Egregore

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Egregore (also "egregor") is an occult concept representing a "thought form" 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.

1 History
2 Contemporary usage
3 Examples
4 Notes
5 Other references

[edit] History

The word "egregore" (also "grigori") is a transliteration of the Greek word, ἐγρήγοροι (egrḗgoroi), meaning "watchers". This word appears in the septuagint translation of the Book of Lamentations,^[1] as well as the Book of Jubilees and the Book of Enoch.

Eliphas Lévi, in Le Grand Arcane ("The Great Mystery", 1868) identifies "egregors" (sic) with the tradition concerning the fathers of the nephilim, describing them as "terrible beings" that "crush us without pity because they are unaware of our existence." ^[2]

The concept of the egregore was developed in works of the Golden Dawn and the Rosicrucians, and has been referenced by writers such as Valentin Tomberg.

[edit] Contemporary usage

Gaetan Delaforge, in Gnosis (magazine) in 1987, defines an egregore as a kind of group mind which is created when people consciously come together for a common purpose." ^[3]

The concept has enjoyed renewed popularity among practitioners of Chaos Magic, following the Corporate Metabolism series of articles by Paco Xander Nathan, which were published in 2001.

[edit] Examples

Companies, religions, states, and clubs all can be said to have egregores. When a project "takes on a life of its own," an egregore might be said to be present. Symbolic characters such as Santa Claus and Uncle Sam could be described as egregores. Stephen King's concept of Ka-tet in The Dark Tower series could be compared to an egregore.