This interesting contribution to the practice and theory of sigils certainly deserves a fourth publication. In it you will find some ingenious refinements of the practices and principles developed by the great English Mage Austin Osman Spare.
This book is basically a practical extension kit to the now classic sigil technique which also helpfully resumes the original in plain language.
With a refreshing severity Sherwin reminds us that demons are very real personal blind spots which the aspiring magician can and should overcome with a daily regime of willed magical and material activity.
On the non-reductionist side of the coin he shows how the basic sleight of mind techniques of signification can be expanded into full rituals complete with banishing techniques, mantras and dervish whirling, to create longer and more powerful rites.
Sherwin discusses the theory of sigils and presents the basic mechanism, uncovered by Spare, explaining the entire range of seemingly bizarre analogical procedures of the old spell books at a stroke. This insight is a landmark in the history of magical thought. One can always tell the difference between those magicians who have understood it and those who have not.
The Caltrop of Chaos banishing ritual is a useful addition to the chekist's magical repertoire despite its reference to the now contentious big-bang theory.
Similarly, the apparent singularity of Self in Sherwin’s model may well raise a chaoite eyebrow or two and provoke more debate and research on this topic.
The group ritual for a collective abstract sigil attracts my attention as it seems to transcend the limitation to a single operator of the classical sigil technique.
It will doubtless form the basis for some challenging experiments amongst groups of many persuasions.
This is, above all, a book of accessible, practical technique. Buy it, study it, and use it.
The ratio of practising magicians to collectors of magical books is probably 1:100.
Hopefully this book will help to rectify the situation.
