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The Shekhinah Sigil: To Protect Jewish Folks & Sacred Spaces

The Shekhinah Sigil: To Protect Jewish Folks & Sacred Spaces

Last updated on: December 6, 2018 at 12:59 pm by Laura Tempest Zakroff

The Shekhinah Sigil: To Protect Jewish Folks & Sacred Spaces 2018-12-06T12:59:01-08:00 Laura Tempest Zakroff

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I was debating whether I wanted to write next about one of the places we visited on tour, or one of the sigils created. Then one of my beloved folks (Hi Samara!) reminded me about the Shekhinah Sigil (made outside of a workshop on tour, and since it’s Hanukkah, why not release it now? I thought that was indeed an excellent idea.

So yes, the majority of sigils that have and will be posted on this blog were created in workshops and are placed here under the theory of shared magick. However, this one I made specifically to answer a calling in a quiet moment.

The funny thing (to me) was that I thought I made it while at my parents in New Jersey in October, but according to Facebook I created it while I was in New Orleans on November 1st. Time moves differently on tour. As is the way you receive and process the news as well.

The shooting at the synagogue in Pittsburgh happened on October 27th. That evening in Atlanta the sigil for the workshop was one of the Transfolx sigils. On the 28th in Birmingham (with the shooting and other hate-motivated events making the news), we created a sigil for the Dissolution of Hate. (I will post that one soon). On the 29th in Kenner, LA, we created a locally-based sigil for the community. On the 30th, The Mechanist & The Star Goddess performed at the Alombrados OTO in New Orleans. The 31st was my first day off in some time, so things started to settle in. It’s hard to absorb things and think about them deeply, no matter how much they touch you when you’re on the road. You have to slow down for it to catch up with you. I woke up the next morning with the impetus to create this sigil.

Web-ready version of the Shekinah Sigil with blue undertones

My first thought was to base it on the Power Sigil, but using a 6 pointed Star of David instead of the pentagram. But that didn’t work energetically or visually with all of the arrows facing out. So I looked at what the basis of the shape is. The Star of David is two intersecting triangles, which can be seen as a balance of the elements and “as above, so below.” Breaking the star down into its base triangles, the descending triangle roots simultaneously into the ground and the sky, sending out protection and wisdom. The ascending or pyramid triangle ends in chevrons, which gives voice to truth and wisdom. Outside of each chevron is a 6 pointed asterisk – smaller variations of a 6 pointed star illuminating the world. Like the Power Sigil, the star is flanked by dots or periods – seeds of potential for coming generations and traditions. In the center we find the hexagram (formed by the two interweaving trianges), which is the honeycomb or hive-focus. In the center we have a circle of protection with a 7th central seed, forming an eye of protection, focus, and guidance.

Right after posting it on my personal page, I thought about calling it the Shalom or Shekhinah Sigil, and the latter stuck. Shekhinah is an English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning “dwelling” or “settling” and denotes the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God. It is particularly used to describe the feminine aspects of God in many mystical paths. So while Shalom (peace) is definitely a good runner up, Shekhinah really hits home I think.

Here is the high resolution version. The sigil can be drawn on bodies and places to protect them, carved onto candles for focusing and blessing work. It can be stiched, painted, anointed – whatever you feel the need to do. It is meant to be shared and used. It is protected by the Creative Commons License, details below.

high resolution version

Shekhinah Sigil by Laura Tempest Zakroff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

While I’m at it (but I know someone is going to say something because…), I shouldn’t have to explain what a Sigil for Jewish people is doing on a Witchcraft blog – especially if you’ve been paying attention to any of the sigils that have been created in the last two years and posted here. However, maybe you just arrived here out your own personal paper bag. Besides the clearly apparent fact that there is a need, perhaps you may be surprised to know that a fair amount of people who identify as Witches, Pagans, Pwords, etc – come from a Jewish heritage. Or the fact that much of ceremonial magic has Jewish and Arabic origins.

If that isn’t enough, then perhaps just consider being a decent human being and looking out for ALL people when they are facing hatred, violence, and discrimination from racist bigots.

Open your eyes and hearts to see fully.

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December 1, 2018

The New Aradia: Magick for Now, for All

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December 11, 2018 Liminal Thinking: Bridging Gaps To Bring Down the Drama Llama

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