Egregore
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Anegregore(also spelledegregor;fromFrenchégrégore,fromAncient Greekἐγρήγορος,egrēgoros'wakeful') is a concept inWestern esotericismof anon-physical entityorthoughtformthat arises from the collective thoughts and emotions of a distinct group of individuals.[1][2][3]
Overview
[edit]Inmagicaland otherocculttraditions, it is typically seen as having an independent existence, but in other kinds ofesotericism,it is merely the collective mind of a religious community, either esoteric orexoteric.In the latter sense, as a collective mind, the termcollective entity,preferred byRené Guénon,is synonymous with egregore.[1]See the usage overview below.
In theapocryphalBook of Enoch,the term had referred to angelic beings known aswatchers,[4][5]and it was also used by associated (Enochian) traditions to refer to the specific rituals and practices associated with these entities.[6]Some other literary and religious works, such asThe Manuscript Found in Saragossa,have also made references to these angelic beings.[7]
Variant descriptions
[edit]As independent angelic being
[edit]Egregores had been quite independent entities in theBook of Enoch,and there was then no notion of them arising from a collective. In literature, especially older literature, "egregores" have often been straightforward references to these Enochian entities. This was the case in Jan Potocki's novelThe Manuscript Found in Saragossa,which referred to egregores as "the most illustrious of fallen angels."[7]The French authorVictor Hugo,inLa Légende des siècles(1859) ( "The Legend of the Ages" ), also uses the wordégrégore,first as an adjective, then as a noun, while leaving the meaning obscure.[8]
As spiritual elite
[edit]TheTraditionalist SchoolphilosopherJulius Evola,in hisRevolt Against the Modern World,referred to an elite of spiritually aware people, who keep Tradition alive,[8][9]as "those who are awake, whom in Greek are called the εγρῄγοροι",[9]apparently alluding to the Watchers,[8]and the most literal sense of their name, which is "wakeful" or "awake".
As group mind
[edit]In esotericism, the term "egregore" has been used to denote a "group mind"[2]or "collective consciousness"of a religious community. AsRené Guénonsaid, "the collective, in its psychic as well as its corporeal aspects, is nothing but a simple extension of the individual, and thus has absolutely nothing transcendent with respect to it, as opposed to spiritual influences, which are of a wholly different order".[1]This usage was followed byGnosismagazine[2]and byOlavo de Carvalho,[10]and, according to Guénon, began withÉliphas Lévi.[1]See the section on the history of this usage.
As independent magical being arising from collective mind
[edit]
Some authors seem to have merged the esoteric concept with the Enochian concept to arrive at an idea of "spiritual entities" that "feed off the thoughts and energy of a unified multitude",[11]as the website Occultist.net described it, while nevertheless having more of a life of their own – their more specific features and powers will depend on the particular author. Kate Strong, writing for the newsletter "Know Thyself, Heal Thyself", described egregores as "symbols, ideas, or ideals that exist in the collective psyche of a group of people and are thought to have an autonomous existence".[12]This usage seems to have come largely from theMeditations on the Tarot,as may be seen in the next section. The concept of atulpais similar, asGary Lachman[13]and Mark Stavish[8]noted.
In occult and magical thought
[edit]InMeditations on the Tarot
[edit]TheMeditations on the Tarotdescribedthe Antichristas "anegregore,an artificial being who owes his existence to collective generationfrom below".Elsewhere, the book described egregores as" demons engendered by the collective will and imagination of nations ".[14]The book cites, but does not completely agree with, the usage of Robert Ambelain in his workLa Kabbale pratique.Ambelain had defined the egregore as "aforcegenerated by a powerful spiritual current and then nourished at regular intervals, according to a rhythm in harmony with the universal life of the cosmos, or to a union of entities united by a common characteristic nature ". The author of theMeditations on the Tarotdescribed this passage from Ambelain as "a definition which leaves nothing more to be desired", but disagreed with Ambelain's description of Catholicism, Freemasonry, and Protestantism as egregores.[14]
In the work of Gary Lachman
[edit]Gary Lachmanfollowed the usage of theMeditations on the Tarotin his bookDark Star Rising,which went on to suggest thatPepe the Frogmay be an egregore in this sense – or atulpa,which Lachman saw as a similar phenomenon.[13]In the usage of Lachman and of theMeditations on the Tarot,"there are no 'good' egregores, only 'negative' ones".[13]Lachman cited Joscelyn Godwin'sThe Golden Thread– which had itself cited theMeditations on the Tarot[15]– as a source for the idea that, while a religious (or other) group who creates an egregore can "rely" on it as "an efficacious magical ally", "the egregore's help comes at a price",[13]since, as Godwin had put it, its creators must thenceforth meet the egregore's "unlimited appetite for their future devotion."[15][13]
In the works of Peter Carroll
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Liber Null & Psychonaut,by theBritishchaos magicianPeter J. Carroll,uses the wordegregorefor the first time at the end of the following passage:
Religion takes the view that consciousness preceded organic life. Supposedly there were gods, angelic forces, titans, and demons setting the scene before material life developed. Science takes the opposite view and considers that much organic evolution occurred before the phenomenon of consciousness appeared. Magic, which has given more attention to the quality of consciousness itself, takes an alternative view and concludes that organic and psychic forms evolve synchronously. As organic development occurs, a psychic field is generated which feeds back into the organic forms. Thus each species of living being has its own type of psychic form or magical essence. These egregores may occasionally be felt as a presence or even glimpsed in the form of the species they watch over.[16]
The book goes on to say that "those who have perceived the human egregore usually describe it as God", and that "magicians consider that all life on this world contributes to, and depends on, a vast composite egregore which has variously been known as the Great Mother, theAnima Mundi,the Great Archon, the Devil, Pan, and Baphomet. "[16]
In the work of Frater Tenebris
[edit]Following this usage, though giving no citations, the glossary in the 2022 bookThe Philosophy of Dark Paganism,by Frater Tenebris,[17]defines an "egregore" as "an occult term for an independently functioning spiritual entity created by one or more magick practitioners. Many egregores begin as thought-forms but then become capable of operating independently of the practitioners."[17]It defines "thought-form" as "an esoteric entity created bymagick",and" magick "as" a spiritual practice and process to influence the probability of events. "[17]
The book itself mentions egregores in the context of "archetypism", a view that understands "the differentgodsandgoddesses"as" either psychological structures, similar toCarl Jung's archetypes,or different currents of arcane energy found in the Cosmos that areanthropomorphized."[17]Noting that "some archetypists consider the gods to be thought-forms created from worship and prayer by generations of believers", it says that "over time these thought-forms may become egregores that exhibit some autonomy apart from their worshipers", and that "one might imagine these gods along the line ofNeil Gaiman's deities in the novelAmerican Gods."[17]
In Theosophy
[edit]Mauricio Medeiros, writing for thetheosophistwebsiteEstudo Teosófico,defined an egregore as "an astral, mental, or spiritual construct sustained by several people over a long period of time, giving it a character of permanence that does not depend on any particular individual".[18]While saying that egregores have no "life of their own", Medeiros nevertheless emphasized their independence, noting that egregores "can be associated with physical locations", so that "when we enter an environment and feel uncomfortable, what we are often experiencing is the clash between the energies expressed by the egregores of the place and our own energies."[18]
In other esotericism
[edit]TheBook of Enoch,1:5, refers to "ἐγρήγοροι",[5]which is usually translated as "watchers".[4]AsRené Guénonsays, these are "entities of a rather Enigma tic character that, whatever they may be, seem to belong to the 'intermediary world'; this is all that they have in common with the collective entities to which the same name has been applied" in esoteric literature.[1]
In the work of René Guénon
[edit]While Guénon notes that he had "never used the word 'egregore' to designate" what he preferred instead to call a "collective entity", he notes[1]that he had described these same entities in hisPerspectives on Initiation,in the following passage:
Each collectivity can thus be regarded as possessing a subtle force made up in a way of the contributions of all its members past and present, and which is consequently all the more considerable and able to produce greater effects as the collectivity is older and is composed of a greater number of members. It is evident, moreover, that this 'quantitative' consideration essentially indicates that it is a question of the individual domain, beyond which this force could not in any way intervene.[19][1]
Guénon believed thatprayeris not directly addressed to spiritual entities such as gods or angels, but rather, "consciously or not, addresses itself most immediately to the collective entity, and it is only by the intermediary of this latter that it also addresses the spiritual influence that works through it".[1]Olavo de Carvalhobelieved that, according to Guénon's view, the prayers of persons who are not members of a community are ineffectual.[10]
Origin and development of the concept in esotericism
[edit]According to Guénon, the term was first used to designate these collective entities byÉliphas Lévi,"who, to justify this meaning, gave it an improbableLatinetymology, deriving it fromgrex,'flock,' whereas the word is purely Greek and has never signified anything but 'watcher.'"[1]According to Mark Stavish's description in his 2018 bookEgregores,however, Lévi'sLe Grand Arcane( "The Great Secret", 1868) "clearly identifies the wordegregorewith theKabbalisticlore of those beings who were said to be the fathers of the Nephilim ",[8]i.e., theWatchers.[8]Lévi described them as "terrible beings" that "crush us without pity because they are unaware of our existence."[20]
Following the usage of "egregore" as a "collective entity", a 1987 article by Gaetan Delaforge inGnosismagazine defines an egregore as "a kind of group mind which is created when people consciously come together for a common purpose".[2]
Olavo de Carvalho's 2017 course on esotericism presented a division of types ofrites:rites are divided intomagic ritesandreligious rites,and religious rites are further divided intopropitiatory,sacrificial,aggregation,andinitiationrites. Aggregation rites are rites which are directed to the egregore of a community, and make someone a member of it.[10]Olavo citedRené Guénon's view that prayer is directed primarily to the egregore, without noting that Guénon himself did not use the term.[10]
See also
[edit]- Akashic records– Term in theosophy and anthroposophy
- Collective unconscious– Term of analytical psychology
- Faith healing– Prayer and gestures that are perceived to bring divine intervention in physical healing
- Gestalt psychology– Theory of perception
- Jungian archetypes– Universal, archaic symbols and images that derive from the collective unconscious
- Memetics– Study of self-replicating units of culture
- Panpsychism– View that mind is a fundamental feature of reality
- Pathetic fallacy– Attribution of human emotion and conduct to non-human things
- Servitor– Psychological complex employed in the use of chaos magic
- Synchronicity– Jungian concept of the meaningfulness of acausal coincidences
- Vitalism– Belief about living organisms
References
[edit]- ^abcdefghiTremblay, Jean-Marie (2005-02-02)."René Guénon, INITIATION ET RÉALISATION SPIRITUELLE".texte.Chapter 6, "Influence spirituelle et égrégores".Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^abcdDelaforge, Gaetan (1987)."The Templar Tradition Yesterday and Today".MasonicWorld.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^Binford, Harry."Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch over Human Destiny".Theosophical Society in America.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^abCharles, R. H., ed. (1913)."The Book of Enoch, Section I".The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament.Oxford: The Clarendon Press.Retrieved2023-06-22– via ccel.org.
- ^ab"Enoch - Book of Enoch Greek Interlinear".enoksbok.se.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^Bernstein, L. S. (2012-01-08)."Egregor".The Rosicrucian Archive.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-01-08.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^abPotocki, Jan (1965).Manoscritto trovato a Saragozza(in Italian). Translated by Devoto, Anna (10 ed.). Milan: Adelphi.ISBN9788845900389.
- ^abcdefStavish, Mark (2018).Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny(ebook ed.). Inner Traditions. pp. Introduction, chapters 1, 3, and 4.ISBN9781620555774.
- ^abEvola, Julius (1995).Revolt Against the Modern World: Politics, Religion and Social Order of the Kali Yuga.Translated by Stucco, Guido (1 ed.). Rochester, Vermont 05767: Inner Traditions International. p. 364.ISBN0-89281-506-X.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location (link) - ^abcdde Carvalho, Olavo (2021). Robson, Ronald (ed.).O saber e o Enigma: Introdução ao estudo dos esoterismos[Knowledge and Enigma: An introduction to the study of esotericisms.] (in Brazilian Portuguese) (1 ed.). Campinas, SP: Vide Editorial. pp. 114–118.ISBN978-65-87138-73-2.
Os ritos de agregação dirigem-se àquilo que no esoterismo se chama de egrégora, o ser psíquico da comunidade religiosa. O rito de agregação torna você um membro da egrégora, você passa a participar desse ser psíquico. Segundo René Guénon, todas as preces individuais não se dirigem imediatamente a Deus nem aos anjos, mas sim primeiro à egrégora, através da qual chegam a uma escala mais alta. Conforme essa perspectiva, se um indivíduo que não participa de nenhuma comunidade religiosa (um não-membro) reza, sua prece é sem efeito. Mas se lembrem: quem diz isso é René Guénon; se é assim ou não, eu não sei.
[Rites of aggregation are directed towards what, in esotericism, is called the egregore, the psychic being of the religious community. The rite of aggregation makes you a member of the egregore; you start to participate in this psychic being. According to René Guénon, all individual prayers are not immediately directed to God or the angels, but first to the egregore, through which they reach a higher level. From this perspective, if an individual who is not a member of any religious community (a non-member) prays, their prayer is ineffective. But remember: this is what René Guénon says; whether it is true or not, I do not know.] - ^Sever, Astennu (2022-05-29)."On Ressurecting Egregores".Occultist.net.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^Strong, Kate (2021-08-26)."What Is An Egregore?".Know Thyself, Heal Thyself.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^abcdeLachman, Gary (2018).Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump.New York: Penguin Publishing Group.ISBN9780525503804.
- ^abAnonymous (2002) [1985].Meditations on the Tarot.New York, New York: Penguin.ISBN978-1-101-65785-0.
- ^abGodwin, Joscelyn (2007).The Golden Thread(1 ed.). Wheaton, IL: Quest Books.ISBN978-0-8356-0860-2.
- ^abCarroll, Peter James (1987).Liber Null & Psychonaut(ebook ed.). San Francisco, CA: Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.ISBN978-0-87728-639-4.
- ^abcdeTenebris, Frater (2022).The Philosophy of Dark Paganism: Wisdom & Magick to Cultivate the Self(ebook ed.). Woodbury, MN 55125: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.ISBN9780738772653.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ab"Em sintonia com as egrégoras".Estudo Teosófico(in Brazilian Portuguese).Retrieved2023-07-05.
- ^Tremblay, Jean-Marie (2005-02-02)."René Guénon (1946), Aperçus sur l'initiation".texte.Chapter 24, "La prière et l’incantation".Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^Lévi, Éliphas(1868).Le grand arcane, ou l'occultisme dévoilé[The Great Secret, or Occultism Unveiled] (in French). p. 127–130, 133, 136.
Further reading
[edit]- Benchamma, Abdelkader(2022). Ibars, Stéphane (ed.).Abdelkder Benchamma: Egregore.France: Actes Sud Editions.ISBN978-2330144999.
- Butler, Walter Ernest (1970)."The Egregore of a School".Servantsofthelight.org.The Servants of the Light.RetrievedNovember 22,2011.
- Constable, Simon (May 21, 2018)."What Magic Got Trump Elected?".Forbes.Retrieved2022-03-04.
- Flowers, S. Edred(1995).Fire & Ice: Magical Teachings of Germany's Greatest Secret Occult Order.Llewellyn's Teutonic Magick Series (2nd ed.). Llewellyn Publications.ISBN0-87542-776-6.
- Greer, J. M.(2017).Circles of Power: An Introduction to Hermetic Magic.Aeon Books Limited.ISBN978-1904658856.
- Greer, J. M. (2021).Inside a Magical Lodge: Traditional Lodge Methods for Modern Mages.Aeon Books Limited.ISBN978-1913504755.
External links
[edit]
The dictionary definition ofegregoreat Wiktionary
