Geometry in Magick — Practical Applications?

[A.Nox]

I’ve been reviewing different approaches to geometry in magick — not the aesthetic or symbolic ones, but the functional side: how angles, ratios and shapes actually affect the flow and behavior of energy during ritual work.
I’m curious how practitioners here see the following:

1. Do you use geometry as an operational tool, rather than symbolic decoration?

Example:

point → command
line → direction
triangle → enforcement or containment
circle → stabilisation
spiral → expansion or internalisation

Do these match your experiences, or do you interpret shapes differently?

2. How do you approach ratios in ritual structures?
For example:

• golden angle (137.5°) when layering sigils
• Fibonacci expansion in manifestation work
• √2 for separation or cutting
• π for cycles

Have any of you found practical results from using ratios (not just symbols) in your layouts?

3. Evocation structure and geometry

Do you find that the shape of the ritual space — triangle inside circle, circle inside triangle, spiral overlay, etc. — changes the behavior of an entity or the stability of the manifestation?

If so, in what direction?

4. And a broader question:

Is anyone working with geometry as an engineering system of magick rather than a symbolic language?

I’m specifically interested in discussions of:

• flow mechanics,
• containment vs amplification,
• structural interference,
• angles that prevent “energetic feedback loops”.

Not theory — practical observations.

 

[AlfrunGrima]

In magical drawings: the balance between black spaces and white spaces are something I experimented with. For me it turned out that there was not needed an exact balance between the two. Every intention and magic operation seemed to have it's own balance. I see for my minds eye which balance is needed and work that out in the drawing. If I fixate the magic into a drawing, round lines have for certain other effects than straight lines. Both are directing things, but the round lines are more flexibele. I use them if I want to open up the way to more different possibilities in the outcome. But if I do that I make a retangular border around that to prevent that things grow out of control. (Jeez, I hope I made this clear. I find it difficult to describe)

 

[A.Nox]

In magical drawings: the balance between black spaces and white spaces are something I experimented with. For me it turned out that there was not needed an exact balance between the two. Every intention and magic operation seemed to have it's own balance. I see for my minds eye which balance is needed and work that out in the drawing. If I fixate the magic into a drawing, round lines have for certain other effects than straight lines. Both are directing things, but the round lines are more flexibele. I use them if I want to open up the way to more different possibilities in the outcome. But if I do that I make a retangular border around that to prevent that things grow out of control. (Jeez, I hope I made this clear. I find it difficult to describe)

Very good point — especially the part about round lines opening multiple potential outcomes.

From my experience, curved lines behave like flow-vectors, while straight lines behave like force-vectors.
Your note about adding a rectangular frame to prevent uncontrolled expansion is interesting.

Do you find that the frame works only as containment, or does it also increase the ‘pressure’ of the working inside it?

I’m curious about how you sense the difference between a sigil that simply directs energy vs. one that structures it.”**

 

[AlfrunGrima]

Do you find that the frame works only as containment, or does it also increase the ‘pressure’ of the working inside it?

The further I place the frame to the edge of the page the more it is about containment. The further I place the frame to the center of the drawing, the more it increases pressure. In between it is a balance between the two. If I 'center' it the lines on the outside of the frame need to be straight otherwise it loses pressure.

I’m curious about how you sense the difference between a sigil that simply directs energy vs. one that structures it.”**

The one that structures it, makes it for me more easy to control the process of making it. I sense that mostly when drawing. I letting flow tension building up from the center from my body into the place of my hand where I am holding the pen. That tension is more easy to control when drawing a structured one. Resultwise the outcome of the magic, can be a little different. It seems that there in the structured sigil always something is that presenting me a mirror. If I want to learn quick from things, I like that feedback because it is not always easy to have good feedback about magic. I struggled for quite some years with that, but with seeking and accepting mirrors that is getting better. When making the sigil for contact with a spirit, the contact feels more open and direct with a sigil that simply directs energy. I am curious about if others experience that as well.

 

[A.Nox]

The further I place the frame to the edge of the page the more it is about containment. The further I place the frame to the center of the drawing, the more it increases pressure. In between it is a balance between the two. If I 'center' it the lines on the outside of the frame need to be straight otherwise it loses pressure.


The one that structures it, makes it for me more easy to control the process of making it. I sense that mostly when drawing. I letting flow tension building up from the center from my body into the place of my hand where I am holding the pen. That tension is more easy to control when drawing a structured one. Resultwise the outcome of the magic, can be a little different. It seems that there in the structured sigil always something is that presenting me a mirror. If I want to learn quick from things, I like that feedback because it is not always easy to have good feedback about magic. I struggled for quite some years with that, but with seeking and accepting mirrors that is getting better. When making the sigil for contact with a spirit, the contact feels more open and direct with a sigil that simply directs energy. I am curious about if others experience that as well.

Your description of structured sigils brings up something interesting.

Some sigils behave almost like an opposing force — not hostile, but testing

There are patterns that simply direct energy…
and patterns that actively push back against the operator to check whether your will can hold the structure.

That interaction feels very different.
Curved lines respond like a fluid field — adaptive, reactive.
Straight lines behave more like commands — they demand alignment and authority from the operator.

But when both elements meet under internal pressure, the dynamic shifts:
the sigil stops being a passive tool and becomes a partner in tension.
You have to decide whether you lead the pattern, or whether the pattern tries to set the pace for you.
When a sigil only channels energy, the sensation is clean and linear.
But when a sigil structures energy, it feels like something intelligent inside the geometry is observing your command of the form.

I’m curious whether you’ve experienced that moment when the sigil seems to ‘test’ you —
when the field pushes back just enough to see how stable your intention really is

 

[AlfrunGrima]

But when a sigil structures energy, it feels like something intelligent inside the geometry is observing your command of the form.

I’m curious whether you’ve experienced that moment when the sigil seems to ‘test’ you —

Yes indeed, it is that feeling of being observed. Kind of someone is watching you through the keyhole of the door. Which is good, the magician holds the keys if he/she is in control.

That moment of testing, is a moment I often lost my focus in the past. I had to refocus then to be able to express my will and be in charge again. And here comes in the bodily thing we talked in the other topic. To maintain good focus you need to have a good upright posture, be in control with breathing because the spine needs to be freed of bodily problems to keep the channel open. To push back a little bit. Not to strong, there is a fine balance in it. If you’re overdoing it, you lose control. When that happens sometimes you have start over again from the beginning. I had a lot of those startovers in my 'career' but not in recent time.

the sigil stops being a passive tool and becomes a partner in tension.

It is this. I often work more with partnering in tension rather than creating a door to channel.

 

[A.Nox]

Yes indeed, it is that feeling of being observed. Kind of someone is watching you through the keyhole of the door. Which is good, the magician holds the keys if he/she is in control.

That moment of testing, is a moment I often lost my focus in the past. I had to refocus then to be able to express my will and be in charge again. And here comes in the bodily thing we talked in the other topic. To maintain good focus you need to have a good upright posture, be in control with breathing because the spine needs to be freed of bodily problems to keep the channel open. To push back a little bit. Not to strong, there is a fine balance in it. If you’re overdoing it, you lose control. When that happens sometimes you have start over again from the beginning. I had a lot of those startovers in my 'career' but not in recent time.


It is this. I often work more with partnering in tension rather than creating a door to channel.

I recognise what you describe — the ‘keyhole’ sensation, the moment when the geometry stops being static and becomes an observing intelligence.
The testing is real, but the part you mentioned about posture, breathing and refocusing is interesting.

For me the pivot is not refocusing, but re-establishing hierarchy in the field.
If the sigil tests, it’s fine — but it should not redirect the working unless I allow it.
Otherwise the tension becomes negotiation rather than command.

You also wrote that you often prefer ‘partnering in tension’ over creating a channel.

I’m curious how you maintain structural dominance in that approach.

Does the sigil ever try to influence the direction of the working,or does it stay strictly within the parameters you imposed from the start?
In my experience, round forms expand possibilities, straight forms compress, and the frame controls pressure — but the intelligence inside responds primarily to hierarchy, not the aesthetic.

So I’m curious how you sense the moment when the tension becomes mutual rather than guided.”**