Sigil Witchery Read online

  About the Author

  © Carrie Meyer/Insomniac Studios

  Laura Tempest Zakroff is a professional artist, author, dancer, designer, muse, mythpunk, teacher, and Witch. She holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her artwork has received awards and honors worldwide. Laura has been a practicing Modern Traditional Witch for over two decades and revels in the intersection of her various paths with Witchcraft. She blogs for Patheos as A Modern Traditional Witch and for Witches & Pagans as Fine Art Witchery and contributes to The Witches’ Almanac, Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac, and Llewellyn’s Witches’ Companion. Sigil Witchery is her second book, her first being The Witch’s Cauldron, released in 2017. Laura resides in Seattle, Washington, with her partner, Nathaniel Johnstone, and at least three cats. Find out more at www.lauratempestzakroff.com.

  Llewellyn Publications

  Woodbury, Minnesota

  Copyright Information

  Sigil Witchery: A Witch’s Guide to Crafting Magick Symbols © 2018 by Laura Tempest Zakroff.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

  Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author’s copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

  First e-book edition © 2018

  E-book ISBN: 9780738755854

  Book design by Donna Burch-Brown

  Cover design by Ellen Lawson

  Interior art and photos by Laura Tempest Zakroff, except for the photo on page 107 by Kohenet Ketzirah haMa’agelet and the photo on page 126 by Carrie Meyer

  Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

  Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

  Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to current author websites.

  Llewellyn Publications

  Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

  2143 Wooddale Drive

  Woodbury, MN 55125

  www.llewellyn.com

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  For my parents, Pete and Terry Zakroff.

  Thank you for believing in your crazy artist daughter.

  From putting up with 10-foot-tall chicken-wire/plaster-wrap goddesses,

  salt block sculptures, and life-size horses painted on my bedroom walls

  to collecting my latest creations and commissioning me to paint your mailbox,

  your support for my work throughout my entire life has made all the difference.

  Contents

  IlIllustrations and Photographs

  Foreword by Anaar Niino

  Introduction

  Chapter 1: A History of Mark Making

  Chapter 2: The Meaning of the Mark

  Chapter 3: Making Magick

  Chapter 4: Design Guidance

  Chapter 5: Practice Exercises

  Chapter 6: Gallery

  Conclusion

  Resources

  Bibliography and Suggestions for Further Research

  Index of Symbols

  Illustrations and Photographs

  Chapter 1

  Montage of Images from Cave Paintings 11

  Entoptic Phenomena 15

  Cave Art Handprints and the Familiar Turkey Hand 16

  Collection of Aboriginal Signs and Symbols 20

  Evolution of the Chinese Character for Cart or Wagon 23

  Egyptian Cartouche 24

  An Array of Amazigh Symbols 29

  Amazigh Tattoos 30

  A Variety of Veves 33

  Photo of Graffiti in Greece 35

  Chapter 2

  Point (Closed Dot) 39

  Open Dot 40

  Circle 40

  Horizontal Line 41

  Vertical Line 41

  Dotted or Dashed Line 42

  Diagonal Line 43

  Cross 44

  Chevron 45

  X 46

  Arrow 47

  Wavy Line 48

  Zigzag Line 49

  Triangle 50

  Square 51

  Rectangle 52

  Diamond 53

  Crescent 54

  Spiral 55

  Pentagon 56

  Hexagon 57

  Other Polygons 58

  Star 59

  Pentagram 59

  Hexagram 60

  Septagram 60

  Asterisk 61

  Heart 62

  Vesica Piscis or Mandorla 63

  Eye 64

  Infinity and Hourglass 65

  Wheels and Shields 66

  Wings 67

  Key and Keyhole 68

  Scales 69

  Anchor 70

  Butterfly 71

  Hand 72

  Spoon 73

  Elements 74

  Directions 76

  Zodiac and Astrological Signs 79

  Chapter 3

  Photo of the Artist at Work 94

  Donna’s Sigil 100

  Illuminating a Sigil with Traditional Pen and Ink on a Card 104

  Vitality and Vision Spell Paintings by the Author 106

  Sigil Satchels—Canvas Bags Embellished with Washable Paint by the Author 106

  My “Power Sigil” Design, Embroidered and Photographed by Kohenet Ketzirah haMa’agelet 107

  Wood, Bone, and Clay Make Great Bases for Sigil Pendants 108

  A Chalk Sigil on a Doorstep 109

  Earth Sigil 110

  Water Sigil 111

  A Sigil of Smoke 113

  Planting a Sigil 115

  For the Birds 116

  Photo of the Author’s Leg Tattoos 119

  Sigils in Motion 126

  Chapter 4

  A Sacred Sphere of Energy 137

  Drawing Circles and Ovals 142

  Drawing Pentagrams 143

  Drawing Six-Pointed Stars 144

  Drawing Seven-Pointed Stars 145

  Drawing Crescents 146

  Drawing Spirals 147

  Traditional Pen and Ink 152

  Kinds of Brush Tips 154

  Chapter 5

  A Festival Sigil 163

  A Coven Sigil 165

  A Business Plan Sigil 167

  An Office Ward Sigil 168

  A Healing Sigil 169

  A Transformational Sigil 170

  A Sigil against Bullying 171

  An Anti-Anxiety Sigil 172

  A Fertility Sigil 173

  A Focus Sigil 174

  A Banishing and Binding Sigil 175

  An Inspiration and Creativity Sigil 176

  A Prosperity Sigil 177

  Chapter 6

  Upright Power Sigil 180

  Inverted Power Sigil 181


  PantheaCon Sigil 183

  Paganicon Sigil 183

  DragonCon Sigil 186

  Workshop Sigil at Herne’s Hollow in Delaware 186

  Sigil Crafting and Notetaking 188

  Another Sketchbook Page 189

  Mago Djinn Sigil 190

  Jaime’s Sigil 191

  Carolyn’s Sigil 192

  Jennifer’s Sigil 193

  Kim’s Sigil 194

  M’s Sigil 195

  Mary’s Sigil 196

  Matthew’s Sigil 196

  Megan’s Sigil 197

  Paul’s Sigil 197

  Stephanie’s Sigil 198

  Veronica’s Sigil 198

  The Drawing of the Mother Matrix 200

  The Painting of the Mother Matrix 201

  Details from Paintings from the Iconomage Series: The Star Goddess • The Huntress • Hekate • When Love Lay with Death and Darkness, Light Was Born 203

  Familiar Territory 203

  Queen of the Sabbat 206

  The Shaman 206

  Foreword

  by Anaar Niino

  What if, from the depths of your liminal consciousness, you could create your own symbolic language? What if you could create, from the ether, a personal language? What if you could create a magical language, a secret language?

  What would you do with such a thing? Would you slip it under your pillow? Would you place it beneath a crib? Would you draw it in the air with smoke? Would you write it in lipstick?

  What do I mean by symbolic language? It’s a set of signs used to communicate all manner of things. The very words you’re reading now are a set of agreed-upon signs. You can understand these words because you know what the agreement is. It is symbolic because when I write apple you understand what is meant by that set of abstract symbols. I do not need to draw an apple for you.

  That is one form of symbolic language. It has its uses but is by far and large taken for granted. With lightning-fast imagery flashing before us, these symbols begin to lose their symbolic nature. They become divorced from their magical nature, losing their symbolism to become mechanical.

  Sigils, on the other hand, are deeply personal. A sigil is an invented, private language, created for specific meanings known only to the creator. Agreement is not necessary for the symbol to take hold. Sigils reopen the symbolic and magical nature of a written form.

  Can you draw something just for fun? Absolutely! But that form of symbolic art is a design and has other uses. That form of symbolism inhabits another part of our consciousness, one that is more present and readily accessible. It is not without meaning, as art is always meaningful in a variety of ways. But it is generally not meant for magical spiritual applications.

  Sigils are very powerful tools coming from the very depths of our consciousness, reflecting our deepest desires. Sigils have a job to do. Sigils draw from deep within our psyche and are cast out into the world to do their work. The modern method of sigil making is by far the most effective means of drawing out those deep desires.

  This book covers all those bases. Laura Tempest Zakroff offers a practical, non-threatening approach to sigil work. From advice on developing your own symbolic language to ideas on how to apply that sigil, a novice should feel very comfortable drawing their first sigil. There is plenty of room for creative self-expression, yet this book offers a solid, no-nonsense method to its magical applications.

  Written in a conversational style, Sigil Witchery draws the veil and sweeps the cobwebs from the arcane. It exposes the mystery of sigil work for what it is: simple. Of course you may have heard me say, and will hear it again, that simple is not necessarily easy. But at least it’s accessible.

  So go now. Grab pen and paper, lipstick and mirror, stick and sand. Go grab something to draw with and make some magic.

  —Anaar Niino

  Grandmaster of the Feri Tradition

  Archivist for the Victor and Cora Anderson Archive at the New Alexandrian Library

  [contents]

  Introduction

  Imagine a large hotel meeting room packed to maximum capacity with all sorts of Pagans, displaying a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and experience. They’d chosen to attend this workshop on sigil magick over at least a dozen other options all happening at the same time on the busy convention schedule. Even though I’ve been teaching workshops on metaphysics, art, and dance for twenty years, I was battling a fair amount of anxiety. This was the very first time I’d be introducing my take on sigils to such a large audience. I was afraid that maybe they might not have read the description, and were expecting something more traditional. I flashed an image of a ceremonial magic seal on the overhead projector and gave this warning: “Okay, before we get started, if this is the kind of sigil you’re expecting out of this workshop, now’s the time to leave so you can catch another event. No hard feelings. I just don’t want you to be disappointed. We’re going to be looking at crafting sigils from a very different perspective.” I waited. Not a single person budged. I took a deep breath and dove in. For the next ninety minutes, no one left the room. Afterward and all weekend long, people kept coming up to me asking when I would write a book on what I had presented.

  That workshop kicked off a process that would be two years in the making—from the presentation at PantheaCon to this book first arriving on the shelves of bookstores everywhere. It’s truly an amazing thing seeing what focused intent can accomplish!

  I believe that every Witch has a certain talent that they excel at. Often we are good at many things, such as divination, spellcraft, mediumship, and counseling. But there’s usually one specific area among those many hats we wear that is our niche, a skill where our ability to influence and change the world around us is paramount. Some Witches are incredible herbalists, their gardens lush and thriving. Others excel at kitchen witchery, mixing in their magick with meals. Or perhaps they have the gift of music, where their song enchants everyone around them.

  For me, that talent involves the visual arts. I’ve been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember, and my parents fostered those abilities by enrolling me in art classes at the age of three. I continued to study fine art formally all the way through college. Whether it seemed a safer road to keep me occupied as a child (I got kicked out of gymnastics for not being coordinated enough) or my parents had some sort of a psychic insight, it was definitely the right road for me.

  Early on, I perceived art as my way to understand and interact with the rest of the world. I have a distinct memory of me at age five scribbling rune-like shapes with my crayons on sheets of paper, one for each tree in our backyard. In my head, I believed the markings were for the protection of the trees. As I grew older, I reveled in drawing dragons and mermaids, telling myself elaborate stories about them as I painstakingly drew every little scale. From around age eight through eleven, I was an avid Egyptophile, not only learning about all of the mythology but also teaching myself to read and write hieroglyphics. Then I went further back to explore prehistoric cultures and early civilizations around the world—the remnants of their sculpture, architecture, paintings, and murals. As I studied more recent art history, I naturally gravitated toward the movements and artists whose work explored mythology and spirituality and reveled in symbolism: Gustave Moreau, Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt, Marc Chagall, Frida Kahlo, Audrey Flack, and Andrew Wyeth, to name just a few.

  The question was, how to create myth and magick in my own art? In college, I began to understand how I could use my art to explore myth, folklore, and religion. I explored the feminine and masculine divine through large hand-pulled prints and paintings. I experimented with deliberately casting spells through the making of art. I did independent studies on shrine making, divination, and trance techniques. I started to truly see the connection between the marks I made and the channeling of intent to get specific results. In the las
t two decades I’ve used my work to explore the space where magick and art intersect, and see how it actively influences my path as a Witch. I began to incorporate my own take on sigil magick into my drawings and paintings, following my instincts and drawing on years of art history studies.

  People started to ask about my sigils, so I decided to reverse-engineer how I created them. (It may sound a bit odd that I needed to figure that out, but often when I’m making art, I’m following an internalized, subconscious formula.) Then I considered how others could use the same method to make their own sigils. It was this exploration that launched the workshops and this book.

  Our Journey Ahead

  I came to sigil crafting from a very different direction and practice than the method that is most well known among magical practitioners. In fact, it wasn’t until I was commissioned to do an illustration for a sigil magick article in Witches & Pagans magazine that I learned about the method popularized by chaos magicians.

  The chaos magic method of creating a sigil involves composing a clarified statement. Next you remove all of the vowels and duplicate consonants, then scramble up the remaining letters to create the sigil. To finish the working, the sigil is typically burned after its creation. Or at least that’s how the author of the article described their method and how it worked for them. (Some methods don’t involve removing the vowels, but only the duplicate letters.)

  I enjoyed illustrating the article, especially since it was well written and entertaining. It’s a cool method, especially if it works for you. But that’s not how I make sigils—as you’re about to discover.

  Instead, you’re going to learn a process that I believe is more intuitive and fluid for right-brain thinkers and is very much grounded in Modern Traditional Witchcraft. How so? It is a fairly new and unique method for creating sigils, yet it pulls from basic skills our ancestors used to communicate prior to the advent of complex language. It can also be applied to a variety of metaphysical techniques, spellcraft approaches, and spiritual paths. Regardless of how artistic you may or may not consider yourself to be, this kind of sigil witchery is accessible to people with a wide variety of abilities and experiences.