THE MASTER
The Forty Servants in Theory & Practice
Hello, good people of the internet, and welcome to The Forty Servants in Theory and Practice, a series where I take a deeper look 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 of the series 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 go…
THE MASTER
The Master shows us how to be the best version of ourselves. He encourages us to always strive to act from our highest selves rather than our lesser natures.
ARTWORK
The artwork for The Master started out as a piece called “My Forgotten Sacred Heart” which was an attempt to recapture a form of sacredness I had lost. Growing up a catholic in Ireland meant that I was left with a very strict and harsh type of Jesus. A Jesus who it was claimed loved you, but if you let him down in any way, he would punish you with gruesome eternal torture. This Jesus was very much more of a judgmental referee than a loving god.
Yet, there was a part of me that also recognised the divine love aspect that was buried under years of manipulation and control by the institution of the church. So, I tried to steal that love back from the church dogma.
And so I drew an image of a Jesus-type figure that echoed the famous Sacred Heart images of Jesus – only my Jesus didn’t have a wounded heart. His heart was a very healthy, loving heart full of happiness and love, rather than the standard sad and damaged heart surrounded by thorns and in flames. And rather than have his left hand pointing at his heart, he gestures towards the viewer. His right hand has a very particular pose that looks (and feels if you try it yourself) like he is trying to show you something.
When I added him to The Forty Servants, I changed the background to circular swirling clouds to give it a more “heavenly” feel. I also changed his halo to give it more of a “crown of thorns” feel.
The figure itself was drawn from a 3D figure reference that I set up in a program called Daz3D, and as such is possibly a bit too “realistic” in style compared to the rest of the deck, but I feel I got away with it.
THE SIGIL
There is an interesting story about The Master’s sigil in that he has two. He was meant to have a completely different sigil than he has now, and actually, the first 5 or so decks that were sold had this different sigil. But I noticed that in the “Grimoire of the Forty Servants”, I had forgotten to update the sigil and had used an older, previously discarded sigil instead. It was easier to replace the sigil in the deck than the book, so that’s what I did.
The reason I had discarded the other sigil was that I felt that with the imagery and then a crown of thorns style sigil, it would all feel a bit too Jesusy. Despite the deck being predominantly made as a tool just for myself (I wasn’t expecting anyone other than maybe a handful of people to ever be interested in it) I did feel that maybe people would have a negative reaction to it. But ultimately, the Master made his own choice for the sigil, and in the end, no one seemed to mind at all anyway.
The original sigil is a simple glyph of a sun at the top of a mountain, which can also be found in many other places in esoteric teachings, and while it may not be the “official” sigil of the Master, I would still recommend experimenting with it. It gives access to a slightly different flavour to the Master. You could see it as the Sun and Mountain Sigil gives access to the Esoteric Master, and the Crown of Thorns version to the Exoteric. But that’s a bit too oversimplified and not fully accurate. Best to experiment with it yourself and see the differences.
Whatever one you use, it should be used as a symbol of the highest ideal you can imagine for yourself. It’s an encapsulation of you when you have got through all your crud, shadows, and bullshit. It’s the you, you want to be. The you on your best day. The aspirational best version of you. Use it when you want to step into the best version of yourself. It’s very hard to show up as your most evolved self because there are some many factors – internal and external – that raise their heads when you try to do so, and it's very easy to return to our petty and unevolved version. Using the sigil as an anchor is very helpful.
Quick Uses for the Sigil: Embodying your highest self in difficult decisions, channelling patience and spiritual endurance, deepening connection to your HGA or Higher Self, returning to sacred purpose after distraction or doubt, or meditation on mastery, virtue, and sacred responsibility.
DIVINATION
When The Master appears in a reading, it's a signal that you are being called to show up as your highest potential. Not the fantasy version of yourself, not the ego ideal, but the real, rooted, refined you. This is the version that acts in alignment with wisdom, integrity, and deep inner solidity.
This Servant asks: What would you do right now if you were the best version of yourself?
But, be careful, this isn’t about perfectionism. It’s not about trying to be the perfect person; it’s about being the bigger person. It’s about doing the thing you know is right, even if it means losing, even if it means you are embarrassed, even if you lose face, even if it sets you back. The Master is a reminder that you already know what to do. You just need to act from that part of yourself that does.
If you were already the person you aspire to become, fully evolved, and wise, how would you act? What would you say, think, or choose to do? This mindset can be incredibly powerful in moments where you need strength, confidence, or clarity.
Think back to who you were five, ten, or twenty years ago. Consider how much you've grown, how much more you understand about life now than you did then. Now stretch that perspective even further—imagine who you would be if you lived for a thousand years, a million, or even until the end of time. From that place of timelessness, how would you approach your current challenges, goals, relationships, or dilemmas? What would that perfected, masterful version of you do right now?
This card may also indicate the need for focused discipline, especially when you’ve let distractions or doubt dilute your energy. It can signal a good time to recommit to a spiritual or personal practice, especially if you’ve been feeling unmoored.
For me, when this card comes up in a reading I see it as my Divine self showing itself to me, to remind me of whom I really am. It points past all my nonsense, hurt, anger, resentments, trauma, drama, pain, failings, and weaknesses and reminds me of the person I know I can be behind all that: Loving, caring, nourishing, welcoming, forgiving, wise, healing, helpful, trusting, peaceful, and secure.
SHADOW REVERSAL
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 Master in shadow is being overconfident in your spiritual superiority. You know it all and are above everyone else. You see yourself at the top of the hierarchy and feel you are spiritually special, or some form of “The Chosen One”. It’s essentially using spirituality to boost your ego.
On the flip side, The Master reversed may show up when you’re afraid to rise to the occasion. You might feel undeserving of the role you’re being asked to play. You might fear mastery itself because it implies responsibility, exposure, or that you can no longer hide behind learning and preparation.
Another common reversal trait is perfectionism. Are you holding yourself back because you think you’ll never be “good enough” to act, speak, create, or lead?
This version of The Master presents self-doubt dressed as realism. It keeps you small. You don’t need to be perfect to step forward. You just need to be ready enough.
Ask yourself: Am I refusing to act until I feel “perfect”? Am I dismissing others because they don’t match my own methods? Am I underestimating how far I’ve come?
MAGICK
For me, I see the Master as the end product of your spiritual development. This has many names or titles, and not everyone will agree on what these names or titles represent – or even if these titles refer to you or some external being. Ascended Master is one such title, but it comes with a lot of baggage. Holy Daimon is another, as are Holy Guardian Angel, Solar Angel, Higher Self, Perfected Self, Watcher, and a host of others.
Ultimately, The Master is the connection to the most divine version of yourself. The most perfected, completed version, and as such, you can use his image and sigil as a gateway to communication with your Divine Self. Offerings and prayer work very effectively, as does carrying the sigil on your person or using it as a focus in concentration or active imagination exercises.
One of the most powerful ways to invite The Master’s energy into your life is through surrender, not in submission to an external force, but in trust of your own highest self. The point is not to worship or give your autonomy over to something outside of you, but instead recognising that The Master is you at your most complete, your most divine, your most fully realised. By allowing him to guide you, you’re really allowing your own deepest wisdom to lead the way. It's like you advising your younger self.
One of my favourite ways to work with The Master is as a simple morning touchstone. Place the image or the sigil in front of you and ask: How would the highest version of me approach today? Then try to walk in that direction.
Within the drama of our daily lives, when things start to pile in on us, try visualising the sigil and asking: “What would you do?” and then listen. When I do this, there is often a deep sense of clarity and a feeling that I already know what the correct way forward is, it's just that it's hard, or I don’t want to do it. But I know it’s the right thing to do.
And while we, on a personal level, have a higher order expression to work towards, so too, do the events around us. The Master can be used to help the drama, situation, and events that surround us, or that are being played out on the world stage, move towards their best version or ideal version. Place the sigil on candles and burn them with the intention that a particular drama moves swiftly to its divine version. This is good for situations that you know can be resolved but currently aren’t because of stubbornness, anger, lack of forgiveness or inclusion.
SERVANT COMBINATIONS
The Master and The Explorer can help with long-term development and moving towards your highest version of yourself. Both Servants are interested in you becoming the most evolved version of yourself. In many ways, The Master is who The Explorer aims to become, and it’s worth noting that The Master’s sigil is a circle with 8 Xs on it, which echoes The Explorer’s sigil.
The Master and The Conductor can be invoked when you need to lead from a place of integrity and wisdom, but still retaining your own ground and boundaries. This is also a great combination for focused leadership, intentional living, and walking your path with integrity. Excellent for managing projects, teams, or your own life trajectory with vision and purpose.
Pairing The Master with The Healer helps guide healing work from a place of deep spiritual alignment. The Healer attends to wounds, while The Master ensures the healing leads to true growth and not just comfort. Together, they help you embody wisdom gained through many ups and downs of life, and bring sacred purpose to your healing journey.
When you need structure in your spiritual or magical life, the combination of The Master and The Monk can be a great help. Perfect for establishing a serious practice, creating a daily ritual schedule, or refining your spiritual focus.
The Master and The Dead might seem like a strange pair at first, but it’s incredibly useful for ancestral work. The Dead help you access wisdom from the past; The Master helps integrate that wisdom into your highest path forward. Together, they create a feedback loop of learning across time.
THE FORTY SERVANTS IN THEORY & PRACTICE SERIES SO FAR
ARTICLES:
THE WITCH
THE GATE KEEPER
THE MOTHER
THE FATHER
THE PROTECTOR
THE SAINT
THE CONDUCTOR
THE PROTESTER
THE IDEA
THE BALANCER
THE MOON
THE LEVITATOR
THE THINKER
THE EXPLORER
PATREON LECTURE VIDEOS:
001 — Introduction
002 — Beg, Borrow, Be.
003 — Art History
004 — The Book Of Pacts
005 — Pathworking Astral Addresses
006 — The 9 Card Spread
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!
If you would like to support me in doing all the things I do, then feel free to join the PATREON, buy a FORTY SERVANTS deck, get me a book or something from my Amazon Wish List, or just send me some money via PAYPAL. It all really, really helps, and is very much appreciated.
So, until next time,
MAY YOUR BEST DAYS BE AHEAD!
Tommie