Making The SDA

The Sigillum Dei Aemeth (seal of true God) is the symbol of the universe. It is a very complex pentacle, used in Enochian magick for creating a sacred space around the scrying device for spirit vision or scrying, thus communication with the unseen world, especially the Angels. It is an important part of the Enochian magick and maybe the most needed tool for a safe operation. Edward Kelly saw the angels showing slowly the letters of the SDA and transmited them to John Dee. John Dee respected this seal and carried it around in his journeys. If you can make one out of beeswax go for it.

Basic Theory

It is made of beeswax and it has two sides. The front side is a complex one. Let's see what it shows us.

Outer circumference

We have 40 characters of letters and numbers. Those characters are linked with 40 Angels and they are the 40-letter name of God. They form the names of the 7 seats that are around God in heaven. On the inner side, we have a name of the power that combines the power of the outer seats.

Outer heptagon

We have the names of the 7 archangels of the sephiroth, the archangels of creation. Zaphkiel, Zadkiel, Cumael, Raphael, Hanael, Michael, Gabriel. We also get the names of the Kabbalistic planetary angels (Sabathiel...). If we try to read the names as they are, then we have 7 names of God. On the inner side, we also have the names of God.

Heptagrams

We see the names of planetary archangels, connected with the previous ones. Those are the Daughters of Light, the Sons of Light, the Daughters of Daughters of Light,  the Sons of the Sons of Light.

Pentagram

Around the pentagram, we have 5 planetary angels. In the center, we have the angel of the Moon and the cross is the Earth.

As we see we move from the throne of God to our planet, in the holiest way.

Backside

We have a cross(Christ) with 2 beams at each side (elements) and a circle in the middle (earth). The divine name AGLA is written clockwise. It is a notarikon of Ateh Gibor Le-olam Adonai (you are great forever my lord). The Golden Dawn used it as a divine name in the north. This symbol is there to consecrate further the seal, but also to ground the energy that it is gathered. So, as we have seen in other grimoire traditions that deal with spirits inside a scrying mirror or sphere, we have the most perfect device for safe communication with the unseen world, given to John Dee and Edward Kelly through the Angels of God.

Creation Proccess

The traditional dimensions of the SDA are 9 inches in diameter and 1 1/8 inches thick. If you have a 36 x 36 inches holy table, then you have to follow the traditional instructions. I made mine a little smaller because my holy table is also smaller than the original. You need a 10euros of silicon cake form of 22cm outer diameter (or larger) and around 750 gr of beeswax. The beeswax cost me 20 euros.

Cut the beeswax with a big knife and be careful. It is thick and dense. Put it in a pyrex as you have cut it in small pieces and in 100-150 degrees Celcius put it in the oven for 45 minutes. It depends on the size you have cut the beeswax. Be at the kitchen the whole time. The candle should not produce smoke. When the whole body is liquid, take it and pour it carefully into the silicon form. Let it alone overnight. Do not use any method with water or heating the candle in the fire. Let it cool down slowly and forget about it. The next morning you turn it upside down. The candle will shrink a little, around 1 cm. Now, cut with an x-acto knife or with a sharp thin knife the material that is around the candle at the upper circumference. Print the SDA at the dimensions you want from Aaron Leitch's book, The Essential Grimoire, and print in a smaller size the backside symbol. The bottom of your melted beeswax is very clean and reflective.

In the end, you should clean the pyrex. Pour hot water over it and with soap water try to clean and remove the candle that has remained. I used forks to check if the beeswax became liquid, so I boiled the forks afterward. Don't do the cleaning process with the SDA around. Do not use paraffin. Do not use another form besides the one you see in the image. 

Put the printed SDA over it and very carefully and slowly trace all the lines, the circle, and the letters.  I used a pin needle. It works well. It doesn't capture the paper inside the wax, but the process takes a lot of time. You are pressing the candle to engrave it. If you make a mistake, you will melt the wax with a lighter. I was very concentrated and I had no problems. When you finish the whole process, take a fountain pen india ink and with a nonexpensive fountain pen, write on the engravings. You can also use a fine pointed permanent marker. Let it dry and then work with the backside. Personally, I put ink only on the backside.

The process of engraving is very time-consuming. It may take 3-4 hours. I only traced the geometrical shapes by pressing with the pin over the paper and then I removed the paper and I used an engraving tool and a needle for the small letters. Take some time off to rest, because you may get a headache or pain in the back.

I haven't painted mine yet. So, return to this page for an update!

Alternative Solutions

You can cut a sweet wood (fruit tree) in the diameter you want and with carbon paper and a printed design to trace the letters, the lines, the circle, and then use a permanent marker. You can also print the SDA and glue it to hard paper. Those are good alternatives, but since the SDA is an important tool for the Enochian tradition, you should try to make it out of beeswax (not paraffin). Also, it is an Almadel style tool, a grimoire which John Dee had read and studied.