The Magical Notary Art: Sigils, Seals, Notaries, & Signatures, by Frater Barrabbas
Crossed Crow Books, 1959883968, 170 pages, May 2025
Frater Barrabbas’s The Magical Notary Art is a detailed compendium for those interested in mastering the skill of transforming the written word, sigils, and symbols into vessels of power. Notably not a book for beginners, Barrabbas’s teachings are a mixture of scholarly background information and practical guidance for those interested in adding this skillset to their magical practice. Detailing different techniques and methodologies, Frater Barrabbas has created a multi-faceted resource that provides practitioners with a strong foundation to further their craft of notary arts.
“The notary art is a method of writing or producing an occult language that has meaning and significance within the spirit world, and therefore has a certain power and mystery in the mundane world.”1
Before delving into art of notary, Frater Barrabbas provides a solid introduction about what notary art is and how it works, including an overview of information model theory. (Side note: For those interested in learning more about the linguistics of magic, I encourage reading The Languages of Magic by Toby Chappell, which I read just a few weeks ago and made me feel more prepared for the content of this book.)
“Part 1: Sigils, Seals, and Signatures for Spirits” focuses on applying these notary arts to empower one’s rites with the invocation and evocation of spirits. The methods covered by Frater Barrabbas are magic squares, which he notes is one of the oldest methodologies to create sigils and seals, planetary kameas, alphabet wheels (Hebrew, Greek, and Latin), and angelic and demonic seals. There’s also a chapter on how to create magical signatures by condensing letters that includes a fascinating section on how tarot can be used to define the qualities of a spirit.
Frater Barrabbas teaches how if one wants to work with a spirit, especially one with minimal lore, the magical practitioner can do a general reading about their spiritual nature by noting the major arcana tarot cards that correspond with the letters in their name and doing a reading in order to prepare for conjuring. To be honest, I didn’t try it out with any spirits yet, but I did it for my name, along with some family members’ names to practice, and it was quite illuminating!
Through the chapters, Frater Barrabbas includes tables, drawings, and step-by-step instructions detailing exactly what to do for each of these methodologies. I appreciate how he openly shares which techniques he personally uses in his practice compared to those which he doesn’t utilize but is still sharing the how-to for others.
For instance, though he shares how to use magical squares to draw sigils, he also writes “Many spirits do not fit into these nice and neat categories, and some of them cannot be adequately represented by Hebrew spelling since they have Greek or Latin origin.”2 I enjoyed the balance of Frater Barrabbas’s teaching how to perform the methodology while also openly acknowledging the limitations; it gives a lot of room for the practitioner to make their own decisions and find what works for them.
“Part 2: Alphabet of Aspirations: Sigils, Words, and Phrases of Power” focuses on notary arts “derived from phrases that describe desires, aspirations, and magical objectives.”3 In this section, Frater Barrabbas shares the work of Austin Osman Spare (specifically his alphabet of desire), pictograms, and creating chants and mantras based on graphic sigils. This section gives readers free-range in crafting notary art that aligns with their personal intentions, offering plenty of creative freedom within these structured techniques.
My favorite part of this section is Frater Barrabbas’s discussion of Art Notoria: the Notary Art of Solomon the King from the late medieval period. The magical notae showcase “great symbolic figures and geometric shapes where these prayers and words of power and evocation were integrated into designs”4. Frater Barrabbas testifies the magical potency of working the nota and teaches how modern practitioners can include them in their workings now.
“Part 3: Rites of Sigil, Seal, Note, and Signature Consecration” and “Part 4: Magical Uses of Sigils, Seals, Notae, and Signatures” delve into the two ways the notary arts become activated and empowered: consecration and rites. These are how the magical link is established, determining whether the work is successful or not. In the introduction, Frater Barrabbas explains:
“It doesn’t matter if the main magical working is employing the spirit model, energy model, or the psychological model: building and deploying the magical link between subject and object through the domain of Spirit is integral to all forms of successful magic.”5
These sections are where Frater Barrabbas teaches just how to do this to ensure one’s notary art has the oomph and connection needed to serve its function. Methods covered include the use of sacraments, which themselves need to be consecrated and charged, mediation, and chanting. Also covered in these sections are creating sacred space and discussions of different forms of magical operations (energy, spirit, and psychological/temporal) so that readers can select the model approbate for their working. Within the spirit model is a great conjuring rite for those who are interested in performing this as part of their notary art.
Towards the end of the book, Frater Barrabbas covers the many ways a practitioner can incorporate the notary arts into their rites: imprinting and directing raised energy fields, symbolic naming for invoked or evoked spirits, building a temporal link and directing talismans, deity placeholders and naming animated statues and pictures, and working with consecrated sigils and notae. For each section, plenty of detail is provided, including tips from Frater Barrabbas and resources for further study, if the practitioner wants more information.
Frater Barrabbas writes with clarity and authority, ensuring his research and expertise comes across in a balanced manner. His tone is rather serious, giving a weighted testament to the content of the book. However, his earnestness lets readers know he understands the process of gaining experience and growing as a magical practitioner, leaving room within the text for readers to find their own way too.
Overall, The Magical Notary Art is perfect for practitioners seeking to become both scribe and sorcerer. To practice this craft is to engage with magic in a form that is both deeply structured and beautifully fluid, where every flourish of your pen becomes a spell and every seal a sacred binding. Frater Barrabbas’s coverage of this magical art is comprehensive, providing many directions one can take in their practice. For those feeling the call to study the notary arts, this book is a great foundation from which to take your craft to the next level. Your ink is your wand, and this book is sure to unlock new levels of mastery.
Alanna Kali is an astrologer, numerologist, and pioneer spirit that loves to explore life through the lens of depth psychology. She has a passion for studying the humanities and social trends. Her academic work is centered upon reuniting body, mind, and spirit through eco-psychology. She loves reading, spending time in nature, and travel.