This is a sigil for gender diversity, acceptance, and inclusion in pagan and magical spaces, community, rituals, and workings.

This has been magically charged with intent for:
*learning
*welcoming
*community
*crossroads and bridges
*inclusion and full acceptance
*open to other perspectives
*wards against hate and bigotry

At the same time I created a symbol to indicate that all genders and gender identities are welcome in pagan and magical spaces. It is deliberately much simpler so people who want a visual indicator of acceptance are more likely to remember how to draw it. The full complex sigil is esoteric, vs. the lay-practical symbol that is more easily accessible. The symbol would also be very easy to modify to apply to other groups by replacing the pentagram with different group icons.

The sigil and symbol are both Creative Commons CC0 (No Rights Reserved). In this case I think it’s important that people have the freedom to use them in whatever way is most fitting for their community and situation, including derivative works and promotional and sale materials. I would love it if I receive attribution, but that’s not the important part here. The important part is to foster, encourage, and build full acceptance and inclusion of individuals and magics outside the archetypal cis-gendered binary, and give them the equal footing they deserve. In doing so, we not only create a better environment for all genders and gender identities, but we enrich our own practices and communities with greater diversity and more perspectives. We also open ourselves to a world of energies and magics outside the gender binary that we may not have realized existed when orbiting so close to an arbitrary ideal.

By emphasizing equality for all genders, including male and female, it becomes very natural to abandon drawbacks of the patriarchy and misogyny that tend to dwell in strongly binary spaces. When you entirely drop the concept of the binary, male and female are still included, but instead of placing them in conflict with each other, they become equal parts of a more diverse whole.

I hope you find these images helpful to your community and workings, but please remember that the most critical part of any endeavor is real world work. Be the change you want to see. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the amazing spectrum of genders and gender identities that exist. Challenge personal and community binary gender bias even on the metaphysical level. Look up the plethora of non-binary and agender deities, spirits, and living species and consider their gender metaphysics. Read up and brainstorm on exactly how to step back from emphasizing the idealized gender binary in community discourse and ritual. Listen when members of your community tell you that things make them feel included or excluded, and make efforts to improve inclusiveness. You might find that many gender exclusionary terms and practices are deeply ingrained in your community traditions, so if you are committed to a more inclusive community some difficult changes might be essential. Exactly what changes are needed will depend upon the you and your community. However it happens, becoming more inclusive is a process, and it will take time, but the rewards in doing so are beyond measure.

Here is some suggested further reading on gender and paganism if you are inclined to read further on the subject.

Beyond the gender binary in Pagan practice, by Donyae Coles
Maiden/Mother/Crone, Youth/Warrior/Sage, and Strict/Gender/Roles, by lupa Greenwolf
Paganism, Anthropomorphisation and Gender, by Joanna Van Der Hoeven
Issues with Masculine/Feminine Duality in Paganism, by Trellia
An Ecopsychological Alternative to “Maiden, Mother and Crone”, by Lupa Greenwolf

Printable Files of the Gender Diversity Sigil

In the interest of spreading the sigil and symbol as far and as easily as possible, here are high-resolution, digitally drawn versions of each. Please, take them and use them in any way that will help your community. I’m completely serious about no restrictions on use. Attribution (or a link back here) is lovely because it’s nice to get credit, and it will give others access to the raw files, but it’s not necessary.

And if you want to print out something that’s relatively cheap to have made, and easy to hand out at events and gatherings, here are front and back, high resolution, standard business card aspect ratio (3.5″x2″) jpg images that you can send straight to the printer as-is. The nice thing about this is that it tells people exactly what the sigil is for, so when they come across it weeks (or months, or years) later, they won’t be scratching their heads wondering what it means or where it came from.

Symbolism in the Gender Diversity Sigil

If you want to take a detailed look at the creative process, and think it would be interesting to read a breakdown of what the different pieces of the sigil mean, keep reading, because I’m happy to share. I’m also a firm believer that the more fully you understand what you wish to accomplish magically, the more potent your work will be.

The first thing I did was decide that I wanted a sigil for gender acceptance and inclusion in the greater pagan/witchcraft/occult community.

Second, I looked up all the current symbols being used to represent as many different genders and gender identities as I could find. Fun fact, I found a symbol for non-binary (my gender) I hadn’t seen before that I absolutely love!

In my internet meanderings, I ended up on the website of Mx. Anunnaki Ray Marquez, specifically the article on All The Gender Symbols. I jotted down the more common symbols and shamelessly stole this graphic that was shamelessly stolen from reddit, and I strongly suspect was shamelessly stolen from somewhere else before that.

From a practical design standpoint, there are far too many gender symbols to be able to include every last one without cluttering the sigil, plus new gender identities and symbols are being identified all the time as people explore their own unique gender identities. Because of this I chose six elements that reoccur across multiple gender symbols to use in the sigil. An added benefit from a metaphysical standpoint is that by deconstructing the symbols rather than using any of them in their “pure” state, it allowed me to emphasize that gender is a mutable construct with a multitude of elements that blend in unique ways for each and every individual, even those who identify strongly with the gender binary. We’re all in there.

Before I could get to the next step in the sigil, it occurred to me that the one thing almost every single gender symbol has in common is the circle. The star in a circle is the most common symbol for the pagan/witchcraft/occult community, so perfect! I could slap a star in the center of the circle, incorporate the chosen elements, and have a comparatively simple symbol that would be relatively easy to recognize and understand in modern Western society.

To that end I went about drawing slight variations on the theme, and made several attempts to create a clean drawing before finally arriving at one I liked. I started out with the pentagram pointed up, and the symbols radiating from the half-points of the circle, but that didn’t sit quite right, so I moved the radiating symbols to the points of the pentagram. It is drawn and presented point down so the gender elements are oriented similar to their typical positions, but the symbol can actually be turned any direction you want. The little tab spokes can be drawn flowing either direction, or they can be left off entirely. I included them to represent fluidity and the mutable nature of gender.

Getting back to the sigil proper, I used the methods described in Laura Tempest Zakroff’s book, Sigil Witchery, jotting down what needed to occur for the overall purpose to happen, along with some potential symbols to incorporate into the sigil representing each of those things.

Below the intents are the first three attempts at a sigil. I knew from the start that I wanted the ouroboros gender design with the circle at the center, with overlapping pentagrams above and below. The rest was more difficult.

I liked things about each of them, but none were quite right, so I kept going. The biggest obstacle I had was working the wards into the design in a way that was visually appealing and didn’t interfere with the harmony of the core of the design. I also really wanted to have inspiration/idea/learning rays, but that only add to the design challenges.

The first one lacked any wards. The second one seemed too frenetic. The third just didn’t feel right and the keyholes felt cluttered, so I changed some of the proportions and swapped out the keyholes for mirrored exclamation points. This felt too closed off and insular, and the inspiration rays are set outside the wards instead of inside where they would help the community, so that didn’t work.

I went back to the rays emanating from the pentagrams, having decided I really liked that arrangement, and I kept the exclamation points from the most recent attempt, but I still wasn’t even remotely satisfied with the wards portion. I really like the evil eye symbol, so maybe that would work?

…. or maybe inverted moons? For a shield and a pair of horns? That just turned out bulky and awkward….

OK… What about multiple smaller “horn” moons, ready to hurt someone who tries to get past the shields? OK. Now I felt like I was getting somewhere. I tried six smaller moons, one for each gender element. This resulted in an appealing symmetry, and it created more flow around the whole image instead of the energy and visuals flowing only horizontal and vertical.

I knew at this point that I liked everything that was there and how it was arranged, but it felt like something was still missing.

I set about creating a nicely drawn version of the above while still considering changes, and realized it needed action dots over the small moons. That’s when I hit that happy, full, completed sigil feeling.

So, what does all that stuff mean?

The ouroboros at the center is based on one of the symbols I found for non-binary gender. I used it because the circle represents community or wholeness, and the interrelated unending spectrum of gender possibilities intersects in community and wholeness. Multiple gender elements added in a balanced way around represent the mutable and interrelated spectrum of gender. The intersection is also a crossroads, indicating we will meet a lot of people along our journeys, with the mirrored exclamation points to remind us that there is something that can be learned and choices made during every encounter. Every time we meet it is a chance for us as individuals and a community to learn, grow, and become more whole.

Above and below, the center circle intersects with circle pentagrams. They support and uplift the whole, metaphorical bridges and intersections giving us more to explore and appreciate. The pentagrams themselves will mean something a little different to each person who sees them, which is great, because that means individuals and their communities will see themselves reflected in the heart of the sigil. They represent, among other things, strength, power, protection, healing, reflection, community, unity, balance, harmony, and seeking.

Above and below the two pentagrams are inspiration/idea/learning rays in a rainbow arch (9 rays each for you numerologists out there). This is for extra Oooomph! on the learning from each other to enrich each other, our communities, and also the rest of the world. The rays are not covered by a shield because when we seek understanding, we radiate it out into the world to make everyone’s lives better. We interact with a lot of people who are outside our metaphysical communities, and as we enrich ourselves, it colors those interactions. Plus, rays are pointy, so if someone wants to be a terrible person and directly attack our endeavors, they’ll run into some hefty proactive defense. On the other hand, if someone wants to join the community who is open to being inclusive, they’ll pass right between the rays and be able to hang with the cool kids.

Sadly, it’s a fact of the world today that people who profess bigotry and hate are not only prevalent, but in many places extremely proactive about seeking out and harming the targets of that hate and bigotry. The two large crescent moons shield the gender identities, creating a safe space for them to feel welcome and included. The crescent moons also represent waning and waxing of the moon. It symbolizes that life has an ever-changing flow of repeating but unique cycles, and that times of growth and of cleansing are both critical to health and happiness.

On the outside of the shield moons are six more smaller crescent moons, arranged like horns facing outward. Not only are the genders protected, but the community is ready to actively move to their defense. All genders belong here, in equal standing, and the community is ready to step up to fight for that ideal.

Each crescent moon is accented by action dots. These are inspired by the Australian aboriginal symbol for ants, three equal dots, which also represents action, activity, work, progress, etc. Basically, ants get a hell of a lot done despite being so tiny. In large enough numbers they are even capable of averting or running off large predators (fire ants, anyone?). It can seem daunting, or even terrifying and dangerous, to stand alone and hold a line against proactive bigotry and hate. It’s much easier to hold a line when you have a lot of friends helping, which is why the more people you have at a political protest, the more successful it’s likely to be. It also takes work, but when you have more people working toward the same goals things still get done even when some participants need a break.

Extra, extra bonus that warms my artistic little heart! In arranging the dots in that manner, not only does it look like extra defense from the outside, but from the inside it makes little smiley faces! Because it genuinely does bring joy to be loved, included, valued, protected, and supported.

There are a lot of symmetries and reflections throughout the sigil. Things we have been taught to think of as “opposite” usually have a great deal in common as well. “Opposites” are often balanced reflections of each other, rather than confrontational or incompatible elements. Most of the time you can’t actually have one “opposite” without the other (light/dark). Other times the “opposites” actually lay on a spectrum instead of being in stark contrast with each other (gay/straight). Then there are the times when the whole idea of “opposites” is a social construct, and isn’t tangibly representative of the interrelationship at all (male/female). When you hold up a mirror to your ideas, and when you try to see from another person’s point of view (look into their mirror), it can be very revealing of the nature of your own beliefs and biases. Understanding your subconscious beliefs and biases is the first step towards changing them so they are more in line with your conscious intent.

It is also worth noting that nowhere in the sigil did I include anything for outing or exposing people. There are a lot of reasons a person may choose to publicly identify with one gender, while feeling another on the inside, regardless of how supportive you think the environment is. They are all valid reasons. All of them. It isn’t up to any of us to judge or force anyone else to be “out of the closet”. It’s a personal choice. Period.

Go forth and be the change you want to be.

And encourage your friends to do the same.

How to Use the Gender Diversity Sigil

You can use this sigil in any way that is in line with its intent and makes sense for your practice.  Some ideas are to:

* inscribe it on a candle
* print it or draw it on a piece of paper and place it on your altar or somewhere you see regularly
* put a copy in your wallet
* use it as the wallpaper, login background, or screen saver on your phone, tablet, or computer
* make something crafty and include the sigil in your creation
* use it as a focus for meditation
* draw it on the body using salted water, anointing oil, an herb blend, makeup, body paint, henna, markers, temporary tattoo pens, etc.
* and so on

Your rendering of the sigil does not need to be perfect.  Intent is what matters, so do not worry if you cannot draw it “perfectly”.  As long as all the elements are there, you are good.

Like any sigil, it will be most effective when it is used in conjunction with real-world actions.  Do what you can to educate yourself about respecting people of various genders, work to be inclusive in your local community and online, and do what you can to help combat discrimination when you encounter it.

Please read On the Care and Use of Sigils for more information about how to use sigils.

Tattoos and Body Art of the Gender Diversity Sigil

If you want to get a tattoo of any of my sigils, you do not need to ask me for personal permission.  Permission is granted.  However, I do recommend that you carefully consider whether or not the sigil in question is actually something you need working on you constantly for the rest of your life.  If the answer is no, temporary body art is probably the better way to go, even if you recreate it on a frequent or semi-regular basis.

I also strongly recommend using a temporary body art method to test-drive any sigil before getting it permanently inked.  This can let you test the impact of the sigil, including how placement changes the effects.  This isn’t just some cool design that you like.  It is a piece of magic and will have impact beyond aesthetics.

If you do decide getting a tattoo of one of my sigils is the way to go, I would love it if you showed me how it turned out!  You can send me a message through my website or social media.  If you post the photo to the internet please tag me on social media so I can see.

Print-on-Demand Purchase of the Gender Diversity Sigil

I have set up the Gender Diversity Sigil print-on-demand in my RedBubble shop, so it can be more convenient to use for those who do not have the time/skills/energy to redraw or recreate the sigil. I have set the items in the shop to 0% commission, so the prices you see are the base prices. Due to my own health problems, I am incapable of doing order fulfillment or running a business, and as a spoonie witch I want the convenience of purchasing for myself as well.

Print-on-demand is provided purely as a convenience, not as a business endeavor. That means I am unlikely to rush to meet any requests for available items or sigils, and I have no control over RedBubble’s order fulfilment processes. I have not purchased or tested the vast majority of products available from RedBubble, but I have set them up in ways that I hope will be issue-free.

Sharing the Gender Diversity Sigil

The sigil graphic does contain enough text to help clarify it when it is shared out in the wilds of the internet, but best practice is to include a link back to this article.  That way others who see it can find out exactly what it is charged to do, in detail.  Sigils are most effective when the user knows exactly what they were created to do, and that is also the only way they can be certain this sigil is right for them and their situation.

Want to Make Your Own Sigils?

I use the method described in the excellent book Sigil Witchery, by Laura Tempest Zakroff.  You do not need to consider yourself an artist to make your own sigils.

Want More Sigils?

Go to my Sigil Magic page to find all of the sigils I have created and shared publicly.