Success Rate Options

Self explanatory there, What has your success rate been with sigils?

and which one has been the BEST of your "FX".

Well I only have used sex magick sigils so far, and they have worked pretty good. I dont know my csact sucsess rate however as they have often worked differently than I expected and just later I have realised what happend was influenced by the spell.

Being that I have worked with sigils since about the age of 15 there have been many. I'd imagine that some of the older members have created many more. So it'd be really hard to determine over all "success", at least for me. Sometimes I don't make sigils because I want a magickal affect; I just want to mark or catagorize something with a symbol that only I know the meaning of. A sigil itself is a meaningless symbol that carries the basic properties of a name (it can be any word or something made up), value (high, like heavenly or low, like hellish) and qualitity (positive or negative). These determine what it represents. A magician can then use this symbol to hold a fourth property - energy. This gives the sigil its "life" or magickal ability. Given these four things, really I think what matters is technique. Of course in order to figure out what technique is appropriate for you it requires trial and error practice as well as research into other techniques. Success to me is not really if the sigil alone does anything - its just a symbol. Rather if it represents my intentions thoroughly that, to me, is a successful sigil worthy of use in other magick. This representation is why I think technique is so important. The way one creates sigils can cover all the bases of one's intentions. If one's intentions are set approrpiately, it can be used in spell craft or other forms of magick to truely direct and/or channel energy.

What I do is use math. I use an algorithym for a cypher that assigns numerical value to letters, sometimes those of other languages (like runes or ogham). Then create a magic square and generate sigils that spell out "words of power" (a phrase that represents my intentions). Sometimes I draw lines from one number to the next sometimes I just over lap the letters each number represents. I can decide specific properties by re-arranging the numbers of the magic square or increase/decrease the number of letters in a word - thus generating a huge number of different sigils. Each cypher can also represent specifics such as elements, celestial bodies, time frames, different dimentions - whatever I can concieve of. The math can be very complex or very simple I can produce an infanite number of cyphers using and combining various therums or just inventing my own pattern. With the addition of larger magic squares, this produces a nearly infanite number of possibilities.

Of course, squares are not the only way to use numbers or mathematical properties. I use squares mainly for elemental magick (four sides for basic elements) and also for time magick since time is considered the fourth dimention. This same principle can be applied to a wheel design. Really any shape or pattern can be used. The basis of the technique is that numbers can spell out a word of meaning that expresses my intentions concretely - there is no grey area. All that matters is that I can truely search my self and find the emotional value of my true intentions. Its very hard for me to make simple choices. So needless to say I'm the guy holding up the line at a fast food joint because I can't choose between a whooper or some tocos. To me the value of the two is the difference in the amount it costs to buy either- there's no real desire for either other than I'm hungry. Because emotions are so difficult to express in one word, more often than not, my sigil is made from a word that is not even real. Numbers help negate the challenge of deciding if my intentions are true because they represent solid emotions/desires and the math is why this is my most successful way to produce sigils.

It all might seem complex, but its really quite simple.

In Chaotic terms -- my opinion -- time is not linear. If you want to know "ahead" of time what the results of your sigil work will be, always do a divination. Even Master Therion (Crowley) divined before all works, and using his complex five stage readings (the ones where you ABANDON the read if your significator doesn't appear where it should) -- ultimately, the great mages throughout history considered magick more science than art. To progress in any order, from the Golden Dawn on, you had to "verify" results. I know this is what you're asking about, but if you do a divination, and your skills in that area are well-practiced -- and assuming you verify your divination as AC suggested in his five stage readings (recommended for any important works of magick) -- then you should achieve 100% success.

I do, but here's the thing. Many times I've created a sigil, complete with coding (time coding -- when it should happen; parameters coding; empowering coding), then when I've completed a thoughtful Tarot read, I've abandoned it. For example, your subconscious, connected to all of us through the Deep Mind (Dao, choose your language), is largely what makes sigils work. Your subconscious has awesome power, especially in the astral. The astral manifests in the physical. But asking for a million bucks by next Friday is bound to be a failure. Why, if it's supposed to work? Simply because there are other WILLS in the universe, there are other forces, there have to be conduits to manifestation. A divination will tell you all of this. It works this way in Servitor creation too. Or Ceremonial Magick. Or shamanism. Nothing replaces a good divination. Why go through all the effort only to have failure simply because you asked for too much, too soon. A divination will not tell you "yes/no" it will work. It will suggest why. Your subconscious mind will speak directly to you conscious mind, the mind creating the sigil. I use the three pillars (tree of life) spread with Thoth tarot for this, but choose your method. Celtic's fine. Particularly pay attention to any "outcome" cards. If you are indicating "failure" or "disappointment" there, look to the ADVICE cards (all spreads tend to have them, certainly Celtic, Tree of Life and AC's methods do). Then, based on that advice, try modifying your coding of your sigil. Do another divination. You'll find it's changed. Modify again if need be, until you discover the formula that will work.

Then, I assure you, if you KNOW you will succeed (the divination, via your subconscious (IMG:style_emoticons/default/angel.gif) will tell you) and you CREATE your sigil (the power of creation... i.e. MAGUS) and you implant the sigil in your subconscious... you will achieve your result. Belief is important. What better way to achieve belief than to know in advance if you will succeed or fail. This way, in fact, you cannot fail, because you abandon what clearly won't work.

I've not been at it for a very long time, but my success rate has been 100%. I have sort of developed my own theory on the working of sigils. First of all, I believe that there has to be some connection in this plane that exists prior to the sigil being cast. If there is no connection on the physical, then there is no connection on the astral... "as above, so below" is very true.... and sigils are nothing more than a way for the inner mind to alter the blanket of our existence, For example - If I cast a sigil that says Brtiney Spears will fall in love with me, then that sigil will fail. There is no existing connection between Britney Spears and myself. Nothing I can do (with sigils) on the astral plane will affect our relationship on the physical plane because there is no connection, no relationship, on the physical plane. Now, if we had a connection, if we were friends or knew each other, then there would be some chance for success. The same could be said for making a million dollars. If there is a connection between myself and a million dollars... if I am involved in a business where the possibility exists, then a sigil can work. But if there is no connection between myself and a million dollars, then there is nothing to alter in the astral that will make it occur. Now, you could cast a sigil to get a job where that possibility exists, then go from there... but the connection must exist prior to the intent.

I did do a sigil for success in the lottery. I then bought a ticket and I had three numbers out of six. That's not earth shattering and I did not hit the jackpot, but I consider that fairly remarkable. As Mezu says, there are also other wills in the universe and sometimes this will affect the outcome of your work (the reason why I only had three and not six numbers)... Certain people are truly blessed (or have some sort of power working for them) and this can also affect the degree of success you will have, depending on how they are connected to your desires.

The only other words I can add are to be careful what you ask for. Sigils can have a strange way of manifesting. You could make a sigil with the intent of getting a new car and end up with the unintended result of having your current car destroyed in an accident. You get a new car, but in a way you never imagined.

I'm no where near as knowledgeable as others on this forum, but maybe my opinions and experiences will be of some help to you.