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A sigil (/ ˈ s ɪ dʒ ɪ l /) [1] is a type of symbol used in magic. The term usually refers to a pictorial signature of a spirit (such as an angel, demon, or deity). In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, a sigil refers to a symbolic representation of the practitioner's desired outcome.
Chaos magic, also spelled chaos magick, [1] [2] is a modern tradition of magic. [3] Emerging in England in the 1970s as part of the wider neo-pagan and esoteric subculture , [ 4 ] it drew heavily from the occult beliefs of artist Austin Osman Spare , expressed several decades earlier. [ 3 ]
It is the official symbol of the Illuminates of Thanateros, a magical organization dedicated to chaos magic. [ 3 ] The symbol's first appearance in a commercial role-playing game was in the Dungeons & Dragons supplement Deities & Demigods , which featured gods and monsters from Moorcock's books.
In chaos magic, gnosis or the gnostic state refers to an altered state of consciousness in which a person's mind is focused on only one point, thought, or goal and all other thoughts are thrust out. [1] The gnostic state is used to bypass the "filter" of the conscious mind – something thought to be necessary for working most forms of magic. [2]
Symbol of Chaos: Michael Moorcock, Aleister Crowley and chaos magic: A symbol originating from The Eternal Champion, later adopted by occultists and role-playing games. Tetractys (Tetrad) Greek school of Pythagoreanism: The tetractys is an equidistant and equiangular arrangement of ten points inside a triangle, akin to the fourth triangle number.
In demonology, sigils are pictorial signatures attributed to demons, angels, or other beings. In the ceremonial magic of the Middle Ages , sigils were used in the summoning of these beings and were the pictorial equivalent to their true name .
According to Spare, feeding sigils with free belief incubates "obsessions", which in turn gives rise to complexes. [ 7 ] [ 2 ] Peter J. Carroll writes: "These beings have a legion of names drawn from the demonology of many cultures: elementals, familiars, incubi, succubi, bud-wills, demons, atavisms, wraiths, spirits, and so on."
The Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT) (/ ɪ ˈ lj uː m ɪ ˌ n ɪ t s ɒ v ˌ θ æ n ə ˈ t ɛr oʊ s /) is an international magical organization that focuses on practical group work in chaos magic. The idea was first announced in 1978, while the order proper was formed in 1987.