Defense And Deposit, On the applications of the servitor Options

Admittedly, the act of generating a partially self-sustaining entity for a specified purpose never truly made much of an impression upon me beforehand; I knew, rather vaguely, that it could be accomplished and, to some degree, I was even aware of some of the mechanics and preparation necessary to bring about such an entity, but I was never in possession of a motive for birthing said entity which in turn robbed me of much of my interest in the subject.

I still possess no motive for the creation of a servitor, but I find myself strangely curious as to just how versatile the servitor's role in the magician's life can be. There are two applications in particular, as hinted by the title of this post, about which I wish to inquire. The first concerns the servitor as a guardian, and the second has to do with the servitor as a receptacle.

A casual perusal of some of the other topics confirmed that the servitor could, in fact, be used as a guardian, but those same topics generally alluded to either an impersonal sort of guardianship (such as a servitor created to protect one's home and property) or a light-handed variety in which the servitor shields the magician from those that would do him/her harm in any capacity through subtle influence and nudging. I wonder whether or not the servitor can be used more intimately. Can it directly protect the magician from immediate physical harm by overtly (well...as overt as an astral construct can be) warning him of impending hazard? If, for instance, a would be assailant is rapidly closing the distance between himself and the magician, unbeknownst to the latter, could the servitor sound the metaphorical klaxon so that the magician could meet the threat appropriately?

Can the intimacy exceed even that which I described above? In a physical confrontation, can a magician symbiotically attach his consciousness to that belonging to a observing servitor so that he may be aware of opponents beyond his visual range? If so, what are the inherent dangers in such an undertaking; in joining his consciousness to the servitor's, even slightly, does the magician lose some of his ability to fully and physically react to stimuli on the same plane? Does connecting to the servitor run the risk of reabsorbing it? In a further point of curiosity, could the servitor, perhaps, glean the surface thoughts (which, one imagines, would be concentrated upon throwing a sequence of techniques) of the magician's opponents and relay them so that he could react with an uncanny swiftness?

Technically, any servitor is a receptacle for the magician that gives it life. It is a receptacle for the magician's energy given focus through will and whatever behavioral scripts the magician chooses to imbue the entity with. Can it be made to hold certain elements beyond that point, though? Can a magician charge the servitor with the task of finding and absorbing ambient energy in the environment and retaining it until he has some use of it in his workings? Are there any associated consequences? What of emotion? Can a magician impart his anger onto the servitor to keep until absorption at which point the magician would be nearly overcome with rage thus aiding in whatever (presumably destructive) working he was attempting?

I've been told that the only real limitation for the magician is his or her own mind and skill level. I have no clue as to whether or not anything that I've mentioned above is even remotely possible, but I thought to exercise my creativity and sate my curiosity at once. Thank you ahead of time to any that choose to respond to the many questions that I've included within this topic.

Greetings!
The creation of a 'servitor' is not something that should be considered until you are fairly certain of what you want. You intellectualizing is all well and fine but this can be taken just so far. I've noticed that servitor creation, demonic evocation and siddhi attainment are the primary focus(es) of the male newbie when starting a magical path. It has alot to do with the 'need' to stabilize self-esteem issues and ones ability to master ones universe.

You've brought up some interesting questions that are resolved through experience. This being said as each of us has a unique mix of variables which wherein the answers lie. 'Why?' should be within the first questions asked before leaping to the creation of a servitor. Truth be told, if you were to examine your own astral space you will find bits and pieces of semiformed servitors/thought images floating around already...created by you unknowingly.

Gaining that motivation, honing your needs will help towards the creation of a viable and useful 'servitor'. I also think, IMHO (in my humble opinion), that you should be working on establishing your own foundations before launching into your chosen path(s). Learn how to meditate, how your body works, how to breathe, what comprises the subtle body and how energy flows/works before creating a 'servitor'. All of this will help you explore and interact with the astral realms. It is alot of hard work!

I hope that you will continue to ask these questions as you work towards your goals in the path of magic. Look over the site...there are lots of information in the threads to get you started and the Library holds many treasures. Franz Bardons Initiation into Hermetics is a grand place to start (IMHO...) that we have here in the Library! Good Luck and be patient...our members are really quite nice and will fill you in as you go! Never hesitate to ask a question! (be sure to read up on the guidelines) Welcome aboard! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

A casual perusal of some of the other topics confirmed that the servitor could, in fact, be used as a guardian, but those same topics generally alluded to either an impersonal sort of guardianship (such as a servitor created to protect one's home and property) or a light-handed variety in which the servitor shields the magician from those that would do him/her harm in any capacity through subtle influence and nudging. I wonder whether or not the servitor can be used more intimately. Can it directly protect the magician from immediate physical harm by overtly (well...as overt as an astral construct can be) warning him of impending hazard? If, for instance, a would be assailant is rapidly closing the distance between himself and the magician, unbeknownst to the latter, could the servitor sound the metaphorical klaxon so that the magician could meet the threat appropriately?

The short answer is yes, the long answer is included in the bottom as an append. I have had a servitor for years, one of my first, who does essentially just this thing - warns me of impending danger or doom, and as a consequence I've stayed accident, illness, and assault free since then, save for two confrontations that were unavoidable - but at least I knew they were coming. The mechanics are simply, but their implementation can be tricky, and the key to pulling it off successfully is learning to pay attention to your feelings. The second mechanic is how, or rather 'where' to implement the servitor - which is not in the present, but rather, some short distance into the future. No more than 30 seconds or so, as beyond this point the variables rapidly start to get uncomfortably vast. The future is not just in flux, it's practically a maelstrom of possibility. The implications of being able to put a servitor seconds ahead of yourself in time, now no doubt joggling around in your brain, are indeed interesting, however in practice I've found they can communicate very little consequential information due to the unstructured nature of future-spacetime.

Can the intimacy exceed even that which I described above? In a physical confrontation, can a magician symbiotically attach his consciousness to that belonging to a observing servitor so that he may be aware of opponents beyond his visual range? If so, what are the inherent dangers in such an undertaking; in joining his consciousness to the servitor's, even slightly, does the magician lose some of his ability to fully and physically react to stimuli on the same plane? Does connecting to the servitor run the risk of reabsorbing it? In a further point of curiosity, could the servitor, perhaps, glean the surface thoughts (which, one imagines, would be concentrated upon throwing a sequence of techniques) of the magician's opponents and relay them so that he could react with an uncanny swiftness?

Boiling this down a little makes it a bit easier to wrap one's head around - you're creating a servitor to be an extension of natural prescience, which we all have to some degree. Keep that in mind if you do eventually undertake this, the simpler you can make the formula, the easier and more effective the result will be. That said, maintaining any degree of prescience while still functioning is not impossible but takes a lot of practice. Initially, were you to pull this off without first training that particular ability, you'd have a tendancy to 'zone out' when you did it, and be more focused on maintaining the prescient point of view than on functioning physically. It's unavoidable. As a precursor to such an endeavor, I'd practice building a holographic image of a familiar room in your mind, and maintaining it, as well as your position within it, as you spend time there. Before long - couple of years - it becomes a habit, assuming you do your best to do it all the time. No one said it was easy, and disciplining the mind to do what you tell it to do is about the hardest part of any magical training.

Connecting to a servitor does not, however, have an inherent risk of reabsorbing it - as long as that isn't your intent. However, using a servitor to develop an ability - such as prescience in this case - and then taking it back into yourself has the added bonus of taking also the patterns of energy which it has 'gestated' as it were, and acquiring some measure of them yourself - some measure, I say, because you're introducing those patterns into your sphere of sensation proper and that can adjust them slightly depending on the circumstances.

As far as the thoughts of one's opponent, in theory yes, in practice it's too much information for an individual to process properly. Most communication with servitors is either verbal (technically telepathic) because words represent the essential packets of information for most individuals, or empathic, being a code of intuitions, emotions, etc. The best you will get is a vague sense of alarm that will probably be drowned out by the adrenaline reaction in your body to the confrontation at hand. Servitors are by nature of their place on the subtle plane, subtle beings.

Technically, any servitor is a receptacle for the magician that gives it life. It is a receptacle for the magician's energy given focus through will and whatever behavioral scripts the magician chooses to imbue the entity with. Can it be made to hold certain elements beyond that point, though? Can a magician charge the servitor with the task of finding and absorbing ambient energy in the environment and retaining it until he has some use of it in his workings? Are there any associated consequences? What of emotion? Can a magician impart his anger onto the servitor to keep until absorption at which point the magician would be nearly overcome with rage thus aiding in whatever (presumably destructive) working he was attempting?

Okay, now this is an idea you hear about a lot. THere are two problems with it though. The first is under the assumption that it works like the label says - in this case, a little explanation of 'ambient energy' is necessary. Ambient energy is the psychic dross shucked off by everyone in the world. It's holographic to a degree, usually within the bounds of a particular area identified on the psychic plane as a 'locale' - a town, a county, a country, etc.; these 'locales' can be layered, but separated as they are recognized as places within places. Curious factoid - inadvertently created thoughtforms exist in your own locale (sphere of sensation) as well as every layer 'above' that (town, county, country, etc); this is pertinent in a minute.

Whichever level you choose to target, locale-wise, the amount of psychic garbage is truly astonishing (even in your own locale in most cases, at least at the early stages of magickal development). So what kind of energy are you gathering with your servitor? Sewage, mostly. The solution is transmutation, but if you aren't capable of it yet, neither is your thoughtform. General rule of thumb, servitors are incapable of anything you are not capable of, and they will act according to your own patterns of behavior. At least, early on. When you are in control of those things, then you can make servitors who are in control of those things, in so far as they are in control of anything. If you are like 99.999999% of the rest of the population, you probably aren't. A lot of failed servitors or servitors-gone-wild/wrong can be chalked up to this simple rule alone. Think of the phrase "made in my image." Combine it with the holographic nature of consciousness and the mechanics become obvious in theory. In practice they're mostly just frustrating.

The second problem, which I haven't forgotten to explain, is semi-related and deals with exactly what it means to 'store' energy. Consider your own energy, in a literal sense - your ability to do work. What's the maximum you can get out of yourself? How do you do it? A good night's sleep and a cup of strong coffee in the morning? Guarana? Red bull? Think about a time when you were maxed out, the most energetic you could be, the ability to do the most work. At that point, you didn't have a fuel gauge, per say - physically, chemically speaking, you sort of did, but it is more a question of efficiency than a physical quantity, and how long you can keep up that efficiency.

But you don't think of it as having a fuel gauge, or at least you shouldn't, you think of it in terms of intensity. Rather, you feel it as intensity. You feel emotions as intensities. Is there a difference between quantity and intensity? Doesn't there have to be more energy present to manifest a higher intensity? Rather counter-intuitively, no. The same relative 'quantity' as it were, of a higher density of energy, manifests psychically and physically as greater intensity. Subtle energy is devoid of a concept of space, and therefore volume, quantity, etc. This is rarely considered by most people - beginners and advanced pracitioners alike - because we're physical beings and need a physical model to compare everything to. Energy work and magick in general work far, far better and easier if you simply discard time and space all together in most instances. That also means everything associated with them - duration, volume, mass, etc.

So, a servitor 'gathering' energy is doing what? Getting dirty. That's absolutely all it's doing - immersing itself in a particular energy. Why do those that employ them as such feel as though they are getting more energy from it? Because they created a conduit, not a battery. And herein is the solution to the efficient servitor 'battery' problem - it's not how much, it's where. Holy places are exceptional, various regions of your own unconscious depending on what emotion or archetypal realm you want to employ, or higher dimensions of the subtle world. The higher octave of a particular locale - that is, the Idealism of New York, as an example (remember, time and space, toss 'em).

As a side note, the same is true of 'building up energy' - you're not collecting energy like a sponge in, say, the Middle Pillar ritual, your are simply acclimating yourself to a higher grade of energy. The flow of energy is constant, it never stops, and it cannot be contained - vessels can simply be made to channel higher octaves, more refined varieties with greater intensities. Also a good thing to keep in mind for perspective.

I've been told that the only real limitation for the magician is his or her own mind and skill level. I have no clue as to whether or not anything that I've mentioned above is even remotely possible, but I thought to exercise my creativity and sate my curiosity at once. Thank you ahead of time to any that choose to respond to the many questions that I've included within this topic.

It is a wonderful thing to do, to exercise creativity and think outside the box, don't let any answers you get to your questions convince you not to do that. Imagining the impossible stretches the limits of the so-called possible. It does not, however, unfortunately, alter the basic laws of existence in it's multi-dimensional glory. What it will do, is eventually allow you to imagine simply the implausible or improbable, which is far more attainable and often just as impressive, as the impossible.

As promised - The long answer: Bym alluded to the issue regarding the multifarious thoughtforms inadvertently floating throughout your own field of consciousness. This poses a particular problem for this particular application of a servitor, and a general problem for the general use of servitors in general. That is that being largely instinctive and reactionary in nature, and born ultimately of the psychic turbulence of the lower self (instinctive, animal), those thoughtforms are rather aggressive, or at least enough of them are that it matters. Humans are, unfortunately, an aggressive species, and most of our reactions arise from aggression in some form or another - territorialism, survival instincts, satiation of appetites, clamor to be recognized/loved, even the need to recognize and unify with some concept of Divinity is aggressive in nature, posing no end of problems for spiritually minded folk who don't realize that aggression for what it is. Because of this, they are often jealous of their territory - the mental patterns and constructs upon which they are based. Hence the unruly nature of the mind, and the difficulty inherent in learning to reign it under one's control. Certain thoughts do seem rather 'alive' do they not? Coming unbidden, persistent, irrationally unrestricted as they permute into all the possible consequences of their existences in our imagination? They can sometimes fairly 'dominate' one's mind, and as a consequence, ourselves in the bargain.

They will often do the same to the servitors and thoughtforms we try to create consciously. A servitor, you see, can be made to exist outside of (more appropriately in a higher version of) our immediate sphere of sensation, granted some measure of autonomy. However, it has to gestate in the lower, closer, spectrum first. And here in it's 'infancy' it can be accosted by these other, baser, thoughtforms. They can be destroyed, absorbed by other thoughtforms, warped into a slightly different purpose, rendered ineffective in some other subtle way, and if they do get out those thoughtforms can make communication very difficult.

As it relates to that first question, the reason the long answer is not essentially 'yes' as well, is because while in theory it's possible to give a servitor this task and have it carried out, the problem is really within your own sphere of sensation and the thoughtforms that initially inhabit it - they'll give this application particular problems because it relies on communication rather than a simple action taken under or outside your awareness (bring me money, make me lucky, get me a boy/girl, etc.)

Hopefully all this will give you plenty to think about and a way to get started on the right foot. If all that talk of thoughtforms sounds like psychobabble and a model of consciousness rather than the independent mechanics of a magickal practice, that is because it is - po-tay-to, po-tah-to. Viewing consciousness as a living entity or conglomerate of living entities, which it is, causes psychology to inexplicably make more sense; and simplifies most magickal theory in the bargain.

peace
V

This post has been edited by Vagrant Dreamer: May 18 2008, 07:40 AM

Greetings!
The creation of a 'servitor' is not something that should be considered until you are fairly certain of what you want. You intellectualizing is all well and fine but this can be taken just so far. I've noticed that servitor creation, demonic evocation and siddhi attainment are the primary focus(es) of the male newbie when starting a magical path. It has alot to do with the 'need' to stabilize self-esteem issues and ones ability to master ones universe.

You've brought up some interesting questions that are resolved through experience. This being said as each of us has a unique mix of variables which wherein the answers lie. 'Why?' should be within the first questions asked before leaping to the creation of a servitor. Truth be told, if you were to examine your own astral space you will find bits and pieces of semiformed servitors/thought images floating around already...created by you unknowingly.

Gaining that motivation, honing your needs will help towards the creation of a viable and useful 'servitor'. I also think, IMHO (in my humble opinion), that you should be working on establishing your own foundations before launching into your chosen path(s). Learn how to meditate, how your body works, how to breathe, what comprises the subtle body and how energy flows/works before creating a 'servitor'. All of this will help you explore and interact with the astral realms. It is alot of hard work!

I hope that you will continue to ask these questions as you work towards your goals in the path of magic. Look over the site...there are lots of information in the threads to get you started and the Library holds many treasures. Franz Bardons Initiation into Hermetics is a grand place to start (IMHO...) that we have here in the Library! Good Luck and be patient...our members are really quite nice and will fill you in as you go! Never hesitate to ask a question! (be sure to read up on the guidelines) Welcome aboard! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Greetings Bym!

Indeed, the birthing of a servitor is an undertaking that should be contemplated with no degree of frivolity; trust me when I state that I have absolutely no intention of forming one in the absence of a clear and defined purpose beforehand. Everything that I wrote in my initial post points to a curiosity that may be realized at a later date, but as of now there simply is no justification for the entity's existence. It has no raison d'etre.

Having said that, I should mention that my refusal to create a servitor at this point in time does not necessarily correspond with what is in actuality already in place (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . Because I have only recently begun the transition from an academic of magick to a full practitioner, I am acutely aware of what limitations I am burdened with by virtue of my lack of practical skill and my relative ignorance of non-theoretical knowledge. Thus, I know that I am ill-prepared to attempt any sort of evocation or communion with entities external to myself; and I have not, accordingly, taken on any such projects. Yet, I am beset by a packet of circumstances that my readings have shown me to be indicative of a successful evocation and a failed banishing. Mostly at night, especially when I'm trying to gain purchase on sleep, I will hear strange knocks, creeps, goans, and scratches that frequently cannot be rationalized as the ambiance of an old apartment complex. Very rarely, I will hear the slightest of the slightest vocalizations emanating from seemingly nowhere and everywhere at once.

I don't know if the semi-formed servitors and thought-forms that you refer to have the power to produce these phenomena, but given what you said about the possibility of me inadvertently giving rise to these entities, it seems very probable. In any case, I'll perform the proper banishings to rid myself of the nuisance.

I do have some questions pertaining to the foundations that you speak of, but I'll reserve them for another dedicated topic. Thank you for your input, Bym. It was as insightful as it was helpful!

The short answer is yes, the long answer is included in the bottom as an append. I have had a servitor for years, one of my first, who does essentially just this thing - warns me of impending danger or doom, and as a consequence I've stayed accident, illness, and assault free since then, save for two confrontations that were unavoidable - but at least I knew they were coming. The mechanics are simply, but their implementation can be tricky, and the key to pulling it off successfully is learning to pay attention to your feelings. The second mechanic is how, or rather 'where' to implement the servitor - which is not in the present, but rather, some short distance into the future. No more than 30 seconds or so, as beyond this point the variables rapidly start to get uncomfortably vast. The future is not just in flux, it's practically a maelstrom of possibility. The implications of being able to put a servitor seconds ahead of yourself in time, now no doubt joggling around in your brain, are indeed interesting, however in practice I've found they can communicate very little consequential information due to the unstructured nature of future-spacetime.

Because you state that the key to benefiting from the "watchdog" servitor is a keen awareness of your feelings, I'm going to assume that your servitor communicates with you primarily through empathic means. Granted, your servitor is already in existence which means that its "programming" is essentially etched in stone, but would it be possible to slightly alter your servitor's directives to include something approaching vocal ability (for use with clariaudience)? I only ask as a precursor to the time in which I choose to create my own--sort of weighing the options that I may choose from in the entity's spawning.

To reduce the bevy of possibilities and potentials that a servitor would have to sort through in order to deliver to the magician viable information, could one simply advance the entity's temporal placement by a lower time differential? If, per the example given in my initial post, you restricted the servitor's placement to a mere ten seconds into the future, wouldn't that allow the entity to accurately deliver to the magician his opponent's next attack given the short window for variation?

Caveat: Even as I write this, that unsettling feeling that one acquires when one begins to logically defeat one's own assertions is building; the little voice in my head is screaming "reducing the time differential will do nothing you buffoon! Even if you place the servitor two seconds into the future, your actions in the present can easily shift outcomes that haven't yet come to be. The servitor would have to be able to adjust and compensate at an unimaginable level to even get one parcel of useful information to you!" But I pose the questions above anyhow, because you may very well see something that I cannot, VagrantDreamer.

I'd like to extend my gratitude to you as well, VagrantDreamer, for taking the time to answer the questions posed. I have more commentary and an even greater amount of inquiries to throw your way, but I'm afraid that time is pressing heavily upon me. Once I am free to return to SM, I'll return to this topic and edit it to display my extended thoughts. Thank you again.

This post has been edited by Mokuso: May 18 2008, 03:38 PM

Because you state that the key to benefiting from the "watchdog" servitor is a keen awareness of your feelings, I'm going to assume that your servitor communicates with you primarily through empathic means. Granted, your servitor is already in existence which means that its "programming" is essentially etched in stone, but would it be possible to slightly alter your servitor's directives to include something approaching vocal ability (for use with clariaudience)? I only ask as a precursor to the time in which I choose to create my own--sort of weighing the options that I may choose from in the entity's spawning.

Well, first of all before I get into the other parts, having a servitor already created does not mean it is etched in stone. It's good to leave it as it is for a while at first, but if you intend to keep it around, it's perfectly acceptable to make changes later on as long as you are careful not to make alterations that are counter to its primary function.

Now, as for the means of communication - the problem with telepathic, i.e., particularly vocal communication is one's own mind. You have thousands of thoughts in your head constantly, and you don't even remember most of them, and in that din of mental chaos, the superficial 'words' of a telepathic entity of any kind can often be overlooked, ignored - and more importantly, your own imagination will often conjure up communications that aren't real or pased on anything in the first place, and then you're jumping at shadows, and ultimately train yourself not to trust your own servitor's communcations - was that me, or my servitor?

Emotional communcation, however, is more visceral, and especially for the magician who has trained his emotional control, changes in that emotional state - 'irrational' alarm, anticipation, etc. perhaps, in this case - is going to be a clearer, more dependably form of communication because of the nature of the role that emotion plays in the field of consciousness. Obviously the prerequisite is some degree of general emotional awareness, but even for a beginning magician this is a form of communication which can be far more efficient than any other form - less distracting from the situation at hand whatever it is, and far more integrated already into actually remaining functional in the world. While you may often ignore the world around you while having a conversation, a daydream (visualization), etc., your emotions are an ever-present back drop to your experience, constantly coloring the world around you and influencing your actions from moment to moment without actually pulling you 'away' from the world.

To reduce the bevy of possibilities and potentials that a servitor would have to sort through in order to deliver to the magician viable information, could one simply advance the entity's temporal placement by a lower time differential? If, per the example given in my initial post, you restricted the servitor's placement to a mere ten seconds into the future, wouldn't that allow the entity to accurately deliver to the magician his opponent's next attack given the short window for variation?

Like I said, it's a complicated situation to create for yourself, but it's not exactly like being told in your ear "this will happen next" it's more like a sense of expectation that is ill defined. Five to ten seconds is just fine, I cited thirty seconds as the maximum because it gives you time to make those alterations based on the information you're recieving - most people don't have the reaction time to successfully make a significant alteration in as little as ten seconds, often by that time you're already in the situation you're trying to avoid. However, with some practice in communcating with the servitor, you can learn to easily push it 'forward' or pull it 'backwards' through the temporal dimension for one purpose or another, and over time it will learn to compensate based on the kind of information you need from it. Or rather, your subconscious mind will learn the pattern and take over.

As far as combat specifically is concerned, the likliehood you will encounter someone - assuming you are not a competitive fighter of some kind - who can react to the changes you make based on the information you receive, on the fly as the happen, is fairly low. That's an order of skill bordering on professionally trained - and very experienced - fighter.

Getting your conscious mind in the way in a situation like that, as a further explanation of the previous point of communcation, will slow you down. Like a Jedi, you must simply let go, trust your feelings, and react. You cannot do that while someone explains your situation blow by blow in your ear, but you can do it while you ride your instincts from moment to moment.

Caveat: Even as I write this, that unsettling feeling that one acquires when one begins to logically defeat one's own assertions is building; the little voice in my head is screaming "reducing the time differential will do nothing you buffoon! Even if you place the servitor two seconds into the future, your actions in the present can easily shift outcomes that haven't yet come to be. The servitor would have to be able to adjust and compensate at an unimaginable level to even get one parcel of useful information to you!" But I pose the questions above anyhow, because you may very well see something that I cannot, VagrantDreamer.

There's about a three to five second lead time into the future spread of possibilities, due to the limits of human biology, our brains are typically a few seconds 'behind' actual events as they occur. Because of this, what we might call the 'uncertainty field' to borrow a quantum mechanics phrase, rapidly collapses the closer you come to a temporal coordinate in the future, to the point where variation is almost negligible - even if you know what's going to happen, you have only enough time to quickly evaluate instinctively at the most one other variable. I have my servitor programmed to push me towards a preferable outcome, and over time they have become, shall we say, more preferable.

The key, to sort of beat a dead horse again, is to establish a form of communication that hinges on the instinct, the unconscious element of the mind, because only the 'conscious' mind will complicate what can often be and incredibly simple set of variables.

I'd like to extend my gratitude to you as well, VagrantDreamer, for taking the time to answer the questions posed. I have more commentary and an even greater amount of inquiries to throw your way, but I'm afraid that time is pressing heavily upon me. Once I am free to return to SM, I'll return to this topic and edit it to display my extended thoughts. Thank you again.

By all means, this is one of a few areas where most of my experience lies, and where I have far more success than failure, after many years of trial and error. I always have something to say, and love contemplating or addressing questions I haven't asked myself before.

peace

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/ac42.gif) (to Vagrant and in a smaller part to Mokuso)

Greetings Vagrant and Mokuso!
Mokuso,
The thrashing out of the functionability of a servitor mayhaps be put aside for a moment...
IMHO (that dreaded phrase used to sidestep), before you really start splitting hairs about servitor theory/fact it should be high on your priority list to hone and exemplify your own state of being. "Know thyself..." Truer words... You must learn to differentiate the various signals, stimuli and 'voices' that surround and permeate our selves. How could you possible ubderstand the chatter when you don't know what and where the chatter is coming from? Already you are anticipating changing the functionality and mode of communication with your creation! I stress this point. All too soon are we champing at the bit (uh-oh, Cliche man is here! *grin*) to create a helper and we don't know who we are and what we are. It has been noted that your creation cannot exceed its makers abilities. (murky subject this...let's save this for a later discussion) This will seriously set you up for disappointment and frustration in your present state. You must be prepared to really apply yourself here...in discipline and awareness. Discipline to learn how to meditate, how to understand the variety of ways we utilize when communicating with ourselves, how to enter a trance state, how to manipulate your own energy (physical and psionic)...the list goes on. Frankly, I still haven't mastered all of this, but then, that is all part of the fun journey of life... If you ever get to completing that list I doubt that you would need a helper! LOL! Once you are on your way with the exercising of yourself you will want to expand your reach. It is time for a helper.

"Water seeks its own level..." It's a good idea to keep it simple at first. If you require that your helper has a certain leverage of precognition then it is necessary that you foster this ability within yourself. The scenarios could be that YOU are the precog and the servitor operates at a set timeflux ahead...or that you both have the ability and thereby communicate ahead on a one to one...whatever. (Back to the thrust of this...) Keeping it simple allows for a strong tie to be established. You don't want to start changing the rules mid-stream. It will bog down the servitor and possibly scuttle the whole thing! (God shouldn't send us mixed messages.) The stronger the link that you establish will prove invaluable when you wish to 'morph' or change things later. In everyday life most human brain functions are fairly regular, which are, in turn, surrounded by mental chaos. We unconciously create and slough off astral forms all the time. Our largest creations are represented by astral larvae comprised of waste emotive and mental 'fuzz'. Bad Habits (and good habits, etc) lurk around us, feeding off repetative behavioral patterns or influencing our behaviors in order to maintain an existance (LOL! I have a large Dove bar hovering behind my right shoulder that starts pushing at my solar plexus around 8PM every night!) In order for us to blow by this trash is through some hard work and discipline! This does not mean that you cannot create a servitor if you have habits or behavioral anomalies! It just makes the process 'stickier' if you do. An exercise that was recommended to me decades ago I will pass on to you. Before or concurrent with the creation of a servitor it is suggested that you establish a working 'area' and/or a sanctuary on the astral level to facilitate your inception into magic working.
You will construct this place from within yourself...impressing your will onto the astral light around you. This is a necessary step if you wish to progress to any 'depth' in magic. You will populate this space with your tools and your helpers. This space is yours and you should maintain a psychic 'bolthole' if things get rough. Within its confines nothing can reach you. (well...more in another thread)
NOTE: To comment briefly on the above concept of using a servitor to fight something, etc. If you aren't a fighter then you will be hard pressed to create a fighter. "water seeks its own level..." If you aren't a fighter then it would move you to utilize a warning system and/or a protective one. You needn't urilize a servitor for that...but if it suits you?!

So I've rambled and droned on and on with vague purpose *sigh*, I'm not nearly as articulate or clear as Vagrant...
-Learn how to communicate with yourself- on a concious and on an unconcious level. Differentiate between all your voices.
-Learn about your own energy fields and learn how to breathe.
-Learn how to strengthen your aura and how to meditate.
-Begin to explore the 'stretching' of your senses. You'll find that some of the so-called psychic abilities/senses are nothing more than your primary senses brought to a heightened state.
-Begin your building of your astral workspot.
-Learn to hold an image or your attention upon a single object for more than 3 minutes at a time. (Longer is better!)

Changing the functionality of a servitor is possible...but one must first establish a reliable and constant servitor first!
By the laying of a strong foundation will you build the Tower/Castle to last, long and well.
I hope I haven't bored you to tears or dissuaded you from your mark. I have great hopes and wish you a happy and productive journey!
(btw- I've managed to get myself honed to a precog window that, sloppily, is from 5 minutes to 3 weeks and another that operates in times of 6 months to 20 years. *whew* Now there is no reason to be that sloppy!) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/horse.gif)