Magickal Servitors by Damon Brand
Frequently Asked Questions
This page is for questions relating to Magickal Servitors.
Q: It sounds like servitors can do anything. Are there any practical limits?
A: It’s largely down to your starting point. One person’s miracle is another person’s mundane. And this applies to all magick, not just servitors. Servitors can bend reality, but not sidestep it altogether. I think the answer is in the book, where I say, “Ask for results that would not be obtainable without magick, but not for results that you’d regard as a miracle. As an occultist, you fashion a good life by creating many magickal leaps that help your life progress, rather than drawing down one huge miracle. If you can keep that in mind, and allow your servitor to do its job, you will get the results you seek.”
Q: How would a servitor motivate a person who has been suffering from a lack of motivation for years?
A: If you create a servitor to change that aspect of your personality, it can direct the change for you. You’d have to be motivated enough to create it and sustain it, but that’s all.
Q: If servitor can boost character traits, can they also diminish negative belief systems?
A: Yes. The magick is very open to adaptation and interpretation.
Q: I’m not sure if my plan for sustenance is good. What do you think?
A: In the book it says, “Often, merely acknowledging the servitor’s existence is sufficient to provide it with continued life.” Anything above and beyond this should be good enough.
Q: Can you program a servitor to help out a certain number of hours a day?
A: Yes. Work this into the Timing of Action.
Q: Can servitors use negative energy for sustenance? If they are used to help out with knee pain, can they use the inflammation and negative emotions as a source of nourishment?
A: Yes, but be aware that when the problem is solved, the servitor will be gone. If the problem returns, you may need to create a new entity.
Q: I’ve got an idea for a servitor that I want to create. Do you think it would work?
A: If you feel that a servitor could work, give it a go. Your intuition will guide you.
Q: Can I create a servitor to help someone else? If so, does the person have to be aware of that situation?
A: You can, and the other person does not need to be aware of the servitor. You should house and maintain the servitor yourself, and it does not need to be physically connected to the other person.
Q: Can I discuss my servitors with others?
A: Be cautious for all the obvious, mundane reasons. Our worst enemies are usually the people who were close to us once. Other than that, there is no reason why not.
Q: Do servitors need to rest?
A: There is no need for rest, and many are set up to work continually.
Q: Can I house my servitor in…?
A: You can house it in whatever you want. Obviously, I prefer the method in the book, but you really can use anything.
Q: Isn’t this magick too advanced for beginners?
A: Where other books say ‘do this, do that, and here’s your result’ this requires far more input from you. But that’s also where its power lies. It is more advanced, in that it requires you to intuit and decide what to do. It also requires imagination. From what I’ve heard, beginners can get a lot out of it. It’s important to remember that servitor magick was invented centuries ago, but made workable and popular largely by young adults in the eighties who were willing to try anything – so it can be quite loose and free and non-exacting. The more you let go of perfection, the easier it is to get a result. I think it can be intimidating as it feels like you have to make a lot of decisions, but that is the beauty of the system. Each decision gives you fine-tuning, control, power.
Q: Is there a limit on how many tasks you should give to each servitor? I’ve heard you shouldn’t give them too much to do.
A: I think each servitor should have a general area of operation, but can be assigned many tasks so long as they are within its remit.
Q: Do I need to program my servitor to be curious and to learn?
A: Being born of your desire, it will be as curious, wise and cunning as is required to get the result. When you have children, you make love and get a baby – you don’t have to wire up the brain and program the instincts. It’s all there, as if by magick. Servitors are the same – you create them with a purpose and the magick that is required goes on under the hood.
Q: How can I make a servitor stronger?
A: Set the servitor tasks that it can achieve. When it is working well and achieving results, set it slightly harder tasks. If need be, recall the servitor and retask it, taking into account the more powerful results. That is, be guided by the specific results you want, rather than a general desire for ‘more power’.
Q: Is there a way of verifying the servitor’s existence?
A: The best way is to use the servitor as planned, and see the result you seek. Other than that, if you’re trying to prove that it’s real, you’re burdening your magick with doubt. Accept the servitor’s reality, rather than seeking proof. That way, you expect results and they come. There’s no better way to know your servitor than that.
Q: I can’t feel the servitors presence, but I really want to. How can I?
A: Some people do, some don’t. It isn’t important, but if you get hung up on it then you may stifle results. Instead, act as though it is real, and results will come. The result are what you are seeking, after all – any sensation of a servitor as a real entity is a bonus or side-effect, depending on your point of view, but is certainly not important and absolutely should not be your main purpose.
Q: You’ve been doing magick for decades but I’m new to this, so how can I possibly be good enough at visualisation?
A: As the book says, ‘The visual aspect is not all that important.’ It also says, ‘If your visualization skills are not good, you can still get worthy results.’ I cannot make it much clearer than that. You do not need to be an expert at visualisation, and as detailed in the book, so long as you use the methods as described, you will be doing it right.
Q: You mention emotion in the sustenance stage, but not in the creation/birthing stage. Why?
A: I don’t think it’s required. If you do, feel free to modify the method.
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Hi Adam.
I truly enjoy this book, as well as pretty much every GOM books (I have all of them except one or maybe two). I have created two servitors, both successfully. First was for one time project, and another one is ongoing.
Questions: How long do you think servitor will survive if one forgets it for a while? This ongoing servitor I created in the beginning of summer worked pretty well given the task and I kept it in my mind pretty much daily, and specifically called and fed it my gratitude 1-2 times a week for some weeks. Few weeks ago I got carried away with my life and forgot it for I think for maybe 3 weeks or so due some mind programming methods I use for myself that has some overlap in the goals, and I put lot of results to that…forgetting that the servitor was doing it´s part too.
I just called it again after some magical coincidences that I think was it´s doings, and fed it with great gratitude. I felt it being present to certain degree. How can I make it stronger again, other than paying more attention/feeding moreo often? And how can I know it´s really still alive, rather than me hoping it to be alive? Also, what came to my mind is in case it´s alive, or when creating and feeding any servitor for that matter, how about feeding it with Light From The Dark in addition to gratitude? Not just when birthing servitor, but every time feeding it, would it work or “overload” it or…?
Better to hibernate than forget. If you just forget then it’s like ‘how long is a piece of a string’. You might be lucky and have one that lasts years, or it might fizzle out after a couple of weeks. It’s a really personal thing, but if you stop using, hibernating it is a good idea – often they’ll last ages, though, and just a nudge to bring them back is enough. They were/are part of you and don’t fight existence. You can try things like Light From the Dark, but that’s not really how they’re designed, or what they feed from, so its hard to say how good the result would be. As for checking on its reality, if you don’t sense a presence, then the quality of results is the only way. Takes patience, I know, but if you felt some presence, that’s a part. Its strength will increase with use.