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I write about unusual things because I am into unusual things. And one of those things I am into are sigils. What are sigils, you ask? Well, they are symbols based on a word or phrase that you pick that you want to, well, magicalize. It's like creating your own personal rune.
You might be asking yourself, "But why would I want to create one?"
Here are some ways in which sigils can be used:
- Manifestation & Intention Setting: Sigils help turn abstract desires into tangible symbols, making it easier to focus energy on achieving goals. They act as a "psychic shortcut," embedding the intention into the subconscious.
- Protection & Warding: They can be used for energetic shielding, home protection, or safeguarding personal spaces. Can be drawn on doorways, jewelry, or carried as a charm.
- Meditation & Spiritual Connection: They can be used as a focal point in meditation to deepen awareness and connect with spiritual energies. Sigils dedicated to deities, ancestors, or personal guides enhance spiritual work.
- Shadow Work & Inner Healing: Sigils can be created to aid in emotional healing, self-acceptance, or breaking old patterns. They can be burned, dissolved in something liquid, or buried as part of symbolic release rituals.
- Dreamwork & Subconscious Influence: They can be placed under pillows or visualized before sleep to influence dreams and enhance lucid dreaming. They help program the subconscious to work on a goal while resting, like osmosis!
- To Include in Your Books: Maybe you want to put one as your book cover? Or maybe inside as chapter titles? Or maybe in a map of your world? The possibilities are endless! What's awesome is that you know that nobody else will have the same ones as you, as they are personally created by you, and you alone!
- Creativity & Inspiration: Artists, writers, and musicians use sigils to unlock creativity and channel inspiration. They can be put in creative spaces to enhance flow and imagination.
- Energy Charging & Spell Amplification: Used to enhance spells or rituals, acting as an energy amplifier. They can be charged through meditation, breathwork, or exposure to the elements (fire, water, sun, moon, etc.).
- Personal Empowerment & Confidence: Sigils can be created for courage, self-love, motivation, or clarity. You can wear them on your body, infused into objects, or mentally visualized to reinforce personal strength.
- Elemental & Nature-Based Magic: Sigils can embody the energies of earth, air, fire, water, or spirit to enhance whatever magic you're working on. You can use them in nature-based rituals or drawn with natural materials like sand, clay, or leaves.
- Transformation & Habit Formation: They can be used to reprogram thoughts, eliminate fears, or break old habits. They can be activated through repetition, visualization, or physical action (e.g., drawing it daily), which also helps to elicit habit change.
Let's talk about how to create one:
There are so many different ways to create sigils and different types of sigils, too. Some are pictorial in nature, but many are made up of letters. But all become a template for intention. Here are twenty different ways to make them:
- Word Compression Method: Write an intention (e.g., “I am strong”). Remove repeating letters (e.g., “IAMSTRONG” → “IAMSTRNG”). Rearrange or stylize the remaining letters into an abstract design. Here is a great example (click).
- Magic Square (Kamea) Method: Assign numbers to the letters of your intention using numerology (A=1, B=2, etc.). Plot these numbers on a planetary magic square (e.g., the Moon’s Kamea for lunar sigils). Connect the dots to form a sigil.
- Automatic Drawing / Intuitive Sigils: Meditate on your intention. Let your hand freely sketch lines and shapes without thinking, allowing the subconscious to guide you.
- Geometric Sigil Creation: Use sacred geometry as a base (e.g., circles, triangles, or hexagons). Embed your intention into the shape through stylized lines and symbols.
- Rune or Alphabet Fusion: Use existing runes (Elder Futhark, Ogham, or even your own alphabet). Combine different runes/letters to form a unique sigil with blended meanings.
- Mirror & Reflection Sigils: Write a word or symbol and mirror it horizontally, vertically, or both. This creates balance, symmetry, and hidden depth in the sigil.
- Layering Symbols Method: Use existing spiritual symbols (moon phases, elemental signs, personal glyphs). Stack and intertwine them into a cohesive sigil.
- Grid-Based Sigils: Draw a grid (3x3, 4x4, etc.). Assign letters or symbols to different points. Connect them with lines to create the sigil.
- Collapsing Letter Method: Write your phrase. Gradually simplify it, merging letters into curves and abstract forms. Keep simplifying until it feels right.
- Astrological Sigils: Incorporate planetary glyphs or zodiac signs relevant to your intention. Modify and merge them to create a unique sigil.
- Dot & Line Sigils: Represent letters or words as dots, either on a grid or otherwise. Connect the dots with curved or angular lines to form an elegant symbol.
- Elemental Sigils: Use elemental symbols (fire, water, air, earth) as a base. Modify or add details to infuse the energy of the chosen element.
- Labyrinth Sigils: Create a continuous line in a labyrinthine pattern. Infuse the energy of a journey or transformation into it.
- Stave Sigils (Bindrunes or Galdrastafir Style): Create a vertical or horizontal staff. Attach runic shapes or personal symbols along the staff to form a sigil infused staff. Use this staff when meditating or performing magic (or create protection sigils to put on it and use it while hiking).
- Solar/Lunar Sigils: Use sunbursts, crescent moons, or eclipse shapes as a sigil base. Infuse them with hidden letters or symbols.
- Knotwork & Weaving Sigils: Intertwine lines like Celtic knots to create sigils that represent unity, connection, or protection.
- Color-Based Sigils: Draw sigils with specific colors that align with the intention (e.g., red for passion, blue for wisdom).
- Water Ink & Dissolving Sigils: Write a sigil with ink or chalk on a surface and dissolve it in water to activate it. Common for cleansing, emotional healing, or dreamwork.
- Negative Space Sigils: Draw around the sigil shape, letting the empty space form the symbol. This works well with shadow work.
- Stamped or Imprinted Sigils: Carve your sigil into an eraser or a stamp or clay or wood and press it into wax, clay, or sand to temporarily charge an object or space.
So, with all of that in mind, let's create one together!
I want to create a sigil for lucid dreaming, because I am fascinated by dreams and how they are created AND I get a lot of my story ideas from dreams. And the idea that we can be lucid (which happens rarely for me) during one, fascinates me even more, because that could mean I can change whatever I like so I could create a really excellent story! So, I would like to see if this helps.
So, I picked my phrase: "I am fully aware in my dreams".
From “I AM FULLY AWARE IN MY DREAMS”, we remove duplicate letters and vowels, leaving us with:
I M F L Y W R N D S
Now, we take these remaining letters and if we want to, we can stylize them into a unique symbol by:
- Merging lines and curves
- Simplifying shapes
- Rotating or mirroring elements
- Overlapping letters
- Deleting anything that is completely overlapped by another letter.
(I removed both the I and the N because they overlapped other letters and ended up with:
M F L Y W R D S
And mine looked like this:
I used Canva to make this, and it's sort of a mess, but if you write yours by hand, it will most likely turn out way nicer. Then you can upload it to Canva and put a background on it if you, like I did. Or just leave it as is.
Then I chose to make a second one of the same letter sequence with a magic grid, like this:
I followed the directions and came up with this: 
Without the grid, it looks like this:
Without the grid, it looks like this:
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I wanted to make it memorable that it's for sleep. Feel free to click on it and save it for your own use (just keep my name on it if you share it).
Charging the Sigil:
With the first one, I meditated on it, I visualized myself becoming lucid in my dreams, and I placed it under my pillow.The second, I also meditated on, but I hung that one over my bed. I now have two sigils to use for lucid dreaming. Let's hope they work!! (I'll let you know my progress with this as it happens!)
Now, it's your turn to try it! If you do, please link me below OR tag me on Instagram @WrittenByOlivia and let me know if it works!!
Further Reading
Here are some excellent websites to check out on sigil-making!
How to Create a Sigil: A Step-by-Step Guide - Symbol Sage
How to Create a Sigil: A Step-by-Step Guide - Symbol Sage
Making sigils that actually manifest - extraOddinary (this one is good for authors!)
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