How to accomplish this? There are two key steps in sigil creation: Intent and activation. By drawing your sigil and meditating on its design, you energize it with your intent. With activation, you release this energy and set the sigil to work. These two steps were the ones I focused on and tried to adapt into a slow-acting spell.

Typically, I’d just use an altar spell for anything long-term because you can re-activate your sigil any time you wish, while also reinforcing the symbolism of your spell routinely with as many rituals as you’d like. However, because I just moved and my world is still a chaos of unpacked boxes and lack of space, a new altar wasn’t the easiest idea at the moment. I needed something that would work like an altar but would require a different kind of attention from me while I dealt with some life issues coming my way. Then, inspiration finally struck. I would plant my sigil and let my spell grow into a living thing. By tending to it daily, I would “charge” the spell, like I’d do with an altar, but it would also be much simpler to maintain because it required only water and sun. This would also give me a chance to try some new things with sigils! Not to mention, the benefits of working outside and gardening as meditation are well established, so not only would I be honing my craft, I’d be aiding in stress relief as well.    

The Sunflower Sigil

You will need:

• Sunflower seeds.  If you want to work with another plant, just make sure the seeds will be large enough to write on.
• A fine tip marker.
• Biodegradable material, like newspaper or egg cartons, for seed planters
• Moss agate
• Soil

The first step is developing your spell and sigil. Normally, I’d suggest drawing the most elaborate beautiful sigil you could but because the sigil is going to be drawn on a seed, it’s got to be easy to replicate, so think simple. Make sure you start out with a couple seeds, just in case you need some practice.

Next, fold the newspaper into a planter for your seed. This is very easy to do and there are lots of instructions available online. The important thing is that you do use a biodegradable material that will be absorbed by the earth once you transplant your spell. If you are using the egg cups of an egg carton, just cut one of them free and you’re good to go.

After your planter is ready, redraw your sigil on the inside of your planter, so it will be hidden by the soil. This is the third sigil of the process, reinforcing the sigil already marked on the seed and your original design. Each sigil will be activated in a different way and at different times, to hopefully maintain the sigil’s potency over time.

Fill your planter with soil, plant your seed and give it a good pour of water to wet the soil through. Sunflowers are very hardy, so you don’t need to worry too much about seed depth or fussy rules. As long as you keep the planter moist and in the sun, you’ll have a seedling in a few days. For extra luck, add a moss agate to the edge of your planter to help encourage growth!

Elemental Activation

Though you’re working with one sigil, you’ve hopefully got three versions of it: The original you drew, the sigil drawn on the seed, and the sigil at the bottom of the planter. The first activation will be by fire and will involve the original sigil that I’m assuming you’ve drawn on paper. This can be done on the first day of planting, so the sigil will still be charged. Simply focus on your intent and set the sigil on fire, ruminating on your sentence of intent as the paper burns. Sprinkle the ashes of this sigil over the top layer of soil in your planter. This is the first elemental activation, obviously, by fire.  

The second activation, for the sigil on the seed, occurs when the seed eventually germinates. The seed will split, and begin its own magic – the creation of new life! By adding your sigil to such a natural and powerful process, your sigil’s activation is more influential and your spell begins with a much stronger energy. This is the second elemental activation, by water.

Once the seedling is big enough, you can transfer it to the world outside by placing the planter directly into the ground. This is the third and final activation of your sigil; the slow decay of the biodegradable planter you’ve written the sigil on. Activation by earth.

That’s three sigil activations, each one reinforcing the others, each one on a slight delay. Your spell and sigils are working for you while requiring minimal effort on your part. Congratulations, your spell has been cast!  Now it’s time to take care of it.

Spreading The Love

Because your sigil activations were so involved, it’s doubtful you’ll need to do any more for the spell. It’s ready to work for you! The sigil in the earth will take a long time to decompose, making this a time-delayed activation, which also works in your favor. All you have to do now is care for your plant and, if you wish, pamper it a little with stones or blessed water… though I do not recommend putting anything like essential oils on the plant or near the soil as these can be damaging. Try to keep everything as natural as possible and avoid salt, of course!

I had so much fun with the sigil seeds that I ended up making a few and giving them out to friends. With summer right around the corner, the timing is perfect and spells make surprisingly good gifts. However, because creating sigils for other people can be tricky, it’s important to create it with someone else in mind and activate it yourself before giving it away. This way instead of handing someone else your sigil and hoping it works for them, you simply create one for them and they can plant it themselves.

Spell Garden

Naturally, as my seedling got bigger and I journaled results, ideas for more seed spells came and now I have 5 going! I don’t have a garden in my home yet, but I’m lucky enough to have a little space outside to see how these spells flourish over time. I love sunflowers but variety can add to the spell intent so feel free to leave suggestions for plants with big seeds that are easy to write on in the comments!

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Updated on August 20, 2023 by Avery Hart