146 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
And from the time of the Roman Empire until
the Renaissance—1,500 years—Roman numerals
were the only kind of numbers used among all the
Latin-speaking literate people of Europe. Latin was
also the only written language—tightly controlled by
the Church of Rome, which kept all known books
under lock and key in their monastery libraries. But
the Jews, who had spread throughout Europe in the
great Diaspora (dee-AS-por-ah, “scattering”) after
Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE, didn’t use Ro-
man numerals. Highly literate (at least the men, as all
boys were required to learn to read Hebrew—though
girls were generally not permitted to learn reading at
all), the Jews used Arabic numerals, which they picked
up from the Babylonians—the same ones we use to-
day. They could do calculations, accounting, equa-
tions, bookkeeping, etc. Therefore the Jews came to
be the merchants, bankers, mathematicians—as well
as magicians, alchemists, Wizards, and scientists. This
is why so many of the old Grimoires (like The Key of
Solomon) are based on Jewish magickal systems, such
as the Qabalah (ka-BALL-ah)—and why so many
sigils and talismans are traditionally inscribed with
Hebrew writing.Lesson 5: Glyphs and Sigils
Long before any form of writing had been invented,
people represented things and ideas with simplified
drawings or carvings. We use the Greek word for such
carvings: glyphs. From the earliest cave drawings we
find simple stick figures representing people and ani-
mals, arrangements of dots, circles, and lines, and
geometric symbols like squares and triangles (down-
ward-pointing = female; upward-pointing = male).
Sigils (from L. sigillum, “seal”) are glyphs spe-
cifically representing the symbolic identities of indi-
vidual deities, spirits, or people—or even organiza-
tions (such as company logos). Sigils may be based
on geometrical shapes, astrological signs, runes, al-
chemical symbols, or just doodles someone liked.
Sigils may represent complex concepts or even con-
tain the entire essence of a spell. An individual may
design a personal sigil to sign artwork, or inscribe on
magickal tools. Sigils may be used in spells or en-
graved on talismans.Egyptian
The Egyptians developed the most extensive use
of pictographic writing, which the Greeks called
hieroglyphs (“sacred carvings”). Words and entire
concepts were represented by these symbols, and
many of them have been adopted for magickal use by
Wizards throughout the ages. Here are a couple of
the more currently popular Egyptian hieroglyphs:Ankh = Udjat
eternal life (“Eye of Horus”)
= protectionPythagorean
The Pythagorean Mysteries (see 5.VI: “Mathe-
magicks”) linked all their teachings to geometrical
symbols, especially polygrams (“many-pointed writ-
ing”). Most important was the pentagram, symbol of
light, health, and vitality. It also symbolizes the Fifth
Element (Spirit). A hexagram, formed by the union
of two triangles (male-point up and female-point
down), is the symbol of marriage. It is also called the
Star of David, or Solomon’s Seal. A heptagram, or 7-
pointed star made with one continuous line
(unicursive), is also called an elfstar by modern
magickal folks. Another important symbol of the
Pythagorean Mysteries was the golden spiral, as
shown in the shell of the chambered nautilus.Pentagram PentacleHexagram, or Septagram,
Star of David or ElfstarGolden SpiralPentagram
The pentagram, or five-pointed star drawn with
one unbroken line, is a favorite sign of magicians,
Wizards, and Witches. Inscribed within a circle it is
the most popular symbol for modern Witchcraft. It
was used in ancient Babylon, more than 4,000 years
ago (one is inscribed on a pot from Tell Asmar dated
to 2750 BCE!), where it represented the Star of Ishtar,
the planet (and goddess) we call Venus. Enclosed in a
circle or drawn on a disk, the pentagram becomes aNames and Sigils of the Angels governing the days of the week (by Reginald Scot, 1584)Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Michael Gabriel Camael Raphael Sachiel Anael Cassiel- Practice.p65 146 1/14/2004, 4:26 PM