Do Sigils and Magick work?

I just got this book that attracted my attention in the book store, called The Book Of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult by Richard Metzger, and I don't know why I bought it cuz the Occult makes me a bit nervous...

but I wanted to try some of the things out in the book, just to see if it would work, and one of the first things it talks about is Sigils.

So I made a couple of my own Sigils. That was kind of fun, actually. Designing symbols is awesome...

and the next step it said was to charge the sigils. I'm not gunna spell out to you how it said to charge them, but it involves picturing the sigil while doing something that ehem everyone does...

and so far, nothing incredible has happened.

So is Sigil Magick powerful, or bunk?

I vote bunk.

I dabbled in all this stuff in my teens and twenties. Nothing happened except I used to get myself all worked up and scared about nothing.

But then, you knew I was going to say that, didn't you?

I've had success with them. Make the intent clear and if you want to try something that works better for me. Create a sigil or write one out and burn it in a flame. Then completely forget about it. So that it is in your subconscious (this is the tricky part). But that's more along the lines of Chaos Magick.

Then again it could be sheer coincidence which would would be strange considering all the times it worked.

Have you kept track of how many times it didn't work? Nobody ever does. The proof isn't in the number of times it appeared to work, but in the entire set of data.

It's just like prayer -- it's all in the mind. There is no truth to it, and it is no more effective than the law of averages would dictate for random chance.

Burning sigils in a flame? That's weird. I dunno if that's mentioned in the book, but I thought about doing that. I think it's a bit less tacky than ummm wanking to it.

I'll try doing that, just for experiments's sake. I'm good at having good intent towards these types of things, until they absolutely don't work.

MajorMalfunction... of course I knew you'd vote bunk. And you may be right. We'll just have to try it and see!

Slightly different. Get the The Book of Solomon's Magick. It is a magickal system based on the summoning of 72 "demons" and 72 "angels." using sigils that correspond to each entity.

The author warns that in order to experience any results worth talking about, you must do the homework involved, ie, memorizing the rituals, and most importantly, practicing the mental exercises daily.

templeofastarte.com... if you go to the message board, the author there will answer any questions you have. He has quite a background in the occult and things of this nature if it interests you.

Sorry if this comes off as an advertisement for the book, but it is the best resource I have come across as far as being user friendly and dealing with Western Magick.

Do Sigils and Magick work?

well i am not too sure what to say about the sigils, but as for magick in general i would say yes. magick performed with the appropriate intent will 'work'.

i think that although it works it is not for everyone. it takes a certain amount of understanding, belief, intention, and practice. none of these things is hard to attain, but patience is a key.

also, when i was first introduced to these concepts i was told the common mantra:

to know, to will, to dare, to be silent.

for you that might be a good lesson to look into.

for me magick is built on these 4 statements, this 'three fold law', 'the witches pyramid', or 'the four powers of the sphinx'.

In my own experience, sigils work their Magick more slowly than other types of Magick. I have a friend who is a sculptor. He puts his sigil on all the statues he makes, to send his Magick out into the world. The Magick builds slowly, but its still quite effective.
I've been doing Magick for many, many years and it almost always works. There are times, however, when Magickal intentions will be overwhelmed by fate, laws of physics, etc.
I did Magick with a particular goddess for about 1.5 years before getting results, but when I did, it came in a boatload! Magick is simply helping to put the odds more in your favor.

No surprise from Major Malfunction there

Anyway...I did sigils when I was a teen. And its fun as it trains creativity. The tricky part is actually summoning enough desire-energy and then completely forgetting about it...thats a paradox and a seeming contradiction...but its what one is supposed to be doing when applying it.

I eventually quit because, as MM said, when testing the results, the effort invested didnt seem to match the results. In other words, I could have had the same results with working for what I was intending.

Nevertheless I wont rule out that it works better for others.

In another thread about levitation. someone said something along the lines of "It is all in your mind". That is what magick and Sigils are. It is all in your mind. That is why no one can ever record magick on camera or on tape. It can't be proven because it does not exist.

Believing in magick and sigils is no different than being one of the Masses in sunday school. It is all belief. If, in your mind it works. Then it is reality to you and it works for you. But, that is a reality all on it's own as it exists ONLY in your mind.

Like "Ms. Pirate Ma'am" said...it's bunk.

reply to post by deadangel23


I respectfully disagree.

I like to use the example of Feng Shui the direct translation of which is 'wind' and 'water'.

both of these (wind and water) are known to exist. both also have a transparent quality, for the sake of imagery and symbolism I will go so far as to say both are invisible. Although these forces are hidden to the human eye, they are no less real. they can both be perceived through their interactions with the landscape, when our physical beings come in contact with them, and so forth. see magick in much the same light. Though I cannot see it directly, I can see it's interactions in the world around me. I can feel it when I come in contact with it. It may be invisible, but it is no less real than 'wind' and 'water'.

I should be giving credit to someone for pointing out the 'wind' 'water' idea that energy does not need to be seen to exist, but sadly I can not remember where I read this. If any of you are familiar with the concept and know where it came from please let me know. Cheers.


[edit on 20-12-2007 by Animal]

You may be right Animal. But both wind and water have Provable, noticeable affects on the environment. Magick does not. Magick only has affects on the mind. The mind itself and how it works cannot even be proved by modern science.

It has little or no affect on anything as far as can tell with modern measuring equipment

I would agree with some of the above posters in that the mind contains the real power more than sigils or magick.

Prayer, magick, meditation, yoga, or even just eating something that really makes you feel good are all ways of channeling some inner-power. These are mediums for the mind to work in and eventually out of.

That's what is fascinating about life...beliefs and personal tastes are all subjective to the individual, to whatever their mind desires, whatever works for them, a near pragmatism.

Wiccans or people who just like to dabble in magick are just tapping their own mind's power via a very old and down-to-earth (literally) way. Success in said medium solely depends on the individual's mind and their dedication or discipline to it.

I think whatever helps you unlock your full potential should be explored wholeheartedly.

Hi all.

I've been practising and studying various branches of the occult for a good few years now, and have had mostly successful results so far.
Yes, it is all in the mind, but the mind should not be underestimated.
I think it's important to remember that everything we have created is the product of a thought, and some of our most brilliant scientists have come to the conclusion that even the very uni/multiverse we inhabit is all in our minds.
Everything we perceive could be seen as a product of our mind's interpretation of sensory input.
Some people believe that the subconscious mind is better communicated with via symbols, hence all the strange sigils and glyphs prevalent in most literature on this subject.
Apparently, symbols bypass the conscious mind's analytical function, allowing them, along with their latent desire to reach the subconscious strata becoming a sort of blueprint for the desire to become manifest.
Orgasm, and various other blackout techniques temporarily open a kind of gateway between our conscious and subconscious minds, allowing the sigilised desire to pass unhindered, and forgetting stops us getting in our own way so to speak, and allows the desire to become a reality.
We cannot see atoms, electricity, gravity, magnetism, God, dark matter......etc, but we generally accept that they exist.
As for the effects of magick being provable, I've proved it to myself to my satisfaction, but obviously I can't vouch for anyone else.
I could, of course be totally wrong in all this, but it makes sense to me and answers a lot of my own questions about the workings of this kind of stuff.

Hope this is at least interesting.

Cheers.

I.A.

Great explanation, Illegal Alien...thank you!

And Banyan...your desciption of how earth based magic works is bang on...I would suspect that more than a few sceptics and science bods are having trouble with grounding and connecting to this plane...but that's strictly my opinion.

I have worked with sigils a very little in the past and have had good results, but I work with candle magic more often, and I wonder how it would work if I combine the two...will have a think about this and get back to you.

And as for the people here who want to measure every damn thing in all universes...you guys *really* need to learn a new song, and *maybe* just consider the outside *possibility*....take a deep breath here please...that you might be wrong...it is possible. I actually think it's a shame that you can't have more fun with this stuff, and really pull it apart and find out how it works....maybe even how to quantify it, intead of dimissing it as bunk. Maybe we could do a sigil for that....




Later....

Caitlin

Abuse of power dead angel.If there is such a great power behind this world that we can tap into,would you want everyone in the world doing at once.Or have a select few in control,knowing how to work with it and manipulate it.Plus the government and cia know about this # so If i was going to vanish and reappear on tv in front of millions,I would "mysteriously" dissapear the night before.The # is real trust me,you guys just arent getting the right aspect on the whole thing.Sigils have a huge part of magic,but thats only key1.You need both keys to unlock the door which is truly just unlocking your brain.All of a sudden you get an astral antenna in your brain,and you pick up the astral signal and waves and can tap into them.Solomons magick is all fake and blasphemous.A jew calling up angelic names for protection,then forcing a demon to appear(drain lots of its power),and do its bidding.That was playing with fire my friend,its not like that today.All 72 of the goetic demons are freed,and can come and go as they please.If you are open enough all you do is visualize the demons sigil while chanting its name in your mind.If the phone keeps ringing,wait,they will pick up the phone.But if you dont want to get hurt and know the truth go to joyofsatan.com and read exposing christianity and judaism.Find out what the real story was,and find out who the real big piece of # deceiver was,lol,that doesnt ecen exist and is just a thoughtform.Best luck in your endeavors.
Hail!!!!!!!!!!!!

reply to post by caitlinfae


And yet no-one has ever demonstrated magic. Weird, huh? It's almost as if it doesn't exist, and everyone who thinks it does is engaging in wishful thinking based on their emotional desires as opposed to being objective.

I wish there was another explanation, but logically, that premise stands.

Magic is an energy, much like electricity. And like electricity it is not fully known or understood. Electricity is all around, is in the air, our bodies are charged with it, its a living force. So too Magic is a force little known and understood. In order to even begin to understand you have to venture out into the seas of chaos and do the thing yourself. Belief acts as a bridge but it is not necessary for you to utilize it. Hell swim through the damn water if you oppose taking the bridge!
A Sigil then is just a focus. You consciously make it so that the intent is not immediately clear when you look at it and charge it in moments of great elation by focusing all your energy on it. You have to LOSE it to your subconscious in order for it to work. If you hold on to it with your conscious it will not work. Lust of result cancels out the result. In other words, make the sigil, charge it, and forget you ever did it. (Keep track of it in a journal though!)

Practice and perseverence are the keys though. If you really want something, you will get it.

~D

Well since you decided to start half-way through I'd have to say it will be a very very BUNK experience for you.

If you are starting a Sigil with the idea that is might not work, you might as well give up now.

Magick is billshut without belief... so if you have a hard time MAKING yourself believe something than give up now.

and really.. everyone who talks about this stuff like it's all mystical and spooky.. shut up, it isn't.

You need to do work on your MIND before you start with this stuff people..

YOU DO NOT START WRITING NOVELS WITHOUT KNOWING THE LANGUAGE!