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Sigil statement of intent
- Thread starter Gmakaka
- Start date
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- May 9, 2026
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"I have" is better than "I will have", which is what "it is my will to have" boils down to. Why limit to $2000 though?
What matters most here is your ability to truly know that you have the desire in hand right now though.
What matters most here is your ability to truly know that you have the desire in hand right now though.
- Joined
- May 9, 2026
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 63
The specific amount is good. I would just generally have gone for more, but I don't know your circumstances. good luck with your spell 
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- Jul 3, 2023
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There has been a lot of debates on Reddit and elsewhere concerning this topic.
When Peter J. Carroll introduced the world to Spare's method in 1987, he used "I wish…" and "I want…". Frater U.D., his erstwhile collaborator, had "This my wish…" (he probably meant "'Tis my wish…") in his 1990 Practical Sigil Magic. Later various authors objected to this formula, saying that all it did was reaffirm the wish without necessarily bringing about the desired end result itself. It makes me wonder if the universe cares very much about the exact phrasing of a spell… on the other hand, the formulation "I will have…" came under attack because some people claimed it put off fulfilment to the indefinite future, and as a result, the present-tense fad came about. Jason Miller writes against the use of the present tense in his Elements of Spellcrafting because he thinks that it will make you (and by extension the universe) passive and lazy - why bother doing magic and supporting it by real-life activities at all if your wish has been already fulfilled? However, you can take semantics too far. Literalists always ignore the intention and the feeling tone behind spells and worry about their exact wording too much.
Personally, I don't like the present-tense approach. I'm a rather sceptical person, so I'd baulk at "I have 2,000 dollars" when I obviously don't, and I think that doubt would seriously undermine my magical operation. It gets even more ludicrous if I chose "I have an exciting and varied sex life" while in fact being horny and lonely right now - I'd feel I was just lying to myself and consequently would never buy it. However, such positive thinking or fantasising about the desired result could be indulged while constructing your sigil but only if you can manage to be utterly convinced about success instead of shyly yearning for it.
My solution for you would be "I will have 2,000 dollars soon". The usual objection to 'soon' is that it's too imprecise to which I'd like to respond that your subconscious will know very well what 'soon' means for you personally, whether you want that money within two week or by Christmas. Additionally, it will have very pronounced ideas how that sum should not materialise and resist any awkward avenues of manifestation, e.g. by suddenly being forced to work a lot of overtime or some such scare stories. I think there'll always be a certain amount of bleed-over from your conscious motivation and your subconscious cravings and that success will also depend on your attitude.
If you're new to sigil magic, my advice is to perform operations for small, inconsequential things first to get some practice in. It may take a while to construct a sigil impressive enough for your taste, and you'll gain the required confidence and conviction instead of feeling foolish and worrying if it'll work in your very first attempt.
When Peter J. Carroll introduced the world to Spare's method in 1987, he used "I wish…" and "I want…". Frater U.D., his erstwhile collaborator, had "This my wish…" (he probably meant "'Tis my wish…") in his 1990 Practical Sigil Magic. Later various authors objected to this formula, saying that all it did was reaffirm the wish without necessarily bringing about the desired end result itself. It makes me wonder if the universe cares very much about the exact phrasing of a spell… on the other hand, the formulation "I will have…" came under attack because some people claimed it put off fulfilment to the indefinite future, and as a result, the present-tense fad came about. Jason Miller writes against the use of the present tense in his Elements of Spellcrafting because he thinks that it will make you (and by extension the universe) passive and lazy - why bother doing magic and supporting it by real-life activities at all if your wish has been already fulfilled? However, you can take semantics too far. Literalists always ignore the intention and the feeling tone behind spells and worry about their exact wording too much.
Personally, I don't like the present-tense approach. I'm a rather sceptical person, so I'd baulk at "I have 2,000 dollars" when I obviously don't, and I think that doubt would seriously undermine my magical operation. It gets even more ludicrous if I chose "I have an exciting and varied sex life" while in fact being horny and lonely right now - I'd feel I was just lying to myself and consequently would never buy it. However, such positive thinking or fantasising about the desired result could be indulged while constructing your sigil but only if you can manage to be utterly convinced about success instead of shyly yearning for it.
My solution for you would be "I will have 2,000 dollars soon". The usual objection to 'soon' is that it's too imprecise to which I'd like to respond that your subconscious will know very well what 'soon' means for you personally, whether you want that money within two week or by Christmas. Additionally, it will have very pronounced ideas how that sum should not materialise and resist any awkward avenues of manifestation, e.g. by suddenly being forced to work a lot of overtime or some such scare stories. I think there'll always be a certain amount of bleed-over from your conscious motivation and your subconscious cravings and that success will also depend on your attitude.
If you're new to sigil magic, my advice is to perform operations for small, inconsequential things first to get some practice in. It may take a while to construct a sigil impressive enough for your taste, and you'll gain the required confidence and conviction instead of feeling foolish and worrying if it'll work in your very first attempt.