your sigil

The next step is to draw or print out a sigil wheel of your choice. The illustration included to the left is an example of a sigil wheel. The idea is that you use the letters on the wheel, drawing a line from one letter to the next until you’ve spelled out your chosen words, and the shape that is created by the end is your sigil. For the first letter of the intention, I usually draw a dot on the first letter before I move on to the next, drawing a line from one letter to the next. I usually end the sigil with a dot. This is just my personal practice, but you don’t have to do this if it doesn’t feel right – go with your intuition.   Sigil Tips: This is just one of the many methods of sigil creation. Research other kinds to see which method works best for you and your practice. You can make your own version of a sigil wheel, with the letters of the alphabet arranged so they are in different places. You could even arrange the letters into another shape, like a square or triangle, and see what difference it makes to the shape of the sigil that you create. There isn't a right or wrong way to make your own sigil wheel, so always do what feels right to you. On a practical level, you can create your sigil in two ways. The first is to draw directly onto your sigil wheel and once you have finished, copy your sigil onto another piece of paper or your chosen object. The second method is to use a piece of tracing paper or paper thin enough to see the sigil wheel through when placed on top, then trace out the form of the words you have picked. If you have chosen to use a phrase for your intentions, you might find it easier to make a separate sigil for each individual word and then join all the sigils together when you have finished, forming one complete sigil that embodies all your intentions in detail. Sigils don’t just have to be written on paper with a pen – they can be used in many other discreet ways. Draw them into the condensation on a mirror or window, or onto your nails in the same colour nail polish you paint over them. You’ll know your sigil is there, even if you can’t see it.  

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This feature was originally published in Kindred Spirit issue 178 (November/December 2021) available from 14 October, 2021. Click here to subscribe and have each new issue of Kindred Spirit delivered directly to your door. Alternatively, you can purchase individual magazines directly from our website.
Lindsay Squire is author of The Witch of the Forest’s Guide to Natural Magick (£14.99, Leaping Hare Press).

thewitchoftheforest.co.uk