Spare's Sigil Magic

[Marc]

I though it would be interesting to dedicate a thread to A.O. Spare's system of sigil magic. Has anyone worked with creating sigils in this form?

[Gregory Peters]

Spare's method of taking a word, removing repeating characters, and turning it into a sigil is my preferred method. I use it quite frequently with good results.

[Marc]

Is there a particular way of doing this? Which books cite examples of sigils that have been created by Spare and others with this method? I must make it a point to familiarize myself with Spare's work more.

Also, can this be done with a sentence as well?

[Gregory Peters]

I think sentences are in face the recommended method, with a preface of "This my Will...." For example, "THIS MY WILL TO HAVE GOOD HEALTH." Now remove all the spaces and repeating letters: THSMYWLVGD. Then activate the sigil, usually VIII, IX or XI methods are best for this. Once activated, the meaning of the sigil is forgotten consciously so that it may sink into the subconscious and begin to do its work.

After working with it for years, I have tended to streamline it even more by reducing down to single words, and also removing the vowels. Sometimes I do not use the preamble ("This my Will..."), but rather say that during the charging process.

Grant explained the method somewhere, maybe Images & Oracles? I can't remember at the moment. I think the Book of Pleasure had it written down. I'm sure I first learned about it from Grant's writings of Spare. I will try to find it later today and post which books.

[Marc]

Gregory, I am assuming that VIII, IX, or XI are referring to the O.T.O. degrees and their respective work?

[Gregory Peters]

It refers to the classification of sex magick/sexual yogic techniques. An outline is giving in Nightside of Eden where Grant has expanded upon and evolved the techniques from what AC had. The general idea is VIII is solitary (masturbatory) or with a shadow image that makes it a type of IX (intercourse), or XI (intercourse during menstrual cycle, which is different from AC's XI which was anal).

Cults of the Shadow for more on the "shadow woman" and types of dream yoga techniques, and Nightside of Eden for an outline of working with the sexual gnosis.

[Gregory Peters]

The Book of Pleasure by Spare is the main source, and Grant and others have explained and expanded upon it. Frater UD had a book called Practical Sigil Magick that has appeared online in a few places. I think even Liber Null and Psychonaut may have discussed this method (Peter Caroll). There is an older article by Joseph Maxx online that goes through the creation process home.comcast.net/~max555/book/Sigils.html

[Marc]

Yes I figured this was what you were referring to. I will dig up the books and re-read the chapters. Thanks for elaborating. I will try to dig up some examples of sigils already created as I imagine a whole sentence (even reduced) would still have quite a few letters and would create a complex sigil. Is there a set method as far as the actual construction (meaning geometrical tones, etc.. or using almost an automatic drawing state of mind for creation?)

[Gregory Peters]

The design tends to be very personal and inspired. This is where you apply your creativity and the art of magick is tapped! No real set designs, instead follow your inspiration.

homepage.ntlworld.com/wisewoman/Practical%20Sigil%20Magic%20-%20Frater%20U.D.%20-%20English.pdf

[Marc]

Wonderful, thanks. The only exposure I've really had to Spare was in KG's work, I've got to acquire Spare's books now:)

[Marc]

Amazing. Thanks for the links. I didn't have this book by Frater U.D. and the Joseph Max article is awesome...exactly the info I was looking for.

[Nalyd Khezr Bey]

Spare's "Sigil Magic" is nothing unique to Spare. The only innovation Spare added to it, or perhaps re-introduced, was stripping it back down to a basic practice without all the ceremony like one would find with how such magic was performed by the Golden Dawn for example. Spare's method is more akin to more archaic forms of practice like one finds in Shamanism. The basic idea that pervades all of magical practice is there. The best source for how Spare did it is The Book of Pleasure as already mentioned. I really recommend combing over that particular book in detail.

There are several others (mainly from the Chaos Magick community) who have interpreted and/or reiterated the practice to various degrees; sometimes making the practice more clear and coherent, sometimes making parts of it more complicated and/or confusing. Gregory already mentioned Frater UD's book which is quite good but I think still hard to acquire. Here are a few other places you can find the practice discussed:

Visual Magick and Helrunar both by Jan Fries - Fries does an excellent job of making clear what one is supposed to do. The latter book applies the method to the use of runes but he explains the sigil practice in great detail; in many ways better than he does in Visual Magick.

Condensed Chaos by Phil Hine - In my opinion one of the best books on the whole theory and practice of Chaos Magick but Hine, like so many other Chaos Magicians, obscures the sigil method a little.*

Liber Null by Peter Carroll - Unfortunately probably the most common source for the sigil practice for most and may be one of the worst places to look. I don't doubt that Carroll knows what he's talking about. He just doesn't do a good job explaining the crucial points clearly. He obscures (probably not intentionally) what Spare himself even made clear.*

Stealing the Fire from Heaven by Stephen Mace - This book was hard to get for a long time but I think was re-published a few years back and is more readily available now. This is also one of the better reiterations of the practice because Mace looks closer at what Spare himself had to say as it was said as opposed to interpreting it through a Chaos Magick filter.

There are several other minor (and some obscure) sources I could point you to if you're interested but those above tend to be the most common books of the last 30 years that discuss the art of sigil magic. Out of those I would recommend Mace and Fries first. You may also find Grant's Images and Oracles of AOS interesting to look at as well. Grant discusses Spare's theory and practice of sigils starting on page 55 (2003 edition).

* See HERE for my own reasoning for criticizing the Chaos approach.

EDIT: Nevermind on Frater UD's book being hard to acquire. I see that Gregory's last link takes you to it. Oh how internet has changed everything. I think even the pdf of that was hard to find some years ago.

[Frater Shaddad]

Practical Sigil Magic by Frater U.'.D.'. was reprinted about a year ago and is available on Amazon:

www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=practical+sigil+magick&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=34367055709&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=s&hvrand=1542459391453047658&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_q8e2przsr_b

[ankit]

Dec 31, 2013 13:54:38 GMT Nalyd Khezr Bey said:

Stealing the Fire from Heaven by Stephen Mace - This book was hard to get for a long time but I think was re-published a few years back and is more readily available now. This is also one of the better reiterations of the practice because Mace looks closer at what Spare himself had to say as it was said as opposed to interpreting it through a Chaos Magick filter.

There are several other minor (and some obscure) sources I could point you to if you're interested but those above tend to be the most common books of the last 30 years that discuss the art of sigil magic. Out of those I would recommend Mace and Fries first. You may also find Grant's Images and Oracles of AOS interesting to look at as well. Grant discusses Spare's theory and practice of sigils starting on page 55 (2003 edition).

* See HERE for my own reasoning for criticizing the Chaos approach.

EDIT: Nevermind on Frater UD's book being hard to acquire. I see that Gregory's last link takes you to it. Oh how internet has changed everything. I think even the pdf of that was hard to find some years ago.

Good mention! I am reading this book nowadays, and enjoying it immensely! Mace's language is precise and instructive. He has explained Spare's praxis in a poignant manner, without deliberately obscuring any details. I shall try to solicit Condensed Chaos and Visual Magick next. Thanks for the recommendations!  

[Gregory Peters]

The best way to get rolling with this type of sigilization is to just start doing it

[triveni93]

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge gave a very interesting talk on sigil magick in Pittsburgh, PA a few summers ago. She makes collages for use as talismans. These collages consist of images pertaining to the desired goal, with the intention written in the manner of an Austin Spare sigil integrated into the image somehow. She then uses a combination of sex magick to charge it, and then continued exposure (like hanging the talisman near one's bed so that it is what one sees first thing in the morning and right before bed) to deeply integrate the images into one's psyche. I think it's a very interesting and creative way to work with sigils and talismans. These collages take months to make, so they usually have something to do with a longer term goal.

[Gregory Peters]

Dec 23, 2014 15:46:07 GMT triveni93 said:

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge gave a very interesting talk on sigil magick in Pittsburgh, PA a few summers ago. She makes collages for use as talismans. These collages consist of images pertaining to the desired goal, with the intention written in the manner of an Austin Spare sigil integrated into the image somehow. She then uses a combination of sex magick to charge it, and then continued exposure (like hanging the talisman near one's bed so that it is what one sees first thing in the morning and right before bed) to deeply integrate the images into one's psyche. I think it's a very interesting and creative way to work with sigils and talismans. These collages take months to make, so they usually have something to do with a longer term goal.

I think I may have first had sigils brought into my consciousness from some very old TOPY writings that I had encountered in my teens. At the time I did not really understand what it was all about, but I remember sensing the inherent power in the images and a feeling of "otherworldliness". There was talk of some group practice that occurred at 11:23 on the 23rd of each month... Never did investigate it at the time.

The key is to plant the sigil into the womb matrix of reality, into the void..

[triveni93]

That's cool, Greg! I know she's been doing this sort of sigil practice for quite some time now. She also said that the value of using sex magick techniques to charge the sigil is particularly potent because it engages your entire nervous system (and therefore those aspects of the unconcious) in the operation.

[stephen]

Hi Charlotte, Its good to see you posting.  Interesting to learn that both you and Gregory have encountered a TOPY influence in your work with sigils.  Back in the late 1980s - early 1990s, I had a lot of contact with the local TOPY representative here in South Yorkshire who was working on a project collating sigil workings.  A small and highly eclectic group of people I was involved with at the time did our own particular sigil working with curious results.  Have limited access to internet at present, but will dig out the relevant papers and hopefully add something here.

The only time I was in the company of Genesis B P-O was at the TOPY Dog Daze Rite to celebrate the heliacal rising of Sirius in 1990 e.v.  This was held at the henge monument of Arbor Low near the village of Monyash in Derbyshire and was a very strange experience !

[triveni93]

That sounds like quite an experience, Stephen! Yes, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge has been a great inspiration to me for some time now. 

[stephen]

Well its taken me a while to find the opportunity to get back to this topic and seeing as I said that I would try to find something to add to the discussion here is the brief account of the aforementioned sigil working that I made at the time.  There is more that could be said about it and a number of observations to be made about the pitfalls of group working in such matters; its really here to demonstrate further variations on the theme.  Cannot access a scanner at present, but I was going to see if I could attach an image of the actual sigil itself (constructed and drawn by yours truly), so I'll work on that.

As for that Dog Daze Rite with Genesis et alii, well that's another story, Charlotte !


SIGIL WORKING

During March 1989 e.v. the Sheffield Green Circle Group became interested in the idea of creating an artificial elemental in the chosen form of a black puma, to be a type of ‘astral forager’. About eight members of the group were interested in taking part in this project, which was very much an exploratory exercise. Other members of the group were worried about the idea and did not play any part in it.

It was decided to use a sigil as the focus of energy/desire for this act of magical creation. The method was largely inspired by Austin Spare’s technique with which some of us were familiar, but the process was a matter of group decision and consensus. Firstly, the intent was expressed in a few key words:

Puma Creation Elemental Becoming Benign Power.

Secondly, by utilising the letters involved - either singly or in repetition - this intent was to be concentrated into a mantra. The form of the mantra decided upon was:
MARA MENI OMER.

It can be seen that this formula does not contain any letter ‘P’ - a point that was noted at the time, but which did not bother most members of the group as they liked the feel, or the sound, of this particular mantra.

Finally, the sigil was constructed utilising the shapes of the letters that were in the mantra; placed and drawn within a circle for the purpose of the focus and containment of energy.

The charging of the sigil by the group was delayed at this point because of the inability of the eight individuals involved to come together at any one time. Indeed, only one meeting of the group was devoted to the work of creating the elemental, the method being to focus the attention upon the sigil, which was fixed to a wall and illuminated by candlelight, while repeating the mantra to the point at which it was considered that sufficient power had been raised to give some degree of real success. At the culmination of this initial charging session there was a strong awareness of ‘energy presence’, but it was considered, no tangible sign of success. It was agreed to repeat the operation at the next group meeting; however, at least half of the group failed to turn up to the next two meetings, from which it was concluded that they had developed some doubts about their enthusiasm for the whole idea and unfortunately, the project was consequently abandoned.

[stephen]

Due to an almost infinite delay in posting, my post duplicated itself.  Well that's sigillisation for you....

Duplicated post now deleted.

[triveni93]

That sounds like an interesting working, Stephen. Thank you for sharing it!

[stephen]

 

Here is the Sigil.


With further reference to the group session devoted to its charging, this took place on the evening of 13 March 1989 e.v.  There were eight of us involved.  The sigil was fixed on the wall, illuminated by candles, and incense was burning.  The group took up the chant of the chosen mantra MARA MENI OMER and concentrated their gaze and intent upon the image. This was persisted in for about 30 minutes in all, with changes in the modulation and intensity of the chant, interspaced with brief natural breaks.  There was a good feeling of rising energy throughout the session and at times my personal perception of the sigil image took on the aspect of a three-dimensional puma head.  After this time, the general consensus was that the charging had gone well and that we had achieved as much as we could at this particular time.  During later conversation, I did hear D the only female member of the group telling her boyfriend A that she could hear another female voice during the chanting and this seemed to be causing her some concern.  Herein, I believe was the beginning of some doubts about future involvement in the exercise.  As for myself, I often hear different voices during group chanting and my own voice often changes during a prolonged session.


 

[johns]

Dec 26, 2013 17:35:20 GMT Marc said:

I though it would be interesting to dedicate a thread to A.O. Spare's system of sigil magic. Has anyone worked with creating sigils in this form?

Yes. Many times. Do they work ?? - yes. What's the secret ? Forget the intention.

Love is the Law, Love under will.