Sunday, August 15, 2010

Working With Forgotten Sigils

©All rights reserved Katielouise at Flickr
I FORGOT....

This last winter I found several sigils in a coat pocket that I created the previous winter. I had totally forgotten about them. Not only did I forget that they existed, I forgot the intentions behind their creations. At first, I was rather disappointed that I had not worked the sigils. I mean, I had let an entire year go by without taking steps to manifest my intentions. However, I soon realized that the “losing” of the sigils for a year might actually help me to work with them. Since I had no idea what they symbolized, it would not be difficult for me to activate them without bringing their intentions to conscious thought. In addition, having absolutely no conscious awareness of their intents, I would, once they were fired, be less likely to obsess about their results. (The intentions to these sigils were with the sigils, but separate from them. Thus, I can, when I actually get around to activating them, reflect upon the success or failure of my intentions to manifest. I have not looked at the intentions since I initially sigilized them, however. I wonder if any have already become manifest).

Having come to see the benefits of possessing sigils whose intents are completely forgotten, I have recently taken up the task of devising a method for working with forgotten sigils. Working with forgotten sigils is certainly not a new idea and I am sure that others have come up with methods for working with them that are more artful than what I have come up with here. Nevertheless, I set my ideas down here to record my initial thoughts concerning the matter and to provide some ideas for those who have interest in working with sigils.


METHOD

Materials needed: stack of 3x5 index cards, package of post-it notes (any size, but no bigger than 3x5), small box that will accommodate the index cards, envelope(s), an utensil for drawing sigils.

Step 1. Create a sigil and transfer it to a post-it note (some sigils will obviously not lend themselves to be treated in this manner) and adhere the post-it note with the sigil to one side of a 3x5 index card.

Step 2. Write the sigil’s intention on another post- it note and adhere it to the side of the index card opposite the sigil.

Step 3. Place the index card in a small box with the intention facing down and the sigil facing up.

Step 4. Repeat steps 1-3 until the box contains several sigils (this need not be done at one sitting but can be accomplished over time.)

Step 5. When you decide to activate a sigil (you should allow some time to pass since the creation of the first sigil to aid in the forgetting process), take all or a few of the index cards (depending on the number of cards in the box) out of the box and carefully mix them up. Be sure that the sigil remains facing up or towards you and that you do not inadvertently remove a sigil or intention post-it from their card.

Step 6. Look at the first sigil. If you think you recognize the intent, return it to the box. DO NOT CHECK THE REVERSE SIDE TO VERIFY. This will only reinforce a connection between intent and sigil and make it harder to forget. If you do not recognize the intent, set it aside and place the remaining cards back in the box.

Step 7. Remove the sigil from the 3x5 index card you set aside and activate it any way you so chose. When finished, dispose of the sigil by burning, etc.

Step 8. Remove the post-it note with the intent from the same 3x5 index card WITHOUT LOOKING AT IT and place it in an envelope. Determine the date that is four weeks from the time that you put the intention in the envelope and write this on the envelope. When this date arrives, take the intention out of the envelope and record it in your magical diary (or however you record your workings). This will keep you free from obsessive thoughts for at least four weeks.

Note: You can reuse the envelope by crossing out dates and adding new ones and index cards once the sigil and intent have been removed.

1 comment:

Robert said...

I've never really bought into the idea that one must forget the intent of a sigil before it would work.

I think that really means you must get the sigil 'alive' as much in the outer as possible so it has room to work. Once it is there, I see no harm in thinking of it.

However, if I am wrong and I could be, this technique is a pretty cool way of working around it.