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I was designing patterns for a character's clothing tonight and eventually got lost in creating sigils for my magic system. here I created what is probably going to be the most important and commonly used sigil throughout the world of Vär Mäne. A visual representation of the very foundation of Thaumaturgy, everything else thus building off of it.
I don't have a name for this sigil yet, that's something I'll need to think on for awhile (if you know anything about my writing, it's that I overthink names like a maniac). This symbol is a marriage of two already existing symbols: the Māori Koru, a symbol based on an unfurling fern frond; and the Celtic Triskelion. Don't worry, I'll rewrite what my notes say, I'm aware of my abhorrent handwriting.
The Koru represents new life, growth, continuous cycles of life, strength, and peace. This is presented through the spiral shape (nearly universally recognized as a symbol of life and cycles) and the plant effigy; the growth of a brand new life and the unfurling of its body, future, and potential.
The Triskelion represents many, many things. whether or not through strange coincidence, reality can be broken down into threes.
The Cycle: life, death, rebirth.
The Realms: earth, sea, sky.
The Family: mother, father, child.
The Triskele represents interconnectedness in every way. The symbol has no end and no beginning, it is simply an unending spiral. The Triskelion also has its roots in goddesses and women, sometimes being used as a symbol of female power. As we all know, women are the origin of all life and are the creators of witchcraft.
My blend of these symbols represents every one of these things. every state of being, every realm, every element. In the center is the Koru, or silver fern frond. it represents what we know. This is life and the present. our physical bodies, our senses, our experiences, our collective knowledge.
On the edges are the three spirals of the Triskelion. These are the cycles that have and will repeat through all of time. This is the past and the circle of life. Life or birth, death, and rebirth or afterlife (depending on who you ask or what practice of Thaumaturgy you are engaging in). These also represent the mind, body, and spirit; the earth, sky, and sea; and the physical world, spiritual world, and the gap(1)/bridge/intermingling between the two.
The three dots or ellipse petering off is also inspired by the Koru(2). it represents what we don't know yet. This is the future, death, and higher forms of existence that mortals cannot experience.
Lastly, the lines connected to all of these elements simply represent the inherent interconnectedness of all things. These lines can also be seen as Leylines, since Leylines are quite literally the energetic pathways between all living things.
This sigil can be built off of to create new symbols and perform acts of Thaumaturgy. Here is a very rough example:
I have added the Adinkra African symbol Aya, which is a fern (yes, you're seeing a lot of ferns here. If you're familiar with mythology or paganism, you'll know ferns are a pretty important plant. they're also just my favorite and cool as hell). Other than meaning "fern" in a simple language context, the Aya is a symbol of endurance, resourcefulness, resilience, and defiance. Ferns are famously hardy plants. They are incredibly tolerant and can grow in the worst conditions. extreme heat, cold, and damaged ecosystems. They are stubborn. After an upheaval event, ferns are one of the first plants to reestablish itself. Scientists have even suggested that ferns can act as facilitators for ecosystem recovery, easing the way for other plants and animals(3).
This is only a first-draft idea of the kinds of sigils that can be created, but I imagine this could be a sigil for an endurance spell. offering the resilient qualities of the fern to the affected Thaumaturgist. Which branch of the symbol that is being altered should be noted. I may change the place in which the Aya is added for this particular spell depending on which spiral represents what. Another layer I'll need to consider when creating more sigils.
This is all I have so far for the sigilistic/runeric property of Thaumaturgy. You can read this blog entry for some more context on Thaumaturgy and other terms used here that you may not be familiar with. Thank you for reading !!
Footnotes:
1. on Vär Mäne, this gap is called the Ginnungagap. Sometimes it is referred to as a literal place, a metaphysical plane, or state of mind or consciousness.
The Ginnungagap is a primordial, magical void from Norse mythology.
2. I am unsure if this is actually a part of the symbol. I saw it in a singular rendition of the symbol, but no others. I really, really like the way it looks though, so I included it.
3. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-ferns-ancient-resilience-aids-modern.html
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