Symbols in everyday communication and in magical practice are fundamentally different entities. In ordinary communication, a symbol's function depends on shared awareness of its arbitrary origin. In magical practice, symbols—such as those in sigil magic, Tarot, and amulets—are used to transform reality, yet they ignore this shared awareness as a necessary condition for their functionality. The paper explains the semiotic features of symbols, their role in communication, and how magical symbols operate under a different paradigm, where symbolic language is mandatory but the conventional origin of the symbol is not required for its effectiveness.
The Default Mode Network (DMN) is reshaping cognitive neuroscience and offers insights into the relationship between the humanities and natural sciences. This article examines how DMN research can inform a neurosemiotic approach, building on Duarte's proposal to associate DMN activity with Peirce's concept of musement. Through analysis of Peirce's writings and neuroscientific literature, the article demonstrates that musement and the DMN can only be linked indirectly, and the DMN plays a non-specific role in creative production. It further suggests the DMN is tied to a more fundamental semiotic process essential to everyday semiosis: imagination.