Don't Let Servitors Feed Off You, Servitors Should Feed off Universal Energy, Not Its Creator. Options

I work with Servitors. Although I believe a Servitor can be created to any model -- after all the art and SCIENCE of magick is about creativity, experimentation and proof -- I suggest you create your Servitor with only an initial infusion of your energy. It should NEVER be engineered to feed off you (ie. give birth, but no nursing!). Otherwise you're creating something vampiric and unhealthy in my opinion.

I always create my Servitors with this formula in mind -- yes, it's a little Daoist (Taoist), but perfectly in line with Chaos magickal theory (translated from a Dao saying) :

I take energy from the Universe
The Universe takes energy from I
I am the Universe
The Universe is I

By definition, this form of energy, lifeforce, THE FORCE, whatever you want to call it is entirely inexhaustible. George Lucas took his ideas for The Force from belief in the Dao (Tao) a connecting energy that binds us all.

There is no reason at all that a Servitor must "drain" or take energy from its creator, when the source of your own life force is the Universe. In other words, both the creator and the servitor draw force from the same Dao.

So, to avoid any drains, or psychological pull-downs, I program the Servitor with

ACHIEVE YOUR TASK, ENERGIZED BY THE UNIVERSE.

(Note: always program with positives (negatives are invisible) and always with a YOU ARE tense rather than a YOU WILL BE tense.)

It's the same energy that feeds us all. And ultimately, "as above, so below", "what is created in the astral manifests also in the physical" and all the logic we use to explain how our servitor works -- it all boils down to giving our creative force birth, limiting it to our WILL (Crowley's definition of magic, paraphrased), then allowing it to ADD to our power and sense of enlightenment rather than draining it. No Servitor, in my opinion, should ever be a drain, other than at inception. It should grow in power until it's single goal is achieved, then it should be reabsorbed by its creator, making the magician even more energetic and powerful in the end. Win-Win.

On reabsorption: even though a Servitor is created for a single mission (normally) there's a major reason to reabsorb (and program the Servitor with this in mind -- either using time-coded re-absortion or a mechanism for willful absorption) -- you have absorbed a little more experience and energy, and grown as a magickian. I actually feel additional energy the day after I create a Servitor. But I feel a genuine burst of positive energy when I reabsorb that "grown" part of myself.

This post has been edited by Mezu: Jan 22 2007, 04:51 PM

Good post Mezu,

I actually go by the same belief there, except I always tell my servitors to feed off of whatever element I associate them with. I never experience any drain either except when I first create them, and for a couple of days afterwards. It seems silly to me to have a servitor feeding off of oneself, when there is so much energy in the air, so to speak.

Do you believe it is safe to keep a permanent servitor, or to allow it to grow into an egregore, and why?

Do you believe it is safe to keep a permanent servitor, or to allow it to grow into an egregore, and why?
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I've never felt the urge, but I don't see why a properly "engineered" Servitor couldn't be an asset, if the mission is long term. I've only worked with Servitors who work to a mission. If the mission is long term, they continue. Where they become a problem is if they are forgotten. If you create Servitor after Servitor, without reabsorbing them, then forgetting about them, they can become an issue. If you intend for the Servitor to grow then it should be engineered to grow with parameters, limitations and a bonding to you--at least that's what I would do if I planned for some reason to do this. A guardian Servitor would be one possible application. By giving it a mission of guardianship, setting clear parameters, empowering it, allowing it to grow with the elements or its element (in your case), and provided you still have a mechanism for reabsorption (for control), why not?

I guess my one caution would be the "psychology" of Servitors. I saw a couple posts in other forums where it seemed to me the magickian was not ready for Servitors, in the sense that they talked of possession, hauntings, vampirism of family... all of that comes from the magickian in my opinion. If the magickian doubts his/her own abilities, doubts his Servitor's mission, doesn't set clear parameters, and allows the Servitor to spin out of control (or is apt to believe a Servitor CAN take control or feed off him/her) then they shouldn't yet consider creating one. Whatever you believe (including any nagging doubts), will almost certainly manifest, subtly at first, later with growing certainty. What the Servitor is really feeding off of in this case is the doubts and insecurity of the magickian.

If you're experienced and well-adjusted, and you take your time and engineer the Servitor with controls and missions, then there's no reason a long-term Servitor can't be constructed.

I think therefore I am confused??

I have been under the impression and in fact have used the method of creating Servitor's and then 'feeding' them with my thoughts, energies, etc. My misunderstanding must come from the fact that I felt, unless you 'feed' the creation it will be no more.

Surely to let them go and find a source of food is letting go of the reins isn't it?

I genuinely am asking these questions because what you have written here is somewhat contrary to how I thought things should be.

I have not the sources to hand to quote to you, but I assume I have misinterpreted them saying that the creator should also nurture the creation until it is reabsorbed.

It's a fairly common misunderstanding. If a servitor was nothing more than a mission-driven force of your own subconcious that you had to feed and feed and feed it would offer no real benefit -- and you would have, in fact, created a vamp, not a servitor. If all a servitor does is weaken you, it offers no value, and is nothing but a nuisance or danger.

The key here is that the subconscious mind is vastly less confused, blocked and inhibited than the conscious mind. Creating a servitor starts at a conscious level and certainly must be "fed." At this point, by way of metaphor, I'm concieving a child, with me as the male (conscious) and my subconscious as the female. Yin Yang. Left pillar right pillar. Whatever you like.

The subconscious mind does not have the limitations and distractions of the conscious mind. So, like a devoted and nurturing mother, the subconscious mind has the ability to fully nurture and give birth (I'm still in metaphor mode here!) to the Servitor. The subconscious is really the source of most magick -- whether you deal with entities that are natural (super?) contacted by the uninhibited sub, or actual creations of the subconscious -- the bottom line is the sub is vastly more connected to the deep mind, universal energies (choose your tradition, east or west -- Kabalah, Taoism, Tantric, Enochian, Nec, it's really much the same at the end of the day).

So back to my metaphor. Conscious is father. You, perhaps created a sigil and a name. You concentrated your will. You coded your intention. You achieved gnosis to connect to the subconscious (mantra, sex, ritual, whatever), then you've IMPREGNATED the sub (metaphor). So, the creation of the servitor is really sex (whether you use sex or not). And your conscious is the male. The subconscious is the receptive female.

Now, the entity is no longer a thing, once it is "birthed." It may not be life as we think of it, and it is definitely bonded and coded to its creator, much like a child to a parent (but it can be bad at times!) -- okay this metaphor's gone on too long. But after that initial impregnation and a little nurturing (mostly subconscious -- which draws most of its energy from the universal, not from the conscious), the entity is free to grow and thrive off other energies. Those energies are limitless. There's absolutely zero need for a servitor to feed on the conscious. At worst, the subconscious, but it has unlimited energy, unless the conscious mind has somehow chained it (metaphor again!).

Loosening the reins? Never. It's created with a mission. That mission is the equivalent of an "unpbringing." (albeit accelerated!) Yes, it can misbehave, at times, often from lack of will on the part of its parent, but it's generally loyal. Why shouldn't it be? But if you spoil it with vast energies from your conscious -- like any spoiled child, it will turn on you. It becomes vampiric. That's never the goal of any servitor/creator relationship. No, it's the complete OPPOSITE of proper Servitor work. The servitor must be a bonded, properly raised child (perhaps not with free will -- it's not human) but definitely never vampiric or spoiled.

Greetings Mezu,

This is an interesting subject. I use a personal Jinn which I think is comparable to a servitor although not created from energy of the self. Either I or my wife sacrifices to this spirit every day by burning bread. When we do not sacrifice to him he feeds off of us. We become tired physically and emotionally.

I do not mind the spirit feeding off of me because of my vampiric learnings. The more the Jinn feeds off of me the more my vampiric powers seem to increase.

So I would say that not necessarily in every situation is it a bad idea for a spirit to feed off of you. Of course with the majority of spirit classes I would regard this practice as dangerous.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. This has stimulated much thought with me.

Good post!

Wow!

I'm certainly suprised by the possibility of the vampiric aspect of the creation - I don't think that's me but one man's meat....etc.,

Lovely to hear all the perspectives and thoughts on Servitors. I'm gathering much information before my next creation(s).

Which brings me to another question.

Is it acceptable to let several loose in one space of time, e.g. could one make two or three Servitors over the space of a week say, or would you need to not have that many around in one go?

I know what you mean Edunpanna. For me my servitors empower me, never drain me. But, because of my parental affection (it's not an exact metaphor), I feel close to my Servitors at all times. The tighter then bond, the better. And offering incense, mantras, bread, those are all things a caring parent will do.

LitzB -- it's acceptable if that's your choice. If you "give birth" to Servitors in the manner I suggested (allowing the subconscious to be the mother), there's no reason not to if your conscious mind (father -- using metaphors again!) can deal with so many children. You wouldn't want to create so many you can't even remember their names (number 13 son?). It does take energy to conceive, too, so it has to be what you're comfortable with. Personally, I tend to give a little time between creations. BUT -- unlike other practitioners, I see no reason to re-absorb unless their mission is complete (at which time the power they've accumulated is a definite boost to you!) or you're having trouble keeping track of all your children. They are all you. They are all not you. It's a very Toaist concept. (That's why I use the children metaphor). If you want a big family, the same troubles and benefits come along with it. (Keeping track of all your children! -- at least in my case, I name all my Servitors for easy calling). On the other hand, a large family can be a great support, a power base, a "dynasty." I'd just make sure you create them at a pace that allows you to rest between conception (the only time I feel a little drain is at conception--although immediately after I feel incredible energy! -- the pride of fatherhood?). Also, stick to a family of Servitors that allows you to be a good parent to each (so as not to have unruly Servitors). Yes, they're servants, but they're also dynasties of powers you've created. So, maybe my analogy's not perfect, since some people view Servitors as slaves (I don't), or pure thoughtforms (not Personas -- again, I don't). In other words, take the time to encode the mission and parameters carefully, don't rush this. You want Servitors who are effective, not numerous necessarily.

One trick for helping me imprint proper archetypes and personas on Servitors, is to visualize at conception on Tarot court cards (Thoth only, in my case, because purity of symbolism is critical to resonate with the subconscious). But that's probably better left to a new post. In fact, I'll create a new thread, since it seems unrelated but interesting.