THE THINKER
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 THINKER
The Thinker shows us how to solve problems using our analytical and rational minds. He encourages us to always go with what is logically correct, rather than relying on what our hearts may be saying.
ARTWORK
The art for The Thinker originally came from an illustration I did based on the classical Four Elements, with The Thinker being the Element of Air. I’ve posted the image below, and some of you might recognise that the same image features The Mother (Earth) and a very early version of The Seer (Water). Fire, for those curious, is represented by The Devil. But not the same Devil who ended up in the Servants. This was more a Luciferian type Devil, which, at least at the time, seemed to fit the Fire element.
THE THINKER
The Thinker shows us how to solve problems using our analytical and rational minds. He encourages us to always go with what is logically correct, rather than relying on what our hearts may be saying.
ARTWORK
The art for The Thinker originally came from an illustration I did based on the classical Four Elements, with The Thinker being the Element of Air. I’ve posted the image below, and some of you might recognise that the same image features The Mother (Earth) and a very early version of The Seer (Water). Fire, for those curious, is represented by The Devil. But not the same Devil who ended up in the Servants. This was more a Luciferian type Devil, which, at least at the time, seemed to fit the Fire element.
THE SIGIL
The Idea behind the sigil for The Thinker is that it’s a simplified and stylised cross-section of a brain. While many people feel a strong connection to the more esoteric, emotional, or spiritual Servants, The Thinker offers something a little different with his rational clarity.
The Thinker is one of the least popular Servants because I feel people think he is somewhat the antithesis of magick, but I feel applying a rational or methodical approach to magick is often a necessity and falls very much in line with Chaos Magick in general. It’s the whole “Do What Works”, not do what feels or looks best, or is the easiest!
Magic without clarity can become delusion, and belief without proper thought and consideration can become dogma. As the motto goes: “The aim of religion and the method of science”. The Thinker is your method.
I typically use the sigil—drawn using both hands starting with the “handles” at the bottom—in situations where I know my emotions are clouding my judgment. You could keep a version of the sigil pinned above your desk for days when you need to focus and have a rational mindset for planning, goal setting, evaluating, studying, etc.
The best use of The Thinker’s sigil is when emotions are high and leading to confused thoughts, or an inability to properly gauge a situation. The Sigil will help to remove emotion from the story, and show the facts of the unfolding drama.
If you are in a situation where you can’t or don’t want to trust your gut—perhaps because you are too emotionally attached to the situation or because you can’t tell if you have a “bad feeling” or are just anxious—then draw the sigil in front of you and step into it. This can help you to see what is the best approach is rather than the outcome you want, or are afraid, will happen.
Sigil Quick Uses: Cooling emotional overwhelm, focusing on logic over impulse, clarity during decision-making, structuring magical goals and rituals.
DIVINATION
When The Thinker appears in a reading, the message is often telling you that it's time to step back from your emotional entanglement with the situation and look at the facts. The feelings you're experiencing are valid, but they may be distorting your understanding of the situation. Instead of reacting emotionally, pause and think.
Ask yourself: What do I know versus what do I feel? What are the facts? What are the assumptions? What’s the outcome I want, and what’s the most logical path to get there, even if it’s not the one that feels the best right now?
Look at the situation or drama rationally. How does it look on paper? If you described it to someone who had no skin in the game, what would their reaction be? Is something too good to be true? Is your friend more likely to continue to let you down or suddenly change their behaviour? Is this investment sound, or is it just something you want to succeed, though unlikely to do so? How likely are you to get back with your Ex, really?
The Thinker reminds us that our feelings and emotions are not always reliable navigators. He tells us to stop catastrophising, stop projecting, and stop making assumptions without evidence. Or stop pursuing a dead end or clinging to a falsehood just because you want it to be real.
Likewise, The Thinker may show up when someone is being cold, overly rational, or dismissive of feelings, either yourself or someone else involved in the situation. Is your logic cutting someone off emotionally? Or are you allowing someone else’s detached coldness to invalidate your experience? The Thinker, in many respects, sees himself as being outside the human experience – or at least unaffected by hopes, dreams, wishes, emotions, or feelings. He may see all of these as childish or immature, and instead prefers to look and deal with only the facts.
The Thinker shows us that it's not about what we want it to be, but how it actually is.
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 Thinker reversed becomes overly sceptical, paralysed, emotionally shut down, and most likely arrogant.
You can become so obsessed with being “rational” that you dismiss intuition, creativity, and emotional wisdom. Or maybe you’re stuck spinning your mental wheels, thinking and thinking and thinking, but never acting.
Do you demand evidence for every experience? Are you so afraid of looking irrational that you never try anything new? Are you too attached to cynicism? Have you become a contrarian for the sake of just wanting to be right and everyone else wrong? Has your scepticism become a power move over people? Has your rationality become your dogma?
This reversal can also show up in magical contexts where a practitioner becomes hostile to some sort of magic practice or ritual that other magicians do, and dismisses it as “woo,” silly, amateur, or less evolved than their superior ways and practices.
The Thinker reversed may also point to a major disconnection from the heart and brain. Rationality is important, but taken too far, it can stop us from being human and move us closer to Vulcan.
MAGICK
The Thinker isn’t the flashiest Servant in magical terms and probably isn’t going to be a lot of people’s first choices to use in a magical way, but I find he’s one of the most consistently helpful, especially when crafting rituals, formulating long-term plans, or needing clarity before taking action. There is so much bullshit in magic circles that having someone on your side who can help and guide you through all of that should not to be overlooked.
One of the key ways to use The Thinker is in magical strategy.
Before doing a working, bring in The Thinker to help examine what you actually want. Strip away the emotional rawness or reactivity and instead ask him to help define goals clearly, structure your spell or approach logically, and troubleshoot potential pitfalls. Like doing a divination before attempting to do magic, use The Thinker first so that the actual magic ritual is better constructed with clear intentions, goals, and outcome markers. He’s also excellent for help with ritual refinement to stop your workings from becoming overly complicated or emotionally muddled.
You can invoke The Thinker for any problem-solving ritual. Light a single candle, draw the sigil, and call forth The Thinker by just calling to him like you would someone who is in the next room from you. Describe exactly the situation you face, and then ask The Thinker for advice on the clearest path forward. Then sit and write whatever ideas or answers come. If nothing comes, look out for syncs and interesting dreams.
In Chaos Magic's “belief shifting” work, The Thinker is helpful for deconstructing systems. He can help you look at your beliefs dispassionately, without attachment or ego. Use him to evaluate what’s working in your current paradigm and what’s not, or how to let go of your old patterns.
He’s also great for journaling. Just place the sigil beside your writing space and ask him to help you think through a situation. I have often gotten clarity within a few minutes of focused, guided writing.
If you want to be clear, logical, and rational, and see things as they are, then The Thinker should be close by.
SERVANT COMBINATIONS
The Thinker and The Seer, though opposites, can be an excellent combination when you want both intuition and logic to play a role. The Seer helps reveal the underlying, and The Thinker helps clarify it.
The Thinker and The Witch can bring structure and method to magical practice. Helps rationally build and refine ritual work. Ideal for practitioners who want to merge intellect and intuition. Ideal combo for Chaos Magician looking to get to the essential parts of their practice and the bits “that actually work”.
Combining The Thinker with The Idea can help develop that raw creative spark into something more actionable. The Thinker can help bring focus to the initial flash of inspiration that The Idea offers.
The Thinker and The Conductor are a powerful duo for strategic decision-making and orchestration of complex plans, while The Thinker and The Fixer can be a useful team for solving practical, real-world problems where both logic and cleverness are needed.
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
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!
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So, until next time,
MAY YOUR BEST DAYS BE AHEAD!
Tommie