Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny
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- Create Date：2021-07-19 09:56:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Mark Stavish
- ISBN：1620555778
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Summary
The first book to explore the history and influence of egregores， powerful autonomous psychic entities created by a collective group mind
• Examines the history of egregores from ancient times to present day， including their role in Western Mystery traditions and popular culture and media
• Reveals documented examples of egregores from ancient Greece and Rome， Tibetan Buddhism， Islam， modern esoteric orders， the writings of H。 P。 Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant， and the followers of Julius Evola and Aleister Crowley
• Provides instructions on how to identify egregores， free yourself from parasitic and destructive entities， and destroy an egregore， should the need arise
One of most important but little known concepts of Western occultism is that of the egregore， an autonomous psychic entity created by a collective group mind。 An egregore is sustained by belief， ritual， and sacrifice and relies upon the devotion of a group of people， from a small coven to an entire nation， for its existence。 An egregore that receives enough sustenance can take on a life of its own， becoming an independent deity with powers its believers can use to further their own spiritual advancement and material desires。
Presenting the first book devoted to the study of egregores， Mark Stavish examines the history of egregores from ancient times to present day， with detailed and documented examples， and explores how they are created， sustained， directed， and destroyed。 He explains how egregores were well known in the classical period of ancient Greece and Rome， when they were consciously called into being to watch over city states。 He explores the egregore concept as it was understood in various Western Mystery traditions， including the Corpus Hermeticum， and offers further examples from Tibetan Buddhism， Islam， modern esoteric orders such as the Order of the Golden Dawn and Rosicrucianism， the writings of H。 P。 Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant， and the followers of Julius Evola and Aleister Crowley。 The author discusses how， even as the fundamental principles of the egregore were forgotten， egregores continue to be formed， sometimes by accident。
Stavish provides instructions on how to identify egregores， free yourself from a parasitic and destructive collective entity， and destroy an egregore， should the need arise。 Revealing how egregores form the foundation of nearly all human interactions， the author shows how egregores have moved into popular culture and media--underscoring the importance of intense selectivity in the information we accept and the ways we perceive the world and our place in it。
• Examines the history of egregores from ancient times to present day， including their role in Western Mystery traditions and popular culture and media
• Reveals documented examples of egregores from ancient Greece and Rome， Tibetan Buddhism， Islam， modern esoteric orders， the writings of H。 P。 Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant， and the followers of Julius Evola and Aleister Crowley
• Provides instructions on how to identify egregores， free yourself from parasitic and destructive entities， and destroy an egregore， should the need arise
One of most important but little known concepts of Western occultism is that of the egregore， an autonomous psychic entity created by a collective group mind。 An egregore is sustained by belief， ritual， and sacrifice and relies upon the devotion of a group of people， from a small coven to an entire nation， for its existence。 An egregore that receives enough sustenance can take on a life of its own， becoming an independent deity with powers its believers can use to further their own spiritual advancement and material desires。
Presenting the first book devoted to the study of egregores， Mark Stavish examines the history of egregores from ancient times to present day， with detailed and documented examples， and explores how they are created， sustained， directed， and destroyed。 He explains how egregores were well known in the classical period of ancient Greece and Rome， when they were consciously called into being to watch over city states。 He explores the egregore concept as it was understood in various Western Mystery traditions， including the Corpus Hermeticum， and offers further examples from Tibetan Buddhism， Islam， modern esoteric orders such as the Order of the Golden Dawn and Rosicrucianism， the writings of H。 P。 Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant， and the followers of Julius Evola and Aleister Crowley。 The author discusses how， even as the fundamental principles of the egregore were forgotten， egregores continue to be formed， sometimes by accident。
Stavish provides instructions on how to identify egregores， free yourself from a parasitic and destructive collective entity， and destroy an egregore， should the need arise。 Revealing how egregores form the foundation of nearly all human interactions， the author shows how egregores have moved into popular culture and media--underscoring the importance of intense selectivity in the information we accept and the ways we perceive the world and our place in it。
Reviews
Ben
，
Extremely illuminating read that opened my awareness to new conceptions of the observation of culture and spirit。 Definitely highly recommended。
Mara
，
Do not recommend。 I don't have great things to say about this book generally， and if you want to know specifics feel free to message me。 Do not recommend。 I don't have great things to say about this book generally， and if you want to know specifics feel free to message me。 。。。more
Tina Daniels
，
Literally couldn’t make it past the introduction。 Getting major anti Semitic vibes， not to mention ableist ones。 Super super right wing leaning intro。The book could be good in itself， but I couldn’t in good faith recommend it to a single person I know interested in the subject matter， because of the introduction。
Demian
，
Interesting book， the author speaks about the idea of what an Egregore is， goes through different experiences， magical schools， times， etc。 It's not a practical book in itself， but in the end， you will find some practical advice。 Nice book。 Interesting book， the author speaks about the idea of what an Egregore is， goes through different experiences， magical schools， times， etc。 It's not a practical book in itself， but in the end， you will find some practical advice。 Nice book。 。。。more
M。A。 Stern
，
This book provides an excellent overview of the history of the concept of the egregore。 Stavish clearly shows knowledge of the topic and presents it thoroughly yet compactly。 I docked one star for two reasons。 My primary reason is Wasserman’s foreword which is intensely and aggressively right-wing， the kind of commentary one would expect if Breitbart knew about occult topics。 I also think Stavish is too neutral towards Evola who was very much a fascist and I do think that fact ought to be acknow This book provides an excellent overview of the history of the concept of the egregore。 Stavish clearly shows knowledge of the topic and presents it thoroughly yet compactly。 I docked one star for two reasons。 My primary reason is Wasserman’s foreword which is intensely and aggressively right-wing， the kind of commentary one would expect if Breitbart knew about occult topics。 I also think Stavish is too neutral towards Evola who was very much a fascist and I do think that fact ought to be acknowledged and appropriately condemned if one references him even in this context。 。。。more
Finny
，
''As we eat， so does it。''As close as it gets to a perfect introduction into an obscure esoteric concept。The idea of the egregore is an interesting way of explaining the inevitable cult like nature of all groups， however seemingly non-cultish they seek to be， whether you take it as a metaphor or something more spiritually literal。The general idea is that all ideologies， groups， belief structures， and cultural movements eventually become self-perpetuating semi-sentient concepts that act like spir ''As we eat， so does it。''As close as it gets to a perfect introduction into an obscure esoteric concept。The idea of the egregore is an interesting way of explaining the inevitable cult like nature of all groups， however seemingly non-cultish they seek to be， whether you take it as a metaphor or something more spiritually literal。The general idea is that all ideologies， groups， belief structures， and cultural movements eventually become self-perpetuating semi-sentient concepts that act like spiritual diseases/parasites。These parasites can form a symbiotic relationship with their prey， but an awareness of their existence needs to exist， a measured resistance to them needs to be maintained， and they need to be controlled with an iron fist lest they spiral out of control。A complete rejection of egregores leads to an incoherent life devoid of any kind of framework， but being too willing to fully embrace an egregore leads to zealotry and excess。 It seems that one of the core reasons for the formation of Chaos Magick was to avoid falling into the trap of egregores inherent to ceremonial magick systems with their inflexible rules and rituals—this rejection of orthodoxy， though， must be carefully applied， or it risks becoming a rejection of tradition and hierarchy， eventually splitting so far from the source concepts that it loses all real potency。Egregores are all around you; they're memes， manners， and social phenomena。 Sometimes they exist to protect us， but often what they're meant to protect us from is less deadly than what the protector egregore can become once it accumulates power beyond a reasonable threshold。All egregores need to be murdered eventually—ideally before they become they accumulate too much power—because， however useful they might be， they're abstract consumer entities that will turn devourer if given too much leeway。If you meet the buddha on the road， kill him。 。。。more
Mersadys
，
"It is functionally irrelevant， except for academic purposes， if an egregore is understood to exist only in the classical sense or if we can consider a thoughtform an egregore。 It is also equally irrelevant if thoughtforms as actual psychic entities exist either - as modern media has demonstrated that ideas （or memes） are constructed with the intention of manipulating mass opinion and thereby， public activities。。。What matters is that we as individuals become aware of the fact that the daily info "It is functionally irrelevant， except for academic purposes， if an egregore is understood to exist only in the classical sense or if we can consider a thoughtform an egregore。 It is also equally irrelevant if thoughtforms as actual psychic entities exist either - as modern media has demonstrated that ideas （or memes） are constructed with the intention of manipulating mass opinion and thereby， public activities。。。What matters is that we as individuals become aware of the fact that the daily information bombardment we are subject to is neither innocent nor without consequences。"the introduction by Wasserman has a weirdly heavy handed conservative bent and the book itself takes a minute to properly delve into the subject matter （as well as being quite dry and repetitive at times - lots of name dropping， lots of long quotes） but once it gets going it really goes。 reframes a lot of conclusions I've discovered through personal experiences irt cults， group dynamics and ritualistic behavior， programming and deprogramming， apostasy etc and makes previously held connections that were not quite solid click more firmly into place， subtly but satisfyingly， while challenging others in thought provoking ways。 very illuminating！ 。。。more
Miro Avramoff
，
The book is a truly inspirational work of enlightenment。 I admire the effort of the author。
Emma
，
A read which is equal parts riveting and， in my personal opinion， relatively inconsequential even to the practical occultist， Egregores is an analysis of those entities of the same name， generated by collective involvement or belief in a certain concept。 Mark Stavish goes over both egregores in the weak sense （group thoughtforms with no concrete existence） and the stronger sense of the word （literal beings created by group belief）。 Stavish examines histories of the concept， famous examples of eg A read which is equal parts riveting and， in my personal opinion， relatively inconsequential even to the practical occultist， Egregores is an analysis of those entities of the same name， generated by collective involvement or belief in a certain concept。 Mark Stavish goes over both egregores in the weak sense （group thoughtforms with no concrete existence） and the stronger sense of the word （literal beings created by group belief）。 Stavish examines histories of the concept， famous examples of egregores， and perhaps most importantly， methods of freeing oneself from an egregore。Controversial as it may be， the bulwark of my choice to rate the book so low a score is not so much the quality of its content （which as previously stated， is interesting if overall inconsequential）， but it’s politics。 For someone so well-read in the concept of egregores as to write a book on it， Stavish himself seems to have fallen prey to that dark spirit of the far-right。 This is apparent right off the bat with James Wasserman’s forward， but only grows increasingly insidious with the book’s discussion of Julius Evola， it’s pot-shots at communism while completely sidestepping any discussion of fascism， and it’s endnote of recounting the rise of fascism in Italy in pseudo-mystical terms。 All makes for a book that is not only politically abhorrent， but also rather pointless for anyone interested in the practical side of working with/ridding oneself of egregores。 As previously stated， there is some advice in the final section of the book that is of merit， but beyond that I didn’t find it a wise use of my time to spend two days reading someone more than okay with getting so cozy with Julius fucking Evola。 Can only thank god that both him， and James Wasserman， have been co-signed to the grave。 Here’s to hoping they rot。 。。。more
Bastard Travel
，
A harmlessly insane academic talks about Santa Claus being an extant astral being without realizing that he was talking about Santa Claus。Egregores are a whitewashed version of the Tibetan tulpa， which is turn is essentially an imaginary friend。 As more people believe in these nonphysical entities， their powers grow， and they implant ideas and drives in humans and animals。 They eventually level up to a point where they can manipulate the material plane and zany poltergeist theatrics ensue。 When A harmlessly insane academic talks about Santa Claus being an extant astral being without realizing that he was talking about Santa Claus。Egregores are a whitewashed version of the Tibetan tulpa， which is turn is essentially an imaginary friend。 As more people believe in these nonphysical entities， their powers grow， and they implant ideas and drives in humans and animals。 They eventually level up to a point where they can manipulate the material plane and zany poltergeist theatrics ensue。 When the author talks about egregores， he means gods and spirits。 It's sort of like the plot of Black & White by Lionhead Studios， where the more belief you get， the more spectacular your miracles， the less deniable your power。 He makes a bunch of allusions to various Buddhist leaders who would appear to their cultists after they died because they had become such powerful egregores and gathered so much astral clout。 He seemed to consider these anecdotes to be some sort of proof， as he has never heard of lying。The thing is， playing by these American Gods rules， there would be immensely powerful egregores like the Tooth Fairy， Easter Bunny， and Santa Claus。 Not as powerful as Jesus the Christ， but more than strong enough to manifest hardboiled eggs， or Twizzlers your stocking。 And yet！Two stars because the writing was good enough and I knew it was a kook book walking in。 The other three were subtracted to encourage Professor Stavish to be a little more discerning。 。。。more
Justin Eggers
，
Extremely interesting ideas。。。
Frater Nepsis
，
It covers what they are and how to use an egregore， in a wide range of meanings， very interesting。
Giorgio
，
The theme is very interesting， somewhat linked to the gnostic "archons"。The only problem of the book is the author bias towards eastern traditions and "comunism"， cleary a "boomer" mentality plus some christian background。As the author defines an "egregore"， even Jesus could be one。。。 but he does not say nothing alike。"Egregores" are just "bad"， always the "external menace"， "outsiders"。。。 the "East"。Despite all this， I gave 4 stars， because I liked the book :P The theme is very interesting， somewhat linked to the gnostic "archons"。The only problem of the book is the author bias towards eastern traditions and "comunism"， cleary a "boomer" mentality plus some christian background。As the author defines an "egregore"， even Jesus could be one。。。 but he does not say nothing alike。"Egregores" are just "bad"， always the "external menace"， "outsiders"。。。 the "East"。Despite all this， I gave 4 stars， because I liked the book :P 。。。more
Logan Albright
，
An excellent and thought provoking treatment of a subject that is usually only mentioned in passing in occult literature。 While I was aware of the power of collective consciousness and mass-created thought forms， I hadn't given much consideration to their potential for evil， which the second half of this book deals with extensively。 This holds particular resonance as we witness an onslaught of ideological possession， propaganda， and indoctrination into cult-like ways of thinking。 The connection An excellent and thought provoking treatment of a subject that is usually only mentioned in passing in occult literature。 While I was aware of the power of collective consciousness and mass-created thought forms， I hadn't given much consideration to their potential for evil， which the second half of this book deals with extensively。 This holds particular resonance as we witness an onslaught of ideological possession， propaganda， and indoctrination into cult-like ways of thinking。 The connection between egregores and these real world events hadn't really occurred to me before， and to the extent that Stavish's work functions as a sort of psychic self-defense guide against obsession and the madness of crowds， I found it useful as well as interesting。Of course， egregores ned not be negative; like all powerful things， they can be used for good as well as evil， and Stavish doesn't neglect this aspect， but I suppose I found the idea of egregores as a potential threat to individuality and independent thought more interesting simply because I hadn't encountered it before。 Definitely a worthwhile read for anyone deeply involved in mass organizations， movements， ideologies， or religions。 It's important to learn how to participate in such things without becoming overcome by their egregores， or collective consciousness。 。。。more
Cwn_annwn_13
，
4。5 out of 5 stars。
Anne-Maaret
，
Very well written。。。 & comprehensive guide to egregores / thoughtforms。。。 You can truly "grasp" the idea！ （pun intended！） States very clearly what egregores / thoughtforms are。。。 and tells that they differ a little bit from each other。 Uses an examples of places， times。。。 And many famous occult people （dead & alive） who have had "correspondences" with these （sometimes autonomous） entities in all of the realms （physical / astral / mental）。 The book also have instructions on how to get rid of all Very well written。。。 & comprehensive guide to egregores / thoughtforms。。。 You can truly "grasp" the idea！ （pun intended！） States very clearly what egregores / thoughtforms are。。。 and tells that they differ a little bit from each other。 Uses an examples of places， times。。。 And many famous occult people （dead & alive） who have had "correspondences" with these （sometimes autonomous） entities in all of the realms （physical / astral / mental）。 The book also have instructions on how to get rid of all the excessive invisible entities。 It claims to be one of it's kind。。。 and i have to agree that i have never read more about egregores。。。 or thoughtforms。。。 than from this book！ 。。。more
Malum
，
A fascinating look at egregores， damped quite a bit by the author's steady but pointless bashing of left wing politics and Tibetan Buddhism。 A fascinating look at egregores， damped quite a bit by the author's steady but pointless bashing of left wing politics and Tibetan Buddhism。 。。。more
Tom
，
The implications of this book in the modern era of established narratives and mass propaganda campaigns is profound。 It may also make you really consider the power of those in marketing。You should read it regardless of whether you believe in the esoteric。 At a minimum， it's a window into the power of groupthink on a spiritual level。 The implications of this book in the modern era of established narratives and mass propaganda campaigns is profound。 It may also make you really consider the power of those in marketing。You should read it regardless of whether you believe in the esoteric。 At a minimum， it's a window into the power of groupthink on a spiritual level。 。。。more
Daniel Molina
，
Exploring。 the concepts of thought forms and egregores throughout history and how they develop in different aspects of our lives， the book provides a wealth of information that makes readers question what influences may be unconsciously guiding their own lives at this moment。
Matte
，
Immensely important book！ To understand the reality of egregores is of great importance to all who is confined to a group。 Whether religious， Political or philosophical， most people gets influenced by these man created entities。 Although not always bad， more often than not， we get sucked in to group mentality and stop thinking。 Mark offers a vast view and Insight to this topic and makes it accessible to all， when up to now it's only been known and controlled by people in power。 Immensely important book！ To understand the reality of egregores is of great importance to all who is confined to a group。 Whether religious， Political or philosophical， most people gets influenced by these man created entities。 Although not always bad， more often than not， we get sucked in to group mentality and stop thinking。 Mark offers a vast view and Insight to this topic and makes it accessible to all， when up to now it's only been known and controlled by people in power。 。。。more
Morgoth
，
This guy， this guySo this genius concludes shiningly :“To truly grasp the power of ideas we must stop thinking in terms of “good” and “evil。” Good and evil are simply constructs; they have no rooting in any singular， absolute， and universal doctrine or experience” This can be only the ridiculous conclusion of an adept of the “left hand” path。 Where the void of darkness can be “equal” to Light。Let me laugh in front of your face， author guy。
triz ♡
，
This was very informative but I felt like the author was a bit biased and I couldn't trust his words entirely。 Still， the content， if taken with a grain of salt， is quite good and I don't regret reading it at all。 This was very informative but I felt like the author was a bit biased and I couldn't trust his words entirely。 Still， the content， if taken with a grain of salt， is quite good and I don't regret reading it at all。 。。。more
Taylor Ellwood
，
This is more of an academic treatise on egregores than anything else， but the author presents an interesting take on the subject and explores examples of different egregores and how those egregores can effect the people that work with them， for better or worse。 He also presents ways to break the connection with an egregore。 It’s a good book on the topic and worth giving a read to better understand the nature of egregores。
Tony Sunderland
，
As a materialist who likes to investigate the esoteric traditions that have permeated Western civilisation， I found this book an impressive summary of spiritual entities that believe there is 'more than this'。 Stavish effectively links human material existence to a higher realm of collective thought and spirituality。 From an occult or magical perspective， an Egregore is a an entity that encircles a group of likeminded individuals。 They create it and feed it with their thoughts and actions。 In re As a materialist who likes to investigate the esoteric traditions that have permeated Western civilisation， I found this book an impressive summary of spiritual entities that believe there is 'more than this'。 Stavish effectively links human material existence to a higher realm of collective thought and spirituality。 From an occult or magical perspective， an Egregore is a an entity that encircles a group of likeminded individuals。 They create it and feed it with their thoughts and actions。 In return， the Egregore becomes the spiritual focus for the collective by focusing the mental and spiritual energies together towards the same goal。 In other words， we create our Gods and they in turn， provide order and meaning to human existence。 I particularly enjoyed the idea that science may have a long way to go if it wants to understand the real essence of human nature and destiny。 Finally， Stavish gives us a disturbing message of the possibility that Egregores may develop sinister intentions and act as a divisive force that diminishes human agency and lower our sense of a 'greater good'。 。。。more
Jim
，
This book really crystallized a lot of thoughts I've been kicking around。 I would recommend this book as required reading for an occultist。 It is also useful for someone with a materialist bent who reads the egregore as a metaphor for social psychology。 This book really crystallized a lot of thoughts I've been kicking around。 I would recommend this book as required reading for an occultist。 It is also useful for someone with a materialist bent who reads the egregore as a metaphor for social psychology。 。。。more
BJ
，
This was interesting， but seems different than what the title implies。 I was expecting a slightly more academic work on the commonalities between spiritual entities in different occult and religious contexts。 There is some of that， but it is more of a treatise on the concept of Egregores and the potential power of human psyche/emotion/will in groups where ritual and values are common and enduring。 There are a lot of anecdotal accounts that serve as evidence or demonstrations， which is par for th This was interesting， but seems different than what the title implies。 I was expecting a slightly more academic work on the commonalities between spiritual entities in different occult and religious contexts。 There is some of that， but it is more of a treatise on the concept of Egregores and the potential power of human psyche/emotion/will in groups where ritual and values are common and enduring。 There are a lot of anecdotal accounts that serve as evidence or demonstrations， which is par for the course when it comes to occult theory， but I was hoping this was more of an objective study on the characteristics of entities through myriad beliefs and time。 It's still definitely worth a read for the fan of the occult， and I found the sections on Lovecraft and Howard particularly interesting as a fan of both writers。 。。。more
Dave Lindley
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Myopic and similar to evangelical fear and paranoia script。
Alice
，
Independent Group mind thought forms。Best book on a seldom discussed phenomena。 Highly recommended for those dealing with thought forms and the creation of group mind entities。
Antti Ensaro
，
Really great overview， could have spent more time on some of the topics。 But it is a great introduction to the topic。
Wendy 'windmill'
，