Mark Stavish - Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny

This book is dedicated to everyone who enters onto the path of self-awakening. The journey begins as a strange mix of confusion and optimism, and, if all goes well, ends in clarity and joy, with a strong touch of humor thrown in as well. May this book make your path smoother and swifter.

EGREGORES

Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny marks a major turning point in popular esotericism, with Mark Stavish tackling head-on our societys most pressing issuethe psychic and physical embodiment of ideologies and systemswith a penetrating and insightful text addressing the hidden life of thoughtforms as they emerge in our culture through mass movements, fundamentalist sects, corporate branding, and identity politics. Put down the fake news, pick up this book, and find out why Enoch warns us that the cosmic control systems been put on divine probation!

DAVID METCALFE, EDITOR IN CHIEF OF THRESHOLD: JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES

It is a memorable day when the concept of the egregore enters ones worldview. While these energy-complexes have been around as long as humanity, this is the first book to explain how they work and what to do about it. Mark Stavishs clear writing and rich examples should convince any reader, whether schooled in esotericism or simply curious about their inner and outer world.

JOSCELYN GODWIN, AUTHOR OF ATHANASIUS KIRCHERS THEATRE OF THE WORLD

Every now and then, theres a book that can change the way you see the world. This remarkable little book about enthrallment and freedom is one. Read Egregoresyoull look at society around you in new ways.

ARTHUR VERSLUIS, AUTHOR OF THE SECRET HISTORY OF WESTERN SEXUAL MYSTICISM AND SACRED EARTH

This encyclopedic account of group consciousness as an egregore, a being conceived to have arisen from the mutual psychic activity of serious initiates, traces the egregore idea throughout the history of Western esotericism and even into the practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Butler, Evola, Masters, Lovecraft, Machen, the AMORC and the OTO, and many other sources are quoted so as to give their opinions about the functions and dangers of egregores. It is unlikely that a more comprehensive book on the subject will ever be written.

STEVAN DAVIES, PH.D., AUTHOR OF SPIRIT POSSESSION AND THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY AND TRANSLATOR OF THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS: A GUIDEBOOK FOR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

Suddenly there is a lot of talk about egregores, but what are they? Mark Stavish introduces some fascinating examples of these mysterious thoughtforms as they appear in different contexts from Tibetan Buddhism to the world of modern pop culture. Stavishs book is an important foray into what is still almost virgin territory for researchers.

CHRISTOPHER MCINTOSH, AUTHOR OF THE ROSICRUCIANS AND ELIPHAS LVI AND THE FRENCH OCCULT REVIVAL

While the egregore is a concept with which most esoteric students are at least somewhat familiar, it is unlikely you would find a commonality of definitions among them. It is very appropriate for this vaguely understood concept to be the subject of a more in-depth study, and I can think of no better person to do this than Mark Stavish, whose background brings both authority and depth to such a review. The book provides a historical understanding of the origin of the term and its use through the ages, the various types that may exist in passive and active form, and an explanation of them through profound personal experience. This alone makes the book valuable. However, chapter 7 should be required reading for anyone contemplating joining an esoteric orderor any group with a common objective, for that matter. Stavish writes in a comfortable and informative style, and one comes to the end of the book with new information and much to think about. An excellent primer on egregores.

PIERS A. VAUGHAN, AUTHOR OF RENAISSANCE MAN & MASON AND TRANSLATOR OF THE SEMINAL FRENCH ESOTERIC WORKS OF ERRORS & TRUTH BY LOUIS-CLAUDE DE SAINT-MARTIN AND ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON PRACTICAL MAGIC BY PAPUS

Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible if it were not for the inspiration and encouragement of several people who pushed me to further investigate and elaborate upon the subject of egregores. I am indebted to the assistance rendered in the production of this book by Richard Steinberg (New York), Alfred DeStefano III (Virginia), and Professor Joscelyn Godwin (New York). I thank everyone at Inner Traditions who had a hand in bringing this book to print. Any errors are completely my own.

It would also have been impossible to write this book if it were not for the support of my wife, Andrea Nerozzi, and our two sons, Luke and Nathaniel. To them I am eternally grateful.

Foreword

James Wasserman

Here is a truly welcome volume in the canon of esoteric literature. So little has been written about the phenomena of the egregore that the word is not even in the Microsoft spell-check dictionary.

And yet, as Mark Stavish points out, an understanding of egregores is a critical part of the journey to spiritual liberation. I believe egregores are both positive and negative. They can inspire or enslave. In either case they must be recognized for what they are so they can either be encouraged as a source of inspiration and creativity or combatted in the quest for psychic freedom.

Egregores can be as simple and familiar as the icons of patriotism such as the uniformed soldier, the singing of the national anthem at a football game, the political rally or speech with the candidate or official surrounded by flags, Arlington Cemetery, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the White House, or the Capitol. For many, these will be considered positive images, whether the culture is American as above, or French with the Eiffel Tower, British with the House of Parliament, or Russian with the colorful Kremlin. All serve to rally citizens to a love of country, alliance with each other, and the embrace of their shared cultural ideology and historyin other words, union with the national egregore.

On the negative side of the patriotic egregore we have the Nazi swastika and the rallies of an enthusiastic and hypnotized mass of people, shamelessly accepting the ravings of a lunatic. Today we have the examples of North Korea and Iran to remind us of the dangers of manipulation against a populations best interest, and certainly against the greater values of political liberty and spiritual freedom. The egregores erected and sustained by tyrants have a mysterious ability to fascinate people, to almost fill the starving bellies created by the contempt of their leaders, to influence the fevered brains of a suicidal crop of martyrs as they march over the cliff to their own deaths like Gadarene swine. In the case of Iran it is particularly disturbing, because, were Iranians to embrace the true historical national egregore, they could celebrate a culture and civilization as old as humankind, one that produced the likes of Omar Khayyam and Shams-i-Tabriz, a history whose elegance and refinement stands as a testament to spiritual people everywhere.

Think now of the symbols of commercial egregores that infest modern life. Take Coca-Cola, for instance, with which you can rot your teeth and expand your belly with the illusion of sophistication and refreshment as you invoke the epidemic of diabetesthis, in virtually any country in the world! Or Marlboro cigarettes, whose iconic cowboy embodied that rough and tough frontier masculinity before he succumbed to the ravages of lung cancer. Then there are the golden arches of McDonalds, heralding obesity and ill health with its faux meat and rock-bottom prices mirrored only by its lack of nutritional value. Or how about the smiling faces of debt-crazed credit card addicts as they proudly display their Visas and Mastercards, prior to the inevitable, kitchen-table, bill-paying ordeal four weeks later.