Stoke the Forge, Tend the Vinehey, if anybody knows anything about thoughtforms/animal familiar spirits and can provide me w/resources, I'm lookin'
The Doctor@SheofVineandForge I'm quite familiar with servitors. Do you have any specific questions?
@drwho yes and no- I'm broadly interested in hearing about your and other people's methodologies in making them. so, like, the 'specific' questions would be broad questions like "what is your subjective experience of creating a servitor?"
"what mental actions do you take to make one?"
"what physical/external work or objects do you use in your process, if at all?"
"what are your recommendations about pitfalls or useful hints?"
etc.. I'm trying to get a place to start from.
"what mental actions do you take to make one?"
"what physical/external work or objects do you use in your process, if at all?"
"what are your recommendations about pitfalls or useful hints?"
etc.. I'm trying to get a place to start from.
@SheofVineandForge Subjective experience: If I have a specific task, a specific need, and a specific outcome, and I build a servitor around those things, I find them very helpful. Trying to make general purpose servitors has never worked for me.
@drwho ahh, gotcha. yeah that is... not really what I want to do. I looked into servitors because there's not a whole lot of traditions that get into the creation of a metaphysical entity- I'm not, first and foremost, seeing the output of this process as a tool with a particular function. I am looking to make something that feels alive, and whose images/symbols/metaphors tie into my other magical interests.
@SheofVineandForge Read up on shamanic allies, then. I think you'll find something you can use or adapt in that tradition.
@SheofVineandForge I build or draw a physical focus for them that reflects the task. If I want something to happen, I make a statement of that something into a set of sigils that become the servitor's skeleton. Sometimes I use isometric exhaustion to charge them up. Sometimes I use ecstatic dance to charge them up.
When formatting them, I take a negative image of my left hemisphere, turn it right-side-out, and mold that around the skeleton. The servitor needs to be smart enough to operate.
@SheofVineandForge Building the sigils as skeletons. Charging them up somehow. Occasionally Reiki attuning them so they're able to regenerate if something happens (and they have a power source). A lot of it is focused mental sculpting, triggered through general muscle rictus. The physical foci are put away someplace safe until what I need is done.
@SheofVineandForge Custom-make servitors for your tasks. If you want watchers, make watchers. If you want warriors, make warriors. If you want barriers, make barriers. If you want spies, make spies. Don't try to make them do too much or they'll come apart. Don't specify them enough and they come apart. Try to do it casually and they'll never kick over - go big or go home. Tell them what you expect and what you'll give them. Play straight with them.