Egregore

Egregore (also egregor) is an occult concept representing a "thoughtform" or "collective group mind", an autonomous psychic entity made up of, and influencing, the thoughts of a group of people. The symbiotic relationship between an egregore and its group has been compared to the more recent, non-occult concepts of the corporation (as a legal entity) and the meme.

This article is about the occult concept of a group mind. For the album by Smak, see Egregor (album).
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History

Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse, or The Manuscript Found in Saragossa written by Polish author Count Jan Potocki (1761–1815) in the early 1800s features the term "Egregores," referring to "the most illustrious of fallen angels."[1] However, it is important to take note of the novel's heavy orientalist and fantastical bent.

The second author to adapt "egregore" in a modern language seems to be the French poet Victor Hugo, in La Légende des siècles ("The Legend of the Ages"), First Series, 1859, where he uses the word "égrégore" first as an adjective, then as a noun, while leaving the meaning obscure.[2] The author seems to have needed a word rhyming with words ending in the sound "or". It would not be the only example of word creation by Victor Hugo. However, the word is the normal form that the Greek word ἑγρήγορος (Watcher) would take in French. This was the term used in the Book of Enoch for great angel-like spirits.

Eliphas Lévi, in Le Grand Arcane ("The Great Mystery", 1868) identifies "egregors" with the tradition concerning the "Watchers", the fathers of the nephilim, describing them as "terrible beings" that "crush us without pity because they are unaware of our existence."[3]

The concept of the egregore as a group thoughtform was developed in works of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Rosicrucians[4] and has been referenced by writers such as Valentin Tomberg, notably in his anonymously-penned book Meditations on the Tarot.[5] It was also mentioned in the book El maravilloso universo de la magia, by Chilean author Enrique Barrios.

A well known concept of the egregore is the GOTOS of the Fraternitas Saturni.[6]

Contemporary usage

Gaetan Delaforge, in Gnosis magazine in 1987, defines an egregore as a kind of group mind that is created when people consciously come together for a common purpose.[7]

The concept was featured in Corporate Metabolism series of articles by Paco Xander Nathan, which were published in 2001.

The notion of "egregor" also appears in Daniil Andreyev's Roza Mira, where it represents the shining cloud-like spirit associated with the Church.

Egregore is also used in relation to the Montreal Surrealists, best known as Les Automatistes, in Ray Ellenwood's Egregore: a history of the Montréal automatist movement.[8]

Egregore is also the term for the spiritual personification of each nation in the UK LRP game Empire, run by Profound Decisions.[9]

Gary Lachman identifies Pepe the Frog as an egregore in his book Dark Star Rising.[10]

gollark: Interesting idea.
gollark: ⁡
gollark: Did you know? 2 (2! (two (²))) is one of the integers ever.
gollark: Actually, they don't require predation, as apiodemonstrated by that.
gollark: Actually, ? is the unary select operator.

See also

Notes
  1. Potocki, Jan. The Saragossa Manuscript.
  2. Victor Hugo, "Le jour des rois", La Légende des Siècles IV, V, and "L'Italie – Ratbert", La Légende des Siècles VII. Both in the Première Série, 1859.
  3. Lévi, Eliphas, "The Great Mystery" (1868) pp. 127–130, 133, 136
  4. Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis.(1614) Manifesto: Positio. Epilogue page 25
  5. Anonymous (2002-06-01). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey Into Christian Hermeticism. Translated by Powell, Robert. Jeremy P. Tarcher/ Putnam. ISBN 9781585421619. ASIN 1585421618.
  6. Flowers (1995), pp. 36–38
  7. Delaforge, Gaeten, "The Templar Tradition: Yesterday and Today", Gnosis Magazine, #6, 1987.
  8. Ellenwood, Ray, Egregore : a history of the Montréal automatist movement. Toronto: Exile Editions, 1992. ISBN 9781550960211
  9. "Egregores - Empire". Empire Wiki. profounddecisions.co.uk.
  10. Constable, Simon, "What Magic Got Trump Elected?", Forbes, May 21, 2018.

References
  • Bernstein, L. S. (1998). "Egregor". The Rosicrucian Archive. Confraternity of the Rose Cross. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  • Butler, Walter Ernest (1970). "The Egregore of a School". Servantsofthelight.org. The Servants of the Light. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  • Flowers, S. Edred (1995). Fire & Ice: Magical Teachings of Germany's Greatest Secret Occult Order. Llewellyn's Teutonic Magick Series (2nd ed.). Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0-87542-776-6.
  • Nathan, Paco Xander (2001). "Chasing Egregors". The Scarlet Letter. Scarlet Woman Lodge, Ordo Templi Orientis.
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