Sigil for the Continuation of Democracy was originally published to The Balancing Path column on Patheos Pagan, on October 2, 2020. It is presented here with some edits from the original.

I am terrified about the upcoming election in the United States.  We stand on a cusp, where it is not the typical choice between a bad candidate and a worse candidate.  Instead, we are arguably at a turning point for the very continuation of democracy in my country.  Voter rights are under siege.  The President exploits accusations of voter fraud to justify “unprecedented legal and political interventions in our democratic process”, and refuses to commit to a peaceful exchange of power should he lose the election.

My personal goal is to see a fulfillment of the promises of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution, where all citizens of this country have equal voice and equal opportunity, regardless of race, religion, sex, gender, orientation, ethnicity, health, disability, or any other diverse traits we have which are inherent to who we are as individuals.  I want a country where I do not need to list out all the diverse groups to be explicitly protected from discrimination, because any and all discrimination is illegal and frowned upon.  I want a country where white supremacy is dead, equal pay is the law, everyone has health care, the social safety net is robust, and intersectional inclusion is the norm.

Those are the things I want, and I know a lot of other people want those things too, but before we have any chance of achieving those things, we must save our democracy.  It is not perfect.  It is anything but perfect.  Yet, if we lose that, we lose what little voice and influence we have over the laws and direction of our country.  We lose the potential to improve the systems which exist, and someday, even if it is long after I am dead, hopefully achieve the reality of a country which is safe and welcoming and supportive for all of its citizens.

Therefore, until after the election I am going to be putting a lot of emphasis on blessing the United States of America with a successful election which results in a continuation of the democratic process.  This is important, not just for the big presidential election, but for elections and voting at all levels of government, from local to federal, and in every state and territory.

To that end, on the October 1, 2020 full moon I created the Sigil for the Continuation of Democracy.  Today I am sharing it with you.  I plan to use it as a focus on both the next new moon (new beginnings with an awareness of the fragility of our democracy and society), and the second October full moon (to see the promises fulfilled, and election results which foster those goals).

We do not know what the future will hold in the next week, let alone the next few months or few years, but we cannot lose sight of that which can provide a solid foundation for positive change.  We cannot lose sight of what we want to achieve, even when we have no idea how we are going to get there.

The Sigil for the Continuation of Democracy

May we be blessed with mass voting and the preservation of democracy in the USA, so that we may have the opportunity to build a new foundation for equality with an awareness of the fragility and mutability of both our democracy and our society.

Voting ability & all votes counted: Ensure that every person who is a citizen of the United States is able to vote, and have their votes counted.

Mass voter turnout/ Dissolution of apathy: Historically, one of the greatest barriers to voter turnout has been apathy, and with all the stresses of COVID-19 and recent events, this is still a major concern.  If we turn out in historic numbers, we can turn this around.  If we continue to turn out in historic numbers for future elections, we have the potential to turn everything around.

Patience with the results: There will be an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots due to COVID-19.  It takes more time to tally those results, especially as the ballots must filter in through our deliberately crippled mail system.  We are not going to have accurate results the night of the election, and may not have accurate results for weeks.  Patience in waiting for accurate results will be crucial.

Awareness of deceit and truth: There is a lot of information out there, most of it contradictory.  Each person needs to be able to discern when they are being deceived and when they are hearing the truth.  The fewer people who buy into conspiracy theories and distorted propaganda, the better off we will be.

Strengthen proactivity and conviction in the possibility of a better government through voter rights and our voices as citizens: In order to create a better government, we need to be proactive about participating in voting, protecting voter rights for all citizens (especially those which are historically disenfranchised), and respecting the voices of those citizens.  This is foundational to work aimed at achieving equality down the road.

Action on all levels of government: We need action at all levels of government to stop the slide away from democracy.  This means your local elections and issues are just as important as federal elections.  This means judicial and policing positions which are voted on by the public are as important as legislators.

Mass protests of any results tampering: As was mentioned above, the groundwork is already being laid to tamper with results based on false claims of systemic voter fraud.  Should this happen, peaceful mass protests will be essential to ensuring the honest results are upheld.

Ward against violent coup: I truly hope it does not come to this, but given the recent slew of incidents demonstrating the power of police state in various regions of the US, with the full support of the current president, I cannot help but worry.  Best case scenario, no shots are fired, and there is a peaceful transition of power.

I incorporated a lot of dots to represent individual action on a mass scale.  When drawing this sigil for yourself, feel free to copy the dots I have included, or add more as you see fit.

Using the Sigil for Continuation of Democracy

I have little doubt of what the results of the upcoming election would be if all citizens who qualify to vote were willing and able to cast their votes and have them counted.  I have no doubt that is why there is so much threat of tampering and blatant voter suppression.  Thus, I put the emphasis of this sigil on mass voting, and preservation of democracy in the USA.  If you are so inclined, it can be used in combination with other sigils or spellwork which addresses other aspects of the election, social justice, and overall wellbeing, provided it is compatible with the intents of this 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.  Be sure to do what you can physically in support of the election, especially by casting your vote if you are also a citizen of the USA!

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

Sharing the Sigil for Continuation of Democracy

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.

This sigil is Creative Commons licensed: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as they credit Sidney Eileen and license their new creations under the identical terms.

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.