Egregore (also spelled egregor; , ) is an
occult
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...
concept representing a
non-physical entity that arises from the collective thoughts of a distinct group of people. Historically, the concept referred to angelic beings, or
watchers, and the specific rituals and practices associated with them, namely within
Enochian traditions.
In more recent times, the concept has referred to a psychic manifestation, or a
thoughtform, which occurs when any group shares a common motivation—being made up of, and influencing, the thoughts of the group. The
symbiotic relationship between an egregore and its group has been compared to the non-occult concepts of the
corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
(as a
juridical person
A juridical person is a non-human legal person that is not a single natural person but an organization recognized by law as a fictitious person such as a corporation, government agency, NGO or International (inter-governmental) Organization (su ...
or
legal entity
In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason fo ...
) and the
meme
A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
.
History
The concept of egregorial powers has its roots in the ''
Book of Enoch''.
Later the term and concept found its way into other languages. ''Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse'', or ''
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa'', was a novel written in French by the Polish author Count
Jan Potocki (1761–1815) in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
in the early 19th century which features the term 'egregores', referring to "the most illustrious of fallen angels."
The term 'egregore' was also used by the French author
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
, in ''
La Légende des siècles'' (1859) ("The Legend of the Ages"), where he uses the word ''égrégore'' first as an adjective, then as a noun, while leaving the meaning obscure.
Éliphas Lévi
Éliphas Lévi Zahed, born Alphonse Louis Constant (8 February 1810 – 31 May 1875), was a French esotericist, poet, and author of more than 20 books on magic, Kabbalah, alchemical studies, and occultism. He pursued an ecclesiastical career ...
, in ''Le Grand Arcane'' ("The Great Secret", 1868) identifies 'egregors' with the tradition concerning the
Watchers, the fathers of the
nephilim
The Nephilim (; ''Nəfīlīm'') are mysterious beings or people in the Hebrew Bible who are large and strong. The word ''Nephilim'' is loosely translated as ''giants'' in some translations of the Hebrew Bible, but left untranslated in others. ...
, describing them as "terrible beings" that "crush us without pity because they are unaware of our existence."
Another concept of the egregore is the GOTOS (''Gradus Ordinis Templi Orientis Saturni'' (33°)) of the
Fraternitas Saturni.
Contemporary usage
A 1987 article by Gaetan Delaforge in ''
Gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it s ...
'' magazine defines an egregore as a kind of group mind that is created when people consciously come together for a common purpose.
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''.
Gary Lachman
Gary Joseph Lachman (born December 24, 1955), also known as Gary Valentine, is an American writer and musician. He came to prominence in the mid-1970s as the bass guitarist for rock band Blondie. Since the 1990s, Lachman has written full-time ...
identifies
Pepe the Frog
Pepe the Frog () is an Internet meme consisting of a green anthropomorphic frog with a humanoid body. Pepe originated in a 2005 comic by Matt Furie called ''Boy's Club''. It became an Internet meme when its popularity steadily grew across Myspa ...
as an egregore in his book ''Dark Star Rising''.
See also
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References
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External links
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{{Chaos magic series
Fraternitas Saturni
Language and mysticism
Occult collective consciousness