PRACTICAL SIGIL MAGIC Creating Personal Symbols for Success

by Frater U∴D∴, Ingrid Fischer (Translator)

Sigil magic, particularly the system developed by the English painter and sorcerer Austin Osman Spare, is one of the most efficient and economical disciplines of magic. For the most part, it can be performed without complicated rituals, needs hardly any paraphernalia, is independent of philosophical and dogmatic premises and, due to its simplicity, can be learned easily and quickly. Most important of all, none of the magical techniques we know of today is more efficient and will give even beginners the immediate chance to convince themselves of its power and their own abilities. These reasons alone support a volume like the following to show the possibilities of this discipline and to explain its techniques and its rationale. The reader—the complete tyro and the advanced practitioner alike—will receive an introduction which will accompany him/her in his/her magical practice for a long time.

Genres: Occult, Witchcraft, Nonfiction, Magick, Magic, Spirituality, Paganism

134 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Frater U∴D∴, M.A. (Comparative Literature), otherwise known as Ralph Tegtmeier, is a practitioner of Pragmatic Magic, and long time student of Eastern philosophy and Western magic.

Reviews

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE book on learning about sigils and how to use them. Several different ways are presented in creating sigils and how to use them. You do not need any other book on this magic form - this is and has been the ultimate best on the subject.

[Gebo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most helpful book I've read on sigil magic. If you're interested in sigils or the work of Austin Osman Spare, this book is for you. Thanks to this book, planetary cameas finally make sense. Likewise, I enjoy the way Frater U.D. writes about the occult because he generally takes the psychological reading of the occult sciences in his explanations, which makes the whole thing much easier to understand and accept.

[Anie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's a very practical discussion of sigil magic, with relatively little theoretical background - I got the sense that the author finds endless discussion of "how it works" to be a bit on the intellectual wankery side of things. It was nice to read a magic book that didn't constantly instruct me on morals (omg I can probably figure out that cursing isn't nice), and one that talked more about the real process of doing magic more then its theoretical underpinnings.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

handy lil guide to the basics of sigil crafting. it had some great info on the various methods for creating sigils, but i would've liked a little more instruction on ways to improve your technique once you have the basics down.

[Steve Cran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frater UD is one of the premier Ceremonial Magicians in Europe. He is a master of Ceremonial and he is also a Chaos Magician. Many who are unfamiliar with him might be familiar with a concept he invented called "Ice Magick" .

Sigils or pictographic symbol of what we desire to obtain was first developed by Austin Osman Spare. He was an artist and he was educated by a witch at an early age. Being a bit of a rebel he tended to be a free thinker who definitely did not believe in conformity. He practiced practical magic that was free from dogma and tended to be about what work for the magician.

Sigil making is one of the corner stones of Chaos magick. The most common technique is to write out a statement of intent. IT is beneficial to start your state words like it is my will, this is my will or my desire is. You write out your statement and then cross out every other letter. Take the remaining letters put them together and make design. Once that part is completed you objective is to stare it in either a heightened state of frenzy or exhaustion so it can slip into the subconscious. After that you then destroy it by fire or by tearing it up

There are two other types of sigils. The second type is the picture sigil. THis involves taking known glyphs and combining them to make a new design. There making and execution is the same as the first type of sigil. The third type of sigil involves taking a statement of intent crossing out the duplicate letter and then making a new gibberish phrase or some word of power. This said aloud and over and over again until it makes no sense or produces a sense of stupefaction. Then it dissolves in your mind.

Frater UD goes further into Austin Osman Spares philosophy by discussing he alphabet of desire. This involves letting the subconscious take control of your hand and allowing it to tell you it's symbol for words and concepts. After a while you will have your own well built up dictionary.

There is also discussion on Kabbalistic Kameah and the prevailing view of the subconscious, the sensor and the conscious. Your power comes from the subconscious. In parting I like to say that the magicians two major tools are the will and the imagination.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed the authors approach to working with and creating your own sigils. Although this book is written with a non dogmatic approach and some have criticized its lack of emphasis on "magical morals" those with a solid foundation in ethics should have no problem adapting the systems laid out here into whatever techniques of magic they are familiar with already. I did not particularly find his sections on entering a trance state to be useful to myself, in fact they seemed a bit odd and morbid for my tastes but nonetheless the bulk material of this text seemed to be as the title stated, a practical way to work with sigils. I would also like to note that his attempts to explain how magic itself functions and is "activated" was interesting and was something I hadn't encountered in the "Wicca 101" books I have read in the past.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho trovato questo manuale piuttosto completo, pure troppo, soprattutto per un neofita come me che non ha dimestichezza con la Qabbalah e quant'altro, ma è stato sicuramente interessante leggere anche dei metodi che coinvolgono questa "branca". Ad ogni modo, data la varietà dei metodi analizzati e proposti, questo testo può andare bene anche per un primo approccio.

[Sadra Hesabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first books on sigils that made any sense to me! This works, and it's very time effective as well.

[Rusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book on sigil magic. This books has a very good explanation of Sigil Magic and it's use. I found this book to be very informative on the subject. Anyone interested in Sigil Magic, should read this book.

[Edric Unsane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A damn good guide to the history, creation, and use in sigils. If you are interested in incorporating sigil magic into your practice, there's no better guide out there (to my knowledge).

[Fabian Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this is a great book. However, a few concepts are described too briefly to be practical IMO. Primarily I am referring to the Death Posture v2. If you find this uninteresting, or it is not your preferred sigil activation technique, then don't bother reading any further. However, for me, it is the only real practical technique. The description in the book is far too short, is somewhat unclear and doesn't quite make sense. Needs re-editing. He mentions twitching your 'upper arms', then later twitching your 'arms'. What exactly does this mean? Also he says that each twitch should be no longer than a split second, but I'd like to see someone perform all of these twitches in less than half a second that he states - assuming they knew how to do it properly. He spends more book space discussing the DPv2 rather than actually describing it properly. Many authors in general often tend to do this type of thing. ;-) I found it slightly frustrating and searched the net for more information about this DPv2. I discovered that he briefly describes Sigil magic in his book 'High Magic'. This actually summarises the concepts of Sigil magic more clearly than he does in his Sigil Magic book ironically, although it does not cover all types of sigil creation. It also includes a description of the DPv2, which is actually much clearer than in this book. However, the technique described is not the same and does not include the chest twitch. I am not sure how much difference it really makes, but it would be good to have some clarity and consistency as to what he personally recommends. Ultimately I can figure out my own preferred way of doing it. Still, buying a second book is no bad thing, but it does mean the author makes a little more money. ;-)

[Silver Stea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for serious magicians. Short yet covers several common sigil-related techniques. I see some people recommend it for beginners however I disagree. I would recommend at least an intermmediate level of knowledge prior to reading. Beginner-level readers may become bewildered with the author's concise (sometimes overly so) and even pedagogical approach to the topics. The book assumes a level of knowledge about occult topics that I believe could leave some newbies feeling frustrated and overall detract from the information given. The author's writing style borders on pedantic, often explaining topics in (what I believe to be) an unnecessarily complex fashion. I took away a star simply because I found the author's writing style so "un-user-friendly". Despite the author's convoluted method of explanation, the book still offered valuable information for anyone hoping to employ sigils in their practice, as well as some interesting ways of looking at the processes from the author's perspective. It should be noted that this book seems to be written from the perspective of a practicioner of "high magick" and as such it may appeal especially to readers in that crowd. Readers put off by the often academic approach of high magicians might struggle a bit with this book, as I did. It is still worth the labor. Overall I would recommend this book to any serious practicioner of the magickal arts.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frater U.D. is generally regarded as a powerhouse, (I haven't read his High Magic but I have heard rave reviews) and since this book focuses on Spare's technique (basically the father of modern sigil work) it should be (and probably is) THE book on sigil magic.
I've been "reading" this tiny book for five years because in addition to all that it is also an impressively boring read. Maybe it's the translation, or the inherent mystery of works interpreting works and piecing together secrets people kept about some dead guy's personal system of symbols that he deliberately forgot and destroyed to make work, but this is hard to get through. I kept rolling my eyes at the melodrama and scanning ahead to the pictures. Huge parts of the process seemed glossed over, so you're still sort of flying blind if you follow the instructions closely, and I wished I could just glance at the German section of the phrasing section because "THIS MY WISH TO ___" is so uncomfortable that it must be either deliberate or a quirk of the translation process.
This isn't entirely without merit, but I would suggest anyone with an interest consult the internet, as the blogs are both more interesting and informative.

[Tracy Hurzeler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I still feel like I am blinking my eyes and helplessly taking it all in as I enter into this new world, figuring out the lay of the land and discerning what works for me and what doesn't.

If anything, the information in Practical Sigil Magic is useful and uhhh... practical. Even before finishing the book, I used what I learned to make a sigil. I did deviate a bit and do my own thing, and found out that the book heartily encourages doing so in its conclusion.

I'm only rating it a little on the lower end because there's something about the book that doesn't quite seem to resonate with me, but I don't know enough to point my finger on specifically what it is. Is it the disciplines/philosophies that its drawing upon? Is it because the information is presented so dryly?

Maybe if I were to revisit this book in 5 or 10 years I'd feel differently, or at least be able to articulate what it is that isn't working with me.

[Rafael Aracil · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say about occult books... I lack the knowledge or background to rate them appropriately. This is no exception. I found that, behind the names and references thrown out and the usual vagueness, there is a true intent to provide practical advice.
It offers some context and reference materials that may be very useful. And, what I believe is its most remarkable feature, it is short and to the point.
There is practical sigil magic on its most basic form and then, brief introductions on other forms of magic and practice that may benefit from it. As I said, concise.

[Jennifer Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read!

The author, Frater U.D (O.T.O member) explains the use of magickal symbols in spell casting and ritual work.

I'm not a huge fan of ceremonial magick or Thelemic philosophy so there won't be much information I will be implementing into my own practice. With that said, I'm glad to have read the book :-) Knowledge is power as they say ;-)

A welcome addition to ANY magickal library :-)

[Elena Rego · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great information on the 3 types of ways in which to create and work sigils. The issue with this book, however, is that you have to wade through what feels like obscure magickal society historical references that the writer assumes you'd know about without further diving into it. At times overly verbose but worth wading through just to get the information.

There is a booktube review of this book here: https://youtu.be/qM-JFTe7buM

[Alexander Maricich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and to the point. There’s no fluff or frills here. A brief history of Sigil Magick and different methods of construction and usage. A good introductory book to ease yourself into the subject. Very approachable with some historical info that can light the fire to continue your research and learning.

The only con is the authors sentences can tend to feel very long. Could just be an artifact of the translation into English though.

[Victorea Meadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not used to dry reading material so it takes me a while. I found some of his explanations lacking in their explanations. Frater could have taken a tad bit more time in the beginning to demonstrate how to craft the word sigils. As it is, I'll have to reread those sections at a later time.

Otherwise, not bad.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goes back to the Austin Osman Spare, and in general the take of an older generation of practitioners. As an older practitioner, who came to practice rather later in life, I find it helps me to have that look back in time and understand the roots of a thing, rather than just the shiny branch, however shiny it is, that is being offered in the present. I appreciate the history.

[Anu Korpinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyödyllinen opas sinettien laatimiseen. Paikoitellen magian teoria on aika korkealentoista, mutta onneksi sitä on kirjassa aika vähän. Käsittelee kaaosmagian ja seremoniallisen magian sinettienlaadintatekniikoita, mukana myös kabbalistiset planetaariset taulukot.

[Lucie ⋆ ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars
Interesting explanation on where do sigils come from, and why it’s easy to use them. Some stuff seem a bit out dated (the book came out in 1991) and also a big weird to me but I guess this book is the most helpful one I found on the subject.

[Rosea Bellator · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simples, entrega o que promete... Mas senti um pouco de enrolação e falta de uma explicação mais dinâmica... Enfim, deu pra entender e ensina como fazer os sigilos corretamente. Apenas um livro ok.

[Tarot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and thorough resource regarding sigil magic. I was able to quickly read the concise instructions and create my first sigil within an hour.

This wonderful book covers three sigil creation methods: word, pictorial, and mantrical.

It also explains how to activate/internalize sigils, how to create your own Alphabet of Desire, how to do Atavistic nostalgia (atavism, animal consciousness), and has planetary cameas (cabbalistic and astrology knowledge prerequisite).

The most important aspect of sigils the author drives home is that there is no right or wrong way to do this magic as long as we understand what method(s) work for each practitioner personally.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very academic look at the topic. I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but quickly adapted. Full of good information.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine enough book on sigils, but most of this stuff is covered better elsewhere.

[S Cearley · Rating 5 out of 5]

a rather no-bs method of creating, and actually the concept and conceit behind, sigils.

[Jostophe Delano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un livre savant très explicatif, à prendre avec conscience et sans jugement.

[Damian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to follow, good for those who are doing the first steps in practical magic and want an easy system. The book covers the different methods of sigil magic. Highly recommended.