The Secret Bond Between Sigils and Finger Spells

What Are Sigils? 

Sigils are symbols which represent an intention without making a direct reference to it.  They can be visual, auditory, kinetic. The Magicians explores the supreme effectiveness of a movement based sigil, where spellcraft is literally at the magician’s fingertips.

The Rules 

For a sigil to be succesful, it must adhere to certain rules.

First, all elements must closely resonate with the desire by using concise, relevant figures ,drawings, or sounds.

Second, once the sigil is created, it must be sent to the  brain’s subconcious  to prevent doubts from the thinking mind.

The third and most important rule is having a sense of unwavering certainty in the outcome.

Examples 

For instance, say your wish is to increase your income by 200%.

Write out : DOUBLE MY INCOME

Take out the vowels : DBLMNCM

Take out double letters: DBLMNC

Your sigil may look like this,

Now, to give it power, the magician must concentrate on the symbol as a whole, sending strong energies. Action based sigils are similar in theory. Like the visual ones, they must conceal the obvious intent but still retain a strong, subconscious  connection.

Let’s use another example: the desire to travel to another country.

We have, TRVLNHCY.

Now for each letter we do a relatively simple action. T – tap left toe, R – right toe, V – right heel tap, L – left, N – shift foot inward, H – outward. C – jump off the ground, Y – double heel click.

Congratulations! We’ve made a foot spell that will send us abroad!

Relevance to the Magicians 

In the  books , the finger movements are difficult enough to shift the magician’s focus into perfecting the motions.  Potentially intrusive thoughts are  put on the wayside as the mind transforms into an empty,thoughtless vessel where magic can effortlessly enter.   Under this state of uninterrupted flow, the hand sigils are powered up. Then, as the magicians master these physical sigils, they become adept at using them in perilous situations while still  retaining their “empty” focus on the spell.

Thanks to the TV show, we can see this in action! Take Quentin at the Welters game against the naturals. His hands turn into a diamond  , close off to make double almond shapes signaling an expansion of a force now condensing , doubling its destructive force. This then causes the “eye of the storm” spell.

Frankly, this can mentally taxing which is why Brakebills recruits only the brightest of the lot. Only those who  condition their mind to combine open receptivity, narrow concentration and an inherent trust in something , such as magic, or their own abilities, make the cut.