The Witch
The Forty Servants in Theory & Practice
Hello, good people of the internet, and welcome to THE FORTY SERVANTS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE series, in which I will take a deep dive into the theory and practice of The Forty Servants, having now used them for nearly a decade.
Most of this series will be for paid Patreon Members only, but I will also be doing lots of free posts in this newsletter too. Over the course of this series we will be looking at various topics and practices such as Attunements, Path Working, Advanced Magick Techniques, Divination practices, making a personal Forty Servants Grimoire, Altar Creation and a host of other areas.
If you would like to support this series, please consider a paid Patreon Membership, or sending a donation!
If you know nothing about the magick and divination system The Forty Servants, then have a look at this link HERE. You can start using The Forty Servants straight away, as there are totally free resources available at that link that give you access to everything the system has to offer.
In this free section of the series we will be looking at each individual Servant with regard to their magick and divination use, along with background on the art, sigil, and symbolism. We will also look at what Servants work well together, and anything else that's relevant.
The Membership posts will include videos, guided path working, self-attunements, extended information and advanced ideas and practices, and much more.
So let’s dig in…
THE WITCH
The Witch shows us how to do sorcery and conjure. She encourages us to see the mystery and magic of life.
ARTWORK
The artwork for The Witch was first drawn a year or so before I started working on The Forty Servants properly. It was for an altar card series which included Saint Cyprian, Papa Legba, Aleister Crowley, Lucifer, Kali and a couple of others. I tried to sell these altar cards on Etsy, eBay, and my website, but they never generated much interest. But some of the art I repurposed later in the Forty Servants.
The Witch was originally a tribute to Marie Laveau, a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voodoo, a Herbalist, and a midwife who was renowned in New Orleans. The grave in the background is based on her actual tomb (including the Xs that people scrape on it in hopes Laveau will grant their wishes) and the figure is very, very loosely based on her likeness. I think the reason this never worked as a Marie Laveau altar card is that it doesn’t really represent her. Even when I originally drew it, it felt like it had its own energy—something similar to how I imagine Marie Laveau in my head, but also very different. So, though it was inspired by her, it quickly became something else: an energy that stood on its own. A distinct being, not a tribute.
Up until near the final stages of creating the Forty Servants, The Witch was called “The Magician” as a nod to The Magician in the Tarot, but with a more obvious feminine energy. But the more I thought about it, the more “The Magician” label just didn’t suit her or feel right at all. The energy I was getting from her wasn’t the same as the feel I get when I think of ceremonial magicians. I don’t think The Witch has ever done a LBRP, for example, it just doesn’t seem her style. If she wants to banish something, she just banishes it. She is wilder, earthier, more natural than the standard image of a ceremonial magician. She was born with magick, she didn’t have to work on it or learn how to command it, she inherently is it.
I love that her eyes follow you and seem to stare deep into your soul no matter what angle you look at her. You can’t hide from her, she sees you, she knows you, and she is waiting for you to fully claim your power.
THE SIGIL
Some sigils for the servants just “arrived” and just seemed to fit, even if I couldn’t see why they fit. But with The Witch, I knew from the beginning what her sigil would be – it’s the movement of someone waving a hand or their wand in front of them.
I use this sigil a lot by drawing it in front of me and then stepping forward into it – a bit like how some people spray perfume or aftershave. You could draw it in every quarter of your working space to imbue the room with a magick vibe. You can draw it in the air and pass your magickal tools or items through it, or indeed draw it directly on them. The sigil is very useful for banishing energy (visualise the sigil in front and around you blocking any negative energy from getting to you) and in general protection magick. Drawing the sigil on your body can be quite effective too. I visualise it as being an electric greeny-blue colour, but white works just as well.
Sigil Quick Uses: Enchanting an object, banishing unwanted energy, amplifying any spell or ritual, “Magickal first aid” when no other Servant fits, and deepening any magical practice.
DIVINATION
The Witch appears when magick is in the air. This may be literal—spell work, ritual, synchronicity—or it may be the subtle sense that something wyrd is happening around you. A twist of fate, a chance meeting, a knowing smile from the universe.
The Witch encourages you to take a step back and look at the unseen forces at play. Sometimes, a subtle shift in energy or perspective can bring transformation. This can happen through a conversation, a symbolic gesture, or simply working with intention,
She reminds you to pay attention. The energies are aligning in strange and meaningful ways. Something unusual may be happening around you, or through you, that is affecting your current circumstances. Perhaps there is a sense of flow, connection, and enchantment.
The Witch invites you to embrace your own inner magick abilities and to recognise the power you have to create change in your life. Her appearance in a spread suggests that you should engage with the magical, work with intention, and harness your own skills to shape your reality.
The Witch is often a call to do magick to help solve your issue. Even if the solution is not obvious or the outcome uncertain, acting with magickal intention can shift the energies in surprising ways.
However, The Witch isn’t just about spell work or active magick, but also about listening to the land, to the unseen, and to your inner guide. She knows when to act but also when to wait, and when to let the world speak first. Her presence could be a prompt to pay attention to omens and dreams.
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 Witch in reverse could signify a misuse of magick power, or malevolent magical intentions. It could mean you are getting lost in rituals rather than recognising the innate magick within. It may signify that there is some sort of fear of magick, personal power, or the unknown. Maybe you are seeing magick as evil, or a sin. Are you being an “armchair magician”? Are you using magick to control, manipulate, or have power over people? Perhaps unseen forces are working against you, or you have disconnected from your power. Are you doing magick for the wrong reasons?
And a note here: There is often a collective wound that many carry around magick. There is often a sense of shame, a fear of being “found out”, of being ridiculed for believing “in magic”, or worse. The Witch doesn't just teach you, she gives you permission.
MAGICK
The Witch can do magick for you, but she would much prefer to teach you how to do your own magick. She wants you to claim your own power, but she knows that is often easier said than done. She can guide you in developing your own magical practices, and in deepening your intuitive connection to spell craft.
The Witch is the most magically versatile of all the Servants. If you’re unsure which Servant to use, then start with her. She increases potency, sharpens focus, and aligns you with the wyrd of the world.
Invoke The Witch when you need to feel the living current of magick. She doesn’t just help you do magick—she helps you become it!
The easiest way to communicate with The Witch, and all the servants for that matter, is to look at her image or sigil and talk to her like she is standing in the room in front of you. Talk to her like you would a real person. Tell her your problems and what you what her to do about it. Ask her for her help, or to offer suggestions.
If you are ever unsure of what Servant would be the best for your particular issue, The Witch is always a good choice.
SERVANT COMBINATIONS
The Witch works well with any of The Servants, but to me, The Gate Keeper and her have a special bond and affinity with each other. They feel like a pair, or even a couple, to me. Two halves of a synergistic whole. Using them together in a ritual seems to bring in very strong and potent magickal energy. The Gate Keeper opens the threshold—but it is The Witch who dares you to cross it, knowing that change will follow. Together, they are the rite and the risk.
The Witch also works extremely well with The Protector, with their combined sigils being a very potent and effective bind sigil.
As The Witch connects to the living world itself, she pairs very well with The Mother. The Witch is the magick because she is part of the world.
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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