The Gate Keeper
The Forty Servants in Theory & Practice
Hello, good people of the internet, and welcome to The Forty Servants in Theory and Practice, a new series here in the newsletter and on Patreon where I take a deep dive into the philosophy, use, and evolution of The Forty Servants system, drawing on nearly a decade of hands-on experience and magical experimentation.
Each entry in this free section will focus on one Servant at a time, offering background insight, design history, divination reflections, shadow aspects, magical applications, and how my personal understanding of each has shifted or deepened over the years.
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So, let's dig in…
THE GATE KEEPER
The Gate Keeper shows us how to get into areas of our life that we feel locked out of. He encourages us to know that there is always a key to every door.
THE ARTWORK
Like The Witch, the artwork for The Gate Keeper was done as part of an altar card series I was trying to sell on my website, Etsy and eBay that never took off, though I did manage to sell a couple of cards in the local “woo” shop in my town. The original version was based on Papa Legba and the art had more of a blue hue to it all, making it a bit less mysterious and ethereal than the version we all now know. He also had a very different sigil, the Papa Legba veve, which floated behind him in the background.
(Note: If you’d like to see this version, as well as alternate artworks for several of the Servants, including those that didn’t make the final cut, consider joining my Patreon as there will be a full video showing them all released over there for members later this week.)
While the Forty Servants version of The Gate Keeper still retains a Legba quality, I also wanted him to have some attributes of St Peter, who guards the Pearly Gates. But it’s not only the Pearly Gate, the gate he stands in front of represents all things that have been locked away from us and is the barrier between this world and the next.
The background and sky have the green hues that echo the green hues in the Image of The Witch. These two servants seem intimately linked and so the gates are also the gates to the graveyard in which we find The Witch.
The key in the original had a large orange glow around it that I removed because I didn’t want the key to be the magic focus, but rather have the owner of the key being the central point. The key, in my mind, is not floating because it is magic, it floats because the Gate Keeper is making it levitate. That said, the key is still something special as it is the key that opens all locks.
The look of the Gate Keeper himself was a cross between what I felt Papa Legba looked like in my head along with a flavour of various similar threshold characters such as Scratch from the 1986 movie “Crossroads”. The aim was to have him both look old-fashioned and modern. He wears a suit jacket but also a straw hat. He isn’t old and frail as Legba is often depicted, though he isn’t young either.
Again, just like The Witch, once the decision was made to switch from Papa Legba outright to The Gate Keeper he very quickly came into better focus, and it was clear that he was his own thing rather than a poor knock off.
The Gate Keeper has a great laugh. He is warm, funny, and pun intended: open. He is kind and compassionate but not opposed to making a small joke at your expense.
He is very much his own man.
Self-assured and confident.
And very, very powerful.
THE SIGIL
This is one of the more obvious sigils within the Forty Servants system. The sigil represents the key that opens all locks – which also means it’s the key that can lock all locks, too. The sigil can be drawn (physically or mentally) on doors, in front of altars, or visualised during ritual, meditation, journeying, or active imagination when trying to access another realm or speak to spirits.
Draw it on job applications, or any official documents that you would like to “get through” without hassle. It can also be used to keep things hidden – draw it on your diary, for example, to keep nosey eyes away.
I’ve used it with the simple phrase:
“Great Servant, The Gate Keeper, please open the door, so I may pass. And when I return, I will leave you an offering by way of thanks for your help and assistance”. Then I light some incense, or a small offering candle once the work is done.
Sigil Quick Uses: Gaining access to closed spaces, discovering hidden information, crossing spiritual thresholds, locating lost or hidden items.
DIVINATION
When The Gate Keeper shows up in a reading, it often means you’re standing outside something you want to be inside of. It might be a job, a group, a creative opportunity, a relationship, a spiritual experience—or even a literal physical location like a house or workplace. You may feel blocked, excluded, or like you’ve hit a wall.
His presence suggests that you may be standing at the gateway of something significant—whether it’s a big decision you have to make, a new chapter in your life, gaining access to something that had been previously closed to you, or a situation where you need to set clear limits or boundaries.
The locked gates or doors that The Gate Keeper shows us are always things that we are already aware of. They are the situations and events that are in front of us rather than opportunities or paths that we are unaware of – that would be more the purview of The Road Opener.
It’s also worth remembering that not all doors are locked unfairly. Some protection is benevolent. Some doors are locked because you are better off not going inside – at least for right now. The timing may be wrong, or you aren’t prepared enough, or it will cause more harm than not.
Shadow Reversal:
Shadow Reversals in The Forty Servants don’t signify the opposite of the normal energy of the Servant but more a dysfunctional version of it, or a detrimental misuse or misunderstanding of the qualities.
The Gate Keeper could be a case of not recognising when or how to let things through due to fear of opening up too much or similar. Is there a fear of new things? A reversal could suggest there is a feeling every box is Pandora's box, and it is safer to stay where you are rather than pursue something new.
Are you, or someone, closed down, unapproachable, or unhelpful? The shadow of The Gate Keeper may suggest self-sabotage by locking yourself out of what you want through fear, imposter syndrome, procrastination, or thinking the door is more locked than it is – or locked at all.
Are you constantly opening new doors because you are avoiding doing the work? Do you move from event to event, person to person, theory to theory when the going gets rough, or the first sign of difficulty?
There’s also the possibility of forcing entry. Are you trying to get through a door that isn’t meant for you right now? Are you pushing where you should be knocking?
MAGICK
The Gate Keeper is an excellent Servant for any magickal work involving: accessing secret or hidden information, or gaining entry to social, financial, or energetic spaces. He is extremely useful for spiritual travel or communication with other planes, and finding lost or stolen items.
No doors are closed to The Gate Keeper, and for this reason, he is a fantastic Servant to work with for revealing secrets or hidden things. If you need to get into a particular club or clique, enlist the Gate Keeper's help by telling him as much about it as possible and ask him to get you access.
The Gate Keeper can be especially powerful at liminal moments—thresholds not only in space, but also in time: solstices, equinoxes, new moons, births, deaths, and endings.
Use visualisation with him: see yourself standing before a locked door. Ask him to place the key in your hand. Ask him what you need to let go of before the lock turns. Speak to him like you would a mentor or a doorman who knows more than he lets on. Ask him plainly: What’s blocking me? What’s the key here? Am I knocking on the wrong door? And then await the answers through syncs, dreams, and other such things.
Call on The Gate Keeper when you feel stuck, shut out, or kept at a distance from what you want. He won’t always just hand you the key—but he’ll show you where to find it, and how to use it.
SERVANT COMBINATIONS
As mentioned previously the Gate Keeper and The Witch have a special relationship and often feel like a couple – though not necessarily a romantic one. They work well together in many ways but especially for rituals involving transformation; she does the work once he opens the door.
The Gate Keeper pairs especially well with The Messenger, particularly when you’re trying to initiate important conversations, make contact, or receive spiritual communication.
For a great combo of access to all the doors you are aware of, and paths and opportunities you aren’t, use The Gate Keeper along with The Road Opener. A very powerful duo when you want as many options as possible available to you. Add in The Fortunate to make sure you pick the best path.
If the situation is spiritual in nature—crossing planes, dream work, spirit contact—combining him with The Seer or The Dead can open very interesting doors indeed.
The Gate Keeper and The Dead make a powerful pair in times of grief, transition, or significant endings, when something must be released in order for the next door to open.
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And that's it for this time, I hope you got something good from it. If you'd like to chat about it, you can leave a comment below, or come find me on Bluesky!
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So, until next time,
MAY YOUR BEST DAYS BE AHEAD!
Tommie