../ sigils, potency, and meaning
Allow me to define these words as I use them. A sigil is anything that evokes a certain emotional responce from the brain. A thing that somons a thought or uncosious feeling. The word "tree" is a sigil. A physical tree is also a sigil. The smell of the tree is a sigil. Or perhapes the taste of mapple surip sumons "treeness". Potency is the personal significance of a sigil. I consider the game candy crush to have a low potency. For me, Outer Wilds has a high potency. I am inspired by it, it capures my imagination. If this esay where a magic system, I would call this "potency casting". The viewer of a sigil "casts" the potency onto the sigil, not the other way around? Trees are significant to me becuase they are ingrained in my biologoy. Nature has alot of potency for humans it seams. Meaning comes from a life of potent sigils. Where the sigils bounce off eachother and tell a cohesive story. Where the sigils resonate with your emotions. "Connectedness" is another good word for it. The danger of potency casting is that it might cause you to give meaning to things that might not normaly. Think of a cult that is conviced that suicide will bring great meaning. (Heaven's Gate) They have to ignore sigils that conflict, or change the sigil's casting. "Suicide is bad!" their brain might say. "No, thats just a social constuct" the brain would say back. "Our death means the enlightenment of our soul." I cannot imange how deeply meaningful their suicide must have felt for them. Potency casting may also give you a more meaningful view on life. Religion for instance. In general, I think it is best to play it loose with potency casting. Its the things we least expect to be inspiring that give the most insperation. Potency is all around us, esspecialy form the real world.