Fantastic post, @jphenderson!
I don't necessarily agree that forgetting what you are casting is particularly useful unless its in your practice. I've found that multiple castings and focusing on what I am trying to accomplish (depending on what it is) can definitely strengthen my efforts.
The subconscious is rather effective at receiving signals, but sometimes the signal comes through with static and thus a recasting would make the practice more efficient.
Just my opinion. :)
Though, if one is a master magician, one casting should suffice, and hardly would symbols be necessary, lol.
Yes after much experience you kinda figure out how to utilize your conscious and subconscious together and the line kinda blurs. This was written for a laymen as that's how it is for most people. To me it's more of the masculine/feminine, sun/moon aspects of the mind and not so much conscious/subconscious but I was using scientific type terminology rather than hermetic/alchemical.