History of Servitors

Generally, an astral servitor is an entity built by one or more magicians with a specific aim, and which can be used by one or more magicians who wish to do so. Often, the creation of servitors is based on written contracts, but there are creation methods that use only the channeling of the desired energies.

In terms of functionality, servitors are very similar to other types of entities.

In this way, the practice of creating and using servitors can be carried out more productively if we understand the differences and similarities with these other types.

Documented descriptions of entity types are not as rigid as they seem. Over time, the words were redefined and adapted, while others fell into disuse. However, it is important to know ​​the differences and similarities between servitors and other types of entities for their use in the most helpful way possible.

Deities

This term applies to energies that have represented over the centuries as gods, demigods, Devas, Anunakis, or other nomenclatures.

They are related to natural, mental, spiritual, physical, or energetic aspects, and for an entity to reach this level, a group, society, ethnicity or culture must know it, and it may or may not be worshiped.

Because of the cultural nature, this classification applies to older entities, which have survived the passage of time and were passed between generations — which is not the case, yet, for more recent servants, because of their low (but increasing) advertising, and limited power.

Spirits

Entities that inhabit the spiritual planes, sometimes also accessible on the astral or ethereal plane, and comprise the souls of people who are not incarnated in the moment. The term can apply to diverse energies that dwell on these planes, including never-born ones.

The magician can attract spirits, but they are not consciously created by him, like servants are. In Spiritism, they can be disembodied human souls, in Buddhism they can be hungry spirits or inhabitants of hells of torment, and in modern Western mythology, hauntings or ghosts can also be understood in this category.

In Chaos Magic, obsessors are often mentioned, which are concepts imported from other systems, such as the idea of ​​astral parasitic spirits that feed on obsessions that we generate in us.

Saints and Heroes

In Christianity, Saints are associated with people who actually lived, although their deeds may have been distorted and exaggerated over the centuries, or even depicted metaphorically. The “official” life history of each of the Catholic saints, for example, can be consulted in the Vatican archives.

In ancient Norse culture, some dead heroes were revered and used for inspiration, as men who inhabited Valhalla were an incentive for Viking warriors to fight their battles. In Ancient Greece, heroes can also be understood as personifications sanctified by the warrior culture of the Hellenics, which led a good part of the culture of moral and ethical formation of that people.

The energies of Saints and Heroes are attracted in order to get the graces that these people would have performed in life, although many of these graces may have been attributed to them later, not being based on facts.

The basic difference for the servants would be the fact that the saints and heroes were not created by a magician, but registered by the ecclesiastical institution (including specific procedures involved in beatification) or by the oral and written tradition, besides the fact that they believe themselves to have lived like real people, and performed such deeds.

Eidolons and Daemons

In Greek culture, they believed that humans who died heroically became Daemons, able to migrate between the Earth's surface and underground, serving as intermediaries between humans and the Gods. Humans who died of old age became Eidolons, wandering eternally in Hades with no personality and blank expressions.

The function of Daemons as intermediaries between humans and Gods can be associated with fulfilling the magicians' wishes by servitors (in Arab culture, these entities were even described as Djinns,) but their creation is independent of the will of a magician, which is a crucial difference for classification.

Demons and Angels

We have personified the emanations of the energies of dispersion and evolution and the energies of concentration and maintenance for millennia as angels and demons.

They have different hierarchies and levels of power, and may also be associated with planets, hours, days, cardinal directions and alchemical elements. They are described in several spellbooks, mainly in the five books of Solomonic Magic that make up Lemegeton.

The most famous among the demons and angels are the 72 Daemons of Ars Goetia and the corresponding 72 ShemHamPhorash, which, because they are closer to humans, can be summoned more directly.

Various magicians evoked and compiled these entities, but the reports to which we have access show that they had their own existence, not being created like the servants. Anyway, like the servitors, each one has its own characteristics, and the best Daemon or ShemHamPhorash can be chosen for each objective to be achieved.

In Dr. Rudd's Compendium of Solomonic Magic, a model of a contract with a demon is presented, allowing us to observe that, at the time the book was written (around 1650), there was already a concern with limiting the action of entities, to avoid unwanted actions.

Familiars and Totemic Animals

Animal familiars are used by sorcerers and mentioned in several treatises on magic, especially those of European origin and those from medieval times.

These are animals that helped the magician in his practices, having physical existence like animals, but with magical characteristics, and being able, sometimes, to communicate with the magician. Here, the magical consciousness belongs to the animal itself, which is also the vehicle for energy, and it acts independently of the magician, without being limited to just one activity.

Unlike familiars, totemic animals have no physical existence (although they may appear in the physical world as signs or warnings). They are astral guides that correspond to primordial forces in the magician's unconscious and join him in his journey. A class of similar entities is the Spiritual Familiars, spirits who are commanded by a superior force to follow a magician and assist him in his practices.

Despite having the same auxiliary character as the servants, it is considered that they have an existence independent of the magician, not being consciously created by the same, but being attracted by frequency affinity.

Natural Elementals, Homunculi and Golems

In Alchemy, several rituals are mentioned to attract elementals, which are beings related to the elements and that exist naturally in the astral plane — the main ones are the gnomes (earth), the sylphs (air), undines (water) and salamanders (fire). These elementals correspond to specific mental states, and can influence the magician or other people.

Homunculi and Golems (the latter also used in Jewish magic) would be entities created by the magician himself. In this sense, a golem would be a physical body, artificially created (of metal, clay or wood) that was animated by the person through a ritual, and can perform tasks for the magician.

A homunculus would be an artificial elemental created by alchemical practice (but usually based on a physical substance, such as semen or metals), and that lives on the astral plane — there is great resemblance to modern servitors.

Tulpas and Thought-Forms

In Tibetan Magic, Tulpas (derived from the term “sprul-ba” — to emanate something purposefully) are created through strong intention and concentration, through directed practices. They can follow the magician, and some can even be seen by others.

The Thought-Forms studied in Theosophy are a more general type of manifestation and may be related to inanimate objects or to animate entities. The Tulpa concept was distorted when transposed to the West, but in general, Tulpas and Thought-Forms are very similar to servitors, differing only in specific breeding practices and imposed limitations.

Vampires and Parasites

It is understood that some entities, with independent existence or created by magicians, can feed on psychic energies, a phenomenon called vampirization.

However, today there are some magical paradigms that consider the term “Vampire” as a trend in living, clothing, and connected with some rituals of nocturnal flight. So, the old “vampirization” definition is being called “parasitism” considering this new trend.

When they feed on fear, these energetic parasites have even been called "Tulpas" (a term used as a corruption, and only in a Western view, very different from the original Eastern concept of Tulpa). An example of this is Urban Legends, which, after being inseminated in the collective unconscious, are seen by people in moments of vulnerability, tiredness, sleepiness or stress.

The basic difference for the servitors, in this case, is that the energy supply of the servitors is controlled and always occurs on purpose by the magician — as long as it is well established at the time of its creation — and not in a predatory or uncontrolled way.

Monads

In Gnosticism, there is the concept of an essence that is linked to all sentient souls, and that essence can manifest as an entity similar to a homunculus, a tiny humanoid creature made of light and language. Generally , monads exist independently of the magician and are not created on purpose, but can be attracted and used for the same purposes as servitors.

Artificial Elementals in the Golden Dawn

At the Golden Dawn, each of the members perfected a set of magical systems, and in this context, around 1910, the magician Dion Fortune developed, based on several ancient magical systems, including Alchemy, her method of creating artificial elementals.

Artificial Elementals arose as thought-forms, through strong intention and purpose, being shaped by the psychic forces of the magician and performing predetermined activities.

These constructed beings had a character similar to that of various classes of entities, such as those described above, and the forms used for their creation were close to those of Theosophy and Tibetan Magic. Fortune claimed, in the case, to have created an artificial elemental as a wolf or werewolf, who slept at the foot of her bed.

Servitors in Chaos Magic

From the idea of ​​artificial elementals, the circles of Magic of Chaos perfected the methodologies for creating servitors that performed actions for the magician. Among other definitions, we can understand the creation of servitors as the act of shaping, in the external world, a portion of the magician's psyche, as a separate entity.

In his User's Guide to Servitors, author Phil Hine comments that: “By deliberately germinating portions of our psyche and identifying them through a name, trait, symbol, we can work with them (and understand how they affect us) at a conscious level.”

Therefore, the performance of servitors is like that of sigils (since there are specific purposes and objectives supporting its creation), and more independent (since servitors can move through the astral plane to perform these services more directly, also communicating more directly with the magician).

Servitors can be related to a sigil, or to an object, which will serve as their abode or simple anchor point, and have some essential characteristics, in the typical Chaoist definition:

- Conscious Creation: servitors are created consciously, deliberately, by a magician, and do not previously have an existence of their own as a mental, natural or spiritual aspect.

- Specificity: servitors are created with specific characteristics and goals, including limitations, personality traits, specific energy sources and specific forms of evocation/destruction. To specify these aspects, a written contract can be made.

- Movement: unlike sigils, fetishes or other inanimate and immobile magical elements, it is considered that servitors can flow through the astral, and can perform activities in different places, as well as follows the magician, depending on the purpose for which they were created.

- Hierarchy: we believe the servitors are within a large continuous chain of entities that manifest in the astral, which in a physical vision are equivalent to vibrational bands and different frequencies. The servitors would be in a vibrational degree below our mental level, in this chain, being subordinate to our will and dependent on our energy.

The 40 Servants and the 4 Devils

Magician and visual artist Tommie Kelly created the 40 Servants, using archetypes known by contemporary society to get a complete and coherent set representing the Physical, Mental and Spiritual universe.

In this set of servitors, each one represents some aspects, and has its own field of action, and they can be used for divination or completing different goals. On the project page, you can find more information about the 40 Servants, as well as a usage guide.

Besides the 40 Servants, Kelly created 4 Devils that encompass more general aspects, and have a more complete area of ​​expertise, related to Health, Wealth, Happiness and Wisdom. These 4 aspects relate to the elements: Fire (the spark of life), Earth (material goods), Water (feelings) and Air (knowledge), respectively.

Technoshamanism and Cybermorphs

In Technoshamanism, a recent movement that has held workshops in several countries and attracted enthusiasts all over the world, they combine shamanic techniques and philosophies with technology to create rituals, practices, and studies that benefit from ancestral and futuristic aspects.

One practice is the creation of robots mimicking living organisms, which can serve as junior family members. These family members can then be used as dwellings for servitors, with their representation on the physical plane.

A similar concept is explained by Peter Carroll in his book PsyberMagick, under the name of "Cybermorph", a physical body that can be associated with a servitor or Eidolon: “The magician can create a material basis for a general purpose Cybermorph (...). The magician can physically carry the material base close to his body at all times (…). The magician may, by a deep effort in ritual, fantasy and imagination, treat the astral and material forms of the Eidolon as sigils to a named and semi-autonomous sentience.”

In the case of creating a servitor for a specific purpose by the magician, the connection between him and the servitor would be greater than using an existing entity. The material body (be it cybernetic or a simpler object) also facilitates the connection between the magician and the entity.

In this way, the results of the magical work are optimized.

Servitor Creation

Servitors can be created via many methods, including adaptations of ancient methods, or your own methods.

Several Chaos Magic forums describe methods for creation, including contract templates that allow you to limit servitor performance to specific goals. For example, a method analogous to sigils can be used, such as those described by Carroll, including tying the servitor to a sigil that has been created previously.

After defining the form the servitor will take, it must be visualized mentally, preferably focusing on sigils or on the physical object (if any) that will anchor the entity.

Another technique is to imagine the servitor walking beside the magician, until this imagination becomes so natural that it occurs automatically, with no mental effort — automatically, it will be understood that the servant is following the magician.

Energy Supply

The definition of the energy source that will feed the servitor is important, as it allows its strengthening and its gathering of resources to carry out the activities proposed by the magician.

This source can be defined in the contract (if there’s a contract), or it can be, simply, the very will power, intention, or psychic energy of the magician who created the servitor.

Alternatively, the energy source can be the visualization of the sigil by anyone. After achieving the goals, we recommend the use of candles and incense, offerings of electricity, and public gratitude with cybermorphs.

Visualization and Contact

As mentioned before, it is interesting that the first visualization and the first contact with the servitor take place at the moment of creation, so that its shape is shaped and its goals are well defined. After this moment, the servitor can be sent to your address, or temporarily banned, returning when requested.

Therefore, visualization and contact will take place through meditation, active imagination, astral travel, or any other method chosen by the magician, whenever the servitor is summoned to a dialogue, or to carry out a new activity.

Banning or Destruction

When a servitor is no longer wanted, it can be permanently banned or destroyed. Here, the method of destruction can also be defined a priori in the contract, but the destruction of the physical abode or sigil, or even the reabsorption by the magician's psyche, would be enough for the banning.

Remember that a servitor is a portion of the magician's mind shaped in the external world as an entity. That way, this will be just as powerful as the magician himself is, and the willpower presents itself as an important element to command his performance.

By the Law of Correspondence, magician and servant become inseparable (even if this is not consciously understood) from the moment of creation. So, be responsible for what you put out in the world! If it’s not useful anymore, just ban it.