O – SIGILS – Alchemical Iconography

Dictionary of Occult – Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils

OBIIT

Ast. CHASSANT 1884 records several mediaeval abbreviations and short- forms :

SMITH 16C

OCCULTATION

Ast. Occultation hy the Moon is recorded in the sigil given by RAPHAEL 1902 :

But see also ECLIPSE.

OCCULT FIRE

Occ. According to WELLING 1735, the following sigil shows Fire .in all its attributes :

OCCULT SALT

Occ. In the graphic system of WELLING 1735 the sigil is used to show Salt in all its attributes :

OCCULT TRIANGLE

Occ. In HERMES 1613 this simple sigil

is termed the triangle of the philosophers, and recorded as one of a series of occult structures. It is said to have a multi-layer significance, symbolising the numerous trinities within the alchemical works, such as SALT-SULPHUR-MERCURY, BODY-SOUL-SPIRIT, and even SUN-MOON-MFRCURY since the Sun and Moon may not be productive without Mercury is the mediator’.

OCCULT WATER

Occ. Sigil given by WELLING 1735 to show Water in all its attributes :

But see also WATER

OCH

Demon – OCH « the sun speaker »

Mag. The mediaeval sigil given by TRITHEMIUS 1503 for the planetary spirit of the Sun has survived with minor variations into modern times :

SCHEIBLE 1848

SHEPHERD 1971

OCHRE

Alc. BERTHELOT 1885 records a sigil (abbreviation) from the Greek alchemical tradition :

But see also YELLOW

OCTAVE

Occ. A sigil given by HERMES 1613 as the basic structure for what is called a ‘magic vocabulary’ concerned with a series of octavos and their inter-relationships :

OCTONARY

Occ. Sigil given by DEE 1564 in a graphic theory of occult symbolism connected with his MONAD :

The sigil is said to be eight-fold because of the sum of angles and lines within its structure.

Following on these indications of DEE 1564, the Rosicrucian GABELLA 1615 gives the form :

OCULUS

Ast. Ninth of the mediaeval lunar mansions (in fact oculus Leonis) , called Al Tarf in the Arabic astrological system, a Gigil for which is given by MANSTONES 14C :

A sigil intended for amuletic use is linked with this lunar mansion, recorded by ABANO 1303 :

OGDOAD

Occ. In the ancient symbolic language discussed by BLAVATSKY 1888, the sigil :

symbolises the ‘eternai and spiral motion of cycles’, which is symbolised in its turn by the Caduceus. It

shows the regular breathing of the cosmos. This lemniscate, both in its sigil form and in diagrammatic form, plays an important part in modern anthroposophical literature : see for example STEINER 1921.

OIL

Alc. ALCHYMIA 1563

WORLIDGE 1651

CROLLIUS 1612

FRESNE 1688

SHELTON 17C

SIGNA 17C

SOMMERHOFF 1701

DIDEROT 1763

CARBONELLI 1925

SCHEFFERS 1775 gives the forms

for oleum unguinosum.

BERTHELOT 1885 gives a sigil derived from the Greek

Besides the various OILS listed immediately below, see BOILED OIL, HORSERADISH OIL, OIL DISTILLATE and OLEUM SANSARI

See also OLIVE OIL for similar sigillic forms.

OIL DISTILLATE

Alc. GESSMANN 1906

OIL OF ANTIMONY

Alc . ALCHYMIA 1563

OIL OF CHRIST

Alc DIDEROT 1763

OIL OF GOLD

Alc. SHELTON 17C

OIL OF LILIES

Alc. SOMMERHOFF 1701

OIL OF ROSES

Alc. SIGNA 17C

OIL OF SALTPETRE

Alc. GESSMANN 1906

OIL OF SATURN

Alc. DIDEROT 1763

SOMMERHOFF 1701

OIL OF SULPHUR

Alc. SIGNA 17C

DIDEROT 1763

GESSMANN 1506

OIL OF TALC

Alc. SOMMERHOFF 1701

OIL OF TARTAR

Alc. ALCHYMIA 1563

SIGNA 17C

SOMMERHOFF 1701

GESSMANN 1906

CARBONELLI 1925

OIL OF VITRIOL

Alc. WELLING 1735

SOMMERHOFF 1701

OLEUM SANSARI

Alc. SIGNA 17C

OLIVE OIL

VALENTINE 1671

ALCHEMICAL 17C

SIGNA 17C

OMAEL

Génie 30

vocale : oamel
évocation du 25° au 29°59′ du lion,
domine les 29° bélier / 11° cancer / 23° vierge / 5° sagittaire / 17° verseau
chaque jour durant 20′, 9h40′ aprés le lever du soleil.
Il règne sur le physique et les actes de ceux qui sont né du 19 au 23 aout.

OMEGA

Rel. A number of sigils have been used since early tiroes, based on the form of the last letter of the Greek alphabet, and generally intended to convey the idea of ‘the end of things’ The esoteric Christian aspect of the sigil is discussed by TESTA 1962, who gives a number of forms :

DEE 1564 constructs a sigil around the omega :

see IMMORTAL ADAM.

A related sigil is given by VERARDI 1972 , as the symbol of God :

Many variants of this sigil exist, especially in the Byzantine iconogxaphic tradition.

The omega sigil is given most frequently in conjunction with ALPHA, but see also CHRIST, CHRISTMON and JESUS, and in reference to the Immortal Adam, see also MORTAL ADAM.

ONE

Occ. in the ancient symbolic language discussed by BLAVATSKV 1888, the one on the (spiritual) plane above is ‘no number’, a circle :

On the plane below (physical) it becomes

which signifies among the Alexandrian Initiates a tody erect,’ a living standing man, be being the only animal that has this privilege’. By adding a head to this sigil, it was transformed into a

a symbol of paternity, of the creative potency’, whilst the sigil

signifies a moving man, one on his way. In the Pythagorean system, the odd numbers are said to be divine.

ONYX

Mag. SIGNA 17C

OPAL

Mag. SIGNA I7C

OPHIEL

Demon – OPHIEL « lord messenger and god teacher »

Mag. Mediaeval sigil for the olanetary spirit of Mercury given by TRITHEMIUS 1503

SCHEIBLE 1848

SHEPHERD 1971

OPHITES

Alc. SIGNA 17C

OPPOSITION

Ast. Several early sigits, mainly involved with joining two circles (the celestial bodies) with a straight line, have come down to us from early astrological systems. The standard form is recorded by FIRMICUS 1499

who gave also the sigil

as an alternative in a woodcut of a horoscope , the sigil cutting through the connecting line drawn between the two planets in opposition.

ASTROLOGICAL 15C

SIGILLIS 17C

SMITH 16C gives for ordinary opposition a variant

and for the opposition between Sun and Moon (see FULL MOON), the sigil

which appears to relate to the most recent syzygy to the time for which the horoscope was cast.

ORIAS

Demon – ORIAS of hell’s electorate: « astronomer »

ORIGIN

Occ. In the sequence of sigils described by BLAVATSKY 1888, and outlined in MANIFESTATION, the sigil

called the mundane cross, marks the stuage lesot«rical ly the third root race) for the incarnation of humanity, the origin of human life in its physical embodiment. The cross within a circle ‘symbolises pure Pantheism; when the cross was left uninscribed, it became phallic’. BLAVATSKY 1888 gives an alternative sigil for this symbolic Fall :

explained as denoting the time ‘when the separation of the sexes by natural evolution took place – when the figure became

the sexless life modified or separated – a double glyph or symbol :

This encircled TAU was said by BLAVATSKY 1_88 to have become (during the present period of evolution – that is, during the Fifth Race) in symbology the sacr’ and in Hebrew n’cabvah, originally phallic in meaning, but changed into the Egyptian glyph

the emblem of life (see ANKE) and still laterinto the sign of Venus :

Then comes the Svastica (Thor’s s hammer, or th& « Hermetic Cross » now), entirely separated from its Circle’ – the circle being the spiritualising agent :

‘ thus becoming purely phallic’ in the sigil :

See SWASTIKA. The sigils for Origin show therefore the origin of Man as a spiritual being, and the origin of Man as a material being, enmeshed in Nature.

ORION

ORIPHIEL

Mag. Mediaeval sigil recorded by TRITHEMIUS 1503 for the planetary angel of Saturn :

ORMOLU

Alc. Several mediaeval sigils have been recorded by GESSMANN 1906 for aurum pictorium :

ORPIMENT

Alc. The most frequently used of the large number of sigils – often listed under the name Auripigmentum – are those recorded from a mediaeval manuscript by CARBONELLI 1525 :