Magical Alphabets: The Secrets and Significance of Ancient Scripts -- Including Runes, Greek, Ogham, Hebrew and Alchemical Alphabets Paperback – May 1, 1992

Most people probably don’t know there are lots of different alphabets or that alphabets are as magical as they are practical. All accumulated knowledge can be expressed using the letters of an alphabet. That’s magical. But most of us have been exposed only to the Roman alphabet. Some of us are familiar wth the Runes as well. Runes are both an ancient and a modern alphabet. The Runes, called Futhark because of the arrangement of the letters, are the only “living alphabet.” They are still changing and even growing even though some sigils and the basic arrangement of those sigils are as old as or older than the Roman and Greek alphabets. The Christians primarily used the Greek and Roman alphabets for ceremonies, but examples of other archaic symbols and alphabets were used in Christian art, geometry and architecture. Bishops would trace the entire Roman or Greek alphabet to show the entirety of Christ. Gamatria, the exchange of letters for numbers and numbers for letters is an old practice used not only in politics and court intrigue but in memory training. The author doesn’t mention this use, but it is still the most practical use of magical alphabets. Several books on memory explain the techniques. Alphabets have so many uses, it would be impossible to include them all, and this book is packed with knowledge. This book is a better reference book than it is a reader. It includes very few errors. The author explains how the letters in the Roman alphabet correspond with 7 planets, 12 Zodiac signs, 4 elements, and “H’ which isn’t considered a letter, but is an aspiration that corresponded with “Spirit of the World.” In this explanation, he missed “W” and “Y.” Were these two letters at one time not a part of the Roman alphabet? It’s still a very good body of work, and it is now sitting on my reference shelf.

The author has given a nice overview of many different ancient scripts here. The only criticism I have is that it is only that, an overview. If you want in-depth discussion or to actually learn any of these scripts then you'll need another book.

I have enjoyed very much reading this excellent book. The erudition that the author shows in each of their pages is evident and has helped me clarify many doubts that I had on these questions. I highly recommend this book to all those who want to know more about ancient languages and history in general.

This book is wonderful for research and practical purposes for those interested in Magical Alphabets. Has been invaluable in my advanced Angelic Magical, Qabalistic and Occult studies and practices. A great book for the Occult Library of any practitioner.

Haven't started to read yet, but from a quick flip through...looks good.

©® Bowden's Masonry/Another Day Music/Designing By Grace

I am a pagan. I have been searching everywhere for more information to further my knowledge and this book has been amazing and everything that I have been searching for!

For anyone interested in the history of humanity transitioning from Orality to Literacy, this belongs in your Book Hoard.

Great knowledge well done!

Comme il n’existe pas de livres en français sur ce thème, cet ouvrage fait bien l’affaire. Le propos est plus large puisqu’il consacre une partie aux labyrinthes de lettresIl fait aussi la part belle aux alphabets magiques modernesOn aurait aimé savoir si, dans l’Antiquite, le Moyen-Age et la Renaissance, il existait d’autres alphabets magiques dans le bassin méditerranéen ou ailleurs

Je suis un inconditionnel du travail de Nigel Pennick en matière de runes. Il a beaucoup à dire ici aussi sur d'autres alphabets. Le livre a été traduit mais il est épuisé, et cher d'occasion. On apprend dans ce livre une foule de choses qui ne sont pas ou plus ou si peu enseignées à l'école ; et l'approche ésotérique des alphabets, fondatrice, tend à réenchanter un peu ce monde où les symboles servent surtout à faire des logos utiles à la sphère économique, la sphère qui domine notre monde.

I really like this book. There are some parts of it that I disagree with, and others where I would have liked more detail and explanation, but on the whole it is a good reference book for any library on letters and alphabets

A great resource, with practical insights. One to keep on the shelf so you can return to it again and again...