# What is a Sigil?

Sigils are magical symbols used in various forms of magical practices. The main premise behind sigils is to encapsulate a desire or intent into a symbolic form, which is then charged with the practioners will, and then released to manifest the desired outcome. Sigils have been used since antiquity, and remnants can be traced back to the stone age, where early humans painted symbols, animals, and scenes on cave walls, believed to invoke success in hunting, strength, and protection.

<figure><img src="https://2994433414-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FR8cDcmNDfdea5lNN4gxO%2Fuploads%2FnHWRHvrHQj9U7upLlbPo%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=7683ed93-5934-40ec-8d85-cf5446fabb37" alt=""><figcaption><p>Lascaux is a network of caves in Southwestern France where some of the earliest precursors to modern sigils were constructed</p></figcaption></figure>

In the medieval ages, the term sigil was used to refer to occult symbols which represented various [angels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel) and [demons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon). The sigil was viewed as a signature or sign of an occult entity. Magical books known as [grimoires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimoire) are filled with sigils of different entities. A particularly well-known list is in [*The Lesser Key of Solomon*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lesser_Key_of_Solomon), in which the sigils of the 72 princes of the [hierarchy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy) of hell are given. Medieval practioners believed that to know the true name and true sigil of a demon meant to have power over it.

<figure><img src="https://2994433414-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FR8cDcmNDfdea5lNN4gxO%2Fuploads%2FrMJvGEcGOUyNz2JKa7ag%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=066f63b7-d7ff-46d1-8695-5c9ba2b627fb" alt=""><figcaption><p>72 seals from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lesser_Key_of_Solomon"><em>The Lesser Key of Solomon</em></a></p></figcaption></figure>

These sigils were not constructed arbitrarily, nor were they received by revelation. Agrippa used a special sigil for each of the planetary intelligences which were derived using "cabbalistic considerations." One method of creating sigils of certain spirits involved the use of [*kameas*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kameas), a special use case of [magic squares](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_square#Magic_squares_in_occultism) where the names of the spirits were converted to numbers, which were then located on the magic square. The locations were then connected by lines, forming a sigil.
