Much Ado About Servitors
Servitors represent one of the more versatile tools in the arsenal of the modern magician. They can be thought of as manifestations of the magician's desire brought to life through the magician's will/perception. The servitor is a semiautonomous entity programmed to carry out the will of the magician. They range from short term throw away servitors to long term servitors capable of performing a variety of tasks. Their shelf life and their parameters are determined by the magician during the creation process.
The foremost consideration in creating a servitor is to clearly define your desires. Pinpoint exactly what you're after, this statement will be the code that determines what your servitor does. This program is created through the formation of the physical basis of the servitor. Think of the infamous creation of Adam, though he was brought to life by the will of god he was also created using preexisting base materials.
The physical basis can consist of a great many things, but the final product should represent the way you have envisioned your servitor. For example a servitor created to bring wealth to the magician could be molded from clay in the form of an investor complete with three piece suit and briefcase. Colors which suggest wealth to the magician can be applied to the model. Other symbols of wealth, such as coins may additionally be added to the physical basis of the servitor. Sigils may also be employed, etched into the physical basis of the servitor.
It should not be thought that servitors are only useful when it comes to getting laid, paid or, getting back at an enemy. Servitors may also be used to affect internal changes. When used in this context we might additionally view the servitor as evoked manifestations of our psyche. Whether it's a servitor representing something we wish to destroy in ourselves, or something we wish to augment, forming these desires into apparently separate entities makes their manipulation easier.
When you have finished with the physical basis of the servitor, what you have in front of you is a highly personalized symbol of your desires. A magical program of sorts, that once turned on will perform the tasks necessary to bring you what you desire.
Naming the servitor is the first step in the process used to turn on the program represented by the physical base of the servitor. The process of naming a thing is far more than simply picking out a name from a list, rather by naming the servitor you are charging it with a purpose; you are saying "This is what I have created you for."
The name you choose should therefore be appropriate and touch with in you something of the desire that drove you to create the servitor. This name will come to act as sigil, it is by this name you will call forth the servitor into existence, and it is by this name that you will command the servitor. For this reason it is often useful to create a name which is itself a sigilization of that first statement of desire.
Once you have chosen a name, address the physical basis by that name. You may want to hold a baptism, but in any event it is vitally important than in your mind you recognize the servitor by that name, in the same way that the name of your closest friend makes you think instantly of that friend. Forging this association between name and form will help you to see the servitor as an entity rather than as a purely physical construct, the way naming a child might cause it's parents to think of the fetus as a person rather than an impersonal mass of genetic material.
The next step is equivocal to the birthing process; you will bring forth an actual entity from the named physical base. This is done through the use of altered states of consciousness. Though a variety of methods may be used it is often beneficial to choose a method which relates to the purpose of your servitor. Heightened emotional states may prove useful, or reciting the name of your servitor as a mantra. The focus of all this should be in calling the servitor to life, nothing else should be in your mind as you switch from a mundane mode of thought into a magical frame of reference. The time this process takes will vary. You may find it takes only a few hours, or you might find it takes several days of this activity before you know absolutely that what you have created is a thinking entity, rather than a lump of decorated clay. You must know without a doubt that the total is larger than the sum of its parts.
Now that you've got an actual servitor living in its base, the way we live in our bodies, it's time to address it and command it. Call it by it's name, tell it exactly what it is meant to do, instruct it to come when you call it, and to obey you, its creator. The creation process which began with a crystallized statement of your intent will ensure that this servitor only desires to serve you in the way you created it to, but much like God's creature it may from time to time become surly, or fail you. When this happens you must punish it. Threaten to destroy it's material basis, and be willing to carry through, after all you brought this creature into the world, and you can easily replace it. On the other hand when the servitor succeeds, praise it, and let it know you approve and that it has done a good job. While you can't allow failure, you'll still catch more flies with honey.
Servitors like any"living" creature need food in order to perform correctly, indeed in order to stay alive. The servitor feeds on concentrated belief. Feeding will take place to an extent every time you address it like a "real" thing, but you may also want feed it through focusing on it while in an altered state of consciousness. This coincidentally is a great basis for reward. When the servitor does as told it is rewarded with a feast of concentrated focused belief. When it fails, on the other hand, it starves.
Regardless of how well your creation performs, the time may come when you no longer need the servitor. When this occurs the physical basis of the servitor should be destroyed, and the servitor should be ritually banished once and for all. You will also want to do this in the event that your servitor either becomes too surly, or fails too many times.
The servitor not only lets the magician play god, but allows a more rich and time efficient practice. The ability to work your will without complex ritual or creating new enchantments as each new occasion arises affords the magician the ability to push his magickal practice ever onward. In short the flexibility and long lifespan of a servitor facilitates prosperity in every arena of the magician's life both actively and indirectly.
