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I'm relatively new to sigil magick. When creating a sigil, I eliminate the duplicate letters, but keep the vowels. I know that, for whatever reason, some people eliminate the vowels as well. I was curious to know what other people here prefer to do. I also sometimes enhance a word sigil by adding symbols, such as pentacles, alchemical symbols, or other symbols that I feel are relevant to the situation and what I'm trying to accomplish, and I was wondering if anyone else here does this to help charge a sigil more strongly.

I've read it's best not to use words, and to create your sigil out of some undefined pictures, or objects which have no intrinsic value to you.

Personally I don't think it matters if you remove doubles or vowells.

In my opinion its all about making the sigil represent your thought form as closely as possible.

When I first started making Sigils I decided against using the traditional English alphabet in favor of creating and utilizing my own custom alphabet. I basically searched the web for interesting runes, kanjis, hieroglyphs, pictographs, and symbols, selecting only those that I liked the most, and then using them as a sort of starting point for the creation of an unspoken, "magickal" language that was completely my own. To help the process of translation, I have a set of symbols that simply represent letters in the English language, but as time has passed my library has grown to include a myriad of phrases and complex ideas including a variety of desired effects, mediums, and objects.

I'll admit that this is a lot of work, but the process of drawing a symbol to represent a complex idea is a part of my ritual. I invest a great deal of time creating and combining the symbols, a process which I've come to cherish. As a result, the Sigil is often sufficiently charged at the time of completion, but I usually expand on this aspect as well, via self-hypnosis, focused meditation, etc..

So basically:

1. I start by determining what it is I desire and write it out in plain English, taking extra caution in how it's worded.
2. I translate this desire from English into symbols, either by using old ones from my library, or creating new ones.
3. I combine these symbols in some unique fashion, such that the original symbols become indistinguishable from one another.
4. I then charge the Sigil by concentrating on this desire via focused meditation and/or self-hypnosis.
5. Once I feel the Sigil is most sufficiently charged I cast it, usually via burning, but in this respect I often get creative as well.

I can attest to the fact that this approach works and that it is potentially very powerful, for better or worse.

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you."
--Friedrich Nietzsche

That description sounds very much like creating a Bind Rune - except they use shapes and letters from a different language.

I'm not a sigil person, per se, so is the above accurate or am I missing something important?

I often pick out the letters in the word that helps me draw a nice looking symbol.
No real system, just going by inspiration.

I'm much more concern about my concentration when drawing then what I'm drawing.

There are various techniques and theories, how to do a sigil "right".

I would recommend you to read the classics of Spare and then "Visual magick" by Jan Fries, then you have a solid background and should be able to decide on yourself which seems most appealing to you.

Ramscha

It's interesting that Bind Runes were mentioned because I never actually made the connection before, nor had I studied to any real extent their significance, but it is a fairly accurate description of the method I use to create my sigils. I will say that my "runes" are not combined via a common stemline however, nor are they combined in an sort of set fashion save what is either aesthetically pleasing or significant to my desire(s) becoming manifest (usually a combination of both).

Furthermore, the elaborate method in which I create my sigils is but a reflection of my character. I am both artistic and meticulous, and as such, so too are my sigils. It is obviously not a method for everyone, nor was my comment intended to imply anything of the sort (just to clarify). I simply feel that it's vitally important that an individual's sigil both be a reflection of that individual and that individual's desire(s). Above all else you must be true to yourself.