Did You Just Send Me a Servitor?

I received an interesting question a while ago from a potential client.

The question is: how can I recognize/differentiate a real actual entity/spirit bound to me or a vessel, an entity which is not a human creation, from a thought form or entity created by a human (servitors, egregores, etc.). I am a spirit keeper and want to be able to understand if a seller has sold me something which is not a real spirit, but his own creation.

If you are  unfamiliar with the concept of servitors, a quick Google search for "what is a servitor" will turn up several very helpful answers. The short version is that they are a thoughtform that has been created to serve a particular purpose. Yep, that's right! You can create a spirit to accomplish the goals you desire. Magicians do it all the time. All. The. Time. So, how do you know if the spirit you received from a conjurer is an older entity or one of these newly created servitors?

It can actually be quite difficult to tell whether the spirit you have been put in touch with is a new creation or an older, existing being. I think that's because ALL spirits start somewhere, and many of them begin as servitors/egregores. Now, for a great many of the ones whose names we have recorded in old grimoires and such, they were created centuries or even millennia ago. Some were deities of conquered people whose Gods were demonized and brought low by the conquerors. Following this line of thinking brings a philosophical person back to the old question -- did the Gods/God create us, or do we create them/him?

Generally, though, a newly created servitor isn't going to have the oomph behind it. Not enough people have put their faith into that being, communicated with that being, etc. It hasn't done enough work to be as strong or as solid or as "weighty" as a spirit that has been around longer.

This comes down to intuition and trusting your senses (including the psychic ones) to be able to feel. But if you can feel that spirit, try to get a sense of age, of gravitas (if that makes sense), of experience.

I would also suggest being open to working with newly "created" spirits. If they're getting the job done, and you enjoy them, then they can be every bit as effective and wonderful a companion as an older being. Thought creates reality, after all, which means that these beings are very "real."

And by the way, I do understand if your concern is less about the spirit's ability and more about the conjurer's ethics. If you've been told you are receiving an old spirit, that's who you should receive. A servitor can be exceptionally helpful, but you shouldn't be given one thing and told it is something else.

I hope that helps. I know it doesn't give a concrete answer to "how" -- although maybe my "soft" answer about feeling the age and weight and experience of the spirit will be a useful tool for you.

In another blog entry, we'll explore how you can create a servitor, if you are interested in doing such a thing. Certainly, if you are wishing to train as a conjurer, servitor creation should be a solid entry in your curriculum vitae.