The essence of Servitor Creation is "creation." In Chaos terms, imagination. In other disciplines (any method of evocation), visualization.

Since the critical element in Servitor creation is "encoding" -- this is where newer practitioners have trouble (debates of "life expectancy", "naming" etc.) -- which is a creative process (imagination -- in my world, imagination is creative, creative is magic IMAGINE contains the word MAGIC (almost) 'MAGIN" which is the root word upon which MAGUS is also built). So, to me, to be a Magus is to be a creator, which in turn is to have imagination -- whether it's visualizing ability that connects to the subconscious or imagination. Same thing.

I found that the FASTEST way to short-circuit the connection to the subconscious (call it cheating) is to use the THOTH Tarot. After all, in Chaotic terms, we're allowed to borrow from everyone, right? And AC built an amazing system of east-west world-wide symbols into the Thoth Tarot, making it, in fact, one of the most powerful magickal tools you could have, almost a servitor in its own right!

Crowley's magnificent descriptions in Book of Thoth (also DuQuette's in Understanding Aliester Crowley's Thoth Tarot, or Akron Banzhaf in The Crowley Tarot) lend themselves directly to personifying Servitors. Encoding if you will.

In a response to another thread I used the analogy of Mother, Father Child. Mother (subconscious) nurtures the Child (Servitor) which is created by the impregnating will of Father (your conscious.). I won't go there again, but it's not a bad way of thinking of this important Servitor (chaos) operation. It is this "parental" bond that keeps the Servitor yours and yours alone (they never quite "grow up")

Anyway, in Chaos terms, of course, create your own method of impregnating the subconscious (including sex if you like), but it helps to visualize. It also helps to create a symbol that can be used to connect to the subconscious (mother) when control of the Servitor (child) is needed. Since I visualize my Servitors as COURT cards from the Thoth Tarot, which are themselves pregnant with symbols (every time you look, something new!), I find it very easy to create viable Servitors. I also create a sigil and a name (usually I use numerology to ensure the Servitor's name adds up to either my intention or the same number as my true name and birth number (which in my case are both the same), thus creating a further bond psychologically). I personify the Servitor. There's nothing wrong with that, especially if you have many Servitors. They grow into their names.

I believe personafied Servitors have more power than cold machines of thought.

But the visual is all Tarot card to begin with. If you stare at a THOTH tarot long enough, especially by candlelight and with heated concentration, it seems to move, it becomes three dimensional, and suddenly your servitor is standing right there with you! And when I'm finished with my creating "ritual" I bind the tarot card (from a deck set aside just for this) to my sigil and put him/her away. But that's just a ritual of my own creation that signals something to my subconscious.

The symbolism is obvious.

For instance, if I wanted an aggressive Servitor, short term, who might allow me to win business arguments or fights with my spouse, I'd choose PRINCE OF SWORDS, described by Crowley as "putting forward and maintaining any conceivable argument, insusceptible of regret or remorse... cunning..." And by Akron/Banzhaf as "Cutting through bonds, overcoming obstacles." But, of course, the Prince is erratic, so I'd only use him for sudden needed changes where bursts of erratic energy are needed (Prince of swords is AIR OF AIR afterall) Look at the card, you'll see what I mean.

For a fertility Servitor, I might choose the ever pregnant Queen of Discs, "opulence, over flowing fertility" and of the watery aspect of earth, representing Gaia the mother -- or any mother goddess.

The Thoth deck is the only one that works for me. RW would be absolutely useless for this (symbolism is too basic, archetypes are more pictures representing ideas). I actually have one deck just for this purpose that I've meditated on extensively. I only use Courts for Servitors, but that's me. I use Major Arcana quite differently in magickal terms.

It's just another form of visualizing, but it's also talismanic in a major way. I consider the Thoth deck to be one of the most potent talismans, because it gives direct links to the subconscious.

Whether you create a little ritual (such as binding the card to the sigil, then achieving a form of Gnosis), or you just do it all empty handed (hopefully not empty headed, unless you're practicing Buddhist meditation!) the cards are a valuable way of personifying and empowering a Servitor by virtue of those roads to the subconscious and symbols and archetypes with ancient and potent power.