Good question. Like I mostly say (I'm boring, I know) "depends on preference", because not everyone practices witchcraft and keeps spirit just because of this.

I, personally don't care about power, witchcraft or...any of this (after buying spells worth of 400$ and not one worked, I feel more repelled from magick and witchcraft in general, than before~).
For me, spirit "keeping" is more like a second family and I don't really care if they're natural born or constructs, because it's pretty simple that all beings are constructs in some way. We humans are organic constructs for example. Build up of different kinds of organic tissue, our actions controlled by hormones.
So the only difference between this "organic energy force" and a very good constructed servitor is just that they're manmade and not born by nature.
I think a big "plus" of having servitors is that they're 100% customizeable. You can choose their appearance, what powers they should have and their personality. PLUS they're 100% loyal, even if you go very, very dark. Which could be a problem with spirits/entities, who are not 100% honest.
Servitors are made to "fit" you, so they're very easy to sense in comparison to natural entities and spirits.
And you could make them "overpowered" or at least very, very powerful without having to pay thousands for one being.

I used to think like this a year ago, too. I said that I'll never have a servitor, because I thought they could never come near to a spirit or entity (experience-wise), but after I got my first one, I was convinced otherwise :,)

Tl;dr: Like I said: I don't crave for power, I just want to have some cool friends to hang out with and due to my sceptic nature, I personally don't believe in most of the new-age stuff, so "spiritual growth" isn't one of my big goals in life. - so I guess this is my personal answer to the question: "Why do you keep servitors?" But I won't say I prefer servitors over spirits/entities. For me they are all on the same level.

Noctifera wrote:*I wonder if* those who centralize their involvement to this recent focus of construct creation based on - fantasy, imagination and simulation - are neglecting many facets of organic, pure energy source and expansion with regards to mysticism and spirituality.

Yes they are.

The rising interest in the modern servitors is founded mostly in the pursuit of entertainment rather than the mystical aspects of the predating occult practice. Inherently there is nothing wrong with this; a lot of people come to spirit keeping nowadays with their focus centralized on entertainment and profit rather than esoteric pursuit. This is how spirit/entity/servitor/whatever keeping is marketed, so the crowd it attracts corresponds to this accordingly.

However there seems to be an obsession with promoting these beings immediately to newcomers in a manner that is in a way endearing yet simultaneously unnerving in its fervency. This fascination seems to promote and facilitate an already present issue in this community: substituting physical life with the spiritual, ie. sexual and social experiences. The two should coexist rather than replace, otherwise you are led to isolation and find comfort in something that can alleviate the weight of a psychological void but not fill it.

cats_and_spirits wrote:I, personally don't care about power, witchcraft or...any of this (after buying spells worth of 400$ and not one worked, I feel more repelled from magick and witchcraft in general, than before~).

Your point is perfectly reasonable. But I have to clarify that metaphysical endeavors such as 'witchcraft' and the like don't necessarily focus on the accumulation of power but rather personal and psychological development, manipulation of the mind and the self, the mechanics of the subconscious and the universe, etc etc. The scope is unlimited and moreso about philosophy; it becomes about power when you apply the understandings you derive from such a journey into something practical like a spell, energy work, astral projection, spirit communication, mancy and whatever else.

I'm curious about this topic as well. I am not a fan of artificial things in general, and servitors to me are just that. There's nothing organic or natural about them and the idea that you van build one according to your likes and fantasies is a little weird to me.


I don't want to say it cheapens the spirituality exactly but I do feel people who mostly focus on them are missing a great deal.

Like I said: I'm not a pure servitor keeper and I have more other beings (entities/spirits) that servitors. But I'm curious about which great deal could be missed @Aurum. (Really, I don't want to let this sound mean, I'm really interested) is it the "challenge" to gain a spirits trust and build up a very deep relationship? Than I would agree full heartly. This is really something very beautiful to experience and achieve <3


@Cult: I understand, thanks for the clarification :) Even if I wrote that I'm not interested in spiritual development in terms of metaphysical stuff, I'm still interested in developing psychological and mental. I just feel like (or better said: I learned) that I can only achieve this by myself. Without the helping of spells, but throught pure thinking and reflection of my actions.

Just IMO, I think two of the main attractions and why there is such a large current of interest (especially with newcomers) in servitors/constructs is being able to have control over something...and for fantasy fulfillment.

but that's just my opinion, and Im sure other people are after Alphas for companionship as well...

cats_and_spirits wrote:Like I said: I'm not a pure servitor keeper and I have more other beings (entities/spirits) that servitors. But I'm curious about which great deal could be missed @Aurum. (Really, I don't want to let this sound mean, I'm really interested) is it the "challenge" to gain a spirits trust and build up a very deep relationship? Than I would agree full heartly. This is really something very beautiful to experience and achieve

I yes to building a relationship with a being, something that grows and evolves every day. Also all the knowledge a being thousands of years older than you can possess, view to other places and other times, the spiritual and magical knowledge these beings that lived long before you have, a wider perspective, a support to your personal evolution...... many more things.

And also I personally prefer to be loved and valued based on my own merits and who I am, I don't want anything who has no choice, something that was built that way in my life.

Noctifera wrote:
...*I wonder if* those who centralize their involvement to this recent focus of construct creation based on - fantasy, imagination and simulation - are neglecting many facets of organic, pure energy source and expansion with regards to mysticism and spirituality.

There are two points for this:

1. I'm not sure whether there are keepers who only keep servitor/construct. There are many discussions focused on it, yes, but those whom I know here also have spirit/entity companions, and immortal bindings for some, in their keep. Moreover, those who feel closer to servitor/construct may as well be similar to those who feel closer to certain races, or to entity than to spirit, or to companions conjured by certain conjurers, etc.

2. For the neglecting certain facets, it can also be said to anyone who limit their keep, or their path etc. For example, those who limit to WA only or DA only, and those who focus on specific race e.g. angel only or demon only. And related to this discussion, those who exclude servitor/construct for their keep.

Noctifera wrote:What is it that draws some predominantly to servitor/construct keeping in their path, and also why is it one may choose a servitor/construct in place of a spirit, magick or other entity equivalent?

I can't say that I'm drawn predominantly to servitor/construct keeping; they make only 5.2% of the whole population in my keep. However, I'd say there are benefits in choosing servitor/construct instead of spirit/entity:

1. Possibility to ask for races which come modern culture, such as novel, game, comic book, etc. instead of tradition, myth, or lore. One example is the sparkly sensitive vampires from certain novel series : ) There is no lore related to that race of vampire. Thus, as Ely said, fantasy fulfilment : )

2. Customizable, as Cats said, thus it engages the creativity of the creators and/or the clients. This may be more prevalent since certain media allow people to design custom characters, for examples from video game is The Sims, or from comic is when Marvel Comics ask people to send original character design, etc.

3. We get what we ask, instead of what is closest to what we ask yet not exactly it. For example, if the client adores Jasmine from Disney Princess, from spirit-keeping perspective, he/she may ask for custom djinn, alya, or even human spirit with the traits of Jasmine, but it won't exactly be Jasmine. Even with character binding, there is a possibility that the Jasmine found by the conjurer is not the same as the Jasmine the client asks for.

cats_and_spirits wrote: So the only difference between this "organic energy force" and a very good constructed servitor is just that they're manmade and not born by nature.

One thing that need to be clarified: does this topic limit servitor/construct as man-made, or also include those created with the help of immortals?

Noctifera wrote:The distinction of being man-made, vs born by nature is a significant one if you have interest in a very powerful being.

That can be true : )

But then, the obvious answer for some would be to connect with immortals, deities and gods/goddesses, who of course are very powerful. There would be no need to connect with lower entities or spirits for that matter, based on this perspective.

However, based on myths and lore, djinn had help many into greatness. A king had asked an alya to bring prosperity to his kingdom. And connected to this topic, many in magick path had relied on familiar, golem, shikigami, etc.

This is not to say one is correct and others are wrong, but is does show that people may have different purpose, and may have varied experience within this path. A very powerful being for some may be perceived as normal being for others.

Cult wrote:However there seems to be an obsession with promoting these beings immediately to newcomers in a manner that is in a way endearing yet simultaneously unnerving in its fervency.

Mmmh I had to recheck this on the chat archive : /

But one of the scenarios would be this:
Newer members came to chat and asked for opinions, they weren't sure what race should they ask for. They still had problems with the idea of keeping certain races, e.g. the danger, the sin based on religious view, etc. Then some of the older members suggested servitor/construct, and the newer members asked the benefit of it compared to spirits/entities. Some of them became interested, perhaps from their upbringing or from other reasons, while some didn't and continued with spirits/entities.
This might be a good gateway for spirit-keeping : )

Another scenario would be:
Some of the older members were chatting about servitor/construct. Other members came to chat. From the flow of the discussion, they suggested servitor/construct to the other members. The other members might be interested, might be uninterested.
This could be a way to include the other members to join the discussion, and/or so that that other member don't miss what they consider "a great deal" : )

There are other scenarios, of course. some are good, some are bad : )

Cult wrote:This fascination seems to promote and facilitate an already present issue in this community: substituting physical life with the spiritual, ie. sexual and social experiences. The two should coexist rather than replace, otherwise you are led to isolation and find comfort in something that can alleviate the weight of a psychological void but not fill it.

Yes, but this is not limited to this community, and not only with the spiritual. Out there, some substitute it with worklife, with hobbies, with sexual experiences, etc.

And yes, having flourishing physical life coexisting with spiritual/ metaphysical life is the ideal, but not everyone can have it. Some can only have one of them well, some just don't have both of them. With very bad physical life, it's not strange when people substitute with other stuff to cope with it, instead of doing something regrettable : /

Cult wrote:But I have to clarify that metaphysical endeavors such as 'witchcraft' and the like don't necessarily focus on the accumulation of power but rather personal and psychological development, manipulation of the mind and the self, the mechanics of the subconscious and the universe, etc etc. The scope is unlimited and moreso about philosophy; it becomes about power when you apply the understandings you derive from such a journey into something practical like a spell, energy work, astral projection, spirit communication, mancy and whatever else.

Yes, there are deeper aspect of witchcraft. However, to be fair, witchcraft is not marketed as such; most offers would deal with daily life problem, kind of similar to spirit keeping, no? And for some, this would be sufficient.

Furthermore, rather than witchcraft, newcomers might as well delve into religions, shamanism, meditations, etc. which are marketed to focus on those aspects. Again, not to say that one path is better than the others; the general perspective from the target market might be like that.

Aurum wrote:And also I personally prefer to be loved and valued based on my own merits and who I am, I don't want anything who has no choice, something that was built that way in my life.

For this, advanced servitors can be programmed to have choice, to have neutral position about you at the beginning and decide whether to love you and how to value you when you bond with them over time. No different from advanced AI.

Then again, custom conjuration usually find spirits/entities who would be good for the clients, not those who would purposely oppose and make it difficult for the clients. Unless it is preconjured, or you specifically ask the conjurers to conjure such individuals, of course : )