Review: Frater U∴D∴, Practical Sigil Magic. Creating Personal Symbols for Success. Rev. & enl. ed., Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn 2012, ISBN: 9780738731537

by Angel Millar

Becoming an instant classic when the English translation was released in 1990, Practical Sigil Magic: Creating Personal Symbols for Success by Frater U∴D∴ remains the most accessible and, yet, the most thoughtful work on the subject. The book was out of print for many years but a new edition was released by Llewellyn in 2012, and this has a new introduction and an additional chapter. 

Importantly, unlike many books on magic, which either explore complex systems of correspondences or seem to want to mystify rather than inform the reader, Frater U∴D∴ gets to the very essence of magic and, as such, the essence of the psyche. This is a work that is interested in the power of the mind to cause change in the self and in the world. 

Practical Sigil Magic does include a short chapter that explores medieval planetary sigils, tables, and Hebrew, as can be found in Agrippa’s De Occulta Philosophia and in later goetic and Rosicrucian traditions (in the latter case, through the work of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Israel Regardie, for example). Coming at the end of the book, this has the value of placing the theory and practical techniques explored throughout the book in context and of reminding the reader that there is, in fact, a long tradition of sigil magic. 

The focus of the book is, however, the simpler sigil techniques pioneered by the sorcerer and occult artist Austin Osman Spare, who was active during the early twentieth century and briefly associated with Aleister Crowley. Spare’s word method, pictorial method, and mantric spell method are all explored. At the basis of each is the statement of intent, which is written out and then, through various processes, transformed into either a visual sigil or a mantra. This is then focused on, especially in a moment of trance, or gnosis, to affect change in the world or, potentially, within one’s own psyche.

However, if the techniques are simple, they are not simplistic. The grimoire sigil may lead the practitioner to contact planetary forces but the sigil methods that Practical Sigil Magic focuses on will lead the practitioner not only to face what he or she truly wants, or does not want, but deep into his or her own psyche and subconscious. As such, these methods are not only more straight forward – and more practical – they are more appropriate to our own time and to our understanding of the human psyche, human nature, and the nature of existence. 

While Frater U∴D∴’s explanations of the word, pictorial, and mantric spell methods are second-to-none, for those who want to go far beyond the basics, Practical Sigil Magic also explores automatic drawing, methods of magical trance, and Spare’s enigmatic “Alphabet of Desire.” Also included in the book is an invaluable and thought-provoking chapter titled “But How Does It Work?” Here, Frater U∴D∴ examines various psychologistic models of sigil magic and how they might actually affect change in the world. 

Overall, Practical Sigil Magic is a fascinating exploration of sigil magic and the psyche and a must-read for all serious magical practitioners, parapsychologists and psychologists, and historians of modern magic.