Memes as Sigils

Essay

Editors

Permanent Beta , De Mutiis, Marco , Grünenfelder, Rea

Publisher, Date

Fotomuseum Winterthur, 2026

Keywords

digital occultism, Philosophy, Media Theory, Occultism, Meme Studies

Text

If the sigil was the magickal technology of the isolated practitioner, the meme is the sigil of the networked age. Austin Osman Spare sought to find a magickal logos with which to mediate desire, accomplished through an occult practice of individual form-giving and deliberate forgetting. Now the internet seeks to achieve a similar goal through viral circulation and collective attention, whether by emphasising the similarities between digital technologies and summoning demons or by understanding emojis as sigils.

Associated Media Files

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Published By: Sophie Publig | Universität für Angewandte Kunst Wien | Publication Date: 14 April 2026, 16:22 | Edit Date: 16 April 2026, 15:04