Liber Minor Well Wyrd Web Site
Servitors, what they are and how to use them
Servitors, spirits, demons, angels, elementals, gods,
goddesses, imps, pixies, faeries, goblins, call them
what you will but magicians have often found it useful
to get certian entities to perform magick for them on
their behalf. Sometimes these beings have a physical
basis in the form of an amulet, charm or idol, sometimes
they exist purely in the Aether.
On this page you can learn a little about the differences
between these entities and how to use them. There is also
a brief discussion on the use of Sigils and Mantras in
calling Servitors up.
Servitors in general
Servitors are called into being by the
magickal investment of belief. This
can be done by a solo magician working
alone, a group of magicians, a whole
tribe, or in the case of deities by a
whole society. Each individual invests
a side of themselves into the servitor,
which takes on the character of the
qualities invested into it. Thus it is
easier to control a servitor that only
you have invested in, but at the
same time deities can be extremely
powerful because of the mass belief they
are supported by. You need to work out
the exact balance neccessary for the
task at hand.
Familiars and Guardian Angels
Familiars are servitors that work for just
one magician. Most magicians will have many
familiars, although they may not call all of
them by that word. Wands, ritual swords/knives,
cups, pentacles, lamps, runes and Tarot cards
are examples of specialist familiars that are
never really refered to as familiars. Familiars
may or may not have a material basis. In some
cases the material basis will be a living creature
such as a Cat, a Spider or Hedgehog.
Gaurdian Angels are a special type of Familiar,
usually having no material basis, and generally
concerned with the magicians spiritual and
emotional well-being.
Charms, Amulets and Talismans
These can be created by one or more magicians
and refer to special servitors that have a material
basis. Usually these are for protection or to
help invoke a particular quality. They can be designed
to be worn on the person, or carried or they can be
fixed to a part of a building. In some cases they
may actually be built into the design of a building.
They are also commonly found on ships and boats.
It is possible that this type of servitor might also
be a familiar, or also a demon/spirit, or an elemental,
or even an idol. Some medals/charms contain the symbol
of a god or saint. Distinctions between types of
servitor are often blurred.
Christians often wear charms with Jesus on a cross,
the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit or St Christopher.
Pagans often wear Ankhs, Pentagrams, Runes, Celtic
knots or Thors Hammers. Chaos Magicians are often
seen wearing Chaosphere rings.
Houses often have good luck charms, such as
horse-shoes, and other buildings, especially
churches, are often covered in built-in charms,
such as Gargoyles, Astrological Symbols, Statues
of Saints, Deities, Patrons, Company Founders and
Local Historical Heroes/Characters, Green Men
and Stars.
Demons and Spirits
These are generally called up for a short time,
enough to perform a specific task, and are then
banished. This is not always the case, but it
is a general rule. Mostly they do not have a
material basis. An exception is when they are
used in talismans or protective wards on a house.
They can be called in solo, or in a group context
with equal efficiency.
Sometimes a Demon may actually be a God. This is
a different type of demon, and perhaps they should
be refered to as Demon-Princes. The difference
between a Demon and a Demon-Prince is like the
difference between a Guardian Angel and an
Arch-Angel. Arch-Angels and Demon-Princes are more
like Gods, in that they are usually well known and
have their names publicised in books, as well as having
relatively clearly defined specialities/spheres of
influence.
Elementals
These are a special type of Spirit/Demon having a
special association with one of the four elements.
Earth elementals can be, among other things, Gnomes,
Dwarves, Moles, Rocks, Stones or Trolls. Water
elementals can be Undines, Mermaids, Fish, Serpents,
Frogs, Rivers, Lakes, Oceans, Water Nymphs or
Whirlpools. Air elementals can be Slyphs, Fairies,
Owls, Eagles, the Wind, Smoke, Incense or Tornadoes.
Fire elementals can be Salamanders, bonfires, lanterns,
candles, torches, fireworks. They can be used both
in group or solo work.
The magician's magickal tools are also a special
type of elemental. Wands are fire elementals,
Swords/Knives are air elementals, Cups are water
elementals and Pentacles are earth elementals.
These magickal tools can be thought of as a sort
of cross breed elemental-familiar-talisman type
of servitor.
Idols
Idols are a type of servitor that has a physical basis.
They are often worshipped, making them easilly mistaken
for gods. Sometimes they actually are gods in
a physical basis, but at other times they may actually
only be known by a very small number of people, or even
only one person. Read Shredni Vashtar by
Saki for a good example of using an animal as an Idol.
Not only that but it is a damn good short story.
Gods, Goddesses, Arch-Angels, Heroes and Saints
These are a special type of servitor in that they sustain
their existance from the belief of a large group of people.
They can be very powerful because of this, but at the same
time they tend to have a will of their own, and can generally
only be used for specific purposes that are within their
character scope. There are so many to choose from though, that
you should be able to find one that suits your purposes if you
choose carefully enough. Just don't ask Mars to help you find
a new lover and you should be OK.
Gods can be invoked into a human being in order that
they may speak directly to the group, or in solo ritual
so that they might endow you with their properties. The
author is currently working in an ongoing Artemis
invokation that started back 1990-1991 sometime.
For more on deities, see the page in this site on
Chaos gods.
Servitors and Sigils
Sigils can be of particular value when working
with servitors. It can be useful to give a
permanent servitor a mantra-name and a sigil-symbol
which can be re-used in calling it up, even marked
on its material basis. When making a sigil for a
servitor, you can combine the words of the qualities
you want the servitor to have with astrolological,
planetary and other occult symbols which represent
qualities to be included in the servitor and combine
them into one sigil. The name can be formed by making
a mantra from the letters, which can be repeatedly
chanted while focussing on the sigil when the
servitor is to be summoned.
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This Page was written by Frater Mithrondal 1232
on 20 May 1998. Last updated 20/05/1998.