Abjuration • Pathfinder Witch Spell

Symbol of Sealing

Symbol of Sealing inscribes a permanent ward above a doorway or opening, raising an invisible wall of force as soon as the spellcasting is completed. It is a Pathfinder 1e Witch spell, not a fifth-edition spell or a standard D&D 3.5e spell.

Symbol of Sealing at a Glance

5.5e / 2024	No spell by this name in SRD 5.2.1
5e / 2014	No core spell by this name
Pathfinder 1e	Cleric/Oracle 6, Sorcerer/Wizard 6, Witch 6
D&D 3.5e	No core spell by this name

Spell Rules by Edition

5.5e / 20245e / 2014Pathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

5.5e / 2024

Status: no spell by this name in SRD 5.2.1.

5e / 2014

Status: no core spell by this name.

Pathfinder 1e

School	Abjuration [force]
Level	Cleric/Oracle 6, Sorcerer/Wizard 6, Witch 6
Casting Time	10 minutes
Components	V, S, M (mercury, phosphorus, powdered diamond and opal worth 5,000 gp)
Range	0 ft.; see text
Effect	One symbol
Duration	Permanent symbol; force wall persists for 10 minutes/level once activated
Saving Throw	None
Spell Resistance	No

The rune can cover an opening no larger than 20 square feet per caster level. When casting is completed, the symbol immediately activates and creates an invisible barrier equivalent to Wall of Force. A password or attunement can prevent creatures from activating an untriggered symbol under the normal symbol rules, but once the wall exists it blocks passage and line of effect even for permitted creatures. The rune remains a magical symbol after the wall’s limited duration; destroying an already-active symbol requires destroying its wall first.

Disintegrate or a similar effect can destroy the force wall with a caster-level check against DC 11 + your caster level. Knock has no effect. The symbol cannot be dispelled; Mage’s Disjunction destroys it automatically.

D&D 3.5e

Status: no core spell by this name.

What Changed?

No fifth-edition or 3.5e version is assumed. The complete mechanics here are Pathfinder 1e only.

Using Symbol of Sealing in Play

This spell is long-term defensive architecture. It is best on vaults, sanctums, hidden laboratories, prison doors and any opening where a triggered Wall of Force is more valuable than a simple lock.

Counterplay and GM Rulings

Immediate activation: the spell creates its force barrier as soon as casting finishes. The permanent symbol and temporary wall have separate durations.
No immunity for authorised visitors: passwords and attunement do not allow a creature to walk through an active wall of force.
Disintegrate: use the printed caster-level check against DC 11 + the symbol caster’s level to destroy the wall. Knock cannot open it.
Dispel Magic: the symbol cannot be dispelled normally. Mage’s Disjunction destroys it under the spell’s printed Pathfinder rule.

Pathfinder Source

Pathfinder 1e — Ultimate Magic, Symbol of Sealing. The legacy Witch spell list preserves this published Pathfinder option separately from its older d20 spell archive.

Mythical Context

Hermes watched over boundaries, roads and passages as well as messages and travellers. A sealing rune placed over a threshold fits this tradition: the magic marks the point at which entry itself becomes a matter of permission. See Encyclopaedia Iranica on Hermes and boundary markers.

Historical Context

Ancient magical gems and protective devices were worn or placed as symbols of hoped-for safety. A second-century Roman ring found in Egypt contains unusual magical imagery. Such objects offer material parallels for warding signs, but not evidence of invisible walls of force. See the Metropolitan Museum’s Roman magical ring.