Thisbookisdedicatedtoeveryonewhoentersontothepathofself-awakening.Thejourneybeginsasastrangemixofconfusionandoptimism,and,ifallgoeswell,endsinclarityandjoy,withastrongtouchofhumorthrowninaswell.Maythisbookmakeyourpath

smootherandswifter.

EGREGORES

“Egregores:TheOccultEntitiesThatWatchOverHumanDestinymarksamajorturningpointinpopularesotericism,withMarkStavishtacklinghead-on our society’s most pressing issue—the psychic and physicalembodiment of ideologies and systems—with a penetrating andinsightfultextaddressingthehiddenlifeofthoughtformsastheyemergeinourculturethroughmassmovements,fundamentalistsects,corporatebranding, and identity politics. Put down the fake news, pick up thisbook,andfindoutwhyEnochwarnsusthatthecosmiccontrolsystem’sbeenputondivineprobation!”

DAVIDMETCALFE,EDITORINCHIEFOFTHRESHOLD:JOURNALOFINTERDISCIPLINARYCONSCIOUSNESSSTUDIES

“It is amemorable daywhen the concept of the egregore enters one’sworldview.Whiletheseenergy-complexeshavebeenaroundaslongashumanity,thisisthefirstbooktoexplainhowtheyworkandwhattodoaboutit.MarkStavish’sclearwritingandrichexamplesshouldconvinceany reader, whether schooled in esotericism or simply curious abouttheirinnerandouterworld.”

JOSCELYNGODWIN,AUTHOROFATHANASIUSKIRCHER’STHEATREOFTHEWORLD

“Everynowandthen,there’sabookthatcanchangethewayyouseetheworld. This remarkable little book about enthrallment and freedom isone.ReadEgregores—you’lllookatsocietyaroundyouinnewways.”

ARTHURVERSLUIS,AUTHOROFTHESECRETHISTORYOFWESTERNSEXUALMYSTICISMANDSACREDEARTH

“This encyclopedic account of group consciousness as an egregore, abeing conceived to have arisen from the mutual psychic activity ofserious initiates, traces the egregore idea throughout the history ofWestern esotericism and even into the practices of TibetanBuddhism.

Butler,Evola,Masters,Lovecraft,Machen, theAMORCandtheOTO,andmanyothersourcesarequotedsoastogivetheiropinionsaboutthefunctions and dangers of egregores. It is unlikely that a morecomprehensivebookonthesubjectwilleverbewritten.”

STEVANDAVIES,PH.D.,AUTHOROFSPIRITPOSSESSIONANDTHEORIGINSOFCHRISTIANITYANDTRANSLATOROFTHEGOSPELOFTHOMAS:A

GUIDEBOOKFORSPIRITUALPRACTICE

“Suddenlythereisalotoftalkaboutegregores,butwhatarethey?MarkStavish introduces some fascinating examples of these mysteriousthoughtforms as they appear in different contexts from TibetanBuddhism to the world of modern pop culture. Stavish’s book is animportantforayintowhatisstillalmostvirginterritoryforresearchers.”

CHRISTOPHERMCINTOSH,AUTHOROFTHEROSICRUCIANSANDELIPHASLÉVIANDTHEFRENCHOCCULTREVIVAL

“Whiletheegregoreisaconceptwithwhichmostesotericstudentsareatleastsomewhatfamiliar,itisunlikelyyouwouldfindacommonalityof definitions among them. It is very appropriate for this vaguelyunderstoodconcepttobethesubjectofamorein-depthstudy,andIcanthink of no better person to do this than Mark Stavish, whosebackgroundbringsbothauthorityanddepthtosuchareview.Thebookprovidesahistoricalunderstandingoftheoriginofthetermanditsusethroughtheages,thevarioustypesthatmayexistinpassiveandactiveform,andanexplanationofthemthroughprofoundpersonalexperience.This alone makes the book valuable. However, chapter 7 should berequiredreadingforanyonecontemplatingjoininganesotericorder—oranygroupwithacommonobjective,forthatmatter.Stavishwritesinacomfortableandinformativestyle,andonecomestotheendofthebookwithnewinformationandmuchtothinkabout.Anexcellentprimeronegregores.”

PIERSA.VAUGHAN,AUTHOROFRENAISSANCEMAN&MASONANDTRANSLATOROFTHESEMINALFRENCHESOTERICWORKSOFERRORS&

TRUTHBYLOUIS-CLAUDEDESAINT-MARTINANDELEMENTARYTREATISEONPRACTICALMAGICBYPAPUS

CONTENTS

CoverImage

TitlePage

Dedication

Epigraph

Acknowledgments

ForewordbyJamesWasserman

Introduction.Angels,Women,andWarintheHeavens

Chapter1.TibetanBuddhismandtheRealityoftheEgregore

ALEXANDRADAVID-NÉEL:ALINKBETWEENEASTANDWESTTULKUANDTULPA:THEPOWEROFTHEMINDINACTIONFOURTYPESOFSPIRITUALPRACTICEAMODERNEXAMPLEOFTHEWAROFTHEEGREGORESTHEPOWEROFTHEEGREGORE...WATCHYOURDREAMSLANGUAGEASACONTROLMECHANISM

Chapter2.TheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawnandRelatedEgregores

THEGOLDENDAWNEGREGOREWALTERERNESTBUTLER:ASEMINALOCCULTIST

Chapter3.TheModernEraandtheFrenchOccultReviva

THETAROTBYMOUNISADHUVARIOUSINTERPRETATIONSOFDEMONSANDEVIL)DISINFORMATION—THEDEVILMADEMEDOIT

TELEPATHYANDMINDCONTROLTHROUGHTHEMEDIAAMBELAINANDMARTINISMPOLITICSANDTHEOCCULT

Chapter4.PopCultureandtheCreationofEgregores

JEANDUBUIS,UFOS,FENGSHUI,ANDSLENDERMANREVOLTAGAINSTTHEMODERNWORLDBYJULIUSEVOLAMINDGAMESBYROBERTMASTERSANDJEANHOUSTON

Chapter5.TheLovecraftCircle

HOWARDPHILLIPSLOVECRAFTANDTHENECRONOMICONKENNETHGRANT:REVEALEROFDEEPESOTERICTRUTHROBERTE.HOWARDANDCONANTHEBARBARIANFELLOWMAGICIANARTHURMACHEN

Chapter6.TheEgregoreoftheAncientMysticalOrderRosaeCrucis(AMORC)

HARVEYSPENCERLEWIS:THEFOUNDEROFAMORCAMORCANDTHECATHEDRALOFTHESOULTHETHIRDMIND

Chapter7.FreeingOneselffromtheInfluenceofEgregores

“THERAPEUTICBLASPHEMY”TOBREAKTHEIRHOLDPSYCHOSYNTHESISANDTHERAPEUTICBLASPHEMYSPINTHREETIMESTOTHELEFTDESTRUCTIONOFANEGREGORE—FIREANDSWORDOCCULTANDESOTERICAFFILIATIONSREFUGEINANEGREGORE?DO-IT-YOURSELFDEPROGRAMMING“CONTROLLINGTHENARRATIVE”

Conclusion.IdeasandTheirConsequences

Appendix1.PersonalAccountsofDisengagingfromanEgregore

“THEGREATERTHEESCHATON,THETIGHTERTHESCREWSOFTHEEGREGORE”“ITWASLIKESOMETHINGOUTOFH.P.LOVECRAFT!”“DONOTCALLUPTHATWHICHYOUCANNOTPUTDOWN!”

Appendix2.AnAccountoftheRevivificationofanEgregore

THE“GREATSIGN”:ONSTAGEANDINTHEWINGS

Footnotes

Endnotes

Bibliography

AbouttheAuthor

AboutInnerTraditions•Bear&Company

BooksofRelatedInterest

Copyright&Permissions

Index

Acknowledgments

This bookwould not have been possible if itwere not for the inspiration andencouragement of several people who pushed me to further investigate andelaborateuponthesubjectofegregores.Iamindebtedtotheassistancerenderedin the production of this book by Richard Steinberg (New York), AlfredDeStefano III (Virginia), and Professor JoscelynGodwin (NewYork). I thankeveryoneatInnerTraditionswhohadahandinbringingthisbooktoprint.Anyerrorsarecompletelymyown.

Itwouldalsohavebeenimpossibletowritethisbookifitwerenotforthesupportofmywife,AndreaNerozzi,andourtwosons,LukeandNathaniel.TothemIameternallygrateful.

Foreword

JamesWasserman

Hereisatrulywelcomevolumeinthecanonofesotericliterature.Solittlehasbeenwrittenaboutthephenomenaoftheegregorethat thewordisnotevenintheMicrosoftspell-checkdictionary.

And yet, as Mark Stavish points out, an understanding of egregores is acritical part of the journey to spiritual liberation. I believe egregores are bothpositiveandnegative.Theycan inspireorenslave. Ineithercase theymustberecognized forwhat they are so they can either be encouraged as a source ofinspirationandcreativityorcombattedinthequestforpsychicfreedom.

Egregorescanbeassimpleandfamiliaras the iconsofpatriotismsuchastheuniformedsoldier,thesingingofthenationalanthematafootballgame,thepolitical rally or speech with the candidate or official surrounded by flags,Arlington Cemetery, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, theWhiteHouse,ortheCapitol.Formany,thesewillbeconsideredpositiveimages,whether the culture is American as above, or French with the Eiffel Tower,BritishwiththeHouseofParliament,orRussianwiththecolorfulKremlin.Allserve to rally citizens to a love of country, alliance with each other, and theembrace of their shared cultural ideology and history—in other words, unionwiththenationalegregore.

OnthenegativesideofthepatrioticegregorewehavetheNaziswastikaandthe rallies of an enthusiastic and hypnotized mass of people, shamelesslyacceptingtheravingsofalunatic.TodaywehavetheexamplesofNorthKoreaandIrantoremindusofthedangersofmanipulationagainstapopulation’sbestinterest,andcertainlyagainstthegreatervaluesofpoliticallibertyandspiritualfreedom. The egregores erected and sustained by tyrants have a mysteriousability to fascinate people, to almost fill the starving bellies created by thecontemptof their leaders, to influence the feveredbrainsof a suicidal cropofmartyrsastheymarchovertheclifftotheirowndeathslikeGadareneswine.In

thecaseof Iran it isparticularlydisturbing,because,wereIranians toembracethe true historical national egregore, they could celebrate a culture andcivilizationasoldashumankind,onethatproducedthelikesofOmarKhayyamand Shams-i-Tabriz, a history whose elegance and refinement stands as atestamenttospiritualpeopleeverywhere.

Thinknowofthesymbolsofcommercialegregoresthatinfestmodernlife.Take Coca-Cola, for instance, with which you can rot your teeth and expandyourbellywiththeillusionofsophisticationandrefreshmentasyouinvoketheepidemicofdiabetes—this, invirtuallyanycountry in theworld!OrMarlborocigarettes, whose iconic cowboy embodied that rough and tough frontiermasculinitybeforehesuccumbedtotheravagesof lungcancer.ThentherearethegoldenarchesofMcDonald’s,heraldingobesityandillhealthwithitsfauxmeat and rock-bottompricesmirroredonlyby its lackofnutritionalvalue.Orhowabout thesmiling facesofdebt-crazedcreditcardaddictsas theyproudlydisplay theirVisas andMastercards, prior to the inevitable, kitchen-table, bill-payingordealfourweekslater.

Communicationegregoresarebuiltwithsymbolsliketherainbowpeacock(NBC) strutting and fretting its hour upon the stage of fake news, or theomniscienteyeball(CBS),whosecommandofTruthwaslongagosacrificedtothesirencallofpoliticalpropaganda.Iamoldenoughtorememberthedisdainwithwhich theSovietPravdastate-controllednewspaperwasheld inAmerica.AndIamalsoyoungenoughtohaveseeneightyearsofadulationandshamelessfawningoverone regime favoredby themedia and the subsequenthatred andfrothing at themouth over another,which it despises. Themantra of theNewYork Times—“All the News That’s Fit to Print”—is a lie whose object isincitementandthepropagationofinsanemythsandirrationalpoliciesdesignedtosteeraproudnationallegacyintotheoncomingpathwayoftheMacktruckofglobalismandculturalself-destruction.

Religious egregores built over thousands of years are still capable ofindoctrinating people everywhere.What is it that gives power to the crucifix,whosedoctrineoforiginalsinandobediencetotheappointedhierarchyguidessomanypeopleintosomuchunhappiness?Thecrescentandstararesymbolsofateachingthat—takentoitslowestlevel—tapsintoagroupmindthatincludessuicide, murder, female genital mutilation, and an embrace of collectivismdictating everything from bathing to breakfast. The six-pointed star and itsassociateddoctrinesofseparationandvictimhood,whileclingingtothestatusofGod’schosenpeople, isanotherresilientegregore thatcouldwellbe improvedupon.

Ifyouturnedonanewsbroadcastorvisitedawebsiteduringmostof2017,you were likely to find a group of violent uncontrolled people battling thetraditionalestablishednationalegregoreofFreeSpeech.TheabilityforcitizenstofreelyengageinmeaningfulpoliticaldiscoursewashymnedintoexistencebyThomas Jefferson and the other Founders, enshrined in the Bill of Rights asAmerica’sfirstenumeratedfreedom,andignitedinpopularcultureagaininthe1960s with the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. I imagine poor old MarioSavioturningoverinhisgraveattheanticsofAntifaandothersasBerkeleywasturned into a war zone by leftist-inspired censorship storm troopers andjackbooted,mask-wearingstreetgangs.Americanswatchedarespectedegregorebeingturnedonitsheadaspolicestoodidlybyinpassiveacceptance,asorderedbythecowardsandpoliticalmalcontentswhosigntheirpaychecks.

Then there is the category of individual and personalized psychologicalegregores.Asonebuildsandsuccumbstobadhabits,thought-formsarebuiltinthe aura that sustain such behavior against one’s best interests or the mostresolutedeterminationtoimprove.Perhapsthesimplestexampleisthelazinessthat precludes exercise! How often the most fervent intentions—whether forspiritual, physical, or psychological advancement—are thwarted by theobstinacy of habit, the negative egregore that has sucked power from theindividualinordertosustainitsownindependentexistence.

In2001,IdescribedspiritualsecretsocietiesinmybookTheTemplarsandthe Assassins. I wrote of the innumerable myths and legends of teachers ofwisdom who have been described as bringing the gifts of civilization andspiritual teachings to humankind. I wrote that they have been conceived anddescribed as gods, angels, spirits, and even extraterrestrial intelligences. ImentionedthecharacterizationofinnerplaneAdepts,bywhichsuchbeingsareoftendescribedintheliteratureofWesternoccultism.

I discussed how these beings are viewed by the spiritual societies thatembrace them, and that a positive interaction can be established by theinterpenetrationof thethree-andfour-dimensionalworlds, to thebettermentofboth.

Membersofmystical secret societiesmaybelieve theyare in contactwithhigher intelligences who are guiding the societies through invisible channels.Theseintelligencesareoftenperceivedashavingenlistedthemselvesinsupportof the secret society in order to share theirwisdomwith aspirants psychicallyattunedtotheemanationoftheirenergies.Thesocietymaythenbeconceivedofby its membership as a three-dimensional manifestation for the evolutionaryworkingsofhigherconsciousness.

Theseare the livingegregores that arebuilt and sustainedbygroup ritual,shared practices, hierarchical teachings, and inner doctrines of such a society.MarkStavishdescribes themodelof theAncientMysticalOrderRosaeCrucis(AMORC) in somedetail.Myexperiencehasbeenwithadifferentgroup,buttherearenotablesimilarities.

Again,itmustbekeptinmindthategregoresarelivingbeings.Theymustbe fed and nurtured. I think spiritual interactionswith them can be healthy aslong as such interactions remain pure and positive. Both the aspirant and theegregore must be protected against corruption by the group’s leaders and thetendencyformanyspiritualsocietiestobecomelackadaisical,todevolveintoacultureoflazinessandsloppiness.Theegregoresattractedbysuchasocietywillbeasmisguidedas themembership itself.Spiritualhygiene isas important forthemembersofagroupasitisfortheegregoresthatsustainandinformit.

OneofthemostinterestingpartsofMark’sbookishisdiscussionoffreeingoneself from the power of egregores one has previously accepted and thenrejected in the interest of Truth and the evolution of one’s personal path. AsdiscussedinsomedetailinmymemoirIntheCenteroftheFire,Iwrestledwiththisproblemtwice.Infact,ifyoucountmypoliticaljourneyfromSocialismtoConstitutionalLibertarianism,itwasthreetimes.

Battling forone’s freedom from the egregoresonehaswillingly embracedand then moved beyond can be a fight for life and death. Perhaps in lessdramaticlanguage,itcanbeconsideredtheconflictbetweencourageandfearorintegrity—andcavingin.Thepsychicandpsychologicalchainsandtendrilsthatwrap themselves around the adherent of various belief structures andmechanismshaveanunbelievablepower.Idonotknowifitispossibletoavoidmakingthemistakesinthefirstplace.Inmyownlife,Ihaveprofitedimmenselyfromthebattletomaintainmysanitythroughtheseordeals,whichinsomecaseshave lastedyears.Suchconflictbreeds strength, formuscles aredevelopedbythestrainofexercise.

Yet remember that muscle growth is actually a process ofmuscle tearingfollowed bymuscle repair to result in enhancedmusclemass. In otherwordsthere is pain, danger, and suffering—all elements that make for authenticinitiation. Such themes will accompany the escape from and rejection ofegregoresthatnolongerservethespiritualneedsoftheindividual.Spiritualityisindividualization—theacknowledgmentandcreationofthetrueselfisthepathofthemysteries.

Truth is the guardian of Liberty. Fear not. If you have the courage and

discriminationtodothenextrightthing,toseekafterspiritualimpeccabilityinyourownlife,Ifirmlybelieveyouwillsucceed.Goforth!

JamesWassermanistheauthorofseveralbooks,includingTheTemplarsandtheAssassins,TheTempleofSolomon,TheMysteryTraditions,andIntheCenteroftheFire:AMemoirof theOccult1966–1989.Alongtimestudentof theoccultand amember of theOrdoTempliOrientis since 1976, he lives inNewYorkCity.

Preamble

ThefollowingisfromtheCorpusHermeticum,Book16.

12.EverykindofcreatureissustainedandnourishedbytheSun.Asthespiritualworldembracesthephysicalandfillsitoutwitheverydifferentkindofform,sothe Sun embraces everything in the cosmos, raising up and strengthening allgenerations.Andwhentheyarespentandebbingawayhereceivesthemback.

13.Thechoirofspirits,or ratherchoirs,areplacedunder thecommandof theSun;“choirs”becausetherearemanydifferentkindsofpowers.Theyaresetinformationunder thestars,andareequal innumber to them.Thusarrayed theyserve each of the stars. Some of these powers are good and some are evil bynature,thatistosayintheiractivity.Fortheessenceofaspiritualpowerisitsactivity.Therearealsosomewhoareamixtureofgoodandevil.

14.Allthesespiritshavebeengivenauthorityoveraffairsuponearthandoverturbulences there.Theycauseavarietyofdisordersbothpublicly incitiesandamongnations,butalsointhelifeofindividuals.Fortheyshapeoursoulsafterthemselvesandarousethembyresidinginoursinews,inourmarrow,veins,andarteries,andevenourbrain,penetratingasdeepasourveryentrails.

19. Through these instruments God Himself creates all this, and all thingspartakeofGod;sincethisisso,theyareGod.Thereforeincreatingallthings,he creates Himself; and He can never cease to create, for He Himself neverceases tobe.AsGodhasnoend,soHishandiworkhasneitherbeginningnorend.1[emphasisadded]

INTRODUCTION

Angels,Women,andWarintheHeavens

Thegodsdonotlikeitwhenoneoftheircattleshouldbefree!INDIANPROVERB

For those interested in the academic study of esotericism, the concept ofegregoresmay simply be seen as a quaint relic of an earlier time, a holdoverfromourancientpastandthereforeoflittlepracticalconsequence.Forthoseonthespiritualpath,anyspiritualpath,beingintroducedtotheconceptofegregoresisoftenalife-changingencounter.Instantlymanyoldideas—andexperiences—aremadeclear,andafieldofquestionsopensupbeforethem.Theyreexaminetheir path in a new light and find that regardless of their being part of anorganizedgroupor a solopractitioner, largeareasof theirpracticewereunderthe indirect or direct influence of one ormore psychic entities of which theywerecompletelyunaware.

For those engaged in practical occultism; that is, the manipulation ofenergiesforsomekindofspiritualormaterialresult,egregoresareoftennothingnew,but rarely understood—as too often they are given the status of a priorigoodness.Manygroupsspeak inveiledbutconfidentandpositive termsabouttheir leader or group (and by extension its members) being connected to apowerful egregore, an innercontact, or somesimilar term.Whenexamined inthelightofthismonographandmoretraditionalideasassociatedwithegregores,these students can reevaluate their connections to these invisible forces anddecide for themselves if these contacts have been beneficial or detrimental totheirpersonalawakening.

WHATISANEGREGORE?

Thewordegregore isGreek inoriginand isderived fromégrégoros,meaning“wakeful”or“watcher.”ThewordisfoundintheBookofEnochwhereinit isdescribed as an angelic being. The Book of Enoch is ascribed to Enoch, thegrandfatherofNoah,and,whilenoncanonical,ithasattractedsometheologicaland historical interest by themajor Jewish and Christian denominations for asectionofitknownastheBookoftheWatchers.Thissectionisthoughttohavebeenwrittenaround300BCE.TheonlyextantversionthatexistsisintheSouthSemitic language of Ge’ez, originating around the Horn of Africa.While theoriginal textmay have been inHebreworAramaic, no complete early text ineither language survives. Themain themes of this book—held in common bymanymystics,practitionersoftheoccult,andevenChristianfundamentalists—concerntwohundred“fallen”angels,theirinterbreedingwithhumanwomen,thesubsequent creation of a race of giants (Nephilim) whose destruction in thebiblical Flood receives mention in Genesis, and a coming apocalyptic battlebetweengoodandevil.AmentionoftheNephilimfromtheBookofEnochisasfollows:

Andtheybecamepregnant,andtheybaregreatgiants,whoseheightwas threehundredells:Whoconsumedall theacquisitionsofmen.And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turnedagainst themanddevouredmankind.And theybegan to sinagainstbirds,andbeasts,andreptiles,andfish,andtodevouroneanother’sflesh,anddrinktheblood.1

And:

AndAzâzêltaughtmentomakeswords,andknives,andshields,andbreastplates,andmadeknowntothemthemetalsoftheearthandtheart of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use ofantimony,andthebeautifyingof theeyelids,andallkindsofcostlystones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose muchgodlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were ledastray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taughtenchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving ofenchantments,Barâqîjâl,taughtastrology,Kôkabêltheconstellations,Ezêqêêltheknowledgeoftheclouds,Araqiêlthesignsoftheearth,

Shamsiêlthesignsofthesun,andSariêlthecourseofthemoon.2

The most commonly used definition (taken from Wiktionary.org) is asfollows:“(occult) autonomouspsychic entity composedof and influencing thethoughtsofagroupofpeople.”However,thereisaseconddefinition,anolder,moresignificant,andperhapsfrighteningone.Here,anegregoreismorethanan“autonomous entity composed of and influencing the thoughts of a group ofpeople”; it is also thehomeor conduit for a specific psychic intelligence of anonhumannatureconnectingtheinvisibledimensionswiththematerialworldinwhichwelive.This,infact,isthetruesourceofpoweroftheancientcultsandtheirreligious-magicalpractices.

MouniSadhu,aPolishoccultistof theFrench-RussianMartinist lineages,1definesanegregoreinhisseminalwork,TheTarot,as“acollectiveentity,suchasanation,state,religionsandsectsandtheiradherents,andevenminorhumanorganizations.ThestructureofEgregorsissimilartothatofhumanbeings.Theyhavephysicalbodies(thatis,collectivelyallthebodiesofthosewhobelongtotheparticularEgregor) and also astral andmental ones; theEgregor being thesumtotalofalltheseelements.”3

Tomyknowledge,theonlymodernscholarofesotericphilosophywhohaswritten about the importance of the egregore is Joscelyn Godwin, of ColgateUniversityinNewYorkState,whodedicatesachapter,aptlytitled“ThePoweroftheEgregore,”toitinhisbookTheGoldenThread.4

Godwin traces the origin of egregores, at least in theWest, to the semi-animisticbeliefsofancientGreeceandRomeandtheintimaterelationshipthatthe ancient cult practices had on daily life as well as foreign affairs. This iscritical,becausehereweseethateveryaspectoflifehasasacredcomponenttoit, and, that in the proper execution of one’s duties, the visible and invisibleworldsarekeptinharmonyfromtheperspectiveofclassicalreligion(and,withit,politics).

Thestudyoftheserelationshipsandtheirmethodofimplementationbecamea specialized focus of the priestly class. These rituals and their attendantsacrificeswere consideredvital to the health of the family, community, city—even the empire (or later the nation). Within this larger collective body theindividuallivedtheirlifeandperformedtheirdutyandexperiencedtheirdestinyas the gods dictated. The work of the various cults (in a world in which theaveragelifespanwasthirty-fiveyearsofage)wasprimarilytoaidingainingthefavorofthegodsinanenvironmentwherematerialwell-beingandhealthwere

essentialandinwhichlittlemedicalscienceexistedfor thepreservationof lifeandlimb.Whenthisfactiscombinedwithadominantnotionoflittleornohopeof an afterlife—the general belief in the ancient world, with Egypt being theexception—makingthemostofwhatlifespanonehadwascritical.

AsGodwinpointsout,giventherelationshipofthevisibleandinvisibleinwhich thegravewasseenasone’s finaldestination, theancientgods towhomcultswerededicatedandofferingsmadeinsomewaysmayhaveneededhumanreligionmorethanhumansdid.

Thereisanoccultconceptofthe“egregore,”atermderivedfromtheGreek word for “watcher.” It is used for an immaterial entity that“watches” or presides over some earthly affair or collectivity. Theimportant point is that an egregore is augmented by human belief,ritual, and especially by sacrifice. If it is sufficiently nourished bysuchenergies,theegregorecantakeonalifeofitsownandappeartobeanindependent,personaldivinity,withalimitedpoweronbehalfof its devotees and an unlimited appetite for further devotion. It isthen believed to be an immortal god or goddess, an angel, or adaimon.5

Egregores were formed to watch over city-states, the Republic, and theEmpire itself.As long asofferings anddevotion continued, theprosperity andwell-beingofthecityorEmpirewasthoughttobeassured.However,ifnewcultscame into being and the energies of worship were directed elsewhere, theagreementwouldbebrokenand theegregorewouldcease to support the landanditspeople.Esoterically,thiscanbeseenasthereasonforthecollapseoftheRomanEmpire.When itsoldgodsandgoddesseswereno longersustainedbythepeople,theyinturncouldnolongersupportRomeoritsterritories.Inshort,thespiritualdeathoftheRomanEmpirecanbeseeninwhatGodwintermsthenaturaltoleranceofpolytheism.Byacceptingnewreligiouspracticesinsofarasthey did not challenge governmental authority, a slow draining-off of energyfrom traditional cults and their attendant egregores began. But it doesn’t endthere. The real death stroke lay in the nature of these new religions. ThesemysterycultsfromGreece,Persia,Egypt,Palestine,andSyriaofferedsomethingRoman religion did not—personal salvation or, rather, survival after physicaldeath.

Basedon thesemetaphysicalpremises,Godwinsuggests—andweagree—

thatforacity,nation,orempiretoexist,itsdevoteesmustbefocusedonlifeinthematerial world to some degree (wewill saymore about this later).Whentheirdirection is turnedotherworldly, thecultsoffamilyandstate, thecultsofblood,becomeweakenedandaresimplyajumping-offpointfortheindividualinsteadofanendinthemselves.Whencombinedwiththedemandsoftimeandintellectualandemotionalcommitmentthatmysteryreligionsdemandedoftheirmembers—initiates of the secret way—little or no energy was left for thetraditionalegregore.AsGodwinsays:

Iamsuggesting that theriseandfallofnations is intimatelyboundupwiththeirrelationswiththeirgods;andthatthesearerealentities,even though they are not the eternal all-powerful beings they arereputedtobe.Thisseemstobeatheoryworthyofconsiderationbyanyonewhocanadmitthattheuniverseisaverystrangeplace,andthat there isplentyofroomin it forbeingsbigger thanmankind. Ifsuchbeingsexist,itisonlyprudenttotakeanaccountofthem.Everycivilizationinthepasthasdoneso,afteritsfashion.6

We see in the above paragraph a notionwell known tomany, yet oftenignored—the famous quote from theEmeraldTablet: “Thatwhich is above islikethatwhichisbelow;andthatwhichisbelowislikethatwhichisabove;toaccomplishthework(ormiracle)oftheOnething.”7Theegregoreexistsatbothendsof thespectrumaswellasacross it: fromthedensematerialworld to thesubtleandintangiblepsychicdomain.

WealsohearthisconceptrepeatedintheChristianscriptures,althoughaswewillsee there isdisagreementamongauthoritiesonwhether thisconstitutesanegregoreineithertheclassicalormodernsenseoftheword(paraphrasedfromMatthew18:20):“Whentwoormorearegatheredinmyname,Iwillbeinthemidstofthem.”

THREEQUESTIONSTHISBOOKWILLADDRESS

Alloftheabove-referencedpointsthengiverisetothreequestions:

1. What is the impactofanegregoreon the individual,hisdestiny,and freewill?

2. Whoorwhatmanagesthecollectivephysicalbodyofthegroupbywayoftheinvisible?

3. Howisthemanagementperformedandtowhatends?

Itisthesequestionsthatwewillanswertosomedegreeinthefollowingpages.In addition,wewill look at the critical processwhereby one can free oneselffromtheinfluenceofegregores,aswellasthemeansofdirectlydestroyingthemwhentheneedarises.

We bring this information to your attention so that as a student of theesoteric path you may make a conscious and informed decision about yourparticipationinvariousegregores.Ifyourworkismoreacademicthanpractical,then at least you will be aware of the critical role this concept has had andcontinues to play, not only in esoteric groups but in certain political andeconomicactivitiesaswellas invariousformsofentertainment,andhowtheyareeasilysupportedbythemassmedia.

Tothisend,letusallowthewordsofthetwentieth-centuryFrenchalchemistJeanDubuis to act asour friend andguide.The followingexcerpt is from thelessonsofinstructionhewroteforthePhilosophersofNature,anesotericschoolin which no collective rituals were held so as to limit the formation of anyegregore.

We have serious reasons in insisting that each student work onacquiring the greatest possible mental freedom for himself in thephysicalworld.Genuineinitiationisacompleteliberation.Howcanyour Higher Self help you liberate yourself if you don’t do it foryourselfintherealmalreadyaccessibletoyou?

A second significant reason for insisting on this point is thesubjectofegregores.Whatisanegregore?Itisthepsychicandastralentityofagroup.Allmembersofagroup,afamily,aclub,apoliticalparty, a religion, or even a country, psychically included in theegregore of the organization to which they belong. . . . Therefore,eachindividualwhoisinvolvedinagroupreceivestheinfluencesofthe egregores, that is the astral counterpart of the group, in hispsyche. This process is unconscious. The resulting drawbacks are,first,someperturbingpsychicinfluencesinthemajorityofcases,andsecond,arestrictionofinnerfreedom.Itisimpossibletofreeoneselffromcertainegregores....However,weshouldfreeourselvesfrom

all egregores that are not essential. . . . Be cautious . . . mentalfreedom shouldnot transformus intodropouts ormisfits. It shouldsimplyopen the freedomof the innerpathwhile liberatingus fromunnecessaryobstacles.8

Previous publications in the IHS Monograph Series have addressed theexistence and nature of egregores (Studies in Poltergeists, Obsession, andPossession,volume6)andhowtomodifyone’srelationshiptothem(Wisdom’sBlissandKhamael’sSpear,volume7)andevenacknowledgetheexistenceofamajorbeneficialegregoreanditsprincipalsymbol(RosicrucianismfortheNewMillennium,volume9).However,thisbookistheonlypublicationofwhichweare aware to date that is dedicated exclusively to examining the existence ofegregores,ourrelationshiptothem,andhowthatrelationshipcanbemodified,severed,and—ifneedbe—howtheegregoremaybedestroyed.ItisoursinceredesirethatyouwillfinditofvalueonyourjourneyonthePathofReturn.

1

TibetanBuddhismandtheRealityoftheEgregore

Although the termegregore isunique toWesternesotericandoccultpractices,theideasitembodiesarenot.Infacttheyarewidespread,andinsomeformtheyarethebasisofallspiritualandmagicalpracticesacrosstheglobe.AmongthemostpowerfulofreligiousegregoresintheworldtodayarethoseofIslamandBuddhism; but TibetanBuddhism in particular has provided uswith themostpotentglimpsesofthisancientpracticeonanorganizedandnationallevel,wellintothetwentiethcentury.

TibetanBuddhismbegantoappearinpopularculturewithitsmentioninthewritings of the Russian occultist, spirit medium, and author Helena PetrovnaBlavatskyandtheTheosophicalSocietythatshecofoundedinthelatenineteenthcentury.WiththemythologizingofTibetasalandofvastspiritualerudition—home to “ascended masters” of the “Great White Brotherhood”—and theconvoluting of the Shamabhala mythology and prophecies with the ideas ofAgartthaandShangri-LainvariousWesternschools,TibetanlamaswerepoisedforgreatnessbythetimeoftheirarrivalintheWestaftertheflightoftheDalaiLama to India in 1959. Only one more thing was needed to ensure the safepassageofTibetanBuddhism into the fringesand latermainstreamofWesternsociety,andthatcameinthepersonofAlexandraDavid-Néel(1868–1969).

ALEXANDRADAVID-NÉEL:ALINKBETWEENEASTANDWEST

Alexandra David-Néel, a linguist, French orientalist, practicing Buddhist, and

profoundhistorianofreligion,wasborntobeawomanofadventure.HerfatherwasaHuguenotFreemason,andhermotherwasofScandinavianandSiberianextraction with roots in Catholicism. Her parents met in Belgium, where herfather,LouisDavid,apoorschoolteacherandpublisherofarepublicanjournal,wasinexile.BytheageofeighteenAlexandrahadtraveledmodestlyatherownexpense and was involved in a variety of religious austerities taken from thebiographies of saints in books found in the family library. Like many otherpeopleoftheperiod,shewasdrawntotheTheosophicalSociety,joinedavarietyofsecretsocieties,andevenreachedthe30th-degreeofmixedMasonry.

Like her father, she leaned toward anarchistic, revolutionary, and, with it,feminist politics. However, her views were at odds with her blue-bloodcounterparts, preferring an emphasis on the practicality of economic equalityovervotingrights.In1889,attheageoftwenty-one,sheconvertedtoBuddhismand began the formal training of her career as an orientalist. Shewould learnEnglish,Sanskrit,andTibetanpriortoleavingfortheOrient.Herjourneyeast,however, would be the result of her winning first prize in a competition thatwouldmakeher the first singerat theHanoiOperaHouse in Indochina in theyears of 1895 to 1897. Singing and composition would serve her wellprofessionallyandpersonallyuntilhermarriagein1904toFrench-bornengineerPhilippeNéel.

By the timeofhermarriage,AlexandraDavid-Néelhadasmall fortuneatherdisposal.In1911sheundertookherthirdtriptoIndia,atripthatwasplannedtolasteighteenmonthsbutthatwouldextendtofourteenyears.DuringhertimeinSikkim,David-NéelmettheThirteenthDalaiLama,whowasinexileat thetime.Shereceivedextensiveeducationandtraining,undertakingretreatsaswellasutilizingtheadvancedmethodsoftummo,ortheyogapracticeofInnerFire.She became famous in her own right and was widely received by Buddhistauthorities during her travels. In time she would also receive a great deal ofattention from the foreign press as well. Her fame would spread, even if herdesire to reformBuddhismdidnot.Her firstbook,MyJourney toLhasa, waspublished in 1927 andwas accompanied by speaking engagements and tours,which further enlarged her reputation.Twoyears later, in 1929, she publishedher most famous book,Magic andMystery in Tibet. Beat Generation writersJackKerouac,AllenGinsberg, andAlanWattswouldbeextremely influencedbyherteachings.

Through the writings of David-Néel, the idea of the tulpa—an animatedthoughtform that takes on autonomous existence—entered the vocabulary ofWestern esotericism and eventually that of the popular culture. Related to the

wordtulpaisamorecommonideaamongschoolsofTibetanBuddhism:thatoftulku.Bothtulpaandtulkuarerelatedtotheideaofthemindbeingabletocreatea“thoughtform,”anideathatcangainacertainamountoffunctionalvitalityandlongevityforaspecificpurpose.

TULKUANDTULPA:THEPOWEROFTHEMINDINACTION

AsAlexandraDavid-NéelwroteinMagicandMysteryinTibet:

Thepowerofproducingmagicformations,tulkusorlesslastingandmaterialized tulpas, does not, however, belong exclusively to suchmysticexaltedbeings.Anyhuman,divineordemoniacbeingmaybepossessedofit.Theonlydifferencecomesfromthedegreeofpower,andthisdependsonthestrengthoftheconcentrationandthequalityoftheminditself.1

PossiblythesinglegreatestcontributioninallofDavid-Néel’swritingsistheideaofthetulpa’sabilitytodevelopamindofitsown.Shewrites,“Oncethetulpaisendowedwithenoughvitalitytobecapableofplayingthepartofarealbeing,ittendstofreeitselffromitsmaker’scontrol.This,sayTibetanoccultists,happensnearlymechanically,justasthechild,whenhisbodyiscompletedandabletoliveapart,leavesitsmother’swomb.”2Yet,whileDavid-Néelclaimedtohavecreatedatulpafashionedintheimageofajollymedievalmonk,acreationthatlaterdevelopedalifeofitsownandhadtobedestroyed,shealsoraisedthepossibility that her experience was illusory. “I may have created my ownhallucination,” she writes, although she also reports that others could see thevisualizedmonkaswell.3

InTheSecretOralTeachingsinTibetanBuddhistSects,David-Néelfurtherelaboratesonthedifferencebetweenthetermstulpaandtulku.

TheTibetansdistinguishbetween tulkus and tulpas. . . .Tulpas aremore or less ephemeral creations which may take different forms:man,animal,tree,rock,etc.,atthewillofthemagicianwhocreatedthem, and behave like the beingwhose form they happen to have.

These tulpas coexist with their creator and can be seensimultaneouslywith him. In some cases theymay survive him, or,during his life, free themselves from his domination and attain acertainindependence.Thetulku,onthecontrary,istheincarnationofa lasting energy directed by an individual with the object ofcontinuingagivenkindofactivityafterhisdeath....

The Tibetan doubtobs [Author’s note: . . . he who has“succeeded,” who has “accomplished”; this implies, who hasacquiredsupernormalpowers...siddhasinSanskrit]areconsideredtobeexpertsintheartofcreatingtulpas[Author’snote:Thebeliefintulpas is universal in Tibet and there aremany stories about them,someof these stories being terribly tragic], imaginary formswhichare a sort of robot which they control as they wish, but which,sometimes,managetoacquiresomekindofautonomouspersonality.

It isalsostated thatduring theirperiodsofdeepmeditation the[initiates] surround themselveswithan impassableoccultprotectivezone extending at times right around their hermitage, when theyadoptthelifeofananchorite.

NoviceswhoaretrainingthemselvesaccordingtothemethodsoftheSecretTeachings, are sometimesadvised toexercise themselvesin creatingmentally around themselves an environment completelydifferentfromthatwhichisconsideredreal.Forexample...aforest. . . The usefulness . . . is to lead the novice to understand thesuperficialnatureofthesensationsandperceptions....Therelativeworldisclosetotheimaginaryworldbecause,ashasbeensaid,errorandillusiondominateit.Mostofhumanityisunconsciousofthefactthattheyliveandmoveinaworldofphantasmagoria.4

In her book Magic and Mystery in Tibet, David-Néel recounts aconversationshehadwithalamaaboutthesubjectivityofthought-forms.WhenDavid-Néel expressed thenotion that thosewhodiedduringvarious ritesdiedfromfear,andthevisionswereoftheirownimagination,thelamatowhomsheexpressedthesethoughtsreplied:

Accordingtothatitmustfollowthatamanwhodoesnotbelieveinthe existence of tigersmay feel confident that noneof themwouldeverhurthimevenifhewereconfrontedbysuchabeast.Visualizing

mental formation, either voluntary or not, is a most mysteriousprocess.What becomes of these creations?May it not be that likechildrenbornofourflesh, thesechildrenofourmindseparate theirlivesfromorescapeourcontrol,andplaypartsoftheirown?

Mustwenotalsoconsiderthatwearenottheonlyonescapableofcreatingsuchformations?Andifsuchentitiesexist in theworld,arewenotliabletocomeintotouchwiththem,eitherbythewilloftheirmakerorfromsomeothercause?Couldoneofthesecausesnotbe that, through ourmind or through ourmaterial deeds,we bringabout the conditions in which these entities are capable ofmanifestingsomekindofactivity?

Iwillgiveyouanillustration:...Ifyouarelivingonadryspotof ground at some distance from the banks of a river, fishes willnever approach you.But cut a channel between the river and yourdwelling-placeanddigapondinthedryspotofground.Then,asthewaterrunsinit,fisheswillcomefromtheriverandyouwillseethemmovingbeforeyoureyes.

It is only prudent to beware of opening channels without dueconsideration.Few,indeed,suspectwhatthegreatstore-houseoftheworldwhich they tap unconsciously contains. . . .Onemust knowhowtoprotectoneselfagainstthetigerstowhichonehasgivenbirth,aswellasagainstthosethathavebeenbegottenbyothers.5

FOURTYPESOFSPIRITUALPRACTICE

InInitiationsandInitiatesinTibet,David-Néelelaborateson thevarious typesof rituals, or dubthabs. Dubthab is the Tibetan word for the Sanskrit termsadhana, often translated as “practice” or sometimes “liturgy.” However, asDavid-Néelpointsout,itsliteraltranslationis“meanstosuccess”or“meanstoaccomplish something.”What are those accomplishments? In the practices ofTibetanVajrayanatheyarefourinnumber.

The following are David-Néel’s translation of the terms. The words inbrackets at the end have been added and are the more common moderntranslations.

1. Gentle or pacific (shiwa) for obtaining long life, health, good fortune.[Pacifying]

2. Expanding(gyaispa)forobtainingwealthandfame.[Increasing]3. Potent(wangwa)forobtaininginfluenceandpower.[Magnetizing]4. Terrible (tagpo [dragpo]) for obtaining the power to cause evil, to kill or

destroyinwhatsoevermanner,byoccultmethods.[Wrathful]

Howcantheseresultsbeattained?Someanswerthattheyaretheworkofdeitieswhogranttheiraidtothosewhoreverencethemintherequiredmanner.Othersaffirm that the aimof thedubthabs [initiates] is not toworship thedeities butrathertobringthemintosubjugation;theyalsosaythatthemanwhoisversedintheirritualiscapableofforcingbothgodsanddemonstoplacetheirpowerathisserviceandtoobeyhimineverything.

Theseopinionsarecurrent[1920–30s]inTibet,butbothofthem,accordingtomorelearnedLamas,denotealackofunderstandingofthetheoriesonwhichthedubthabsarebased.

In reality, judging by the explanations we find in the works of ancientauthors and those given orally by contemporary masters of mysticism, themethod employed consists of projecting, like images on a screen, deitiesmentally conceived and in imagining a series of changes through which theypass,inthecourseofveryprolongedandcomplicatedrites.

Thebeingsevokedbythedubpapoarenotimaginarycreationsofanykind,theyarealwayswell-knownpersonalitiesintheworldofgodsordemons,whohavebeenreveredorpropitiatedforcenturiesbymillionsofbelievers.

Tibetanoccultistssaythatthesebeingshaveacquiredasortofrealexistencedue to the countless thoughts that have been concentrated on them. [Author’sfootnote:TheTibetansinsiststronglyuponthispoint.IhavegiveninstancesofitseveraltimesinWithMysticsandMagiciansinTibet.Seemoreespeciallypage147.]

Similar theories are expressed in the Sacred Scriptures of India. In theBrihadAranyakopanishad,1,4,10,whichisregardedaspriortoBuddhism,wefind thesewords: “Whosoeverworships a deitywith the thought in hismind:‘Heisanother,anotheramI,’doesnotknow;likeabeast,heisusedbythegods.Asverilymanybeastsmaintainaman,soeverymanmaintainsthegods.”

Howdomendothis?Byfeedingthesubjectivepersonalitiesoftheirgodsontheworshiptheypaythem,aHinduascetictoldme.

Enlightened Lamas are fully aware of the nature of the characters theyevoke,buttheyassert that,bythiskindofmysticsport, it ispossibletoobtainresults which could never, or only with great difficulty, have been obtainedotherwise.Whatistheexplanationofthisoddity?

...Inidentifyinghimselfwiththem[deities],thedubpapoplaceshimselfincommunion with an accumulation of energy vastly superior to what he couldproducebyhisownefforts.[emphasisadded]

Contactwiththismysteriouspowermayprovebeneficial....Nevertheless,ifhe is lacking inskill—mainly in the . . .“terrible”category—hemaybe ill-treatedandevenkilledbythemightypersonalitiesthathismentalconcentrationhasattracted.

ThemysticsofTibetconsiderthatgodsanddemons,paradiseandhell,existonlyforthosewhobelieveinthem.Althoughexistinginalatentstate,thegodcreatedandkeptalivebytheimaginationofthemasseshaspoweronlyoverthemanwhocomesincontactwithhim.Afilamentisnecessaryinorderforthattheelectricitydormantinastoragebatterymaycausethelighttoappearinthelamp.ThiscomparisonexplainswithafairdegreeofaccuracywhatisinthemindsoftheTibetans.

Themajorityofthe[initiates]arenotawareofthedualoriginofthedeities....Theydonotcomprehendthatthelatterarebornofthementalconcentrationofthemassesofbelieversandagain,temporarilycreatedbythethoughtoftheofficiatingmonkwhoactsasamagnetattracting thesealreadyexistingoccultforcesorpersonalities.[emphasisadded]

Thosewho succeed in comprehending the subjective nature of the deitiesevokedduringthe[ritual]areadvisedbythemastersnottoregardthesedeitiesas negligible phantoms. . . . Thementally created deities are similar to thosesupposed to inhabitParadises [Buddhaworlds] andother sacredplaces. In theverywordsoftheTibetantext,“theyshouldberegardedasthetwo-facedunitywhichappearsasformandis,inessence,theformlessVoid.”

The officiating monk should also conceive of the different deities in thediversepartsofhisbodyandunderstandthattheyallexistinhimself.Thebettertofixthisideainthemindsofthosewhopracticethe[rituals],mostofthelatterend by causing to re-absorb therein the gods and demons that have beenprojectedbyhim.

Thecelebrationofthesimplestdubthabsrequiresthreeorfourhours;theritemust be repeated for several successivedays.Prolongedpreparation is neededfor the celebration of the grand dubthabs [rites of accomplishment/sadhana],

withtherequisiteinitiationsbyaLamapossessedofthenecessarypowers.Onemust first also learnbyheartwholevolumesof liturgical offices, andhave anexact knowledge of the ceremonial, the differentmeditations dealingwith thenecessary phases of the rite, etc. The ritemust be repeated until thedugpapo[sic]hasmastered itsexoteric, esoteric,andmystical significations,andhas inadditionseenmanifestsignsthataugursuccess.6

AMODERNEXAMPLEOFTHEWAROFTHEEGREGORES

Anexampleof theproblems that canarisewith the creationandworshipof abeing through the practice of rituals can easily be seen within the politics ofmodernTibet itself.Oneof themostpeculiarproblemsfacingtheDalaiLama,even in exile, is the controversy over the worship of the popular GelukpaprotectordeityDorjeShugden.ThegistoftheproblemcomesfromtheactivitiesofGesheKelsangGyatsoandhisparticularmovement,whoseprincipalpracticeisthatofDorjeShugden.

While the main argument presented concerns religious freedom, or thefreedom toworshipDorjeShugden, the ramifications are considerablygreater.According to Isabel Hilton, in her book The Search for the Panchen Lama,“[Dorje Shugden] had the reputation of being able to impart enormous goodfortunetohisdevoteesbutalsoofbeingextremelyvindictiveandjealous.Oneof theDalaiLama’s tutorshadencouraged theDalaiLamahimself toworshipDorjeShugden,but theDalaiLamahaddecided,asaresultofseveraldreams,thatthedeitywasharmful.Hegaveupthepracticehimself,thenbanneditinallinstitutions that were connected with his person. This included Gelukpamonasteriesand,ofcourse,thegovernmentinexile.”7

Hiltonfurtherstates,“TheoriginsoftheDorjeShugdendisputeliedeepinGelukpa politics and a controversy too complicated to explore here. But thesignificanceofitpertainstosectarianisminTibetanBuddhism:thedefendersofDorje Shugden are characterized as Gelukpa fundamentalists who regard theDalai Lama’s association with other Buddhist sects—an association greatlystrengthenedinexile—asabetrayaloftheGelukpa.Byinsistingonworshippingthedeity,theyattacktheDalaiLama’sauthorityasatrueGelukpaleader.”8

Asmentioned above,Dorje Shugden is in a class of beings thought to beprotector deities.Who orwhat do they protect? TibetanBuddhism, of course,

andthatmeanstheGelukpaversionofTibetanBuddhism.Whatmakesthisallthe more difficult for manyWestern students to grasp is the severe sectariannature of the forces at play here. Not only is Dorje Shugden considered aprotector of the Gelukpa, but he is also considered a destroyer of “hereticalBuddhist sects,” which would include the other schools of Tibetan and non-TibetanBuddhism. In fact, anargumenthasbeenmade that thisextends toallpracticesthatarenotGelukpa.

So how did Dorje Shugden originate? Apparently, Shugden was only aminorprotector(gylapo—angryorvengefulspirit)until thenineteenthcentury,when it becamea tool for persecuting the evolvingnonsectarianmovementoftheperiod.ItshouldbenotedthattheGelukpawerealsotheprincipalpoliticalforceoradministrativepartyinTibetaswell,withallDalaiLamashavingbeenGelukpa(orrelatedtoit)sincetheinstallationoftheofficeoftheDalaiLamaatthehandsof theMongolians in1642.Asaresult,somehaveseentheChineseoccupationanddestructionofTibetaspunishmentfor—oratleastasaresultof—the inadequate worship of Dorje Shugden. This includes possible politicalintriguearoundthecultandthecourtwherepracticesrelatedtoDorjeShugdencontinuedtogrowuntilthe1930s.

InDorjeShugdenweseeasortofapotheosis,ordivinizationofthehumanbeing—the source of the angry ghost often said to have been a condemnedprisoner—who is thenemployed toprotect the sect and its adherents. In someschoolsofoccultpracticethistrappingofaspiritisoftenrationalizedasaformofredemptionforitssins.Inothersitisseenasaformofspiritualslavery,evenif some formof payment is given, as thepayment is littlemore than the foodrequired to keep it alive and employed. It is conceivable that some esotericteachershavetakentheirleadfromthispracticeand,liketheEgyptianpharaohs,seektoattainasortofimmortalitythroughtheprayers,offerings,andpetitionsoftheirdisciples.

Ifweare tobelievethat this ispossible, thentheaccountsofreincarnationand psychic immortality as described in the life of the English-born layEgyptologistDorothyLouiseEady(1904–1981),betterknownasOmSety,areall the more important.While details of Om Sety’s life can be found in TheSearchforOmSetybyJonathanCott,forourpurposesitissufficienttonotethatit is throughEady’sdreams thatshereceiveda tremendousamountofdetailedand previously unknown information about ancient Egypt, which was laterconfirmed by Egyptologists. More importantly for our work, she stated thatPharaohSetiIvisitedherbothindreamsandinanear-corporealstateandthathelivedinaspiritualdomainasrulerjustashehadonEarth—acircumstancemade

possibleasaresultofpracticeslearnedduringhistrainingintemplesdedicatedtohisnamesake,theEgyptiangodSet.

Offerings of food, drink, tobacco, and prayers to the dead, particularly toone’s ancestors, strengthens and maintains the collective notion of “family,”evenifonlyonapsychologicallevel.Itthereforebecomespossiblethatfamilieswhoachieve renownor are even fearedover several generationsdo so inpartbecause of the egregore they have built up around themselves. This egregoremayatfirstbeunconscious,butitsoonbecomesafocalpointofbelongingtothefamily. Such notions as family traditions, business, customs, and pride allcontributetothecreationofaclanstructurethatreachesbackintimeaswellasintotheinvisible.Itisnosurprisethenthatsomeofthesewell-knownhistoricalfamilies should either have, or be thought of as having, an actual interest inoccultpractices.

When a family patriarch or matriarch is established as a spiritual orphilosophical head, this formation of dynastic power becomes all the morepotent.Itshouldalsonotbeasurprisethatmanyofthereligious,spiritual,andesoteric groups existing todaywere in fact at one time littlemore than familylineages thatgrewbeyond theconfinesof a specificbloodlineorgeographicalboundary.

Thusone’sposition as an important,well-known, and respected teacher inlifemaybeabletoaccumulatesufficientpsychicattentionafterdeathtocreateasortof“positivelimbo”sothatdissolution—assomebelieve—doesnothappen.Instead, one is held awake and in contactwith both the spiritual andmaterialplanes through one’s created position as intermediary for one’s followers. Inshort,oneisabletoenjoythebestofbothworlds—foratime.

THEPOWEROFTHEEGREGORE...WATCHYOURDREAMS

These guardians of the various traditions are a mixed blessing as many havediscovered, particularly thosewhohave experiencedvarious spiritual crises astheyrelatetomysticalandmagicalaffiliationsandorders—andtheirseparationfrom them in particular.However, the power of an egregore is also that of anambiententitysimplyradiatingitsinfluenceinagivengeographicarea.Justaswe feed, so does it feed. Just as we inhale and exhale, so does it inhale andexhale.Thefollowingexampleisfromaprivateemailtotheauthor.

OnSunday,afterbothIandmywifewokeearly,at4:30a.m.becauseofarestlesssleepandherhavingaheadache,wewerefinallyabletocatch some rest a few hours later. During this period I had thefollowing dream: An older Tibetan Buddhist monk gave a longteaching.HewentoninalanguageIdidnotunderstandbuttherewasa translation in my mind. Later in the day during meditation I“found”himagain,andaskedhimhisname,andhereplied,“LamaShugden.” Today I was informed by two of my clients that thedharma center five miles from my office gave a Dorje Shugdenempowermentyesterday,themorningofmydreamexperience.

LANGUAGEASACONTROLMECHANISM

The partial objection to our present discussion that many students of TibetanBuddhism would make is, in fact, proof of its central importance. TibetanBuddhism enjoys a privileged position of having adherents—and converts inparticular—who look at it only through the narrow range of self-definingconcepts.Thatis,eachschooldefinesitself.AnycomparisontoanythingotherthanTibetanBuddhism,orBuddhism ingeneral—asdefinedby the lamas—israrely done and actively discouraged. Therefore, the discussion is controlled,definitionsarecontrolled,and,withthis,theoverarchingegregoreofthesectorschoolismaintained.

However,itisforthisveryreasonthatwecanrestassuredthatinfactfewstudentsofTibetanBuddhismwill ever actually read thismonograph.Thoughclaimingtowantenlightenmentandthefreedomitmandates,theyhavesimplytraded one egregore for another. They have traded one mental organizingstructureforadifferentone.Theexceptionarethosestudentswhotrulypracticethemethodstheyhavebeengivenandinturnareabletorecognizethoseareasoftheteachingsthatareuniversalandknowhowtotransmittheirownawakeningin the languageandculture inwhich theyhavebeen raised.ThemajoritywillsimplybeplayingatBuddhism,pretendingtobeTibetan,whileneveraddressingtheirpastortheimplicationsthattheirchoiceofpathhasontheirfuture.

Forthisreason,drawingtheanalogybetweentheTibetanpracticesoftulpa,tulku,andtheirrespectivesadhanaswiththatoftheWesternconceptofegregoreis critical to making the personal leap that recognizes function and outcomesover format and constructs. In the words of the groundbreaking TibetologistHerbertGuenther:

Analogy . . . is a hermeneutical device that opens up a way to anunderstanding of the many horizon forms of lived experience bymaking thebeholderponder andestablishnewconnections.That iswhy symbol and analogy are inextricably interwoven; what isconceivedasananalogyononelevelorinonedirection,becomesasymbol on another level and in another direction.Both play a vitalrole in quickening, vitalizing, and vivifying the individuationprocess.Todaywewitnessthedestructionofsymbolsandanalogiesby an unprecedented reification of them, in thewake ofwhichweourselves become reduced to manipulatable things that have noindividualityoftheirown.Storiesofindividuation...maycomeasatimelyreminderof lookingdeeperandfartheraheadinto thebeing-nessofourBeing.9

2

TheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawnandRelatedEgregores

FornearlyacenturythemethodsoftheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawnorthosederived from themhavedefinedanddominatedmagicalpracticesacrossmuch of the “magical world.” And although French occult author andceremonial magician Eliphas Lévi may have given the French schools ofRosicrucianismandMartinism(andtheirrelatedTemplarandGnosticchurches)amoreintegratedrelationshipwiththeideasofanegregore,theirBritishcousinswerequicktocatchup.Thisnotionofhaving“innercontacts”orbeing“afullycontactedschool”becamebothasalespitchaswellasameansofdistinguishingoneschoolfromanother.Atthesametime,howtobecertainifcontactsexistedorwere legitimate became amatter ofmuch debate. In the end, all a studentcould dowas remember the biblical adage (paraphrased fromMatthew 7:16),“Bytheirfruitsyeshallknowthem.”

For some, the notion of an egregore concerned itself less with beinginfluenced by an angelic or demonic being, and more with being under theinfluenceofonce-humanandnowfullyperfectedbeingsormasters.Theseonce-humanmasters, said to beAdepts of the occult arts and sciences, havingnowachievedthehighestlevelsofspiritualillumination,guidedhumanityalongthePathofReturn.

Thesebeingswereoftengivenavarietyofnames,suchasUnknownSuperiors,InvisibleMasters,theGreatWhiteBrotherhood,orsimilarhigh-soundingtitles.EvenacursoryexaminationdemonstratesthatthishierarchyofbeingswaslittlemorethananoccultversionofthesaintsofChristianity, theRighteousMenofKabbalah, the Hidden Imams of Shi’ism, the Xian of Taoism, or theBodhisattvas of Buddhism (and Tibetan Buddhism in particular). In fact, the

Adepts of the Invisible Brotherhood—Rosicrucian or otherwise—that guideWestern students are often described as being beyond sect or creed. They areviewedasmastersofalltraditionsandsystems.

In particular, they are often described as having characteristics more incommonwith theAdepts of Eastern systems—Taoism,TibetanVajrayana andDzogchen, and Indian Nath, Aghori, and Avadhuta yogis in particular—thanwith the notions of holiness described in the Abrahamic religions. Principalamongthesecharacteristicsistheabilitytoactonboththephysicalandpsychicrealmsasanindependentbeing.Unlikesomeesotericschools thatadvocatedacompletedissolutionofthepersonalityorsenseofself,theseAdeptsrealizedthebalance between individuality and enlightened awareness and existed as self-perfectedautonomousbeings.

Thereareexceptionstothisidea.Forexample,wheretheperfectedspiritualbeingexistsbutforreasonsthatarenotalwaysmadecleartheydonothavetheabilitytoactdirectlyonthematerialworldandinsteadrequireanintermediaryofsomekind.Thisofcoursemeansthatthesedisembodiedintelligencescanbecontacteddirectlybutalsothattheymayseektoeitherparticipateinorcreateanegregoreforamorelastingmechanismofactivity.

THEGOLDENDAWNEGREGORE

TheentireessenceofanegregorecanbesummedupinadocumentknownasaFlying Roll. Documents of this type were written by the nineteenth-centuryBritish occultist MacGregor Mathers and Wynn Westcott—cofounder of theHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn—forusebySecondOrdermembers,thosewhohadreceivedthedegreeofAdeptusMinor(5=6)orabove.Thepaperswerecirculatedamongmembers,andwhilenowtheyareofteneasilyavailableuptonumber 35, the one quoted below ismore obscure anddoes not appear in theoriginal set. However, it can be found in several of the books by PatrickZalewski, a well-known and respected Adept in the tradition of the HermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn,andfirstappearedinhisSecretInnerOrderRitualsoftheGoldenDawn.

According to the document, the “etheric link” is the entire basis of theexistence of the order. A member’s relationship to the “link” takes placeprogressivelyoverthreestages,thefirstofwhichtakesplaceintheOuterOrder.

Inthe0=0,theNeophyteisfirstintroducedtotheLink,whichresultsin a type of power surge in the aura which expands the aura andheightensitsdensity.Itisseenbythosepresentwhoareclairvoyantas a shimmering green or blue light (depending on the degree ofcontact). In the four subsequent Elemental Grades that follow, theLinkestablishedinthe0=0isthenopeneduptoreceiveanimpetusofenergytailoredto,andinempathywith,thecorporealelements.Atthis point the aura must be continuously charged through ritualpracticeandmeditationexercise,sothatthepower-flowthroughtheLinkdoesnot closeor sealoff,which itwill do if left in theouterElement Grades for too long a period. (For example, spending acoupleofyearsoneachElementGrade).1

According to the document, if amember leaves or is expelled from theorderatthispointintheirstudiesthelinkwillsealitselfoff,therebyseveringtheperson from any psychic connection to the order. However, when a studententerstheportalgrade,theirpersonalrelationshipwiththelink(i.e.,egregore)oftheorderbecomesmoreconcreteanddefinitive.

From the Portal [Grade] onwards the Link undergoes a definitechange.Being parasitic by nature, it forms a firm shell within theauraitself,whichresemblestheshapeofthebody.[emphasisadded]Itistranslucentandemanatesthroughtheaurafromsubtlecentersofthe body. Once accepted into the body during the 5=6, it isimpregnated into the individual for life, unless the Chiefs whoemanatetheLinkchoosetocloseitdown.IntheOrderonecanonlyreduce theAdept to the rank of Portal, but they have no power toalter or cut the Link. If one advances through the Second OrderGrades,thisLinkisfurtherstrengthenedbyritual.2

TheculminationisinthedegreeofAdeptusExemptusandmeansthatthememberatthispointisnotonlyastudentbutalsoanofficerofalodgeandanintegralpartofthephysicalandspiritualhealthandwell-beingoftheorder.“Inthe final phase at the 7=4Grade, aRitual called ‘Transmission of theEthericLink’isperformed(andusuallyreservedforthoseoftheOfficeofChieforwhowillsucceedtothatOffice),wheretheLinkisgiveninitsentiretytotheAdeptsothattheyareabletocarryon.”3

Thedocument’sdescriptionofhowtheegregoreoperatespsychicallyisveryprecise,asisitsdiscussionofhowandwhynewegregoresareformed.

TheLink,initsvaryingstages,couldbedescribedasanastraltunnelofsorts,allowingaccesstocertainregionsoftheastralplanewhereacontingencyofastralentitiesgoverntheirrespectiveareas.Themaintheoryisthatifthereareenoughlinkstohumankind,moreenergyisreleased to man to accomplish something of “the Great Work.”Hence, when one obtains initiation with an Order, these links areforged. Basically, this is a two-way communication. The astralentitiesneeddevotion to increase theirownpower in theastral (byhaving the devotee send back the impetus through devotion andworship),with the result being the energies of two differentworldsarereceivedandconverted:atypeofperpetualmotionthatincreasesaslongasbothpartiesarewillingtoconform.[emphasisadded]

AnEsotericOrderusuallyworksfromtheessentialbasictheme,but concentrates in different areas of development.When a link isformed,oneattunestoworkinginaparticularareatowhichtheastralentitieshavebeendesignated(fromtheirownplane)todevelop.

Direct contact with these astral entities is done via the Link(astraltunnel),inwhichtheAdepttravelsduringskryingtrips[astralorvisionaryjourneys]tothoseplaneshewishestocontact.

There are a number of instances where Adepts, once in theSecondOrder,findthatthroughtheirastralabilitiestheyareattractedbyentitiestoworkareasotherthantheOrder.Incaseslikethis,theGuardians [of the egregore] have consented to accept them so thattheycanprogresstoacertainlevel;thenanotherLinkisforgedfromthat point to another set of entities or Esoteric Order. It must berememberedthatevenintheastral,thereisacertainamountofgiveand take. In algebraic terminology, “A” must go through “B” toarriveat“C.”TheChristianfaithisagoodexampleofthis,asarethenumerousoff-shootsofourownOrder. Inacase like this,once thenewLinkat “C” is formed, theoldone“B” is closed, andadirectlinkfrom“A”to“C”isutilized.4

The mention of the “astral tunnel” (or what now might be called a“wormhole effect”) is important, because it suggests a direct connection to a

particularsphereor levelof intelligence-energy-matterwithout thenecessityofhavingtogothroughavarietyofstepsalongtheway—asortof“hotline”toanastral entity, if youwill. A similar idea is presented in at least one school ofTaoismwhereinthestudentundertakesaseriesofvisualizationsthatwillcausethem to become aware of a sort of tunnel that will take them to an “astral”location. Here they will meet with a variety of typical characters—royalty orwarriors, for instance—and from them receive specific information regardingtheirpath.Thesetunnelsarenottobeskippedandaretobefollowedbackinthesamemannerinwhichtheywereusedtoarriveattheparticularheavenlyrealm.

Anexampleofoneofthesebranchesofanegregoreformingortakingrootin theformationofanewordercanbefoundin theSocietyof theInnerLightanditslateroffshoot,theServantsoftheLight(SOL).TheSocietyoftheInnerLight was cofounded by British occultist, Christian Qabalist, ceremonialmagician,andwriterDionFortune(1890–1946).

WALTERERNESTBUTLER:ASEMINALOCCULTIST

WalterErnestButler(1898–1978)isamongoneofthemostimportant,andoftenlittle-known, occultists of the twentieth century. His association with DionFortune,BritishesotericistandoccultauthorGarethKnight,andBritishoccultauthor,psychic,andesotericpractitionerDoloresAshcroft-NowickiwascriticalinbridgingthegapbetweenthesplinteringHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawnandtheadaptationofitsritualsandteachingstothegeneraloccultpublic.

In an article titled “The Egregore of a School,” published in 1970 by theServantsoftheLight,Butlerprovideswhatwasfordecadesacommonmannerof presenting the idea of an egregore amongBritish-based occultists.What iscriticalisthatintheveryfirstlineofthearticleButlerstatesthatheisaboutto“speakaboutsomethingthatisveryimportantbutwhichisusuallyforgottenbythemajorityofesotericstudents.”5Thisfactisvitaltoanunderstandingofhowthe term and idea of an egregore became increasingly common in Englishlanguageoccultliteratureduringthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcentury.

In thearticleButlergoesontopointout,ashavepreviousauthorities, thatthefundamentalnatureoftheegregoreconsistsofcollectiveemotionsandthatthethoughtformitselfisamoral,takingitsdirectionsfromthoseconnectedtoit.

Fromtheinnerpointofview,wemayseeitasacompositethought-formchargedwithemotionalenergy.Thisenergyisevokedfromallthosewhoarelinkedwiththethought-formand,iftherearethoseinthegroupwhoknowsomethingofthepsychicmechanisminvolved,it can be directed upon any chosen target. It is obvious that suchenergycanbeusedforgoodorevilpurposes, theintentionofthosewho manipulate the energy within the collective thought-formdeterminingthewayitisdirected.

Asageneralrule, thethought-formisbuiltaroundsomepersonor group of persons, and as the numbers admitted increase, so thepowerandrangeoftheEgregoreincreases,andapeculiarreciprocalactiontakesplace.Eachmemberofthegrouppoursenergyintothecollective thought-form but, equally, into each member there alsopasses the influence of the group as a whole. This reverse actionbringstolightcertainproblems.

It is increasingly apparent to those outside the group that anymemberof it isbeing influenced tosomedegreeby thepressureofthecollectivethinkingofalllinkedwithit,andunlesscareistaken,thepowerofindependentthoughtmaybereduced.Formanypeoplethisissomethingtheyactuallyseek,theymayfeelinadequateintheeveryday world and feel that by being linked in this way, they areprotected from what they see as aggressive tendencies from otherpeople.Or again, theymay feel inadequate to dealwith new ideasandsituationsandfeelthattheGroupmindwilldotheirthinkingforthem, and theywill not be in danger of wrong thinking. [emphasisadded]

Both these tendencies areunhealthybut theyare alsocommon,more particularly in occult and religious or semi-religious circles.Indeed, where the mental and psychic conditions justify suchdominationby thecollectiveGroupmind fora limitedperiod, suchdependence upon the Egregore may even be remedial. But anyorganization,whichmakessuchdependencemandatoryuponall itsmembers,istreadingadangerousandslipperypathandwill,soonerorlater,cometogrief.[emphasisadded]6

Butlerthendescribesthenatureofdisciplineinpracticalesotericismasthepersonal decision to follow a chosen teacher; in reality, a form of guru yoga:

“The discipline is in fact the deliberate choice of the disciple to follow in thefootstepsofoneheorsheadmires.Itisalinkofadmirationandlove.Wheretheobjectofthisloveiswiseandunderstanding,suchaguru-chelarelationshipcanbe of the greatest value, as we have said. But, all too often, it becomes anunhealthy psychic and mental relationship, which like a diseased limb, canpoisontherestofthebody.”7

DionFortuneusedtosaythatthebestwayofjudgingthespiritualhealthofanyorganizationwasnottotakeitspublicteachingsandstatementsasproofofitsintegritybutrathertolookcloselyatthetypeofpersonitsdisciplineturnedout. . . .Here is theancient touchstonewecanalwaysapply for it iseternallytrue:“Bytheirfruitsshallyeknowthem.”

Toavoidtheproblemsassociatedwiththecultofpersonality,Butlerformedthe Servants of the Light along relatively unstructured lines. He explains that“ourEgregoreiscontactedontheInnerPlanes,andontheouterlevels.PrimarilyitislinkedwithanddrawsitspowerandauthorityfromtheWesternTradition.ItisalooselyknitEgregore,whichgivesitflexibility,andbecauseoftheselooseconnections to other Traditions it has much to give those who enter upon itscourseinthespiritofthosewhodesiretoknowinordertoserve.”8

Inthenextchapterwewillexaminehowtheconceptoftheegregorespreadinto themodern culture byway of the occult culture in France and through adiscussionof,amongotherthings,itsconnectiontothetarot.

3

TheModernEraandtheFrenchOccultRevival

VictorHugoappears tobe the first author touse thewordegregoreaspartofmodernlanguage.Thewordappears inLaLegendedessiecles (TheLegendoftheAges)in1859,whereitisusedasbothanadjectiveandanoun.Lessthanadecade later, in 1868, it appears in thewritings of Eliphas Lévi, inLeGrandArcane(TheGreatMystery).LéviclearlyidentifiesthewordegregorewiththeKabbalisticloreofthosebeingswhoweresaidtobethefathersoftheNephilim.Lévi describes them as beings ignorant of our existence. Itmay verywell befromthissourcethattheuseofthetermenteredmodernesotericlore,aswellasthe teachingsofvariousFrenchMartinistandRosicrucianmovementsand thatoftheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn.

THETAROTBYMOUNISADHU

Mouni Sadhu is the pen name of Dymitr Sudowski (1898–1966), a PolishTheosophistandMartinist.HiswritingsindicatethathewasdeeplyinvolvedinHermeticismfrom1926to1933andwasinfluencedbythewritingsofProfessorGrigorii Ossipovich Mebes (1869–1930). Mebes, a leading figure of RussianFreemasonry, was also the principal literary inspiration for Estonian-RussianChristianmysticandHermeticmagicianValentinTomberg,whichcanclearlybeseen in the latter’s anonymously published bookMeditations on the Tarot: AJourney intoChristianHermeticism. In fact, bothSadhu’sbookTheTarot andValentin’swork are nearly identical in philosophical tone save for one criticalpoint: Sadhu asserts the existence of positive egregores, but for Tomberg allegregoresareultimately“demonic.”WhileSadhuusesthetwenty-twocardsof

thetarot’sMajorArcanaasthebasisforhispresentationofHermeticphilosophy(primarilythroughtheeyesofMartinism),healsoincludesanextensiveamountofpracticaloccultadviceineachchapter.

Tombergtakesadifferenttack,providinganexhaustivephilosophicalviewof the tarotas it relates to themajoresoteric trends (albeit through the lensofRomanCatholicism), therebygiving itasortof idealistichighmedieval flavorandmakingitdeeplyinspirational.

In fact, Tomberg’s work has been hailed as the “most beautiful andinstructivebookofthetwentiethcenturyconcerningWesternesotericism”bytheprominent French scholar ofWestern esotericismAntoine Faivre of SorbonneUniversity.1

In addition, Father Bede Griffiths (1906–1993), the British-born IndianBenedictine monk who later became known as Swami Dayananda, and theinternationally renowned Trappist theologian and accomplished author AbbotThomas Keating endorsed it publically. The most recent edition includes anafterwordbyCardinalHansUrsvonBalthasar,“widelyconsideredtobeonethegreatest Catholic theologians of the twentieth century”—no small featconsideringthenatureofthetopicpresented.2

Formany readers, thesebooks are theonly connection theyhavewith theteachingsofMartinismaspresentedintheEnglishlanguage.Thesetwovolumesalsocontainwithinthemanearlycompletepresentationofthemajorthemesandideas of late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century French occultism, whichprovidedthefoundationfortheBritish,American,andRussianoccultrevivalsofthesameperiod.

Mouni Sadhu’sThe Tarot lists fifty-two references made to egregore andegregores in its index. “Egregor: is a collective entity, such as a nation, state,religions and sects and their adherents, and evenminor human organizations.ThestructureofEgregorsissimilartothatofhumanbeings.Theyhavephysicalbodies(that is,collectivelyall thebodiesofthosewhobelongtotheparticularEgregor)andalsoastralandmentalones,theEgregorbeingthesumtotalofalltheseelements.”3And later onSadhu states that “in the colloquial language itcanbesaid,thatthemagicChainiscomposedofbothlivinganddeadmen,aswellaselementalsofdifferenttypes.”4

Hefurtherelaborateshowegregorescomeintobeing:

Imagine that an intelligent and well-disposed man, who is able to

concentrate, is thinkingabout agood idea,giving it a certain form.Hemaythenfindothers,whohavethesameorsimilarideas,andsoacircleofmenmaycomeintobeing,whoareallthinkingalongthesame lines but in a different form. It is as if every one of them isrepeatingthedrawingofaplan,placingapencilagainandagainonthe same contours. The thing grows in strength, develops anastrosomeandbecomesan“Egregor”orcollectiveentity.

Such an Egregor, like each astrosome, defends, heals and evenresuscitates the physical bodies of its members, rousing them toactivities and realization of the principal idea incorporated in theEgregor. So, for example, an Egregor of a benevolent societymayurge itsphysicalmembers tostillmoreactivitiesandwork,and theattractingofnewmembers.Egregorsbelongingtoorganizationsandnationswhich are inimical to one another, are able to fight on theastralplane,whiletheirhumanbeingsfightonthephysical.

Ifonthephysicalplane,enemiesdestroythebodiesofmembersof a particular Egregor, their astrosomes [astral bodies] fortify theEgregor on the astral plane, while their human beings fight in thephysicalworld.RecallthepersecutionofChristiansbytheJewsandPagans in the early days of the new religion. The former won thefight,becausetheywerestrongerontheastralplane.ThatiswhytheChurch,atthattime,saidthatthebloodofmartyrsisthebestseedforthenewChristians.5

Egregores can even establish themselves through various physicallocations, thereby assuring their continued survival. The location or object—suchasarelic—thenbecomesatalismanofsorts,directlyconnectedtotheEarthandthelifeexperiencesoftheAdeptwhoestablishedit.Thisisoftena“naturaloccurrence” rather than the result of rituals, invocations, or those operationslimitedtocreatingasingleobjectexclusivelyforritualpurposes.Ithas, ifyouwill,anelementof“grace”aboutit.

According to Sadhu, “Very advanced elementars [Adepts] connected withpowerfulEgregores(usuallyreligiousones)sometimesleavecertaincentresontheplanet, throughwhichtheEgregoricforcesmayact.Sucharethegravesofsome saints, or genuine advancedyogis, orother spots likeLourdes, theHolySepulchre,andsomelesswellknownplaces,oftenaccessibleonlytoinitiates.”6

Sadhu affirms that there exist positive and negative egregores and details

some of the psychic actions of Adepts on the astral realm. These actions aredesigned to enhance an existing egregore or to generate a new one. He alsowandersintoadiscussionofpsychicfeeding,or“vampirism,”ofanenvironmentto acquire psychic energy for action on thematerial realm. Despite the term,Sadhu is clear that this vampirism is an energetic extraction and not of themythologicalblood-drinkingkind.(Thisisunfortunatelyapoorchoiceofwordsonhispart,becausethemethodsheistalkingaboutareoftenconsideredpartofaveryhighesotericpractice.)7

EachoftheseprocessesisintimatelytiedtotheemotionalorastralstrengthoftheAdept.Themajorityofpractitioners,however,willnotinteractwiththeseenergies in astral travels but rather in the physical world through the use ofrituals.Sadhuaddresses thispoint succinctlyandclearlywhenhewrites, “TheactivepartofKabbala is: ‘ifweoperateKabbalisticallywith the symbolsandformulasinfullconsciousnessoftheirmeaning,thensuchanoperationMUSTbereflected—inacertainmeasure—onthedevelopmentofrealhappenings,onthechangesoftheastralclichés[forms],andthementalcurrents.’”8

ThevitalizingpartoftheritualisinvocalizationofthevariousdivinenamesassociatedwiththetenspheresoftheTreeofLife.JustasGodspoke“theWord”andCreation came into being, so does theAdept recite the divine names andbringintobeingoccultphenomena,beings,orevenworlds.

Nowyoumaybeready to realize theaimsof theconnectionof theTEN NAMES in Theurgy and magic. They are formulas of theseparate cycles of the Great Diabatic Process in the Life of theuniverse. THEIR FULLNESS ENVELOPS EVERYTHING THATHAS BEEN PERFORMED AND EVERYTHING WHICH WILLBE PERFORMED. It is, so to speak, the full reflection of thesubjectiveunderstandingbytheCollectiveMan(UniversalBeing)oftheMysterybelongingtotheconstructionoftheworld,manifestedinthesignsofhisinitiatorylanguage.

With every theurgic ceremony and with many magic ones isconnectedtheritualisticpronunciationofpartoftheHolyNames,orallof them.Thisdependsupon thekindofSephiroth takingpart inthe process of RISING prayers, or conjurations. Therefore exactknowledgeoftheNamesandSephirothisindispensableevenforthebeginningaspirant inHermeticismandmagic.Thisdefines forhimthe ability of performing Kabbalistic activities in any part of the

DiabaticprocessandGIVESHIMTHEABILITYTOFORTIFYHISWILL-POWER WITH FORMULAS CONTACTING HIM WITHTHEIMMORTALEGREGOREOFTHEGREATCHAINFORGEDBY THE GUARDS AND MASTERS OF THE WHITE RACE’SKABBALAH.9

However,oneneednotbeanofficialmemberofanegregoretobeaffectedbyit.Sadhustatesthatitispossibletoattractsympatheticsoulstoanegregorefor the purpose of vampirizing them—that is, feeding off their emotional andphysicalenergies.Examplesofthiscanclearlybeseeninsportingeventsaswellas political campaigns and various forms of media manipulation. “Theoperations ofCeremonialMagic do not extend only to two-plane entities, butalso to incarnate ones. It is possible, under favorable conditions of course, toevokeandcompeltheastrosome[psychicbody]ofalivingmanorEgregoreofaChain,havingincarnaterepresentatives,andsoon,toperformanything.”10

This power of attraction and even subjugation is not limited to humanbeings.Itextendstoeverythingthatlivesinthevisibleandinvisibleworlds,andegregores are living beings. “Hermetic Tradition is firm in the statement, thatEVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE IS MUTUALLY CONNECTED ANDBOUND TOGETHER OR INTERWOVEN. This is important! If you realizethis,manyofyourtroubles,fearsanduncertaintieswillceasetoexist.”11Forthisreason Sadhu, like Jean Dubuis, encourages students to work with their own“weakKabbalah”insteadofthatofsomeoneelseorthatofagroup.Workwithyour own images, prayers, invocations, and “mantrams” that are derived fromyour understanding of the Kabbalah so as to limit the influence variousegregoresmayhaveonyou.

VARIOUSINTERPRETATIONSOFDEMONSANDEVIL

The framework forValentinTomberg’s discussion of egregores falls primarilyunder the heading of the tarot card known as The Devil. For Tomberg, thefifteentharcanumisthesymbolicembodimentofpsychicandmagicalcreationsofallegregores.Allegregoresarethendemonic,becausetheyareacreationofman’sdesiresandresultinhumanitybeingchainedtoafalsegodorideal.

Here Tomberg directs the reader to a discussion of evil, the nature of

demons,howtheycomeintobeing,andthekeypointandnatureofallspiritualpractices,asitisalsothedangertherein.“Everyspiritualexercisetendstoleadtotheidentificationofthemeditantwiththesubjectofmeditation,i.e.,toanactof intuition, the fifteenth Arcanum of the Tarot, in so far as it is a spiritualexercise, cannot—andmustnot—lead to an experienceof identificationof themeditantwiththesubjectofmeditation.Oneshouldnotarriveatanintuitionofevil,sinceintuitionisidentification,andidentificationiscommunion.”12

Hefurtherstates:“Oneoughtnottooccupyoneselfwithevil,otherthaninkeepingacertaindistanceandcertainreserve,ifonewishestoavoidtheriskofparalyzing thecreativeelananda still greater risk—thatof furnishingarms tothe powers of evil. . . . The world of evil is a chaotic world—at least, as itpresentsitselftotheobserver.Oneoughtnottoenterthisjungleifonedoesnotwanttoloseone’swaythere;oneshouldbeanobserverfromtheoutside.”13

While it is easy enough to ignore this warning because of the actual orperceived religious bias of the author, similar statements have been made bymore iconoclastic individuals. In fact, a passive preoccupation with evil—particularly as expressed by many piety-seeking faithful who have anoverwhelming desire to avoid evil and therefore see it existing everywhere—unconsciously consumes them. How does it do so? In the same manner onewouldeatanelephant:onesmallbiteatatime.Weneedonlyexaminethelivesofthosewhoconstantlyspeakofeviltoseethetruthinthisstatement.

In his book of odd and curious anecdotes of the paranormal, SwimmingWhere Madmen Drown: Travelers’ Tales from Inner Space, Robert Mastersrecountstheexperiencehehadwithevilwhileresearchingabookonwitchcraft.Masters,whowasa leading figureof theHumanPotentialmovement togetherwithhiswife,JeanHouston,writesthatin1960hearrangedtoliveinArkansas,in the Ozark Mountains near White River, for one year for the purpose ofresearch and writing. The book he was researching was Eros and Evil: TheSexual Psychopathology ofWitchcraft. It addressed the antisexual themes thatran through the medieval witchcraft trials. Masters asserts that as a result ofdealing with the cruel and violent nature of the material, “several authors ofhistoriesofwitchcrafthaveexperiencedsevereclinicaldepression.”14

Hethengoesontodetailthevarietyofphenomenathathehimselfbegantoexperience—phenomenaheobservedthatwasidenticaltowhathewasreadingabout in his research. This included infestations of scorpions, centipedes, andtarantulas.Aswell,deadbirdsandanimalsbegantoshowuponthepropertyatwhich hewas residing, alongwith dead vegetation and trees, sudden flooding

from a dry creek bed, and gusts ofwind that created “whirlpools of dust andlookinglikesomethingonewouldmorelikelyencounterinthedesert.Overall,therewasakindofpsychicpallthathungovertheplace,andfriendswhocametovisitmeduringthattimeremarkedinonewayoranotherabouttheextremelyoppressivefeelingoftheplace....Almostassoonasmybookwascompleted,the whole array of phenomena vanished almost at once. . . . I remained foranothereightmonthsorso,[and]theyneverreappeared.”15

Mastersstatesthathebelievesthiswasa“clear-cut,complex,andpowerfulexampleofmind—andpossiblysoulaswell—interactingwithnature.”16

Similar phenomena were noted by Aleister Crowley, pertaining to hisresearchintotheQlippoth,orthedemonicforcesintheKabbalah.

NotedauthorJamesWassermanhadhisownoddexperienceswithsimilarlystrangephenomena,whichhedescribed inhis autobiography, In theCenterofthe Fire: A Memoir of the Occult 1966–1989. Wasserman, along with themysterious“Simon”andLarryBarnes,wereinstrumentalinpublishingtheAvonBooks mass-market paperback of theNecronomicon. TheNecronomicon is afictionalbookofBabylonianmagicinventedbyH.P.Lovecraft,oneofthemostinfluential and important writers of fantasy and horror. According toLovecraftian lore, the Necronomicon was written by “the Mad Arab” AbdulAlhazredinDamascusin730CE.Translationsaresaidtohavemadetheirwaythrough the hands of the great occultists across the ages, including JohnDee.Theentirebaseof theNecronomicon is its focusonsupposedlycontaining thesecretsofanancientcultwhoworship the“OldOnes.”(TheseOldOnesarearaceoftentacledmonsterswhoaredescribedasbeingofextraterrestrialorigin.)ThemesaroundtheNecronomicon,and itspurportedpower todrive thosewhocomeintocontactwithitinsane,playanimportantroleinseveralofLovecraft’smostpopularstories.Italsoinfluencedanentiregenreofitsownwithnumerousspin-off stories by other authors as well as inspired imitators. Since itsappearancein1978,the“Simonedition”oftheNecronomiconhascontinuouslybeeninprint.

Whata loonyperiod theNecro[nomicon] productionwouldbe.Forsome reason, nearly everyonewho entered our loft shed blood . . .otherswere constantly cutting themselves inminor accidents.Thenonenight, Igota franticcall fromthe typesettersdownstairs.Theirloft had been overrun by rats bursting through the walls. . . .TheTemple inmyownlofthadapadlockontheoutsidedoorso it

couldbesealedasaprivatespaceformymagicalwork.OnJuly4th,Jane and I returned from dinner and fireworks. I had an uneasyfeeling when we walked through the loft door, itself secured by aheavy-dutypolice lock. . . . I discovered thatmyTempledoorwasopen, that thehasphadbeenbroken,and that thisappeared tohaveoccurred from the inside out. . . . Nothing else in the loftwas theslightestbitdisturbed.17

TheseexamplesservetoillustratewhyTombergassertsthatthepurposeofThe Devil tarot card is not to present the metaphysical dimensions of evil(although he briefly enters that path at the end of the chapter) but rather toillustratehowindividualscanlosetheirfreedomtoanentitythattheyorothershavegenerated—anentity that is anartificialbeingwhosecreatorbecomes itsslave.

He compares this process to that of the creation of a tulpa in TibetanBuddhism.“For,inaccordancewithhisexperienceofthem,EliphasLévisawindemons—such as incubi and succubi, the Leonard masters presiding overwitch’s Sabbaths, and the demons of the possessed—only creations of humanwillandimagination,projecting,individuallyorcollectively,theircontentsintothe malleable substances of the ‘astral light’ and thus engendering demons,whicharethereforeengenderedinEuropeinexactlythesamewayastheTibetantulpas.”18

BothEliphasLéviand theTibetanmastersare inagreementnotonlywithrespect to the subjective and psychological origin of demons but also withrespecttotheirobjectiveexistence.Engenderedsubjectively,theybecomeforcesindependentofthesubjectiveconsciousnessthatengenderedthem.Theyare,inotherwords,magical creations, formagic is the objectification of that whichtakesitsoriginsinthesubjectiveconsciousness.Demonsthathavenotarrivedatthestageofobjectification—thatofanexistenceseparatefromthepsychic lifeoftheirparents—haveasemi-autonomousexistencethatisdesignatedinmodernpsychologybythetermpsychologicalcomplex.

Occultist and author IsraelRegardiewas alsoAleisterCrowley’s personalsecretary and transcriptionist. In several ofRegardie’s books he discusses thisnotionofdemonsbeingsubjectivepsychologicalcomplexes.ThisisalsoatopicofconsiderabledisagreementamongWesternoccultistswhoinsistonadualisticnotionofmagicalpracticesbeingeithersubjectiveorobjectiveinnaturebutwhofail to grasp the juncture where these distinctions overlap and the essentially

parasiticnatureofthesebeings.ForTomberg,anegregoreisacollectivedemonwhose prime examples in the twentieth century can be seen in the politicalmovementsofNationalSocialismandCommunism.

Thespectre[ofcommunism]hasgrown....Engenderedbythewillofthemasses,bornofdespairfollowingthe“industrialrevolution”inEurope, nourished by the resentment accumulated amongst themasses through generations, armed with a dummy intellectualitywhichisHegel’sdialecticmisconstrued—thisspectrehasgrownandcontinuestomaketheroundsinEurope,andinothercontinents....Todayalreadyonethirdofmankindisimpelledtobowdownbeforethisgodandtoobeyitineverything....BecauseforMarxismthereisnoGodorgods—thereareonly“demons”inthesenseofcreationsofthehumanwillandimagination.ThisisthefundamentalMarxistdoctrine of the so-called “ideological superstructure.”According tothisdoctrine it is theeconomic interest, i.e. thewill,whichcreates,i.e. imagines, ideologies—religious, philosophical, social andpolitical. For Marxism all religions are, therefore, only such“ideological superstructures,” i.e. formations due to the humanwilland imagination. Marxism-Leninism itself is only an ideologicalsuperstructure,aproductof intellectual imagination,on thebasisofthe will having arranged—or re-arranged—social, political, andculturalthingsinacertainmanner.Andthismethodofproductionofideologicalsuperstructuresonthebasisofwill ispreciselywhatweunderstandasthecollectivegenerationofademonoranegregore.19

Tomberg asserts—and this may be the reason why he has been so wellreceivedbyRomanCatholicofficials—that there isacleardistinctionbetweenthe“mysticalbodyofChrist”orthe“churchtriumphant”andtheegregoreofthechurchinthepoliticalworld.

Ifthereareegregoresofinitiationordersandreligious—andother—communities,theyarealwaysnegative.TheegregoreofCatholicism,forexample, is itsparasiticdouble(theexistenceofwhich itwouldbe futile to deny), which manifests itself as fanaticism, cruelty,“diplomatic wisdom” and excessive pretentions. But insofar as thepositive spirits of communities are concerned, they are never

egregores, but rather they are entities from the ten hierarchies (ten,becausethetenthhierarchy—thatofmankind—isincludedhere).Itistherefore a human soul, an Angel or an Archangel, who assumesresponsibility for thedirectionofahumancommunity inapositivesense.Thus,itisnotatallanegregorebutratherSt.FrancishimselfwhoisthespiritualdirectoroftheFranciscanorder.ItissimilarlysofortheChurch.ItsguidingspiritisJesusChrist.20

He goes on to say that “no, there is theWord, and there are egregoresbeforewhomhumanitybowsdown; there is revelationofdivine truth,and themanifestationsofthewillofhumanbeings;thereisthecultofGod,andthatofidolsmadebyman....TheWordandidols....operatesimultaneouslyinthehistoryofthehumanrace.”21

Thiscreatesarazor-sharp—andletusemphasizethin—distinctionbetweenthenotionofanegregoreasuniversallyevilbecauseitisgeneratedbyhumanity,andtheChristianfaith,bywhichTombergmeanstheRomanCatholicChurch,asultimatelypositivebecauseitisgeneratedbyGodthroughChrist.Thispointistheologically sound but is also clearly subjective. It is no different from theTibetan Buddhist need to “control the narrative” and attempt to keep alldiscussionofBuddhismwithin thehermeticallysealedandcircular frameworkofTibetanBuddhismandculture.While there issometruth to it,at theendofthedayitcannotholduptoreasonandissimplyanarticleoffaith.

This view as presented by Tomberg immediately confronts us with anunbridgeable dualism of almost Manichean proportions. The only way forhumanitytoescapethepowerofitsowncreations—thatbytheirnatureareevil—istosurrendercompletelytoGod.Itappearsthatwearebeingtoldtoacceptthe“egregore”thatis“notanegregore.”

Thesemiscientificcummetaphysicalrationaleforallegregoresbeingevilisgiven:

Inorder toengenderapsychicor“astral”entity, it isnecessarythatthe psychic and mental energy that you produce to this effectcoagulates, i.e. enfolds. A form is not produced by radiation; it isproduced only by coagulation or enfoldment. Now, good onlyradiates;itdoesnotatallenfold.Itisalwaysevilwhichdoesthis.

Youcannotengender...an“egregoreofuniversallove”becausethe quality ofwill and imagination required to this end is not held

togetherasaformationcenteredinitself,butformsanalliance—oneof“radiatingmovement”—withtheactivityoftheworldofspiritualhierarchies.Thepsychicandmentalenergyoflovewouldnevergiverise to the formation of an individual psychic or “astral” entity; itwould immediately and wholly put itself at the disposal of thecelestial hierarchies, saints, and God. Therefore, although one cancertainlyengenderdemons,onecannotengenderartificialAngels.22

However,Tombergdoesgivesomepracticalandinsightfuladviceonhowtoavoidcreatingorstrengtheningnegativeforces.

Letusbesilent....Tobesilentismorethantokeepthingssecret;itismoreeventhantoguardoneselffromprofaningtheholythingstowhicharespectfulsilenceisowed.Tobesilentis,aboveall,thegreatmagical commandment of not engendering demons through ourarbitrarywillandimagination....

Let us resign ourselves, therefore, to the Great Work ofcontributing constructively to tradition—the spiritual, Christian,Hermetic,scientifictradition.Letusthoroughlyimmerseourselvesinit,letusstudyit,letuspracticeit,lastly,letuscultivateit,i.e.,letuswork not in order to overthrow but in order to build. Let us rangeourselvesamongstthebuildersofthe“greatcathedral”ofmankind’sspiritual tradition—and let us try to contribute to it.May theHolyScripturesbeholyforus;maytheSacramentsbesacramentsforus;maythehierarchyofspiritualauthoritybethehierarchyofauthorityforus;andmaythe“perennialphilosophy”—andalsotrulyscientificscience—ofthepastandpresenthavefriendsinusand,shoulditbethecase,respectfulcollaborators!Thisiswhatthecommandmenttobesilententails—thecommandmentofnotengenderingdemons.23

LikeSadhu,Tombergnotesthatphysicallocationscanbetheanchorpointsof spiritual force. However, he makes a distinction, based on theologicalassumptions, between talismans and the sacraments, stating that holy sites,relics,andsacramentsarenottalismans(storagecontainersforenergy)butrathergatewaysthroughwhichaninexhaustibleenergyflows.

DISINFORMATION—THEDEVILMADEMEDOIT

Despitehisclaimsofnotdiscussingthemetaphysicsofevil,Tombergdoestakea slight detour down the road of attempting to explain the role of evil in theworld.Hespeaksofthe“hierarchiesoftheLeft,”thosebeingsoftenreferredtoastheQlippothinKabbalah,whomwehavementionedbefore.Thesedemonicbeingsarethecounterpartofthehierarchyofangels.Tombergplacestheminascripturalcontext,suchasinJob,whereinthepurposeofthedemonistotestthespiritualityofman.Here,hesays,thedemonwillonlyleaveonceitisconvincedof an individual’s holiness. It acts, as itwere, as “the devil’s advocate” in thetrialofthesoulbeforeGod,foroneisonlyholyonce“goodandevilagreeuponit.”

Theotherroleisthatofademonwhoiscontrolledandputintotheserviceof good. This is similar to the story of King Solomon controlling demons tobuild the temple, or the notion within Tibetan Buddhism of Padmasambhavabindingdemons todefend thedharma.Themost interestingexamplegivenbyTomberg, however, concerns demonic influence as simply intent upondistraction. “There are also entities from the hierarchies of the left accused ofmakinguseof ridicule—farce—as ameansof demonstrating their prosecutingthesis.Anentitybelongingtothislattercategoryisknowninthewesternworld.This is Mephistopheles, whose portrait Goethe painted with astonishingexactness. . . . The ridiculewhichMephistophelesmakes use of has a seriousfoundation. It is primarily human pretension and snobbery that turns intoridicule.Hereisanexampleofthis:...”24

At this point Tomberg tells the story of Hugh Clayton Randall-Stevens,describing him as a retired journalist who was financially secure, spirituallyindifferent,andlivingalifeofleisurewithhiswife.TheninFebruary1925hesuddenly started getting “messages” from an entity who claimed to be theEgyptiangodOsiris.OsirisrevealedtothejournalistalloftheancientwisdomofEgypt that archaeologists had yet to discover—but someday would. SoonRandall-Stevens began to draw images, having never drawn before. The stylewassimplisticandyetpompous,anditdetailedthestrugglebetweengoodandevil,with theobligatory reference toAtlantis.Severalbooksof this channeledmaterialwerepublishedbyRiderofLondon,and,intime,itwasarticulatedthatthe unsuspecting channeler of ancient wisdom was also the reincarnation ofPharaohAkhenaton.

Of course Tomberg insisted this is not Osiris but the spirit of

Mephistopheles,with“thewholerevelation...onlyafarcemadebyhimforthe...credulous?No—forspiritualsnobs.”Thebooksevencontainanotefromtheauthorstatingthatthereasontheyarebeingreadisnotbecauseoftheirwisdom—forlittleisthere—butbecauseofhowthematerialiscommunicated:itisdoneso in “an extraordinary way.” It is the fantastic that people are after, not thetruth.25

Spiritualsnobberyisafinephraseforit,andonethatisechoedinadifferentmanner by Joscelyn Godwin in his book Atlantis and the Cycles of Time:Prophecies,Traditions,andOccultRevelations,whereinhespendsafairamountof time discussing Randall-Stevens. “The warning that our civilization isheading for imminentdoomisa favorite refrainofAtlantologists.Toacertaincast ofmind, often shared by Superior Intelligences, it always seems that thepresentdayisonthebrinkofcatastrophe,becauseeveryoneissowicked(exceptofcoursethewriterandhisorherreaders).”26

Ifwepauseforamomentwefindsomethingalittledeeperhere.ItisnotjustonepersonwhoisbeingdistractedfromthesearchforinnerspiritualawakeningorTruth.No,itiseveryonewhoreadsorcomesintocontactwithabookofsuchbanalities.Wealsoseethatevildoesnotneedtocontroleveryone,itjustneedstoinfluencetherightone,andthroughthisinfluencenotevencontrolpeople—simplykeep themdistracted.These themes are addressedby renownedBritishphilosopher and author Colin Wilson in The Mind Parasites and by Britishauthor of the occult Gary Lachman in A Secret History of Consciousness.However,withtheexceptionofLachman’sbook,whichislargelyarestatingofWilson’spremisepresentedinahistoricalcontext,fewwritersontheparanormalhaveapproachedthiscriticalpoint:evildoesnotneedtocontroleveryone,itjustneeds to keep as many people as possible distracted from progressing on thepath. This distraction comes in various forms by way of the media, personalelectronicdevices,videogames,movies,television,music,andsports.Mindlesspoliticalmemesareamongthemostpopularmanifestationsatthemoment.Thisalso means that the creators and purveyors of these media and the productsproducedforthemareprimecandidatesfordemonicobsessionandpossession.Toaffectoneofthemistoreachmillionsthroughthem.

TELEPATHYANDMINDCONTROLTHROUGHTHEMEDIA

Itshouldcomeasnosurprisethatduringthe1930s,whenmassbroadcastmediawasstillinitsrelativeinfancy,boththeBBCandNBCradionetworksundertookaseriesofmasson-airtelepathytests.NBCdidtheseincooperationwithZenithRadioCorporation, and, aspart of them, theoriginal “ZenerCards” (themostcommontoolusedinextrasensorytesting)weredistributedtothepublic.Zenercardsareadeckoftwenty-fivecardsconsistingoffivesymbols:acircle,cross,wavy lines, square, and five-pointed star. They were created by psychologistKarlZener(1903–1964)inthe1930sforexperimentsinpsychicresearch.ThisworkwasdoneinconjunctionwithJ.BRhine.PacksweresenttolocalZenithradio sales-and-repair shops for promotional purposes andwere also availableforpurchaseinfive-and-dimestores.Thesecardsweresopopularthattheywereunavailabletwoweeksaftertheirinitialissueandhadtobereprinted.

Specific individuals working in the field of telepathic research includedAmericanbotanistandthefounderofparapsychology,J.B.Rhine(1895–1980).He was the founder of the Rhine Research Center, located on the campus ofDuke University, Durham, North Carolina. The Rhine Research Center is anindependent center for the study of parapsychology. It is the successororganization to the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University and ispossiblytheoldestfacilityofitskind.ItwasfoundedbyRhinewhenheretiredfromDukeUniversityin1965;itwasfirstcalledthe“FoundationforResearchon the Nature of Man and the Institute for Parapsychology.” Unlike theParapsychology Laboratory, the Rhine Research Center is not affiliated withDuke University. In The Reach of the Mind, Rhine attests to the telepathicexperimentsthatwereconductedbytheZenithCorporationonseveraloccasionsinthe1920sand1930s.

The nineteen-twenties, however, saw a marked rise of interest intelepathy.Itwasparalleledbyasimilarincreaseofpublicinterestinspiritualismandwasdoubtlessaffectedbyit.Thetremendouslossoflife and the widespread bereavement which took place during theFirstWorldWar,togetherwiththeensuinguncertaintiesandshiftingvalues,undoubtedlyhadtheeffectofturningmen’sthoughtstowardsthepossibilityofforcesbeyondtheknowledgeofscience.Countlessmen and women felt the need of something more than purelyphysicalexplanationsoflifeanddeath.Amasstelepathyexperimentwas conducted by radio over the Zenith Broadcasting Station inChicago in 1923, and a little later the British BroadcastingCorporation conducted another. Later still, the Scientific American

magazine carried out a self-testing program in telepathy, and therewerenumerousothermanifestationsofpopularinterest.27

Inabooklet,WhatWellKnownScientistsSayaboutTelepathy,publishedinMarch 1938, E. F. McDonald Jr., president of the Zenith Radio Corporation,madethefollowingstatement.

This booklet is intended as a preliminary report from the ZenithFoundation to its partners in this great adventure of exploration.Necessarilyincomplete,itneverthelesssetsdowninpermanentformsome of the best andmost scientific contemporary thought on thissubject.Evenmore important than itscontributions to the scientificfundof informationon the subjectofmentalphenomena is the factthatthisradioserieshasliftedtheentiresubjectoutofthedungeonofprejudice into the white light of serious discussion by millions ofpeople. I want to thank the many scientists, educators, and otherspeakers who appeared on the Zenith programs, for permission toreprint their interviews. I want to express my appreciation to thehundredsofthousandswhoparticipatedintheZenithtelepathytestsand to the many thousands of listeners who sent in theirexperiences.28

Preliminaryconclusionsoftheexperiments,whichlastedforthirtyweeks,werecompiledandlistedinthebooklet.Theystated:

Telepathyfunctionsbestwhenstrongemotionsareinvolved.Telepathicabilityvariesinindividuals,aswellasatcertaintimes.Physicaldistancehasnoeffectontelepathiccommunication.Telepathiccommunication ismostoftenexperiencedbetweenpeoplewithbloodorloverelationships.Timeisnotafactorinexpressingorexperiencingtelepathy.Ageisnotafactorinexpressingorexperiencingtelepathy.

Statistical results were based on a quarter of a million responses withpreliminaryresultsshowingthattheoddsofsomeofthetestresultsbeingleftto

chancewere1in10,000,000,000,000,000,000.Thereportwentontostate:“Ofgreater importance than cold statistics, however, is the repeated testimony ofZenithFoundationprogramsof the successfulmenandwomenwhoattributedtheirsuccesstotheconsciousorunconscioususeoflittleknownmentalpowers.. . .Wedonothavetowaituntilsciencecanexplainthesepowers,butwecanuse them now in our daily lives merely by heeding the premonitions andimpulseswhichaddtosuccessandhappiness.”29

Dr. Rhine’s books, includingNewFrontiers of theMind and others,werelisted on the instruction card alongwith participating radio stations, date, andtime.Hiswork is intentionallyquotedherebecausehisresearchhasmadehimone of, if not the only, household name for psychic research. In addition, hisresearch was done well over half a century ago. This point is brought up todemonstratethat,despiteextensiveevidenceofpsychicphenomenaandability,thegeneral publicbelieves in it notbecauseof “science”or statistical reports,butbecauseofpersonalexperience.

Yet in spite of the massive amount of research since these publicexperimentsweredonemore thanhalfacenturyago, thescientificcommunityas a whole fails to demonstrate any significant interest in parapsychology oreventoshowanyconfidenceintheresearchinwhichitsownmembersengage.Theseobservationsought todemonstrate that thewitnessingoforparticipationin psychic phenomena, at least as of now, is a predominantly intimate andpersonalexperience,andanyscientist involvedinpsychicresearch,despiteDr.Rhine’soptimisticviews,stillplacestheirprofessionalreputationandcareer indanger.

AMBELAINANDMARTINISM

Robert Ambelain (1907–1997) was a French essayist and author of forty-twobooks, some of themwritten under the pseudonymAurifer.Hewas a leadingmember of many Martinist bodies and involved with esoteric Freemasonry,serving as the grand master ofMemphis-Mizraim from 1960 until 1985, andordained a bishop in the Gnostic Universal Church in 1946. Even during theNazioccupationofFrancefrom1940until1945hewasaceaselessorganizerofesotericmovements inFranceandabroad.Hewroteaboutallareasofesoterichistory,theory,andpractice.

Ambelain’s many associations made him directly familiar with the

formation, maintenance, and dissolution of egregores. His authority on themattermadehimwidelycitedbybothSadhuandTombergintheirworks.ThefollowingisfromhisbookPracticalKabbalah, translatedbyPiersA.Vaughanforprivatecirculation.

We give the name Egregore to a Force generated by a powerfulspiritual current and later fed at regular intervals, conforming to arhythm in harmonywith theUniversalLife of theCosmos, or to ameetingofEntitiesunitedbyacommoncharacteristic.

IntheInvisible,outsideofthephysicalperceptionofMan,thereexist artificial beings, generated by devotion, enthusiasm orfanaticism,whichwecallegregores.Thesearetheheartsofthegreatspiritual currents, good or evil. The Mystical Church, CelestialJerusalem, the Body of Christ, and all such titles, are thequalificationswhichgivecommuniontotheegregoreofCatholicism.Freemasonry, Protestantism, Islam, and Buddhism have egregores.Greatpoliticalideologieshavethemtoo.

Psychically integrated through ritual initiation or through anintellectualadherence to thesecurrents, theaffiliatebecomesoneofitsconstitutivecells.Heaugmentsthepoweroftheegregorethroughthe qualities or faults which he possesses, and in exchange, theegregoreisolateshimfromtheexternalforcesofthephysicalworld,and with the collective force it had previously stored, greatlyenhances the feeblemeansof activityof themanwho joinswith it.[emphasis added] Instinctively, popular languagegives thenameof“circle” to an egregore, thus intuitively expressing the idea of acircuit.Betweentheconstitutivecellandtheegregore—thatistosay,between the affiliate and the group—a sort of inner psychiccirculationistherebyestablished.

Thisexplainswhyopponentsofsuchaconcept,onstudyingtheorigin,natureandlifeofthisconcept,oftenendbyjoiningwithitorat least by espousing a part of the theories, even without theirknowledge. They are connected to a current, which, as it is morepowerful than those who are primitively linked to it, carries themunknowingly away from the road that they imagined they werefollowing.[emphasisadded]If theywerefreeofanyaffiliation, thisactionwouldonlybethemorebrutalandstrong.30

According toAmbelain, the formationof anegregore isdescribed in theworksoftheSpiritualExercisesofIgnatiusofLoyola,IgnatiusbeingthefounderoftheJesuits.Itshouldalsobeunderscoredthategregoresarevitalizedthroughrituals, thus only human associations can form them.The corollary is that thedestruction of an egregore rapidly occurswith “the death by fire of its livingmembers” and the destruction of its ritual and paraphernalia. Without thesematerial supports and the emotional-psychic energy they provide, the astralegregorewillwitheranddie.Incinerationisrequiredsoasnottoshedblood,themediumofoccultvitality(“thelifeisintheblood”),particularlyifitsreleaseisritualistic.

However,becauseonecanexperienceaprofoundbacklashuponleavingbychoice or through excommunication, Ambelain suggests that one temporarilyseekshelterin“anequivalentbutoppositepower.”Justasphysicalassociationsexistbecauseofmembership,soegregoresexistbecauseoftheentitiesorbeingsthattheyattractontheastralplane.Thepowertoattract,compel,andmaintaintheseentitiesisadirectresultoftheritualsandsacrificesperformedforthembytheirearthlyadherents.Again,allegregoresexistonthreelevels:material,astral,andcelestial.

Forthisreasonanyinterruptionintheperformanceoftheritualwillhaveanequally disruptive effect on the vitality of the egregore. Thus rituals, after acertain period of time, cannot be modified without weakening the egregore,makingsecrecyallthemorecritical.Ritualscomposedof“secretnames,words,andformulae...toawakenandestablishtheegregore”arealsodirectedaroundspecificastrologicalevents tocoordinatewithcelestialandcosmiccycles. It isnotbyaccident thatequinoxandsolsticeritualsplaysuchan importantpart inmany organizations. However, in larger movements wherein the mass of the“faithful” provide a certain amount of vital power, this power is passive. Theactive quality and quantity of energy comes from those most capable anddedicatedintheirpractice.Itisforthisreasonthat,regardlessofallclaimstothecontrary, there can be no egalitarianism in an occult movement—or in anyspiritualmovementforthatmatter,astheleadershipor“innercircle”willbeinchargeofmaintaininganddirectingtheegregore.

PatrickZalewski,thewell-knownAdeptwementionedearlier,hasdescribedtheformation,growth,andevenmutationofanegregorebyusingthemetaphorofahoneycomb.Inaprivatecorrespondencewiththepresentauthor,hewrites:

Think of a ritual or beliefwhere the overall boundaries encompass

core components and support mechanisms are visualized as theinteriorofabeehiveorhoneycombwithitsnumerouscelldivisions.Whileanumberofcelldivisionscanoccurorevenchange,aslongastheymaintain the core principles then the same egregore is simplybeing tweaked. However, there is a tipping point, and once that isreachedthensomethingwillchangeintosomethingelse.Anexampleof this in the Golden Dawn system is the different letters on theEnochian Tablets. The Tablets work even with the various letterchanges.You can also apply this paradigm to general ritual. It is acase ofmeasuring comparative difference—when they areminor itdoesnotmatterandwhentheyaremajor,well,thenitdoes!31

On a psychic level, egregores are anthropomorphized images of theconcept at hand.For instance,peace,war, love,wealth, andnationare all justideas that are created through visualization and vitalized through regularritualized emotion, and finally made concrete through a specialized sign orsymbol.These signs or symbols are no different from the logo of a company,brand, or product, which are themselves lesser or greater egregores. Just as alogoactsasaformoflegalprotectionforthecompanyanditsemployeeswhowork together for a common cause, so too does the sigillum (magical sign orseal)of anegregoreact as an identifying,guiding, andprotecting force for itsmembers.

Yetthisrelationshipdoesnotlastforever.Egregoresthathaveexistedforaperiod of time will become independent and no longer obey their earthlymasters. An egregore may easily turn into “a fierce tyrant” and cause itsassociatedorganizationormovementtodeviatefromitsoriginalpurpose.Thus,to conquer an egregore one must first evoke it. This may explain why someesoteric groups have a built-in life span or “expiration date” (as with theRosicrucian cycle of the “opening” and “closing” of theVault). The egregoremaybeanessentialmechanismortool,butforthemovementtomaintaincontrolover itsownegregoreandcontinuityofmission, itmustgothroughperiodsofactivityandrestasdohumanbeings.

In summary, the formation of an egregore is identical to all magicaloperations where an effect in the material world is desired. In the process,incense,signsandsymbols, thevisualizationofconcreteimages,theformationof “magical chains,” and a mental current fortified with emotional desire areritually enacted on a regular basis. While the number of members assures acertain amountofphysical life for an egregore, it is the regular andproficient

performanceofitsrituals,combinedwiththespiritualunionofitsmembers,thatgiveitstrength.Thussecrecymustbemaintainedasfarasispossible,aswellasthegeneratingofgoodwill,approval,andevenpassivesupportfortheegregorefromthosewhoknowaboutitbutarenotmembersoftheassociatedgroup.

Thisnecessityofgeneralgoodwill,oratleastneutralitytowardanegregore,isunderstoodmostclearlywhenweseetheactionsofegregoresuponeachotheron the astral plane. This action ismost powerful between countries, religions,political parties, or any area where there is direct competition. FrenchmysticPaulSedirdescribesthiscombatbetweenegregores.Thefollowing,fromSedir’sbook Initiations, is a conversation between the doctor, a seeker of occultknowledge,andAndreas,whoholdsthatknowledge.Andreasspeaksfirst.

“Great historic catastrophes, as you nowmust have seen, have nothadlessfutilecauses.Onemustthereforepayattentiontothemifoneis to interveneusefully in anyway.WeFrenchhaveagreater rightandduty thananybodyto loveourcountry ineveryway.If,doctor,youhaveanyawarenessof the Invisible realmyoumusthave seenhowmuch light and beauty has come toEurope throughFrance inspiteof the folliesof someof its sonsand themisdemeanorsof itsprinces. . . . Ingratitude is not the prerogative only of men. Thebeings that the grandiloquent Eliphas Lévi called ‘egregores’ alsopossessthisfault.Theegregoresofothernationshavenoconcernforourowncountry.Onthecontrary,they’dverymuchliketodominateor even destroy it and enrich themselves from the spoils. And theAdversary,who’sonthewatchforeverychanceofaquarrel,helpsasmuchasHecan. In the threepersonsaboutwhomwewere talkingHe found a marvelous field of opportunity. All three had neithercountrynorreligion.Theirgodwasjustthemselves,andtheinvisibleforcessoughttoprofitfromtheegotisticpassionsofthesethree,whoheld in their hands themostpowerful leversof social life, tobringdownourcountry.”

“I am beginning to understand,” I said, “but if I’m not beingindiscreet,areyouthinkingofinterveninginthiscoalition?”

“Certainlydoctor.Isn’titmydutyifProvidencehasgivenmethemeans?”32

POLITICSANDTHEOCCULT

This themeof egregores’ role in politics is echoed inPolitics and theOccult:TheLeft, theRight,and theRadicallyUnseenbyGaryLachman.AsLachmanpointsoutinhisbriefforayintotheworldofegregores,evenifaspiritualforceisnotatworkthereisapeculiarutilizationofgroupconsciousnessthatcantakeplaceforgoodorforill.InthisrespectLachmanquotesthePolishphilosopher,linguist, and poet Jean Gebser and his “magical structure of consciousness,”madeupofaninterconnectednessofalllivingbeingsandspecificexpressionsofgroup consciousness. Lachman points out that this collective “shadow,” or“egregore,”canexpressitselfinfiction,astheEnglishnovelist,poet,playwright,and politician Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873) demonstrated in his occultnovel Zanoni, as well as in real life. Lachman quotes Morris Berman, theAmericanhistorianandsocialcriticbestknownforhisbookTheReenchantmentoftheWorld:“Anentireculturecaneventuallyundergoveryseriouschangesasthe resultof slowaccumulationof enoughpsychic and somatic changesonaninvisiblelevel.”33

This peculiar group force ofmind is something that has been consciouslycreatedandcultivatedbyavarietyofassociations.Whilereligiousandpoliticalassociations are easiest to identify—and esoteric and occultmovementsmakethe most vocal claims to the existence and power of their egregores—in themedia-dominatedworldwealso seemarketingandbrandingof celebrities andmultigenerationaltelevisionandmoviefranchisesashavingtheirownegregores.Thesemayevenbecomposedofsmallerunits,buttheyallfeedintothelargeridealorcollectiveentity.

Thehumanpotentialmovementofthe1960sand1970s,themovementthatwouldmorph into theNewAgemovement,hadamong itsvariousproponentsthosewhoactivelysoughttocreatethoughtformsandeven“ensouled”egregoresaspartof itsmission.Ofcourse, thiswasall tobedonetobringaboutamoreenlightenedageandleadership—but“moreenlightened”accordingtowhom?

4

PopCultureandtheCreationofEgregores

JEANDUBUIS,UFOS,FENGSHUI,ANDSLENDERMAN

In the 1990s Jean Dubuis (1919–2010), founder of the French alchemicalassociation known as the Philosophers of Nature (PON), would often lectureabout the issue of egregores. ForDubuis, far too often the egregore, or groupmind or soul, was a trap rather than a channel toward liberation. Personalagendashidden inside thedesiredmanifestationsutilized theemotional energyof the group to bring to pass what one person could not—all without theknowledgeorconsentofthegroup.Thiswasnotlimitedtoesotericormagicalcirclesbut includedpolitics,business, themilitary,and religiousorganizations.ForthisreasonDubuisadvocatedasolitarypathwhereintheexternalinfluencescouldbeminimizeduntiltheycouldbeeffectivelymanagedandmademoreorlessinconsequential.

During this same time period Dubuis often used the example of a groupworking in Switzerland whose obsession was with unidentified flying objects(UFOs), saying that this was all an effort to create a thoughtform that wouldmaterialize so that group leaders could take on the role of “interplanetarymediators”andtherebygainsomesignificantlevelofpoliticalcontrolthat,inhiswords,“wouldbeworsethanHitler.”HavinglivedthroughtheNazioccupationofFranceintheyears1940to1945,thiswasnoemptystatementorhyperboleby Dubuis. To this end he would quote his fellow Frenchman, scientist,Hermeticist,venturecapitalist,andauthorofseveralbestsellingbooksonUFOs,JacquesVallée.

Vallée is famous for being the inspiration and technical force behind the

StevenSpielbergmovieCloseEncountersoftheThirdKindandisrenownedforhis scientific investigation of UFO phenomena. Having started his researchlooking for extraterrestrial sources of UFOs he would ultimately come to theconclusion that theywere interdimensionalbeings.His thirdbook,Passport toMagonia:FromFolkloretoFlyingSaucers,detailedthisresearch.

He also advocated that UFO phenomena was multifaceted, includingmanipulation by government and nongovernment entities of the sightings—bethey real, false, or fabricated—intended to generate belief in the benevolent“space brothers,” as some cults have called them. As with the “UnknownSuperiors,”thoseilluminatedbeingswhoguidehumanity(referencedinchapter2), these space brothers always seemed to speak through “chosenrepresentatives” who would foretell of a certain doom that would befallhumanity,resultinginmassdeathsaveforthe“elect.”

Thismessagedidnot resonatewellwithVallée.Maybe the spacebrothersandtheirself-appointedrepresentativeswerenotsobenevolentafterall.

InadditiontoexpressingtheviewsofVallée,Dubuisalsostatedthathehadbeen contactedby amagical group in theChannel Islandswho invitedhim toworkwith them in their efforts to destroy or at least weaken the egregore ofIslam.ThiswasfiveyearsbeforetheSeptember11terroristattacksinNewYorkCityand the launchingof theWaronTerror.Dubuisdeclined theoffer,statingthathehadotherworktofocuson.

WhatdoesthishavetodowithSlenderman,thefictionalcharacterwhowassaidtoabductchildrenandwasbrieflyportrayedasanewsourceofhorrorintheworld?Byusingthemagicalmethodoftheegregore,“whatIcannotdoalone,manyotherscandoforme,”andharnessingthepsycho-sexual-emotionalenergyofmillionsofpreadolescentandadolescentyouths,averitablebuffetofpsychicenergywasmadeavailableforthetaking.

TheimpressionablequalityofchildrenandyoungpeopletoaffectcollectiveoutcomesorevenpredictthemisexpandeduponbyDr.BaolinWuinhiswork(withJessicaEckstein)LightingtheEyeof theDragon:InnerSecretsofTaoistFengShui.

In1966,shortlybeforethebeginningoftheCulturalRevolution,Dr.Wu’steacher,MasterDu, tookhimasideto tellhimthatChinawassoongoingtobeinthethroesofrevolution.Dr.Wuaskedhisteacherhowcouldheknowsuchathing.Hisresponsewas,“It’spartoftheIChing.Youcanpredictthings.”MasterDuaskedhisstudentwhathe

hadseenthatmorningonhiswaytoschool.TheyoungDr.Wusaidtherehadbeenagroupofchildrenplayingwithatop,acommontoyonthestreetsofBeijing,whippingitwithastringtokeepitspinning.MasterDuexplainedthatthewaytheywhippedthetopwaslikethewayofwhippingpeople,thecapturingofpeople;thiswasasign.Itisthewillofheaventowarnusaheadoftimeabouteverythingthatwillhappen,whetherwerealizeitornot.ThestudyofFengShuiandoftheIChingisanattempttorecognizethesemessagesaheadoftime... . Respecting children as representatives of our collectiveunconsciousisavaluablelessontolearn....Whateverachildplaysatorwithwillbewhatthenationbuildsupordevelops.1

The fundamental premise of psychotherapy, psychospiritual practices,hypnosis, anda legionofgovernment-fundedmind-control experiments is thatwhatweareexposedtooftenenoughwebecomesympathetictoward.Whatwefocuson,webecome.Thus ifwewish to live inaworldofpeace,health,andgeneralwell-being,itisthereourchildrenmustplacetheirattention,andnotinaworld of psychic horror and mass violence—or the usual fare from theentertainmentandnewsindustries.

REVOLTAGAINSTTHEMODERNWORLDBYJULIUSEVOLA

Revolt Against theModernWorld is Julius Evola’s magnum opus wherein hedetailshisviewsaboutthespiritualstateoftheworldinrelationtotraditionalistphilosophy. Traditionalism, as its name implies, views contemporary ideals assuperficialatbest,andmoreoftenas falseandcounter to thegenuinespiritualideal that classical societiesmaintained. In the current state of human affairs,with its blatantmaterialism, shallowness, and even false schools of initiation,onlyindividualsareseenascapableofrealizingthesetraditionalspiritualidealsandthetransformativepowertheycontain.

The possibilities still available in the last times concern only aminority and may be distinguished as follows. . . . There are stillindividualswho are rooted in terra firma.Generally speaking, theyareunknownpeoplewhoshunthespotlightofmodernpopularityand

culture. They live on spiritual heights; they do not belong to thisworld.Thoughtheyarescatteredovertheearthandoftenignorantofeachother’sexistence,theyareunitedbyaninvisiblebondandformanunbreakablechain in the traditional spirit.Thisnucleusdoesnotact: it only exercises the function to which the symbolism of the“perennial fire”corresponds.Byvirtueof thesepeople,Tradition ispresent despite all; the flame burns invisibly and something stillconnectstheworldtothesuperworld.Theyarethosewhoareawake,whominGreekarecalledtheegregoroi(egregores).2

HereweseeEvolausingthetermegregoroitoindicateaspiritualelite,justasweoftenhearthetermilluminatitossedaroundtodesignatesomesuchbody.Theilluminati,however,donotactintheworld,theyonlysustainthespiritualtraditionsothat itwillnotbe lost to the tidesof ignorancethatsweepthroughthis,theKaliYuga.2Interestingly,thisidiosyncraticnotionofanoccultgroupof“Watchers”isanideathathasappearedfrequentlyinsomeofthemostpopulartelevision shows of the past twenty years—even using the very name“Watchers.”

AsEvolastates:

There are an increasing number of individuals who experience aconfusedandyetrealneedforliberation,thoughtheydonotknowinthenameofwhat.Toorient thesepeople,andshield themfromthespiritual dangers of the actualworld, to lead them to the truth andsharpentheirwilltojointheranksofthefirsttypeofpeopleiswhatcan still be done.And yet this too affects only aminority, andweshould not delude ourselves that in this way therewill be sizeablechangesintheoveralldestiniesofthemultitudes.Inanyevent,thisisthe only justification for tangible action that can be carried out bymen of Tradition living in themodernworld, amilieuwith whichtheyhavenoconnection.

Inorderfortheabove-mentionedguidingactiontobesuccessfulit is necessary to have “watchers” at handwho bearwitness to thevaluesofTraditioninevermoreuncompromisingandfirmways,astheanti-traditionalforcesgrowinstrength....AndletusONLYbeconcernedaboutone thing: tokeepstandingamidaworldof ruins.Eventhoughtodayanefficacious,general,andrealizingactionstands

almostnochanceatall,theranksthatImentionedbeforecanstillsetupinnerdefenses....

Finally,wemustconsiderathirdpossibility.Tosomethepathofacceleration may be the most suitable approach to a solution,considering that given certain conditions, many reactions are theequivalentofthosecrampsthatonlyprolongagonyandbydelayingthe ends also delay the advent of the new principle. When thecontacts are cut off and there is no longer any sound base, the lastresortistheheroiccapacity.Thus,itwouldbeexpedienttotakeon,togetherwithaspecialinnerattitude,themostdestructiveprocessofthemodernerainordertousethemforliberation;thiswouldbeliketurningapoisonagainstoneselforlike“ridingatiger.”3

HereEvolaopinesthatthesearchforspiritualilluminationisfortheself-selectingfew,notforthemany,andweshouldnotfoolourselvesintothinkingotherwise.Infact,notonlyistraditionalandauthenticspiritualitydismissedbythemasses,buttherearealsoantitraditionalforcesorcounter-initiaticforcesatplay.Thuswithallthatisalliedagainstthegenuineguardiansofthetraditions,andseekersof inner light,weeachmustguardourselvesagainst theonslaughtand work to bring about the end of “the modern era” so as to terminate itssufferingandbringaboutgenuineliberation.

ForEvolathemostpernicioussignofWesterndecadencewas“unrealism,”wherein individuals are unaware of “spirituality as a reality.” This is thenextendedtoincludeexperiencingtheselfsolelyintermsofthoughtsandideas,or as a psychological construct. These thoughts “eventually create aworld ofmirages, phantasms, and idols that replace spirituality; this is the humanisticmythofculture. . . .Togetherwithabstract thoughts, therearises the romanticworld of the ‘soul.’ [For what] emerges are ‘sentimentalism and faith, ofindividualisticandhumanisticpathos,ofsensualismandsuperfluousheroism,ofhumilityandrevolt.’”4

Thenaturalpoliticaloffspringofpassingemotionsbasedonanillusoryself-constructisthedesiretoestablish“anewuniversalcivilization”whereinthereisno real “I” and humanity is freed from the idea of spirituality.We see this inthosedemonsofKabbalahknownastheContendingHeads,whichforEvolaareexpressed through the evil conjoined twins of rampant consumerism andCommunism.

Thus to survive the catastrophe of modern living one must abandon its

superficial values and commit oneself fully to one’s own awakening—whilehelpingthosewhobothdesireitandthosewhocanbeguidedintotheranksofthe self-selecting spiritual elite. Evola also hints at the existence of psychicbeings,or“nonhumanelements,”behindthesetwoworldviewsandpositsthatitmaybepossiblewithaheroicdeterminationtousethemto“fosterexperiencesofahigherlifeandhigherfreedoms.”

ForEvolathereareonlytwopaths—oneforwardaspartoftheelite,to“dietrying,” and the other to “diewith the dissolution of themodernworld.” Theabilitytousetheveryforcesofignoranceagainstitselfisapeculiaraspectofthetime inwhichwe are said to live; “although theKaliYuga is an age of greatdestructions, those who live during it and manage to remain standing mayachievefruitsthatwerenoteasilyachievedbymenlivinginotherages.”5

MINDGAMESBYROBERTMASTERSANDJEANHOUSTON

The concept of the thoughtform has played a key role in thewritings of JeanHouston and her husband, Robert Masters, whom we have discussed earlier.Masters’sencounterwiththedarkforcesofnatureasheencounteredthemwhileresearching Eros and Evil are but one example. The idea of collectiveconsciousness,Tibetantulpas,andthematerializationofthoughtformsiscentralto his work Swimming Where Madmen Drown. At the center of theConsciousness-ExpansionMovementofthe1960sand1970s,theworksofJohnLilly(psychedelicresearch)andMiltonErickson(neurolinguisticprogramming)playedaformativeroleinthemethodsusedinthewritingofMindGames:TheGuide to Inner Space. This was a book intentionally designed as a hypnoticdevice to be read aloud to group members. Reading the book is, in itself, aguidedmeditationormagicalact.

Masters and Houston write, “We are beginning to go now into trancetogether.Wearegoingtoexperiencedeepeningtogether,finally,eachofuswillcontributetothepoolofconsciousnessoutofwhichtheGroupSpiritwilldrawitssubstanceandarisetoexistonceagain.[emphasisadded]Andnowwewillbreathe rhythmically together, gradually bringing our breathing together, untilweareallexhalingandinhalinginperfectunison[NLPmethodofentrainment],andwewillcontinuetodothatforawhile. . . .Aswebreathewearecreatingourunityofconsciousness.”6

Thisisfollowedbyaseriesofinstructionsrepeatedseveraltimestodeepenthemessageandensurecompliance.“Andwenowarebecoming,andallofusarebecoming,allofusbecomingonemind.Onemind,onemind,onemind,onemind,onemind,onemind.Onetrance,onetrance,onetrance,onetrance,onetrance,onetrance,oneever-deepeningtrance.”7

Then,afterseveralminutes,theactualgoalofthegroupactivityisrevealed.Notice thatmaterializationof the idea iscritical to thispractice.This isnotanabstractionbutratheramagicalritualtobringsomethingintomaterializationbythegroupunderthedirectionofitsleader-reader.

You will be aware of that emergence, and of the Group Spirit’slocationinspace,thereatthecenter.Andyouwillconcentrateonthatspace, focus intensely and remain focused on that space, andunderstand now we can and must materialize the Group Spirit,endowing that entity with a sufficiently material being that it canappeartousall.Andmore,ifwearesuccessfulenough,wewillbeable toapprehend theGroupSpiritwithanyoneofour senses—beable to see it, and hear it, andwe even could touch it,were it notnecessary to take certain precautions, whichwill be taken. Butwecanmaterializethisentity,byconcentratingonthecenterandvividlyimagining,powerfullyimagining,theflowofsubstance,ofmaterial,fromyouandintothatcenter,wherethepoolhasbeencreatedbyus.

Theimageofmatter,theimageofsubstance,flowingfromustothe center, and the image will materialize as the substance of theGroupMind.8

Attheendtheenergyisdispersed.“WewillletgoofthisGroupSpirittowhichwehavegivenbirthandnourishmentandsubstance.Wewillletgoofit,andwhenwedoletgo,thenitwillinnosenseexistanymoreasanentitywithanindependent existence of its own. Itwill only exist as amemory, andwewillrememberwhatwehave learnedby, temporarily,callingupsomethingthatdidseemtoexistapartfromus,andinawaythatmadeitunlikeanyotherexistencewithinourexperience.”9

Detailed directions are then given to detach the participants from thecollectiveimagewhilestillretaininganyinsight,information,orideasthatmayhave arisen during the experiment.The image is dissolved, and the individualnatureofeachoftheparticipantsisaffirmed,alongwiththeirdetachmentfrom

thegroupmind.The bookMind Games and its ideas were significant enough that John

Lennon,aniconofthecounterculturemovement,wroteasongofthesamenameaboutit,whichwasreleasedasasingle.

5

TheLovecraftCircle

HOWARDPHILLIPSLOVECRAFTANDTHENECRONOMICON

H.P.Lovecraft (1890–1937)canbecountedamongAmerica’smost importantauthors of the twentieth century, if not of all time. His literary output wasconsiderable.Alongwithithepennedanestimatedonehundredthousandlettersto friends and acquaintances—particularly those who formed “the LovecraftCircle” of pulp horror and adventurewriters of the period. In his voluminouscorrespondenceheoftengenerouslyencouragedaspiringauthorsaswellasthosewhohadexperiencedgreater fameandcommercial success thanhimself.As aresult,despitehavingvirtuallynonotorietyduringhislifetime,Lovecraft’slifeisconsidered to be one of the most well-documented ever, with an estimatedtwentythousanditemswrittenbyhimbelievedtobeinexistencetoday.

BorninProvidence,RhodeIsland,onAugust20,1890,Lovecraftprimarilybasedhisstoriesthere,aswellasinneighboringMassachusetts.Lovecraftwasraisedbyhismother,hertwosisters,andherfather.Sicklyasachild,hedidnotattendschooluntiltheageofeight,andthenonlyforoneyear.Hereadwidelygrowing up and is described as being a prodigy—particularly in poetry. Hisinterestinmythologyaswellassciencewasencouraged.Bytheageofninehehadproducedseveralpublicationsandeventuallyreturnedtopublichighschool,althoughitappearshedidnotgraduate,forreasonsthatareuncertain.

It was also during his childhood that Lovecraft would have the mostformative experiences of his life, dominating and even directing the course itwouldtake,atleastinaliterarysense.Nightmares,terrors,andvariousformsofasofyetundiagnosedsleepparalysisdisordersappeartohaveplaguedhim,anditisfromtheseearlyexperiencesthatmanyofthecharactersweseelaterinhishorrorstoriesweredrawn.

Lovecraftwas a creature of the night, rarely going out before dark.Afterfinishinghighschoolhelivedathomewithhismother,spendinghistimewritingpoetryandeventuallypublishinghisfirststory—“TheAlchemist”—in1916.In1917,withAmerica’s entry intoWorldWar I, he attempted to join theRhodeIslandNationalGuardbut,unsurprisingly,failedthephysical.

H. P. Lovecraft is best known for the Cthulhu Mythos, works that arecharacterized by a primary theme of the powerlessness of humanity and itsrelativeinsignificanceinthecosmos.CthulhuMythoswaswrittenduringthelasttenyearsofhislife—aperiodinwhichhewasalsoengagedasaghostwriter—inwhatwouldprovetobehismostproductivetime.

Unfortunately, Lovecraft would only achieve renown after his death. Hisfailuretoflourishasawriterduringhislifetimecanbedirectlyconnectedtohisexcessivesensitivity.Whilethisiswhatallowedhimtobecreative,it’salsowhatprevented him from pressing forward when encountering difficulties. Hefrequentlycollapsedintoself-pityandslippedintoadiscouragedframeofmind.Ontopofthis,hispoorhealth—engenderedbypovertyandhisnocturnallivinghabits—coupled with what was his social isolation (despite his massivecorrespondence)allhinderedhisway.

However,whateverthesourceofhisinspiration:childhoodtraumas,neuroticideations, nightmares—or preternatural intelligences, as some occultistswouldhaveusbelieve—LovecrafthimselfstatedinalettertotheeditorofWeirdTales:

Now all of my tales are based on the fundamental premise that commonhuman laws and interests and emotionshavenovalidityor significance in thevastcosmos-at-large.Tomethereisnothingbutpuerilityinataleinwhichthehumanform—andthelocalhumanpassionsandconditionsandstandards—aredepictedasnativetootherworldsoruniverses.Toachievetheessenceofarealexternality,whetherof timeor spaceordimensions,onemust forget that suchthingsasorganiclife,goodandevil,loveandhate,andallsuchlocalattributesof a negligible and temporary race calledmankind, have any existence at all.Only human scenes and charactersmust have humanqualities.Thesemust behandled with unsparing realism (not catch-penny romanticism) but when wecross the line to the boundless and hideous unknown—the shadow-hauntedOutside—wemust remember to leave our humanity and terrestrial-ism at thethreshold.1

TheoverarchingthemeinLovecraft’sworkcanbesummedupinthefollowingpoints.

Thesearchforknowledgeisultimatelyself-destructiveforthosewhopeekbehindthecurtainofreality.Wecannotescapethepast,eventhepastofourancestors.Wearenotincontrolofourdestiny—largerforcesprevail.The modern age is decadent and self-destructive and under threat fromprimitiveandbarbaricforces,bothwithinandwithout.Ancient evil persists into the modern world in inconceivable ways and,oncerealized,leadstoinsanityanddeath.

Lovecraft’simpacthasbeenwidespreadandlasting.Hehasbeenaseminalinfluence on some of the greatest horrorwriters of the twentieth century. Themythos he created—or as some would tell us, “unconsciously revealed”—appears in television shows,movies,music,video,board andcardgames, andevenoccultpractices.Thepowerfulandoverwhelmingappealof thismanandhisnightmaresrevealssomethingdeepandpowerfulwithinthehumanpsyche.Through his writing of the insignificance of humanity and of the individual,H. P. Lovecraft ultimately achieved fame and immortality. In a sense he hasbecometheegregoreindeathofwhathedidnotachieveinlife.

TheNecronomicon is by farLovecraft’s greatest andmost famous literaryachievement. First appearing in his short story “TheHound” (written in 1922and published in 1924), the Necronomicon is a fictional magical book, orgrimoire.Thebook ispurported tohavebeenwrittenbyacharacterknownasthe “Mad Arab” Abdul Alhazred and contains the history and rites forsummoning“theOldOnes.”TheOldOnesaredescribedasprimordialbeingswhocametotheEarthfromtheskyandnowaretrappedbeneaththeoceaninthemystical cityofR’lyeh, beneath theSouthPacificOcean.Lovecraft statedthat the ideaand title for theNecronomicon came tohim inadream,althoughmystical texts of various sorts were a common literary device in gothic andhorrorwriting.However,fewfictionalbookshavetakenonthelifeandvitalityofLovecraft’screation.

Lovecraft said that the title was from the Greek language andmeant “animageofthelawofthedead.”However,othertranslationsofthewordhavebeenput forward, and Lovecraft’s etymology is in error. When asked about theNecronomicon,Lovecraftstatedthatmostofthe“terribleandforbiddenbooks”were in fact quite boring, and itwasmore fun to create your own, as had somanyofhisfriendsandfellowauthors.

Whatmakesthisallthemoreintriguingfromtheperspectiveofthestudyofegregoresisthatacloseexaminationshowsthatnearlyallofthefamousmagicaltexts inWesternoccultismwere in somewaycontrived.The“Solomonic”and“Faustian”literatureareprimeexamples.InTibetasimilarcircumstanceoccurswith“revelations”oftheoriginandteachingsattributedtothefounderofTibetanBuddhism,GuruPadmasambhava,aswiththetermateachings.Infact,theentirehistory of Padmasambhava as generally taught did not exist until severalhundredyears afterhisdeath,when itwas revealed to twelfth-centuryTibetanfigure Nyangrel Nyima Ozer (1124–1192) in a series of dreams and visions.NyangrelsaidthathewasKingTrisongDetsenofTibet(742–797)inapreviouslife and that he remembered his experiences with Padmasambhava and wassimplywritingthemdown.

Thiswasthefirstcodifyingof thePadmasambhavastory;withitcametheformation of the accepted doctrine concerning Padmasambhava’s life andadventuresinTibet.Justasmanyofthemagical textsattributedtoantiquityintheWestdemonstratepoorknowledgeofHebrew,Greek,andLatin,soinTibetmany of the “discovered” teachings and new practices were given a Sanskritgloss(andoftenapooroneatthat)tomakethemappearIndianinorigin.ThusLovecrafthasawidelyacceptedprecedentbothinliteratureandinesotericisminhiscreationoftheNecronomicon—completewithcorruptedGreekandArabic.

Theseerroneouslyorevenfalselyattributedpractices,EastandWest,havenot prevented generations of practitioners from having some kind ofpsychological (if not paranormal) experience—or even enlightenment itself.NeitherhasthefictionalnatureoftheNecronomiconbeenastumblingblockforthosewhoseeitasagatewaytogenuineandexistingalternaterealities,evenifitmeansriskinginsanity,asinthecaseofthe“MadArab”beforethem.

Lovecraft wrote a backstory or pseudo-history of the Necronomicon inwhichwe learn of the origin of the text, its demonic nature, aswell as of theadventuresandfateofAlhazred.Whatmakesthisallthemorefascinatingisthatthebookislinkedthroughvariousfictionstobothhistoricalpeopleandlocationsaswell as fictionalones, thusbending the frameworkof reality for the reader.This is further exacerbated by a variety of editions of the Necronomiconappearinginprint,eachtovaryingdegreesworkingwithorignoringtheCthulhuMythos,andoftenbeingviewedaspracticalbooksofmagic.

KENNETHGRANT:REVEALEROFDEEP

ESOTERICTRUTH

English ceremonialmagician andwriterKennethGrant (1924–2011) has beendescribed by those who knew him as both the “elder statesman of TwentiethCenturymagick”and“aschoolboygoneberserkonbrimstoneaftershave.”2Asthecloseassociate,evenifonlybriefly,ofthreeofthemostimportantcharactersin modern magic—Aleister Crowley, British occultist Austin Spare (1886–1956),andBritishWiccanGeraldGardner(1884–1964)—Granthadafrontrowseatatthecreationofthemagicalsystemsthatwoulddominatethelaterpartofthecentury:ThelemaasexpressedintheOrdoTempliOrientis(OTO), ,ChaosMagic,andWicca.

In his own works covering half a century of writing, Grant provided asynthesisofthewritingsofCrowleyandSpare,alongwithuniqueinterpretationsof them. In addition,Grant incorporated themythologicalhierarchies found inthewritingsofpredominanthorrorwriters,primarilyH.P.LovecraftandArthurMachen.It is throughthis inclusionoffictionaswellashisextremelyverbosewritingstylethatGrantmadeamemorablemarkforhimselfasamodernoccultauthor.

Writer,illustrator,andself-describedmagicianAlanMoorestated,“Itishardto name another single living [as of 2002] individual who has done more toshapecontemporarywesternthinkingwithregardstoMagic.”3Andyet,healsocalled into question Grant’s mental health and emotional maturity: “[Grant’s]graspuponconventionalworldlyrealitywasatbestprecarious.”4

Moorewasnotaloneinthisassessment.EvenCrowley,whomGrantworkedforaspersonalsecretaryinexchangeformagicalinstruction,expressedsimilarviews, despite his desire for Grant to continue his magical training. In hisbiography Remembering Aleister Crowley, Grant himself admits that he was“unabletoacquireapracticalapproachtomundaneaffairs.”5Bethisasitmay,tomanypeopleGrantisseenasarevealerofdeepesoterictruthsregardingthedarkestaspectsofnature.

ItisalsothroughGrantthatwegetaglimpseofCrowley’sfinalyears.WhileIsraelRegardieiswellknownforhavingserved“TheBeast”(Crowley)twentyyearsearlier,whenhewasinhisprime,withGrantweseethemoresolitarymanexperiencing the effectsof a lifeof adventure catchingupwithhim: ill healthand an addiction to heroin (prescribed earlier on for a bronchial infection),frustrationofrationing,andthedemandsofaprodigiousliteraryoutputallweretakingtheirtoll.

Justasweassentientbeingsinthisworldofmatterandthesensesspendourtimelookingforhomestolivein,jobstoperform,recreationforamusement,andaplacewherewebelong,whyshoulditbeanydifferentforsentientbeingsofanonhumanclass?Animalsadapttousandweadapttothem;yetwhenitcomesto the invisible, suddenly we are to believe that what we are dealing with iscompletelyfiction—afictionwithnohopeofeitherbeingorbecomingreality.

Butwhatifanythingaremostspiritualpracticesbutsomeformofcreativefiction?Allofthegreatspiritualluminariesarelegendaryandyetlittlehistoricalevidencedemonstrates that theyevenexisted, let alone support themiraculousactions they performed. King Solomon, Jesus, Padmasambhava, RosicrucianfounderChristianRosenkreutz,notedfourteenth-centuryauthorNicholasFlamelandhiswife,therenownedbenefactressPerenelleFlamel—andmanyotherslesswell known—existmore as inspirational legends than historical facts.Yet thisdoesnotinanywaydiminishtheirpoweraspersonalities.Aswediscussed,anindividual can be exalted after death by various occult rites and turned into afocal point—their surviving consciousness even recruited to the task—forleading others on a particular spiritual quest. The number of saints in RomanCatholicismandotherreligionsisavirtualtestimonytothetruthofthis.

So then should it be any different with a fictional personality wrappedaround a fictional book containing a cosmological vision compiled out ofhistoricalmythologies,connectedtoarealauthor?Isitsurprisingthatthebookand its mythos takes on “a life of its own,” spawning not only additionalpublished stories and legends but also a variety of serious occult practices,academicstudies,boardgames,andeveneffortsatreproducingtheverything—ademonicocculttextitself?

The name for this now is fan fiction and live action role playing. Thequestionis:Wheredoesfantasyendandalternatereality—orratheranewreality—begin?

Nootherbookwritteninthetwentiethcenturyhasbeenusedtoanswerthisquestion more soundly than H. P. Lovecraft’s fictional grimoire, theNecronomicon.Afavoritesourceof inspirationforGrant,hiswordsinAgainsttheLightperfectlydescribethecreativeandpersonallifeofLovecraft.

Haveyoueverconsidered,dearReader,thateverytimeyouawakenfromthedreamsofnightoroftheday,theforcessetinmotionbythecharactersandeventsthatoccurredthereindonotceaseabruptlywithyour change of consciousness to daytime or to nighttime [?] No,

indeed, those creatures of your dream world, set in motion byimpulsesyounolongerown,contrive toexpendtheirenergiesuntiltheirimpetussubsides,oruntil,dearReader,yousleepagainandtakeupafurtherchapterinthedestinyofyourcreationswhichare—allofthem—onlyandentirelyyourself.6

ROBERTE.HOWARDANDCONANTHEBARBARIAN

Robert Ervin Howard (1906–1936) wrote more than a hundred stories forpublication in a career that lasted twelve years. He is widely accepted as thefatherofthe“swordandsorcerygenre”withhiscreationofthecharacterknownasConantheBarbarian.HowardlivedhisentirelifeinhisnativeTexas,anditsWildWestatmosphere,larger-than-lifecharacters,andruggedterrainfueledhismassive literary output. Howard was primarily self-educated and, as a result,widely read. Just twodays prior to the death of hismother from tuberculosis,Howard committed suicide. This was not an impulsive act; he had carefullyplanned for it.Hehadexpressed suicidal thoughts andhadmadeplans forhisowndemiseseveraltimesinthepast,onlytobeinterruptedbyhismother.

After purchasing three plots, he borrowed a gun from a friend (his ownpresumablyhadbeenhiddenbyhisfather)andarrangedhisaffairs.Hesatinhis1935Chevyandshothimselfabovehisrightear.Thebulletexitedout the leftsideofhishead.Hemanagedtosurviveforeighthoursafterward,butheneverregainedconsciousness.AfterHoward’sdeath,hisfatherdonatedhisextensivebookcollectiontoHowardPayneCollegeinBrownwood,Texas.

InAugust1930,HowardwrotealettertoWeirdTalesmagazinethatwouldbeginanactivecorrespondencewithH.P.Lovecraft.This exchangeof letters,opinions,andliteraryideaswouldinitiateHowardintotheLovecraftCircle.Asmentionedintheprevioussection,Lovecraftcarriedonanextensiveanddetailedcampaignofletterwritingwithhisnumerousfriendsandassociates.AspartoftheLovecraftCircle,Howardwasintroducedtomanyauthorswithwhomhehadmanyinterestsincommon,andeachmemberofthegroupencouragedotherstocontributetothevariousfictionalworldsandmythologiestheyhadcreated.Thisunique feature of the circle elevated it beyond what is often thought of as“networking”inmodernbusinessterms,ora“writers’club,”butinmanywaysitturnedthecircleintoamagicaloperationwhereinthethoughtformsitgenerated

took on vigorous lives of their own.This can be seen by the longevity of theworks created by its members almost three-quarters of a century after it wasstarted. Considering that the genre was pulp fiction, designed for massconsumption and not expected to be or become great literature, this is anamazingfeatinitself.

With the nickname “Two-Gun Bob” assumed as an homage to hissouthwestern origins, Howard wrote several important stories around theCthulhu Mythos: “The Black Stone,” “The Cairn on the Headland,” “TheChildren of the Night,” and “The Fire of Asshurbanipal.” In addition, hecorrespondedwithCthulhuMythoswritersClarkAshtonSmith,EdgarHoffmanPrice, and August Derleth. They all, along with the American science-fictionwriter, poet, and editor Donald Wandrei (1908–1987), established ArkhamHousein1939topublishtheworksofLovecraft.(DerlethisalsoattributedwithinventingthephraseCthulhuMythos.)

In April 1932, Howard wrote to Lovecraft and detailed his most recentheroiccharacter,again,somethinglargerthanlife.ThiswouldbeHoward’smostfamous creation—King Conan the Cimmerian—also known as Conan theBarbarian.Howardlaterstated,“Conansimplygrewupinmymindafewyearsagowhen Iwas stopping in a little border town on theRioGrande. I did notcreate him by any conscious process. He simply stalked full grown out ofoblivionandsetmeatworkrecordingthesagaofhisadventures.”7

Howardwould laterstate tofellowLovecraftCirclememberClarkAshtonSmith:

While I do not go so far as to believe that stories are inspired byactually existent spirits or powers (though I am rather opposed toflatlydenyanything),Ihavesometimeswonderedifitwerepossiblethatunrecognizedforcesfromthepastorpresent—oreventhefuture—work through the thoughts and actions of living men. Thisoccurred to me when I was writing the first stories of the Conanseriesespecially. Iknowthat formonthsIhadbeenunable toworkupanythingsellable.ThenthemanConanseemedsuddenlytogrowup inmymindwithoutmuch labor onmy part and immediately astream of stories flowed off my pen—or rather, my typewriter—almostwithouteffortonmypart. Ididnotseemtobecreating,butratherrelatingeventsthathadoccurred.EpisodecrowdedepisodesofastthatIcouldscarcelykeepupwiththem.ForweeksIdidnothing

butwrite of the adventures ofConan.The character took completepossessionofmymindandcrowdedouteverythingelseinthewayofstory-telling.8

FELLOWMAGICIANARTHURMACHEN

WhileGrant’sadmirationforanduseofthewritingsofH.P.Lovecraftinoccultpractices is well known, he was also a fan of the Welsh writer and fellowmagicianArthurMachen(1863–1947).Machen,whowasaswellamemberoftheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn,wasclosefriendswithfellowGoldenDawnmember(andlaterleaderofoneofitssplintergroups)A.E.Waite(1857–1942).ItwasthroughWaitethatMachenjoinedtheGoldenDawn,althoughhisrelationshiptotheorganizationseemsmoreimportanttohistoriansthanitwastoMachen,andhismembershipwasshort-lived.

The son of an Anglican clergyman, Machen was deeply enthralled withCeltic, mystical Christianity, with a healthy dose of alchemy, Kabbalah, andHermeticismthrowninforgoodmeasure.Despitehisdistrustoftheincreasinglyrationalisticandtechnologicaladvancesoftheage,hewasalsodistrustfuloftheseeminglyneuroticindulgencesofspiritualism,andtohiscreditherequiredfirmproofs of the reality of paranormal phenomena despite his personal belief inparanormal realities. Simply put, he was at once an irreconcilable romanticcaught in dreams of a mystical medieval world that may never really haveexistedandapragmaticrealist.

Hisgreatestliteraryachievementswereinthegothichorrorgenreandwereread by Lovecraft, Howard, and othermembers of the Lovecraft Circle. LikeGrant, Aleister Crowley also felt that Machen’s fiction presented profoundocculttruthstoanunknowingpublic.Machen’sinfluenceasahorrorwriterwaswidespread, both during his life and to this very day.However, it is his oftenignoredinvolvementinawidelyreported“paranormalevent”thatisofinteresttoshapersofmassconsciousnessandpublicperception.

InAugust1914, theBritishExpeditionaryForce inBelgiumwas in retreatafter its first major engagement with German forces. The war—that wassupposedtoendinafewweeks—wasgoingbadlyforAlliedforcesinFrance,andmoralewasplummeting.MachenrecalledreadingthenewspapersofthedaydescribingtheretreatofBritishforcesandstatedthathefellintodespair.Hewasthenworkingasajournalistwritingwarreportsandvariouspropagandapieces

fromthehomefront,andhewroteapiecetitled“TheBowman,”firstpublishedonSeptember29,1914,intheLondonEveningNews.Itwasaworkoffiction,butthisapparentlywasnotclearlystated,asthestorypresentedsoontookonalife of its own.The story reports of ghostly apparitions appearing at a criticalmomenttoprotecttheretreatingBritishsoldierswithphantasmalarrowsslayingadvancingGermansbythethousands.InonereportinterventiontooktheshapeofastrangecloudthatcoveredtheBritishretreatfromGermanobservation.

Desire for suchdivine (orat least supernatural) interventionwassostrongamid a population hearing of their army in retreat that the report went fromfeaturingnotjusttheghostsofEnglishlongbowmen—asMachenhadoriginallywritten—but to angels under the direction of St. George, the patron saint ofGreatBritain.Churchesandotherreligiousbodies tookupthestoryto inspire,comfort, and encourage their congregations, whose fathers and sons werefighting in France for reasons that were not always very clear. Soon storiesappeared of enlisted men and officers who claimed to have seen somethingmiraculouson theday inquestion—but thesewereall after the fact, andnonewereeversubstantiated.TheBritishSocietyforPsychicalResearchreportedinDecember1915thatnofirsthandaccountsof thephenomenainquestioncouldbeascertained.

Machenwould laterwrite a letter of regret stating that it “was as if I hadtouched the button and set in action a terrific, complicated mechanism ofrumours thatpretended tobe sworn truth,ofgossip thatposedasevidence,ofwildtarradiddlesthatgoodmenmostfirmlybelieved.”9Overtimethisevent—oneregrettedbyMachen—wentfrombeingoneofdivineinterventiontowishfulthinking, coupledwith collective hallucination induced by the stress of battle.Yetthedesireforsupernaturalinterventioninourworld,particularlythatofSt.George—thepatronsaintoftheBritishegregore, ifyouwill—wasnotenough.Many in the occult community saw it as a magical act, either intentional orunintentionalbyMachen,using thecollectiveenergiesof themassmind.HereMachenwasnotsimplyraisingthespiritsofhisreadersduringatimeofdespair;hewas in fact raisingreal spirits, an armyof them todobattlewithvery realcorporeal enemies. Although there appears to be no truth in this given thatMachen himself regretted the story, the effect was nonetheless the same: acollective thoughtform had been created, it was attached to an egregore (St.George), and it was strengthened through repetition and the enactment ofreligiousrites.

MachenhimselfpointedoutintheintroductiontohisselectedwritingsfromDickens,AHandyDickens, somethingGrantwould seize upon inOutside the

CirclesofTime.

ArthurMachen drew attention to a profoundmagical factwhen heobserved thatanentitysuchasMrs.Gamp—the inimitablecreationofDickens—isknowntoalmostallliterateinhabitantsofthisplanet,whereasMrs.X,YorZ—ournext-doorneighbor—isonlyknowntothe few that constitute her immediate circle of acquaintances. YetMrs.Xis“real,”andMrs.Gampis“unreal,”thefigmentofahumanmind. But that mind, being truly creative, was potent to imbue itsimageswithsomeofitsvitalandenduringenergysothattheimagescamealiveandhauntedthemindsofcountlessindividuals.10

The description given is clearly that of a thoughtform, if not of a full-blown egregore (even one accidently created through required reading andritualizedChristmasplaysandshows). It iscompletewithsomeintelligenceatoneend,giventhedegreeoflongevitythatweseeinDickens’sworks.AndforworkssuchasthoseofLovecraftorHowarditiseasyforthepsychologisttosaythat what we are reading is simply the creative process of their subconsciousrevealing its contents in the form of dreams or sudden flashes. It is equallysimplisticfortheoccultistorspiritualisttosaythattheseandotherartistsarebutchannels for superior intelligences—particularly when the content of theircreationisnotsomethingbeyondthenormalunderstandingoftheartist.Thatis,we rarely see science-fiction writers describing actual science. Nor in theirwritingsdidLovecraftorHowardpointustonewarchaeologicaldiscoveries.Intheenditmaybealittleofboth,withtheexperienceandcontentoftheartist’smind being the true canvas upon which the masterpiece is created—even ifinspiredfromsomethingorsomewherefromthegreatbeyond.

Itiseasytoseewhy,forGrantandotheresotericwritersaswell,fictionandrealityatsomepointbecameintertwinedandunrecognizablefromoneanother.Grant even stated that the purpose of his books was to prepare people for“unfamiliarstatesofconsciousness,”makingthereadingofhisworksamagicalact itself.Herewe see thatmagicwas no longer something conjured up by asmallgroupinarentedlodgeroombutinsteadasinglestory,withasingleidea,readbymillionsofpeople,andbelievedin,evenifjustmomentarily,bymanyofthem.IntentionallyorunintentionallyMachenhadletagenieoutof thebottle,andhishavingdonesowasafittingtestimonytotheinfluenceofmagiconmassmediainthetwentiethcentury.

6

TheEgregoreoftheAncientMysticalOrderRosaeCrucis(AMORC)

Since its appearance in 1915, the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis(AMORC), better known as the Rosicrucian Order, has grown from humblebeginnings inNewYorkCity toaworldwideorganization.Althoughitsheightarguably occurred in the 1990s, AMORC has still managed to maintain apremier place among Western esoteric and initiatic organizations. Its mostrecognized headquarters is in San Jose, California. AMORC also maintainsdistinct administrative offices and temples in countries across the globe,providingteachingsinnineteendifferentlanguages.

In 1930 a series of five documents—ormanifestos, as theywere called—totaling about fifty pages, were sent to select members of AMORC. Theycontained the personal and private recollections and struggles of theorganization’s founder, Harvey Spencer Lewis (1883–1939); they were to beread, signed, and returned. TitledPronunziamento to All theWorld, the coverpagegavealistingofnolessthantwenty-four“SignatoriestotheInternationalRosicrucianCouncil”alongwith“others.”

The main page had an impressive German-language title stating that thedocumentwasfromthe“InternationalHeadquartersoftheSupremeCounciloftheAncientMysticOrderRosaeCrucis,”followedby“S.S.S.,Berlin,Germany1930.”Atthebottomitclaimedtobe“IssuedthroughtheunitedOrganizationsoftheRoseCross,”followedbyalistoforganizations:AncientMysticalOrderRosaeCrucis(AMORC),BrotherhoodoftheRoseCross,FraternitasHermeticaLucis,OrdoTempliOrientis,CollegiumPansophia,andSocietasPansophia.

Tocapthisoffthedocumentalsoclaimedtobe“theSecondOfficialFAMAissuedbytheOriginalFraternityRosaeCrucissincetheSeventeenthCentury.”

Wefindaffirmationthatallof thisworkwasbeingundertakenfor thegoodofhumanityand“fortheCOMINGNEWAGE.”1

Whilethedocumentcontainsthreesignatures,onebelongingtoH.S.Lewis,itisdoubtfulthatthementioned“signatories”existedinanyuniformmanner;ifthey did exist they were probably more honorary than active. However, thisdocument should not be seen as simply another piece of internal marketing,becausememberswhoreceivedithadalreadybeenintheorderforwelloveradozen years and in that way alone had demonstrated their loyalty (or at leasttheircontinuedinterest)inAMORC’sstyleofesotericteachings.Thisdocument,andonessimilartoit,areinfactmagicaloperations.HerethesemihistoricalandmythologicalRosicrucian fraternity, aworldwide body ofAdepts, is affirmed,listed,andagainannouncedtoalltheworld—oratleasttothosewhohadbeenmembers for approximately fifteen years or more and who belonged to theorder’shighestandlast12thdegree.

What makes these documents interesting is that, despite their title page’sdedication “to all the world,” these special lectures were to be signed andreturnedtotheSupremeGrandLodgelocatedinSanJose,California.Thusthesecret is both revealed to the worthy and concealed from the profane. Theegregoreisstrengthened,andtheimageandidealsofaworldwideRosicrucianmovement,underthedirectionofAMORCandguidanceoftheinvisibleAdeptsof the Great White Brotherhood, is reinforced. That which is fiction slowlymaterializesintofact;thedreambecomesreality,andhistoryisjustified.Toonlythemosttriedandtrustedmembers,thosewhohavedemonstratedtheirloyalty,istheTruthrevealed.

The specialnessof this experienceand the emotional energy it creates anddirects toward the entity cannot be overstated. The publications to which wereferaredated“SecondEdition.1946”andcontain thefollowingstatementbyRalphM.Lewis(1904–1987),sonandspiritualheirofHarveySpencerLewis.“Andsoin1918thelateImperatorofAMORC,Dr.H.SpencerLewis,issuedinmanuscriptformanewConfessioR.C.Fraternitatis,andIherebringtoyouareproductionofitwiththehopethatyoumaybesoCosmicallyilluminatedastoattain that state of Cosmic Consciousness which it has brought to many whohavebeenprivilegedtoreaditpreviously.”2

The transformative nature of reading the text is affirmed, and what otherschools might call a guided meditation, or “pathworking,” is presented. Theinformationisnotgivenforitsownsakebutrathertotransformthestudent—tobring him or her closer to a specific realization. This is reinforced by the

“averment”thatisattheendofeachbooklet.

StandinginthepresenceoftheGodofmyHeartandevermindfuloftheTerroroftheThreshold,IdosolemnlyaffirmthatIhavecarefullyread and meditated upon the contents of this manifesto. I furtheraffirm that at that supreme moment when I was conscious of thespiritual surge within my being that enthralled and caused me toascend in consciousness above andbeyondmymortal andphysicalenvironment,andwhenIwasalsoawareoftheinvisiblepresenceoftheCosmicHosts,Ididaffixmysignaturebelowandrecordthehour,day,monthandyearof thisCosmicexperience. I doalso solemnlyavouchbythesesametokensthatIhavepermittednoothereyesbutminetoperusethecontentsofthismanifesto.3

HARVEYSPENCERLEWIS:THEFOUNDEROFAMORC

ThepagesthatfollowgiveamoredetaileddescriptionofHarveySpencerLewis,the aforementioned Imperator of AMORC. These descriptions detail hischildhood,hisearlyleaningstowardmysticism,andtheexperiencesthatdirectedhimtowardhislife-changingjourneytoFranceintheearlytwentiethcentury—ajourneythathewouldclaimputhimincontactwithsomeofthelastremaining“Rosicrucians” in France. He repeatedly affirmed that these connectionsconferreduponhimtherequisiteauthorityforhisestablishmentof theAncientMysticalOrderRosaeCrucis(AMORC)in1915inNewYorkCity.

Thestorythatfollowsisrelatedinastyletypicaloftheday.WearetoldofHSL’s education, spiritual searching, and, importantly, thepsychic experiencesthat formed the direction of his life.While meditating in his favorite church,Lewisexplainsthatthefollowingexperienceunfolded.

Iheardavoice,clearlyanddistinctly,notfromwithinme,butfromwithout. Even as Iwrite thismy entire nervous system is affected,emotionally,forIcaneasilyhearthesoundwhenthefirstwordwasspoken; it was “Peace!” . . . At first I saw no one, or no thing. IlookedattheCross,andwhileitappearednodifferentthanbefore,Idid detect betweenme and theCross therewas a faintmist. . . . I

realizedthatthemistysubstancewasbuttwoorthreefeetinfrontofmyownbody.Continuingtogazeatitandnotthroughit,Isawthatithadaform....Afeelingofdizzinesscameoverme,andIclosedmyeyes.4

Thenafteraperiodoftime:

SlowlyIbroughtmygazebacktothefigurebeforeme,andthistimeitwasmore intenseor rathermoreopaque. Igazed into the faceofthefigure.Itwasindistinct...yetallofthefigurewasofawhiteorlightmistlikeathick,whitesmoke.Againwordscamefromthelipsofthefigure....TheyimpressedmeascomingfromaHoly,InfiniteMind, and I listenedwith a feelingof respect andappreciation,butnotawedorperplexed.

Whatwassaidtome,insubstancewasthis:IfIwishedtoknowmoreabout theRosicruciansand their teachings, Imustprepare foraninitiationintothefraternitywhichhadanexotericbody...thatIwould findnaughtabout the fraternity inanybookorpaper, for itssecretshadneverbeenpublishedandwouldnotbepublished;thatImustfindilluminationfromwithinandnotfromwithout;thathewhospoke to me was an AMORCUS of the ancient fraternity and hadbeen selected to be my guide, until I was prepared to cross thethresholdandcontinuealone;thattheexotericbodyofthefraternityno longer existed inAmerica, and had not existed for the past 101years;...thatIshoulddevoteeveryThursdayeveningtoattunementforguidance;thatthenextexotericbodyofthefraternitywouldbeinFrance, or was still there, or something of this kind. There wasprobablyconsiderablymoresaid...butthesefactsdidcometomeeither at that time through the speech made or the followingThursdaynight’speriodofmeditationwhenIheardavoicespeakinginmyhomebutsawnofigure.5

Continuing in the third booklet Lewis states that during these weeklysessionsa seriesof“SevenMasterMinds” revealed themselves tohim,andasonewouldspeak,theotherscouldbesensedorheardinthebackground.Hethenstates:

It appears then—and this must someday be proven—that each ofthese quite distinct personalities are previous incarnations of mypresentsoulandmind,andthatintherecessesofthemind—whichisperpetualandconstantwiththesoulinallitsincarnations—therearenichesorchamberswhereinisstoredandevenpreservedthepersonalentityofeach incarnation’sconsciousexistence. . . .Thus, the soulmay have twelve such chambers, each chamber representing apossibleincarnationofthesoulwhereinisrecorded,andimmortallypreserved, thememory “storehouse”of each incarnatedpersonality.Therefore, the mind of man in each incarnation is a cumulativemind, a resultant of the addition or combination of all pastpersonalityminds. Inmy own case, therewere but seven previousphasesofthesoul...alreadycomplete...6

However, it is important to draw our attention to the preamble thataccompaniesthethirdlecture.Itappearsslightlyoutofplace,asiftodrawourattentiontoit—todrivehomeanimportantpoint.

Now,myBrothersandSisters,IfullyrealizethatwhatIhavewrittenin the last few paragraphs [of the previous lesson] is decidedlydifficulttounderstand,andthattothosewhodonotknowmeorourwork itmaywellsoundlikeeither theravingofamadmindor thefiction of a clever brain. The reason that it is neither of these, andlikelytoberejected,hasforcedmetowithholdtheTRUTHandinitsplacepresentadifferentversionofmyfirstintroductiontotheOrderRosaeCrucis.Readonandrealize, ifyoucan,whatithasmeanttometoknowandalwayshaveimpresseduponmymindthattherealfacts and TRUTH must be veiled and the FICTION exploitedbecausefictionseemedmoreplausiblethantruth.Iwhohadbecomedisgustedwith the fiction theories of scientists,whenmost desiringthe truth, now understoodwhy TRUTHMAKESUSFREEONLYWHEN UNTRUTH HAS EXHAUSTED ITS POWER TOENSLAVEUS.7

This is followed by the following footnote: “As has been previouslyexplained,theearlyhistoryoftheOrderforthisjurisdiction,preparedforpublicreading, had to veil many facts which now can be told in these private

manifestos.”8

The remaining manifestos shed light upon his journey to France andmeetings with the last remaining members of a long inactive lodge, in awretched state of disrepair, in Toulouse. This is accompanied by a series ofpsychicvisionsandconversationswith theagedmembers,withhishostactingas translator. The final manifestos in the series give an ominous prophecyregarding the purpose of the order, insights into further spiritual crisesexperiencedbyLewis,and thestatement that“BrothersandSisters”musthelphimprepareforthisreincarnationsoastocontinuetheworkhestarted.

Lewis’sFrenchhostandspiritualinstructorstates:

NodoubtyouunderstandbythisthatourOrderispledgedtocombattheeffortsofonegreatinstitution,whichhasforagesheldthemindsand souls of the masses in the grip of ignorance, fear, andsuperstition.ThisistheHierarchyofthe...FromthedayswhentheMaster Jesus was chained by the hands of the Roman bigots, ourOrder has been secretly and sacredly pledged to prepare man andwomanforthehour,whenthehandofevilreachesoutinthenameofGod to stifle the soul and blunt the mind. This, too, will be yoursolemnduty,yourobligation,andtowhichyoumustpledgeyourlifeand possessions and your every earthly act and power, before youmayreceivefromourhandsthefinalkey,thelastandlostword,thejewelandtheblessings,withoutwhichyoucandonaught.

Andso,intheyear1915,...yourcountrywillquietlyenterthecycleofpreparationfor thecominggreaterbattle inyourownland.By the year 1920 your work, if performed according to the LawL.L.L.[Light,Life,andLove],willhavereachedapointwhereitwillhave Peace and Power of its own established in every division ofyour country, for so it is decreed in all the ancient papers, bearingupon thedestiniesofnations andpeoples.Then—soon thereafter—willcomethedayofconflictwithinyourcountry’sboundaries,whentheSignoftheCrosswillbeheldaloftbythe. . .undertheruleoftheKingofDarkness,anditwillbemetandneutralizedbythetrueSignoftheCross,heldintheheartsandmindsofyourBrothersandSistersineverycityandstate.ToyourassistancewillcomeoutotherBrothersof theHolyCraftofKingSolomon,whoseworkmenhavebeen laying thematerial stones uponwhich your esoteric structure

canbebuilded.Naturally you will suffer much, individually and collectively,

beforethedayandhouroftriumphcomes.Butthesesorrows,thesetestsand trialswillmakeyour soulspurerandstronger,andyouasthe Builder of the Great Temple of Human Souls, will meet greatopposition,andmustsacrificethegreaterpartofyour life that truthmaycome.Sometime,whenyouleastexpectit,youwillfindinyourcountry the place where the secret R. C. Stone was placed by ourdelegates, the“Monksof theMount” . . .andwhereagainyouwillmeetfacetofacetheMaster,whohasguidedyouhere....Inowaskyou to pledge to us that you will take up the work FOR man’sfreedom, AGAINST man’s slavery; for MAN’s knowledge againstMAN’sIGNORANCE,forLightagainstDarkness,forOURORDERagainstthe...!9

AMORCANDTHECATHEDRALOFTHESOUL

Theexistenceofthe“CathedraloftheSoul”wasfirstannouncedintheJanuaryissueofTheRosicrucianDigest.ThefirsteditionofLiber777:TheCathedralofthe Soul: Its Origin, Purpose, and Program of Services (later renamed TheCelestial Sanctum) was written by Charles Dana Dean (1878–1933), an earlyAMORCgrandmasterofNorthAmerica,andmadeavailableamonth later tomembers.TheSeptember1932 issueofTheRosicrucianDigest described thispsychiccreationasfollows:“It[CathedraloftheSoul]isanimaginary,etherealCathedral, first created in thought and then sponsored and maintained bythought, and it today is a living example of thought power. Contacting thisCathedralof theSoul in thought isequivalent tocontactinga sacredshrineonthe earth plane.”10 It further goes on to say that “the Cathedral is a spiritualcreation resulting from the concentration of spiritual thoughts and spiritualvibrationsdirectedtoonepointfromthethousandsofmindsonearth.Inallofthe Oriental philosophies and religions such a focalization of thought andspiritualmeditation and contemplation is not only possible and feasible but agreatprobability.”11

HarveySpencerLewis,ImperatorofAMORCandcreatorof theCathedralof the Soul, gives the following description of its function and purpose in hisJanuary1930announcementinTheRosicrucianDigest.

OurmembersaretohearmuchaboutthisCathedraloftheSoulinthenear future, andatpresent Iwishmerely toannounce itsnameandpresenttoyouabriefpictureofwhatitis.Thiscathedralisthatgreatholy of holies and Cosmic sanctum maintained by the beams ofthought waves of thousands of our most advanced members, whohavebeenprepared and trained to direct these beamsof thought atcertainperiodsofthedayandtheweektowardonecentralpoint,andtherebecomesamanifestpower,acreativeforce,ahealth-givingandpeace-giving nucleus far removed from the material trials andproblems,limitationsanddestructiveelementsoftheearthplane.

TheCathedraloftheSoulshallbeyourCathedralandmine,andthedwellingplaceofthegreatmastersofthepastandfuture.12

Like many psychic creations, it appears that initially working with thedevelopment of the “Cathedral” was limited to select members of theorganization and then expanded to the general membership. A specific imagewas suggested, that of a cathedral, and times formeditation. Therewas somediscussioneven in theearlyyearsof thisworkabouthowlongsuchapracticeshould continue and whether it should be abandoned completely after theorganization was firmly established to avoid having too much influence onmembers.Whilethetermegregorewasnotused(andinfact,AMORCdidnotstartusingthetermuntilitenteredthepopularoccultlexiconinthe1990s),thedevelopmentofanegregoreiswhatwasbeingdiscussedandpracticed.

Despite the importance that theCathedral of the Soul plays inAMORC’spractices,theideaspresentedinconjunctionwithitattimesappearinconsistentand contradictory. While the most current edition of Liber 777 suggests thatmembers and nonmembers may use any symbolic image that they arecomfortable with—something from nature, a favorite spot, an imaginarylocation,oranAMORCtemple—muchoftheearlierteachingsfocusontheuseoftheCathedralimagedrawnbyLewis.

DeanwritesinLiber777:

All through the years of 1915 to 1922, he [HSL] selected thoseadvanced and prepared initiates of the brotherhoodwho could helphim in his creation.Working through the long hours of the night,writing letters and papers of instruction to these several hundredassociates,hepreparedthemandstrengthenedtheminthemethodof

attuningwith him so that theymight come together in theCosmicand there have communion and lay the foundation for this greatCathedral. Hundreds of letters were written, several thousandexperimental contacts were made, and many hours of mental andspirituallaborweredevotedtoevolvingtheplansandthefeaturesofthisnewconceptionofthehumanmind....

Therearehundredsofotherswhoneverceasetospeakofthejoyandhappiness,andtheinspiringbenefits thatcametothemthroughtheir communions and contacts in the Cosmic while aiding in thecreationof thisCathedral.Silenceregardingtheplansandtheworkbeingcarriedonwasoneoftheessentials,andweknowfromlettersreceivedrecently,howhappythousandsofourmembersaretoknowthat the great work is finished now and that announcement of theexistenceoftheCathedraloftheSoulcanbemade.13

Further:

It is my pleasure to submit to our members some of the detailsregarding thisCathedral, andknowledge as howourmembersmaybenefitby its existence. . . .Asa symbolof theCathedralwehaveadopted a picture shown in this pamphlet, drawn by the pen ofH.SpencerLewishimself,sothatwemayhaveanemblembywhichtoexpressareflectionofourspiritualideas.Thissymbolcontainsmanyof the elements which he had in his mind as being typical of themagnificentandinspiringgrandeuroftheinvisibleCathedral....

In thisCathedral, provisionhas beenmade for aCosmicChoirwherethevoicesofspeciallypreparedmembersofourorganizationhereinAmerica,andinotherlands,willbeheardat timeschantingandsingingthesacredanthemsthathavebeencomposedbyinspiredMasters of our organization in the past. At other times those whocontact this Cathedral and dwell in it will hear the Music of theSpheres and the Cosmic Melodies as though played upon thegrandest organ the world has ever known. In the East of thisCathedral ourmembers will find a beautiful altar in amagnificentapse,illuminatedbythevioletlightofCosmicvibrations.

AbovethealtarwillbesuspendedbymagneticforcesajeweledTRIANGLE, with point downward. This is the emblem of the

CosmicTrinity.Thethreesymbolsatitscorners,blazingwithvioletfire, represent LIGHT, LIFE, LOVE—the Cosmic names of theTRIUNE GODHEAD. From the center of the dais will come thevoiceofthevisibleorinvisibleMasterorTeacherwhoattimeswillinstruct and inspire our members with messages and illuminatinglessons.TherewillbealcovesandsmallchapelsoneachsideoftheCathedral’snave,inwhichtheindividualmembersmaydwellalone,in silent meditation and prayer, seeking peace and consolation intimesof sufferingandanguish.Therewillbecommunion rooms inwhich members may meet the Masters and speak with them andreceivedirectilluminationandinstruction,adviceandguidance.14

DailyCommunionServicesOncertaindaysof theweek therewillbevariousconvocations

held in thisgreatCathedralby thecoming togetherof themindsofthousands of our members attuned throughout the world to thisfocalizedandcentralizedareaofCosmicConsciousness....Aspartof the magnanimous plans of the Imperator, he will have definiteperiods throughout the month when he, personally, will direct thehealingworkintheCathedral, . . .atothertimestheImperatorwillbringtheHolyAssemblyincontactwithsomeoftheGreatMastersoftheGreatWhiteLodgewhowillexpoundaninspiringmessage.15

WhenspecialceremoniesarebeingconductedbyoneoftheMastersof the Great White Lodge, the Triangle over the altar will beespeciallybrightinitsvioletillumination.16

There are no other rules and regulations regarding the process formaking the contact with the Cathedral than those [preliminaryprayers] stated above. Considerable time has been given to thepreparation of these instructions tomake sure that every point thatmight be given to ourmembers has been included.Thismethodofmaking the contact is more or less an individual one with eachmemberandallwecandoistotellyouthegeneralmethod,andhaveyouworkoutyourownprocessandthereearnaswellas learnTheWay to theCathedral.Remember thewordsof theMaster Jesus, “Iam theWay!”TheWay is through the Spirit ofChrist, through the

principle of the Christus, through the divinity of our soul, andthroughyourlongingsanddesires.17

TheCathedraloftheSoulwaslaterrenamedthe“CelestialSanctum,”andtheideaofmasscollectiveeffortwasseeninitsvarioushealingservicesandinthe AMORC practice known as Medifocus. Here members and interestednonmemberswouldfindonthefinalpageofeachmonthly(andlaterbimonthlyandquarterly) issueof theorganization’smagazine,TheRosicrucianDigest, adrawingof aworld leader and aphrase. In themagazine’s fiftieth anniversaryissue, whichwas published in November 1977, there is a sketch of PresidentJimmyCarterasthepersonalityforthemonthofDecember.Thecodewordtobe used in connection with him was EXPED. A drawing of Britain’s QueenElizabethisgivenforFebruary1978,andthecodewordtobeusedwithherwasSCALE.

Thekeytothephrases,whichactedlikemantras,wasgivenatonepointtothe members so that they and others would send specific thoughts to theidentified leader.The ideasweregeneral enough—peace, friendship, harmony,and so on—and nondirective as to any specific manner. This practice wasabandoned after many years, and instead a note appeared suggesting thatmemberssimplysendout thoughtsofgoodwill tooneormore leadersof theirchoosing.AsstatedintheMay1987issue,“MedifocusisaspecialhumanitarianmonthlymembershipactivitywithwhicheachRosicrucianisacquainted.OnthefirstSundayofeachmonth, at anyhouryou select,youwill enter intoa five-minuteperiodofmeditation,focusingyourthoughtuponaspecifictroubledareaof the world.” It also affirmed that the “basic purpose of Medifocus is ahumanitarianeffortdirectedtowardworldpeace.”18

THETHIRDMIND

Thecoordinationofknowledgeandeffortoftwoormorepeople,whoworktowardadefinitepurpose,inthespiritofharmony...Notwomindsevercometogetherwithouttherebycreatingathird,invisible,intangibleforce,whichmaybelikenedtoathirdmind[MasterMind].

NAPOLEONHILL,THINKANDGROWRICH

ThethirdpointarticulatedintheabovequotefromThinkandGrowRich is the

criticalelement,andweseeitinthecreativelifeofmanyindividuals.Beat author William S. Burroughs and artist Brion Gysin called this

phenomenonthe“ThirdMind”andwroteabookofthattitle,consistingoftheircollaborations.Theyfurtherelaboratednotjustontheideaofacreativeimpulseat work but also gave various methods to engage and express it. Burroughshimself typified thenotionof an established anti-establishment character.LikemanyrepresentativesoftheBeat,Hippie,andgeneralcounterculturegenerationmovements, Burroughs was self-destructive, self-indulgent, and unpredictable,andhesoughtoutdirectexperienceasthebasisforhisphilosophyandart.Hissavinggracewasthathewasabrilliantandsuccessfulwriter,bringinghiswideandvariedlifestoryintohiswork.Hewasverymuchamagicianintheoryandpractice—transformingappearancesandmeaningsashewilled,alwaysseekingadifferentanddeeperexperienceandexpressionofself.Givenhispronouncedbeliefinthepowerofthemindtocreateveryrealphysicalphenomena,andhischaotic drug-induced lifestyle, the unfortunate and deadly shooting of hisromanticpartnerJoanVollmerinMexicocannotbeseenasan“accident”inthetruesenseoftheword.Ratheritshouldbeviewedmoresimplyastheworkingoutoftheenergyoftheircollectiveactions.Inshort,themagicalbeingtheyhadengenderedwastakingitstoll.

The Third Mind was beyond any conventional ideas of art—or even the“anti-art movement”—being an exploration of the deep psychic potential thatwent beyond the usual humanistic and political philosophies. As a result, theThirdMindwas itself a phenomenawith deep political implications as itwasclearly nonconformist, in all that such a word can imply, but left up to theindividualtoexploreandrealize.

Here the inspirationbecamea force tobe expressed, aswell as contacted.Techniques (i.e., rituals) were employed to this end, featuring drugs, alcohol,sex,catharticemotionalreleases,meditationsandvisualizations,actsof“culturalblasphemy”of a sort, and the fundamentalbelief that reality couldbecreated,destroyed,andrearrangedinsomefashion.

Assumption of theGod form, guru yoga, and the bumper-sticker question“WhatwouldJesusdo?”areallmethodsofentrainingone’smindtoaparticularexpressionof“cosmic”intelligenceand,dependingonthemethodsused,toanegregoreaswell.Thusonecan tune in to thenatureof the“mindofHermes”withouthavingtodosothroughthemethodsofasinglegroupanditsattendantegregore.Simplyaskingaquestion(suchas“WhatwouldJesusdo?”)isameansofdirectingone’sattention toaspecificspiritualorenlightened intelligenceormindanditsmethodsofexpression.

In the late twentieth century themodernBritish occultist and authorPeterCarroll developed Chaos Magic, which attempted to overcome this issue ofdedication to a single practice or path and instead sought to use anything theindividualdesiredtouseaspartoftheprocess.WhereasthemottoofThelema3drew its inspiration from sixteenth-century French renaissance writer andhumanistFrancoisRabelais andhis statement “Dowhat thouwilt,” theChaosmagicians drew their guiding maxim from the hashish-smoking Assassins†1:“Nothing is true, everything is permitted.” It is not surprising that part of theinspiration for Chaos Magic derived from science fiction and fantasy,particularly the works of modern British science-fiction author MichaelMoorcockandcontemporaryBritishfantasyauthorTerryPratchett(justasGrantsoughttouseLovecraft),aswellasfromtheart,writings,andmagicalmethodsofAustinOsmanSpare.AlthoughtherewasatremendousefforttosupporttheprinciplesofChaosMagic in termsofscience(quantumphysics inparticular),thegreatestimpactthatthemovementhasachievedappearstobeinthelimiteddomainofoccultsubculture.

The leaning toward theshadowysideof thepsyche thatChaosMagic tapsinto is only marginally different from themore hardcore approach of variousLeft-HandPath groups,Grant’sOrdoTempliOrientis (OTO), andmanypathsdedicatedtogoeticpractice.Thesepathsalsotendtoshareacommonfate—theinability to sustain themselves beyond very small groups. The overarchingthemes of heroic individualism coupled with the crippling disintegration anddeadeningweight of “demonic” and “qlipothic” attractionsmakes cooperationaround common ideals and objectives difficult to sustain for all but themostdedicated.

7

FreeingOneselffromtheInfluenceofEgregores

Ifwefollowthetrainofthoughtexpoundedinthisbook,thenwearefacedwithseveral questions, principally, “Can we ever avoid or escape the influence ofegregores?”Ifwetakethedefinitionthatanegregoreisacollectiveattitudeorconsciousness, then they appear to be forever appearingwhenever even smallgroupsofindividualscometogetherforanylengthoftimeorcommonpurpose.If we take the more technical view that egregores are only those psychiccollectivesthatareactuallycreatedandfedviaritualandwithaspecificpurposeandthattheyhaveapreternaturalintelligenceatoneend,thenwemissthemoredynamic and fluid reality ofwhat constitutes “created” and “ritual.” It is verypossible,andmostlikely,thatthemajorityofegregoresarebornoutofnecessity—one might even say accidentally—and subsequently mature as formalmechanisms of acting, interacting, learning, and survival are established, notunlikeotherlivingorganisms.

Socanegregoresbeavoided?Yes,butonlyifhumanbeingscanbeavoided.IfwetakethewordsoftheGospelstohaveanytruthtothem,then“whentwoormorearegatheredinmynameIwillbeinthemidstofthem.”

Whilewecanlearntodissolvetheenergythatconnectsustoanegregore(aswesawbeingsuggestedbytheoccultmasters)andtodirectit to a nonspecific but generally beneficial purpose (as we see in TibetanBuddhismwith“dedicationofthemerit”),itismoreimportanttobeclearaboutwhatourpurposesandexpectedoutcomesfromaffiliatingwithspecificgroupsare—be it association with a street gang, the Parent Teacher Association, anesotericorder,oralooselyorganizedartists’circle.Ifwearetoachieveourgoalsinlifethroughaffiliationwithanorganizationorparticipationinamovement,itiscriticalthatweknowwhatourgoalsaretobeginwith.Onlybyhavingaclear

understandingofwhatwedesire toaccomplishcanweknow if thegroupsweassociatewithwillhelporhinderusinourjourney.Clearlyknowingourgoalscanalsoactasabeneficialchecklistduringourparticipationwithgroupstoseeifourtimeisbeingwellspent.Itistooeasytogetdistractedbypromisesbeforewejoinandbyotheractivitiesonceweareinthedoor.Knowingwhatitiswedesire toaccomplishandcomparingwhat isbeingpromisedandwhat is reallybeingdeliveredisawaytokeepusmovingtowardourgoals—andawayfromthosewhowoulduseorabuseusinpursuitoftheirown.

Be it the spontaneously arising “genius cluster” as suggested in TheGeographyofGenius by thehighly regardedAmerican authorEricWeiner, orthe more individually created “master mind” from American self-help authorNapoleonHill’sThinkandGrowRich,groupsoflike-mindedpeoplearecreatednotbychancebutoutofnecessity.Inaword,necessitybreedsgenius,butitisalsowhatbreeds resilienceandpersonalmastery.Theonly thingwemayverywell getout of a knitting circle or occult lodge iswhatwe reallywant—deepdowninside—tobeginwith.Weneedtoknowwhywearereallyparticipatinginthefirstplace.Intheend,overtheTempleofApolloatDelphi(andsaidtohavebeenderivedfromtheEgyptiantempleatLuxor)wasnotengraved,“Knowthepartylineandconform”butrather“Knowthyself.”

Justaswecandestroyegregores—betheyoftheclassicalformwhereintheyareensouledbyan intelligenceorof themoderndefinitionwherein theyareacollectiveconsciousnessbutnotofafullyautonomousnature—wecanalsofreeourselvesfromtheirinfluence.

To free ourselves we need to limit our connection and contact with themembers,rituals,symbols,andactivitiesoftheegregoreanditsmaterialanchorstothegroup.Thismaybeasimplematterinsomecases:westoppayingdues,attendingmeetings,or reading theorganizational literature.Organizationssuchassocialandbusinessclubswillhaveaweakergroupmindthanareligion.Anorganizationthatwejoinasanadultwillalsogenerallyhaveaweakerpullonusthan one that we join in our childhood or teenage years. However, eachindividualentersintovariousrelationshipsoutofpersonalneeds.Eachmustalsofind their own reasons for staying,modifying, or leaving various associations.Schoolalumniassociations—whosemainareaoffocusisconstantidentificationwithone’shighschoolorcollege,particularlyarounditssportsteams—isoneofthestrangermanifestationsofagroupmindandalsooneofthemostcommon.Somepsychicoremotionalconnectionsor“memberships,”ifyouwill,areeasiertoformthanotherssimplyduetotheirsize.Itisnotpossibletocompletelyleavetheegregoreofanation,althoughitsnatureandstrengthwillvaryfromlocation

to location. The influence of egregores will also wane over time as new anddifferent concerns take a predominant role in one’s life—the key word beingconcerns.Emotionsarethefoodofegregoresaswellaswhatdirectanddefineour actions. Whatever we love the most is where we will find the greatestconcentrationofourlifeenergy,ourmagicalforce,andwithittheegregoresweareincommunionwith.

For studentsof esotericism, themainareasofconcernare separation fromthe egregore of a dominant religious movement, or even from one or moreinitiatic organizations to which they belong or have had previous affiliations.Separatingfromtheserequiresafocusedeffort,possiblyrepeatedattempts,andaclearrealizationofwhyonejoinedinthefirstplaceandwhyonenowwishestoleave,oratleastwhyonewishestominimizetheinfluenceithasonone’slifeanditsspiritualpath.

Some entities are more difficult to identify: Are they a collectiveconsciousnessoraclassicalegregorecompletewithpreternaturalintelligence?

For example, in recent decades the reach, consistency, and frequency ofmessagesmadeavailable throughmassmediahave transformedmanyareasofpopularculture fromentertainment into lifestyles.Whether it isStarWars andpeople identifying themselves as Jedi or Sith in the religion category of anygivencensus,orthoseindividualswhofollowmusicalbandsorpersonalities,thepurposeofmediais,onitsmostfundamental level, tocreateanegregore.Thiscan also mean the arising of an umbrella movement, something general yetclearly identifiable, such as the New Age movement, Steampunk, or evenvarious historical (and not so historical) reenactment groups. Each groupwillhaveitsown“typical”member,astereotypeorarchetypethatisidentifiableand,moreimportantly,marketable.Commoncharacteristicsandvaluescanbeusedtocreatetemporaryortransientcollectiveminds,oregregores.Asaresultoftheirrelative strengths, and particular emphases, these forms of media-created andmedia-sustainedgroupsoftenhaveahighlytransientmembership.Inshort,thistype of membership is something one grows out of over time as variousunrelated needs and obligations increasingly demand one’s time and attention.When one does not grow out of them or allows them to dominate one’srelationshipstheycaneasilybeseenasadetriment.

“THERAPEUTICBLASPHEMY”TOBREAKTHEIRHOLD

An interesting theme discussed in Joscelyn Godwin’s book The TheosophicalEnlightenment is that of therapeuticblasphemy, a termGodwin borrows fromoneofBritain’smostprominentandcontroversialpromotersofBuddhismintheWest, Urgyen Sangharakshita (Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood). The idea oftherapeutic blasphemy is, in essence, that Christianity is such a pervasiveinfluenceinWesternculturethatonlybyapositiveandconcertedeffortcanonebreakfreeofitspernicious(andlargelyunconscious)influence.Inparticular,allthoseborn inaChristiansociety(evenifnotraisedChristian,evennominally)mustgo throughaperiodofpublicdenunciationofChristianity,or therapeuticblasphemy.Otherwisetheyaredoomedtoremainperpetuallyunderthethrallofthecultofthecreed-makingfishermen.

The Buddhist teacher and writer Sangharakshita describes the effects oftherapeutic blasphemy in his book The Priceless Jewel as “transforming hisunconsciousresistanceto,andreactionagainst,Christianityintoanintegralpartof his conscious attitude.” In short, we are to free ourselves publicly andconsciouslyfromprivateandunconsciousindoctrination.

This conscious desacralization of the dominant religious themes acts as acompensatorymeasureagainsttheirpowerfulyetveryunconsciouspresence.Ifdone as a therapeutic measure to bring forth and consciously address andovercomethevariousneurotictendenciespreviousteachingshavecreated,itcanbe a useful tool on the path to self-awakening. If, however, it is donedisrespectfully—out of cynicism, pride, or without appreciation for whatpositive lessons may have been learned—then desacralization, or therapeuticblasphemy,losesitstherapeuticcomponentandsimplybecomesblasphemy.

PSYCHOSYNTHESISANDTHERAPEUTICBLASPHEMY

Anunconsciousmeansofattemptingtofreeoneselffromareligiousorspiritualegregore may be seen in the various forms of pathology or resistance to thespiritual that may take place. This form of spiritual denial is not limited totraditional religion but is experienced in some initiatic and esoteric groups aswell, wherein the pressure of awakening is resisted rather than relaxed andallowedtoflowfreely.Suchacrisisisanormalpartofanypath;however,thereisanotheraspecttoitthatispathologicalinwhichonereachesaninnerplateau.How long one stays there is not clear. In a healthy spiritual group it is the

functionofspiritualdirectorsormasterstoassistinkeepingthestudentmovingforwardtobroaderhorizonsandever-greaterawakeningsandfreedom.

Yetwealsoseethatnotallgroupsfunctionconsistentlywiththeirideal,anditispossibleformemberstooutgrowthem.Hereresistancemaynotbesomuchtotheideaandexpressionofthe“superconscious”butrathertospecificlimitingand doctrinal issues representative of the egregore. In this instance a certaindegreeoftherapeuticblasphemymaybeneededtofreetheindividualfromthelimitsofthecollective.Thiscanbedonesmoothlyandprivately,butoftenitisdoneexplosivelyandpublicly,therebycreatingadditionalproblems.

Possibly the best example of acquiring this sort of freedom can beunderstood in the Tibetan doctrine of refuge, where one moves from placingcomplete trust and faith in thehistoricaldoctrine toplacing it instead inone’steachersandthen,finally,inoneselfalone.Thisisthemeaningoftakingouter,inner, and secret refuge. To take refuge solely in one’s “[psychic] channels,[psychic]winds,and[essentialconsciousness]drops”requiresseparatingoneselffromtheegregore.Or,inmorecommonlanguage,“IfyoumeettheBuddhaontheroad,killhim.”

Inmany respects freeing oneself from an egregore—particularly onewithwhichtherehasbeena longorevenmultigenerationalassociation,or inwhichthegroupprovidedessentialguidanceandassistanceatcriticalpoints in life—can feel a great deal like a betrayal and has strong similarities to standarddeprogrammingfromreligiousandpoliticalmind-controlmovements.

Lightdrivesoutdarkness.Thissimpletruthisthepracticalkeytotheproblem of how to combat demons. A demon perceived, i.e., onwhom the light of consciousness is thrown, is already a demonrendered impotent.This iswhy thedesert fathers andother solitarysaintshadsomuchexperiencewithdemons.Theycasttheirlightonthem.Andtheydidsoasrepresentativesofhumanconsciousnessingeneral, for whoever withdraws from the world becomesrepresentativeoftheworld;hebecomesa“sonofman.”Andbeinga“son of man,” the solitary saint attracts the demons haunting thesubconsciousofmankind,makingthemappear,i.e.,bringingthemtothelightofconsciousnessandthusrenderingthemimpotent....Thefamous “temptations” of St.Anthonywere . . . acts of healing thehumanityofhistimefromdemoniacalobsession.Theywereactsofsacred magic, bringing demons to the light of consciousness

illumined from above, through which they were reduced toimpotence.1

Whetherwebelieveintherealityofanegregorebeingthehomeforoneormore invisible intelligences is not that important. It might be safe from thepractical point of view to assume that they are always home to something“invisible”—particularlywhendealingwiththoseegregoreswhoseinfluenceisclearlynegative,limitingandseenasanendinitself,andassuch,destructiveofindividualawakeningandexpression.Then,atthatmomentwhenfreedomfromthe invisible influence is achieved, it is not simply an individual victorybut avictory for all humanity and all of Creation. One takes on the role of St.Anthony,ormorepreciselythatofthebodhisattvawhoperformsthepracticeoftonglen,orgivingandreceiving.JustaswearetoldthatChristtookonthesinsofhumanitytopurifymankind,sowearetoldthatspiritualmasterscantakeonthesinsoftheirstudentstoaidthemontheirpath.TheTibetanBuddhistpracticeoftonglenembodiesthisidea,firstasanideal,butalsowiththeveryrealabilitytopsychicallytransformboththemeditatorandtheoneoronesforwhomtheyaremeditating.Grantedthisrepresentsahighlevelofpractice,butitisreportedacrosstheliteratureintothemodernera.

SPINTHREETIMESTOTHELEFT

TheauthorofMeditationson theTarot gives a somewhat peculiar and almostsimplistic method of freeing oneself from the influence of an egregore. Ofcoursewemustbearinmindthatforthisparticularauthorallegregoresareseenas negative, and only a pure devotion to the ideals put forth by the Christianscripturesisseenasprotectionagainstallnegativeforces,includingthosecalled“hierarchiesoftheLeft”orthe“FallenAngels”oftencategorizedasdemons.

For protection against the “artificial demons” or “egregores” as he callsthem,onewho isafflicted is tomake thesignof thecross to thenorth, south,east,andwestandrepeatthefirstverseofthe68thPsalm:“LetGodarise,lethisenemiesbescattered;letthosewhohatehimfleebeforehim!Assmokeisdrivenaway,sodrivethemaway;aswaxmeltsbeforefire,letthewickedperishbeforeGod!”Onemust also spin three times to the left and cross oneself.Now, thisnotionof spinningmayappear silly,evenchildish;however, it isbasedon theideaofmovementor throwingoff thenegativeconnections theegregoresmayhavewithyou.This is just asonewould turnquickly to avoidbeing touched.

Movingtotheleftisalsotomoveinthedirectionassociatedwith“banishing”inritualmagic.Spinning,likesinging,iscorrelatedwithbringingforththeenergiesoflife.

Thesymbolismofthecrossiswellknownbothforitsstandardreligiousaswell as esotericvalue. InhisbookTheNatureandUseofRitual forSpiritualAttainment,ProfessorPeterRochedeCoppensstates:

In the Egyptian religionwe can find themost direct and explicitly“exoteric”statementconcerningtheCrossanditsinnerandpracticalmeaning.TheEgyptianscalledtheAnkhtheSignofLife,the“door”toawakeningandrenewedspirituallife.TheChristianslinkeditwithSALVATION, RESURRECTION, and REGENERATION. In pointoffact,thecentralpurposeoftheCrossRitualispreciselytoawakenman’sspiritual life fromitspresent“sleep”or latencybyactivatingcertainkeycentersontheTreeofLife. It is themostsimple,direct,safe,andeffectivemeansbywhichonecanshift the“gears”ofhisconsciousness, tap the reservoirof latent spiritualenergy thatexistswithinhim,andestablishaconscious“bridge”orrapportbetweenhisconsciousandsuperconscious.

ItisthroughtheritualoftheCross,thattheleapismadebetweenthe “state of nature” and the “state of grace,” between normal andspiritual consciousness, and that the Initiate linkswith his “contactpoint”or“switchofpower”intheinnerworlds.2

InadditiontospecificspheresoftheKabbalisticTreeofLifeconnectedtothehead, shoulders, andbreast (andby extension thegroin and feet), the fourarms of the cross are related to the four cardinal directions, their attendantarchangels,kerubimorguardiananimals,andclassicalelements.Thecenterofthe cross is where themystery resides. This is often given the domain of thespiritualvoid,theHebrewlettershin inHermeticKabbalahandtheroseoftheRosicrucians.ThelettersI.H.S.andI.N.R.I.aloneorwithafive-petalTudorrosecan also be seen in Protestant designs of the cross. These symbols also haveexoteric, esoteric, and initiatic meanings that are called into consciousnesswhenevertheritualisperformed.

DESTRUCTIONOFANEGREGORE—FIREAND

SWORD

To remove oneself from the influence of an egregore, particularly a religious,esoteric,orevenpoliticalone (especiallywhena ritualistic formula isactivelypresent,suchasinNationalSocialism,Communism,anyformofidealizationofthe leader or the particular creed or code), the objects connected with theorganization or movement must be destroyed. Fire is the principal means ofseparatingtheenergeticlinkanddestroyingit.Thisseparationanddestructionisonapersonallevelbutcanalsobeextendedtothelargergroupaswell.

That iswhy occupying armies often destroy the symbols of their defeatedenemy.Forexample,therevolutionariesinFrancein1789,theSovietUniontoNaziGermanyin1945,theChineseCommunistsinTibetin1959,theperiodoftheCulturalRevolutionfrom1966to1976,andthedestructionofmonuments,texts, and places of worship by various Islamic fundamentalist paramilitaryforces are among the most obvious examples in modern history. While thespiritual or intelligence aspect of the egregorewill continue to live for a verylongperiodoftimewithoutaphysicalanchor,devotees,orritualstofeedit,itsemotional or astral counterpart will not be able to sustain a presence in thephysicalworldasaresultofsuchactsofdestruction.

Hence, some egregores may be reinvigorated even after centuries ormillennia of disuse, which is a closely kept secret of operational magic.Accordingtoanarticlepublishedin1929inanesotericjournaleditedbyJuliusEvola, and detailed in appendix 2 of this book, it was efforts to revive theegregore of the Roman Empire that led to the political ascendancy of BenitoMussolini.Theinitialsignswere“seen”in1913andwerefullyrealizedin1919.Thismeans that according to tradition, an egregore can bemodified, with anexisting weak or even “dead egregore” (of a long since vanished cult) beingeasiertomodifyduringtheprocessofitsrevivalthananexistingstrongandvitalone.ThisiswhatwemaybeseeingwhenwearetoldofthecyclicopeningandreawakeningofChristianRosenkreutzfromhis“tomb.”

When ancient books or other objects or peoplewere ritually destroyed byfire, thephrase“andnoteven theirnamesorsignsremain” is taken tomeanacomplete obliteration of the physical representations of the cult so that itsegregore will have no contact point in the physical world. This may be thereason that, whereas common malefactors were traditionally hung (or in theRomanEmpirecrucified),andhigher-classoffenderswerebeheaded(aprivilegeaccorded toSt.Pauland later tokingsandqueens),witchesandhereticswere

burnedatthestake.

OCCULTANDESOTERICAFFILIATIONS

Thefollowingletterwassenttonotedphysicist,occultist,andmagicianJosephLisiewski,Ph.D.,andpublishedinhisquarterlyjournalHowlingsfromthePit.Itwas later republished in his book of the same title,whichwas compiled fromjournal articles and the correspondence it generated. The letter was originallypublished anonymously. Its content strongly demonstrates the subtle andpervasiveinfluenceofamagicalegregore.

Forseveralyearsmy[magical] toolshavebeensitting inawoodenchest beneath my altar, wrapped in colored silk cloths and rarelyused.Ilearnedagreatdealaboutmyself,andmagic,intheprocessofmakingthem.Inparticular,thatitisthemakingofthetoolsthatisthemagicalactandnot theirconsecration.This isanticlimacticatbest.Second, that from themaking, that it is the preparation or journeythatisimportant—itdefineshowweexperiencetheendgoal.Inthiscase, preparation for a ritual is more important than how well weperformtheritual; infact,ourperformanceisanexpressionofhowwellwehaveprepared,asareourresults.

Destroyingmy[magical]toolswasamodestpricetopay,asIdidenjoymakingthemandtheyremindedmeofmanygoodtimeswithfriendsandco-workersonthejourney.Todestroythemwastomoveon,andthiswasclear.So,onaTuesday,thedayofMars,Itookanicepickandinacleanstrokedefacedeachtoolaftersayingashortprayer—audibly—thankingthetoolforallthatIlearnedfromit,andthat with this stroke its energy was released and our connectionbroken. The lotuswandwas snapped in two, the sword hammeredandbent,thebladeofmydaggerbentaswell,thecupwrappedinitssilk and smashed, and all was consigned to water and fire toeliminateanyresidualethericlinks.

Withthesnappingofthelotuswand,thefirsttool,atremendousamountofenergywasreleasedandI felt freed.Thiswasagenuinevisceralfeeling.Thispointmustbeemphasized.

Theresultwas,by theendof thedestructionof these tools,my

sensory and mental clarity was dramatically increased, myconnection to thematerial and sensing the spiritual in thematerial(Kether is in Malkuth, and Malkuth is in Kether) enhanced, andaboveallatremendousopeninginmysolarplexus.

This openingwas like a tunnel of energymoving out frommeandsomehow,likeawormhole,astherewasonlytheendpointsandnosenseofthelineofconnectionitself,alinktomypituitary(inthelowerbackofthehead).

When I was able to perform my nightly meditation, I lit mycandles, sat, and as I relaxed a distinct sphere of energy formedaroundmeatadistanceofapproximatelyninefeet.Thisoccurredonits own, and came throughmy solar plexus.What normallywouldhavetohavebeeninitiatedbymyself,simplymanifestedonitsown.3

REFUGEINANEGREGORE?

As was pointed out, there is disagreement from a theological point of viewconcerningthepossibilityoftheexistenceofpositiveorhealthyegregores.Onecan strongly argue that in the end, ultimately, from the perspective of eithersupremeilluminationorenlightenment,allegregoresareatbestrestrictiveforcesfromwhichwemust free ourselves.AsFrench alchemistDubuiswas fond ofsaying, “At the end of Time when you present yourself to the Father, to theNaught,andyouareasked,‘Whoareyou?’youwillreply,‘Iamfreedom.’”

Yetformanyapositiveegregoreisaspiritualrefuge,aportinthestormoflife,andtheyshouldbeunderstoodandutilizedassuch.Again,wequoteMouniSadhuwhopointsouthowtoavoidcomingundernegativepsychicinfluencesofeithermagicoranegregore.

The Hermetic Tradition recommends the one universal defenseagainstinvultuation[creationofimagesofpeopleforthepurposeofmagicalenchantment]:DONOTSLEEPinthesenseofbeingpassiveordistracted....(1)Pray...whoeverisfearlessishardtoinvultuatefor any danger; (2) be occupied with the defined forms in yourconsciousness, chosen and generated by yourself, in order thatsomethingwillnotbeattachedtoyoufromoutside....JoinacertaingoodEgregor,whichcorrespondstoyourcontemplation,sothatyou

willnotbeentangledwith theChainofaforeign,evilEgregor. . . .(3) Exercise your body reasonably. . . . Therefore do not be thatcrayfish, retreating to the puddle, do not let the wolf and the dogfrightenyou,andthendropsofyourbloodwillnotbestrewnalongthepathsofservicetoeachandeveryone.4

PointOne—DoNotbeDistracted

Thedictumtonotbedistractedalsoappliestodailyconsciousness.Oneshouldsimply not allow one’s mind to wander with television or radio playing. NorshouldonemindlesslyandaimlesslyclickonpagesontheInternetorplayvideogamesasameansoffillinginasenseofboredomduringtheday.Performone’staskswithfullattentionandthenmoveon.Themediaanditsattendantsoundsandimagesareextensionsofvariousegregores.Limitexposuretothem,anddosoconsciously.Makeeverythoughtaprayerbyfillingthemindwiththeideasandimagesthatbestserveit.

PointTwo—DefinedFormsinOne’sConsciousness

Herewe pick images and even learn how to generate them so thatwe are incontrolofourownmindandnotpreytoexternalforces.“Defined”meansthatthereisnoambiguityabouttheirmeaningorpresence,andthereforetheabilityof an outside agency to manipulate us with an idea or image is reduced oreliminated. To this end we then are able to choose if and when we want tobecomepartofanegregore,andinthisweunderstandwhywewouldchoosetodoso,ratherthanblindlyactingoutofhopeorfear.

PointThree—ExerciseYourBody

“Healthy mind, healthy body” is the key to not being sluggish and easilydistracted.Thephysicalworldistheworldofaction;learntobeactive,andletthought, word, and deed combine to achieve desired outcomes—that is theessenceofmagic.

DO-IT-YOURSELFDEPROGRAMMING

Removing oneself from the influences of an egregore is more than simply

walking away from a group—it is a total reorientation of one’s life goals anddirection. For this reason it is often difficult to do, for it’s the same thing asdemonstratedindeprogrammingfromdestructivemind-controlcults(DMCC).Itisimportanttonotethatallegregoresarecultsintheclassicalsenseoftheword,butnotallarecults in themodernpejorativesense.Regardless, theamountofemotional energy, social dynamics, shared goals and values, and “family”identification and structure all combine to make it emotionally painful anddifficulttoextractoneself—byoneself,withoutsomeformofsupport—fromanegregore.

Again,thisprocessisnotlimitedtoreligiousandspiritualconstructsandiseasilyseeninavarietyoflifeexperiences.Thereisalwaysthatonepersonwhoisunabletomovebeyondtheirhighschoolorcollegeyears—particularlythoseinvolvedinsports.Why?Well, thereistheobvioussentimental link.However,there is also the reality that sports activities are collective ritualistic events inwhichagreatdealofsexualenergyissublimatedintoapsychicforcearoundagivenidentity—oftentheschoolmascot—withaspecificandclearpurpose.Thewholefunctionofcheer-leading is theenhancingofsexualandpsychicenergybywayofmusic,costumedanimal figures,and logos. It isnothing less thanareligious ritual wherein the participants are united in a single identity andpurpose.

Wecanalsoseethesamephenomenainthosewhohaveundergonemilitaryservice. Even if their term of enlistment was short and uneventful it is notuncommontowitnessthesementwentyandthirtyyearslaterwearingolivedrabshirts,militarysurplushats,“baseballcaps”withservicelogos.Theremayalsobe military-related bumper stickers on their motor vehicles. And as we havestated, mass media also produces similar cult phenomena around individualperformers,shows,andmovies,withfanclubsandculturesdevelopingaroundthem.Therecentphenomenaoffictionalstoriestakingonascripturaldimensionis clearly stated in the use of the term canon to describe thatwhich is in the“original” presentation versus that which is fan created or comes later. Thisreligiousdimensionshouldnotbeoverlookedorlightlydismissed,foritpointstothepsychicandspiritualweaknessofcontemporaryculture.

Oneshouldnotexpect toextractoneselffromthepsychic influencesofanegregore simply because physical contact with it has ceased and memoriesassociatedwithithavebeenremoved.Aplan,purpose,andmeaningforlifeisneededtofillinthepsychicandphysicalgapsthatareleft.Asasignificantlife-changing event, removing oneself from the influences of an egregore and thephysical entity that supports it has many similarities to adjusting to life after

retiringfromacareer,dealingwithdeath,orovercomingaddiction.Dependingonthelengthoftimeonewasinaparticularassociation,aperiodofmourningisto be expected, and the entire process of extraction, a comprehensiveunderstandingof therelatedevents,and therealizationofanewdirectionmaytakeuptotwoyears.Itiseasytosaythatforeveryyearoneisinvolvedwiththeegregoreitcantakeamonthfortheprocesstoworkitselfout.Whilethisisjusta general figure, it at least gives a benchmark for the healing and rebuildingprocess.

Fornow, shouldyouwish to freeyourself fromsomeunwanted influence,takeactioninkeepingwiththefollowingpoints.Evenifyouarenotsureifyouwantthebreaktobepermanentbutaresimplytestingyourselftoseehowmuchofaninfluencevariousideasoractivitiesmayhaveonyourlife, thefollowingwillbeofassistancetoyou.

Placeeverythingassociatedwithyouridentifiedegregoreinabox.Placetheboxoutofsightinyourclosetorgiveittosomeonetoholdforthedurationofthispractice:onemonthminimum,andsixweeksideally.Now,duringthistime,notice where your thoughts and feelings are unconsciously directed. Payattentiontothefrequencyofyourideation.Alsoduringthistimebegintothinkaboutwhat—ifanything—youwouldhang in theplaceof theoldphotograph,book,orstatue.Whatwillyoudowithyourtime?Whatwillyoucreate?Howwillyouexpressyourself?Andwiththis,noticeanynegativefeelingsthatarisewhenyouconsiderdoingsomethingoutsideoftheoldegregore,aswellasthejoyandpositivefeelingsthatarisewhenyouimagineyournewpossibilitiesandachievements.Youmayfindawaytobalancethetwo,oryoumaychoosetogoback.Youmayalsomoveinadifferentdirection,butwhateveritisthatyoudoitwillbefromapositionofindividualchoice,self-expression,andfreedom.

“CONTROLLINGTHENARRATIVE”

The entire action of an egregore, be it a political philosophy, family history,culturalmythos, or initiatic organization, canbe summedup in the commonlyheardphrasecontrollingthenarrative.Controllingthenarrativemeanstobeincontrolofthestory,ofthestoryyouwantpeopletohear,believe,andactupon—allthreepartsmustbepresent.Itisnotsufficientthattheyhearit;theymustalsobelieveit,andfromthatpositionofbeliefactinthemannerthatthenarrativeisdirectingthemto.Again, this isnotalwaysanegative,andthereareegregoresthatarehealthyforsomepeople—oneneedonly lookat thenumberofpeople

whoovercomeaddictions,healthconcerns,oremotionaldistressbyinteractingwithhealthysupportgroups.

Whenremovingourselves fromthe influencesofvariousgroups,however,we need to recognize that nowwemust define and control the narrative—thestory and its values—of our own life. This can be done by readingwhatwasonce considered “forbidden” literature or undertaking activities previouslyfrownedupon.Thisisnottoencouragerecklessbehaviororself-indulgencebutrathertoshowthatmanyofthethingsvariousgroupsdiscouragetheirmembersfrom doing are relatively harmless. This alsomeans not simply reading otherpointsofviewbutalsoactivelytakingthemonforaperiodoftimeandfindingvalue in them, even if one does not buy in to them completely, therebyexchanging one controlling egregore for another. In fact, being widely readabouttheverytopiconewasoncedevotedtocanhelphealthewoundscausedby slavish and idealized devotion to just a limited view of it. Typically suchdevotionismadeoutofignoranceandadesireforsafetyratherthanknowledge,self-awareness,andcourage.

CONCLUSION

IdeasandTheirConsequences

In the endwe can see that if the ancients are correct, then egregores are alsolivingbeings.Anegregorehasabody,amind,andapurpose thatsets itapartfromotherbeings—includingotheregregores—andithasthepowertoactonallthree levels:material, psychic (emotional), andmental (ideas). It feeds off theemotions of those who participate in it and fulfills certain expectations anddesiresofitscreatorsandfollowers.

Itisfunctionallyirrelevant,exceptforacademicdefinition,ifanegregoreisunderstood to exist only in the classical sense or if we can consider athoughtformanegregore. It isalsoequally irrelevant if thoughtformsasactualpsychicentitiesexist either—asmodernmediahasdemonstrated that ideas (ormemes) are constructedwith the intention ofmanipulatingmass opinion and,thereby,publicactivities.Theeffectivenessofmemesatbecoming“alive”(i.e.,“going viral”), even if for a short period of time, has been demonstrated. Allmass media, advertising, marketing, the psychology of crowds, and even theoftenbantered-aboutideaof“archetypes”areoperativeexpressionsoftheideasandactionsputforthinancientandmodernoccultismregarding“egregores.”

We are surrounded by these creations, andwe participate in their lives astheyparticipateinours.Whatmattersisthatweasindividualsbecomeawareofthe fact that the daily information bombardment we are subject to is neitherinnocent nor without consequences. Each and every idea has a function andcompetestoagreaterorlesserdegreeforourattentionand,withit,forourlifeforceandenergiesonalllevels.Totrulygraspthepowerofideaswemuststopthinking in terms of “good” and “evil.” Good and evil are simply constructs;they have no rooting in any singular, absolute, and universal doctrine orexperience.Thisisterrifyingtoconsider,butitisarealityknownwellbythosewhocreateegregores—betheychannelsofesotericinitiationorpoliticalmemes.Toextendthistoitscompletenesswemustacceptthat“thereisnosuchthingas

goodorevil,onlyideasandtheirconsequences.”Recognizing this reality is the first step in defeating it. Learning how to

understandourownmind,thepowerofsuggestion,andtoconsciouslysetgoalsandchooseourownpath—evenifthatmeansparticipatingeventemporarilyinegregores thatarehealthyforus—arewhatallowus tobecomemastersofourownlivesandnotpawnsinthelifeofsomeoneelse.

APPENDIXI

PersonalAccountsofDisengagingfromanEgregore

It is very clear that many people have positive experiences with variousorganizations and their attendant egregores. However, at some point thismaychange. For the sake of comparison we have provided several examples ofindividuals who extracted themselves from three very different spiritualorganizations.Theseexamplesaredramaticandhavebeenchosenforthisveryquality.Itisuptoeachreadertocomparethestatementsofthefollowingpeoplewith their ownpersonal experiences to see if there is anything thatmaybeofvaluetotheminbetterunderstandingtheirownspiritualjourney.

“THEGREATERTHEESCHATON,THETIGHTERTHESCREWSOFTHEEGREGORE”

FormermemberofaTibetanBuddhistorganization

Myexperiencewithawell-respectedTibetanBuddhistgroupendedaftertwenty-sevenyearsofinvolvement.Ihadjoinedonlyafewyearsafterthegroupstarted,when itwassmalland intimate,andwhen thingswerebeingdone ina“yogicfashion.”Itsphilosophicalemphasiswasonwhatisoftencallednon-dualityandone’s personal and direct experience of it. I was involved in transcribing oralpresentations, editing books, and even some ghostwriting.Most importantly, Iwasonveryclosepersonal termswithoneof thehead teachers, anative-bornTibetan,somethingcriticalinold-schoollineages.

As the organization grew, the inherentmissionary ambitions ofBuddhismexpressedthemselvespowerfully.Thisinvolvedtheorganizationtakingonmore

projects,particularlyinIndiaandelsewhere.Asthishappenedtheorganization’stonebegantochange,withagreateremphasisplacedonexotericBuddhismanddomestic and foreign building projects—including temples, stupas, and evenshrines—along with the needed attendant training and support of monks andnunsinIndiaandpunctiliousrulesfollowingeclipsednon-duality.

FromthebeginningofmyexplorationofBuddhism,Imaintainedalongandextended study of publications by well-respected Tibetologists, who werethemselves sympathetic to the traditions. It became clear that there weredisconnects and schisms between what the teachers were saying about thehistoryanddoctrinesandhowtheyactuallydeveloped.Alongwiththebuildingprojects that the organization undertook came an increasing insistence andfixationonShakyamuniassolearchitectofthistradition.TotalacceptanceandbeliefinShakyamuniasthesourceofallthings“Buddhist”wasrequired,andnodeviation was accepted. To do otherwise was viewed as a lack of faith,understanding, and even could be viewed as rendering the practitioner“worthless”or“unworthy”oftheteachings.

The history of polemics against the old school of Tibetan Buddhismdescribesitasanextremelyeclecticandheterodoxbodyofdoctrine—muchofwhich ispatentlynon-Buddhist.EmphasisonShakyamuni as the sourceof allninelevelsofTibetanBuddhistteachingswassimplydisingenuous.Infact,theideaofShakyamuniasagreatinnovatorwasitselfopentoconsiderabledebate.WhenBuddhismiscomparedtotheUpanishadic-Vedicculturethatpredatedandwascontemporaneouswithhim,itbecomesclear thatShakyamuniwasnot thegreat innovator and cultural rebel thatwe are told hewas. Scholars of Indianreligiousandphilosophicalhistoryseehimasanotherteacherwithinthematrixand not as a unique figure. In fact, he courted royal favorwith enthusiasm toraisefundsforhisownbuildingprojects—monasteriesandtemples.Allhedidwas change the formatting of the essentialmessage,whichwas the same: thepurposeoflifeistobecomeenlightened.

Then there was the fine-sounding rhetoric pertaining to the absolutedivinity/perfection of the universe right here and right now. In point of fact,Buddhism draws, maintains, and enforces a clear-cut hierarchical and oftencondescending distinction between itself and everything else.With this is theassumptionthatonewillhappilycarryonthis“familybusiness”of“plantingthetriumphant banner of THE dharmaworldwide.”Therewill be no innovations,because the teachings have been revealed perfectly, transmitted perfectly, andwillalwaysbe perfect. Ifyoucannotdo this,or ifyour life journey takesyouelsewhere,thenitisclearthatyouarenotreadyfortheseteachings.Oryoumay

have some qualities that are lacking—faith is usually the answer—and as anunworthyvesselperhaps,inyournextlife,youmaybebetterequippedtospreadthedharma—ifinfactyouevenencounterit.

Thiswasverydifferent fromwhat Ihadencountered in IndianphilosophyexpressedintheBhagavadGita,whereeachindividualwassaidtohavehisorherowndharmaorpurpose,and that itwasbetter“todie followingyourowndharmathantothrivewithanother’sdharma.”Here,inTibetanBuddhism,therewas not a multiplicity of dharmas—not one for each person—but one: theBuddhadharma.

SuchinvestigationsandconclusionswerenotparticularlycountenancedbutalsoconsideredascloseasonecouldgettoblasphemyinBuddhism.ThenonedayIwas introduced to this ideaofegregoresandwas told,“Lama’svision isnotanddoesnothave tobeyourvision.Youcanhaveyourownvisionaboutyour own life and what you want it to become.”While this was really quiteobvious,hereIwasatfiftyyearsofagehavingacrisisaboutmyspiritualpath.Ineededsomethingthatwasnotsoconfiningandculturallyconditioning.Asmyawarenessgrew I realized that Ineeded something thatwasnot so tied to thisgrandschemeofenlightenment—andthatmypersonalenlightenmentwasnotinfactinsomewaytiedtothegrowthandsuccessofthisoranyorganization.Butin truth, my personal relationship with my spiritual preceptor over time wascreativelyconflatedwiththelargermissionaryobjectivesbeingexposed.

Irespectedtheaccomplishmentsofthelamaandallthathehaddoneforme,butIdidnotsharetheaspirationsofaworldwidedharmaandhadnodesiretoparticipate in aworldwidemovement at the cost ofmy own self-awareness. Iservedhim, not themission, out of respect and love, and yet themissionwasbecomingtheentirefocusofallactivities.

ThemoreIquestioned,evenasIcontinuedtoserve,theharderitbecametobe“agoodpractitioner.”Thereasonforthiswasthatwhiletherhetoricdefinedagoodpractitionerintermsofactualpractice,increasinglyitwasclearthatagoodpractitionerwasonewhowasavaluableandeffectivefunctionaryofthecause—theegregore.

If you chose to manifest your compassion as constantly mandated byBuddhistinstitutionalizationinanymannerotherthandirectmaterialsupportofthe institution, it was deemed to be inferior.Mandated practices for directingyourcompassionforall“sentientbeings”areveryspecific,andwhatisleftoutis clearly designated either by inference or direct statement as beingunimportant.

The practice known as Confessions of the White Stainless King gives acorrectingmechanismforallideasandpracticesthatdeviatefromtheacceptedbehavioralanddoctrinalnorms.Forme,despiteclaimsofnotbeingareligion,the fact is, Buddhism (and Tibetan Buddhism in particular) is an organized,hierarchicalstructurerequiringtotalsubmission—allinapleasantmanner,withasmile,andinasubtleandsuggestivemanner—butsubmissionallthesame.

When, after thirty years, the first Westerners were named as lamas(teachers),wewere told tohaveunquestioningdeference to them.Andyet, tomany of us who had been there from the beginning, these three lamas, whoclearlyhadzealforthemission,didnothavespiritualdepth.

When I began to examine more closely how the teachings were beingpresented,Ialsobecameawareoftheimportanceofthis,asonewaspartoftheBodhisattvaArmythatwouldbevictoriousagainst the“barbarians”(Muslims)at the end of theKaliYuga (Age of Iron). Thiswas a critical doctrine in thevariousschoolsofTibetanBuddhismingeneralandintheKalachakrateachingsinparticular.ThisapocalypticnotionwasnotdissimilartootherversionsIhadheardfromvariousChristianandNewAgegroups,anditseemedthat“themoredramatic the eschaton, the tighter the screwsof the egregore.”As Iwasbeingheldontoevermoretightly,itwasclearlyinservicetothecause,tobeasoldierin the future spiritual army, but not so that I would come to my own self-awakening.Increasinglyservicetothecausewasallthatreallymattered,asthatiswhatwasaskedfor,emphasized,recognized,andrewarded.

So,aftertwenty-fiveyears,Iextractedmyself.Itwasnoteasyanditstillisnotattimes,forIhadbuiltalifearoundit,andleavingmyspiritualfatherwasthehardestthingformetodo.

After two and a half years I can reflect and say that it truly was likeundergoing the fourstagesofgriefalongwithado-it-yourselfdeprogrammingcourse.Therearemany reasonswhywhatwewere involved inwascalled theGoldenChainLineage,andpossiblythiswastheunspokenone.IntheendIfeltthat my personal growth was being compromised and that this was clearly aspiritualcorporationwhosesurvivalandgrowthwasmoreimportantthanthatofany individual save its leader. What cannot be stressed enough from myexperience is that theegregore isprofound.Simply thinkingaboutandsharingmyexperiencesisliberatingandallowsmetobefreeofitsinfluenceforgood.

“ITWASLIKESOMETHINGOUTOFH.P.

LOVECRAFT!”

FormerMemberofaWorldwideInitiaticFraternity

Myexperiencewithegregoreswastosomedegreeterrifying.ItwaswhenitallcameundonethatIbegantounderstandthatsomethingtangible,butofapsychicnature,hadbeenimplantedinme.Thedeathofthegrandmasterwasasurprisetomany,despitehisdeclininghealth,recenthospitalization,andalifetimeofbadhabits—smokingamongthem.Theirsurprisedemonstratedtomethatthosewithwhom I was working simply were not paying attention. Something else wascloudingtheirabilitytoseewhatwasreallygoingon.

Butthisisnotuncommoninmanyorganizations;IsawitinseveralreligiousmovementsIhadbeeninvolvedwith,andeveninday-to-dayrelationships.Thiswas different though because, despite my wishes to the contrary, I was theacknowledged heir apparent of the domestic branch of a well-knowninternational initiatic order with an impressive pedigree going back twocenturies. The grand master had often stated a certain displeasure with howthingswere turningout.Specifically that—despite thirtyyearsofdedication tothecause—theorderhadneverbeenabletogetmorethanahandfulof lodgesoperating,andbythetimeofhispassingitwouldbedowntoone.Therewastheusual problem of schism and pedigree-chasing that has plagued twentieth-centuryWesternesotericmovements,butthiswassomethingmore.

I noticed that over the previous few years upward of 80 percent of theofficersoftheorderdiedbeforereachingtheageofsixty-five,andfromunusualand debilitating blood diseases. If we included the general membership, thisnumberwas still a staggering20percent.Oneof themore peculiar caseswasthatofayoungwomanwhohadbeenthenumberonerecruitforseveralyears.Itwas discovered that she had an extremely rare genetic blood disease thatinterferedwithherpregnancy.

WhileIwasnotpresentforthepassingofthegrandmaster,histimeofdeathwasnotedbythoseinattendance.AtthemomenthediedIfeltaviolentillnessandpaininmychest,asifsomethingwasbeingrippedout.Itwassevereenoughthat I considered paying a visit to the emergency room.Apparently Iwas notaloneinthisexperience.“Recruitnumberone”hadthesameexperienceaswell,and as amedical professional she had also considered a late-night visit to theemergencyroom.Thiswasthenfollowedbyseveraldaysofstrangedreams,theneedtovomit,heartpalpitations,aburningsensationinthesolarplexusmoving

in to theheartandrushingoutmyhands,andanacuteasthmaattack (which Ihavenotexperiencedinmorethanthirtyyears).

Since the funeral,which Iwasunable toattend,myhealthhas returned tonormal and my dreams have stabilized. Based on my experiences with otheresotericmovements,Ibelievethatwhatoccurredduringtheperiodimmediatelyfollowing the death of the grand master was a direct result of the psychicinfluencesoftheegregorethathadbeencarefullycultivatedformorethantwocenturies, and its relationship to the officers and members of that particularbranchof theorganization.Thisnotionwas reinforcedby the fact thatwhen Itookdowntheframedinitiationcertificatefromthewallofmytemple,Inoticedapalpablelightnessinmyhouse.Ihavesinceburnedtheexceptionallybeautifulblack robe given tome by a fellowmemberwho died from cancer soon aftertrying to start an independent lodge. (His goal had been to splinter from themotherorderandjoinwithaschismaticgroupintheeventthatthegrandmastershoulddieorsuffersomeformofmentalfatigue.)

OfthelodgethatIwasin,everyoneexceptmecametoastrangefate.One,an immensely talented, strong, and clear individual, lost a fantastic jobopportunity in the artistic field after moving across the country to pursue it.Another lost his job at the United Nations, ended up being transferred fourhundredmilesaway,andcouldn’t sit in theeast inhis lodgeashehadhoped.Anothermemberdiedofmultiplehorriblebloodcancers.Hewasrecentlyretiredandhadspearheadedthechapter.Iwatchedhimdiechokingonhisownbodilyfluidswhenthedialysisceasedtofunctiononlytwoyearslater.Hewasinagony,fearful, and heavily drugged. Another member was looking at thirty years inprisonforembezzlement.Hewasfoundnotguilty.Heprayedconstantlyandisatruemanoffaith.Thenthereisme.Ihavebeensparedthroughnograceorskillofmyown.Iattributeittoconstantprayer,alovingwifewhosteeredmebacktosanechoices,andtheloveandgraceofGod.

“DONOTCALLUPTHATWHICHYOUCANNOTPUTDOWN!”

TheStrangeCaseofCharlesDexterWard

The order that I was involved with, once upon a time, was set up with anationwideseriesofGoldenDawn–styletemples,whichcanreallybeconceived

of as so many schools. Each school was administered by three people: aCancellariusinchargeofexamination,aPraemonstratorinchargeofeducation,andanImperatorinchargeoftheartisticdirectionandoverallvision.Allthreehad specific roles in the ceremonies of the school and all of them used innermysticaltechniques,duringthework,ofintroducingstudentstoeachdegreeoftheschool.

Asmentioned,theImperatordirectedthevisionoftheschool,sothispersonhadalotridingonthem.TherewerealsoImperatorsthatactedasagentsatlargeoftheorganization,notnecessarilytiedtoindividualschools,helpingwherevertheir talentswerecalledfor.TheImperatorswereinturnguidedandinstructedby a single person order-wide: a Chief. The Chief’s main job was to act asambassador for entities called “the Secret Chiefs,” so-called because (1) theywere the guiding forces legitimizing the school’s existence and (2) only theChief had contactwith them. Theywere, at best, literally spirits directing theschool,andatworst,figmentsoftheimaginationoftheChief.ThebestwaytodescribetheSecretChiefswasthattheywereaspectsoftheunconsciousoftheChief,whetherornottheyhadanyobjectiveexistence.

Needlesstosay,theChiefwasnecessarilyanintuitiveperson,andtheirworkas seer for a school like this made them even more so. But what was notgenerallyunderstoodabouttheChiefworkingwiththisparticularschoolwasthenature of his involvement with the occult. It all started in the 1970s, if Iremember these conversations clearly. Simply put, theChief originally had noinvolvementwiththeoccultatallandwasunfortunatelyintroducedtotheworldof spirits through a complete psychotic break. He described it as a suddenexplosionoflightcomingoutofhishead.Hewascatalepticforaboutamonthandwasbrieflyinstitutionalized.Itisunknownastohowheeventuallyregainedhismobility,butheeventuallyrecoveredandhappenedto takealongwithhiman extraordinary capacity for dissociated states. This sounded verymuch likewhat Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell described as a shamanic illness, orprecursortosomekindofawakening.

Due to his admittedly amazing talents for communicating with spirits,witnessed by myself firsthand more than once, he gradually developed anentourageofoccultistsaroundhim.HisfavoritemethodofcommunicationwasviaaOuijaboard,butreallyhewasanalmostcompletelyopenmedium,withoutrequiringtheuseofanytool.

The Chief eventually made contact with a group of spirits who wereinterestedinpursuingworkwithaGoldenDawn–styletemplestructure,withthespiritsthemselvesasthedirectors.Inotherwords,thespiritswouldbecomethe

SecretChiefs.Theindividualspiritschangedeveryfewyears,butallarrivedanddepartedaroundthegeneralthemeofestablishinganoccultschool.Hisoriginalentourage thenbecame the firstgenerationof Imperators. It shouldbestressedthat the spirits themselves endorsed theChief as someonewhowould conveytheirteachingswithoutalteration.

ButunusualthoughtheChief’stalentswere,otheraspectsofhispersonalitywereundevelopedandinfantile.Inmanyways,asaresultofhismentalillness,he had the discipline and ethics of an eight-yearold child. The best way todescribe the effect of his mental illness was that the boundaries between hisconsciousandunconsciousselveswereeithercomparativelythinornonexistent,and his personality had very little strength to resist anything unconscious.Hisposition as monarch of something as flimsy and ill-defined as a “spiritualschool”gavehimadegreeofautonomythatcouldbenothingshortofterrifying.

Therewereoutburstsofrage,confusion,orjustplainoldraving.Lustwasaconstantproblem;hewouldattempttoseduceanywomanwhocamenearhim.Therewasonereportofrape,andanotherofmolestingateenager.

Thisput theentireschooland theImperators ina terriblesituation:Wouldthey simply shut down this school that they had spent decades building up?Wouldthey“depose”thisChiefandtherebylosecontactwiththeSecretChiefs?

Some Imperators invented a thirdoption: establish contactwith theSecretChiefs themselves and ignore theChiefwithout actually ousting him.He hadgrownolder,hispsychiatricmedicationkepthimabitmorestable,andhehadsincemarriedsomeonewhotendedtokeephimgrounded.

But this contact by the Imperators had to happen outside of the Chief ’sknowledge. Communication with the Secret Chiefs was his only source ofinfluence;hewasnotastronguserofthetechniquesoftheschoolotherwise,andhewouldneverbroachathreattohisposition.

ThefirstcontactbyanImperatorwiththeSecretChiefswasdonebyaverytalented,secretiveprodigyof theChief’s.(I thinkthat thishappenedsometimeduringthe1980s.Althoughcontactworkwasalwaysdoneinsomewaybythatfirst generation, Secret Chief contact was reserved for the Chief alone.) Thisprodigy then slowly, carefully, secretly trained the other Imperators. This allhappened against the original wishes of the Secret Chiefs, who seemed torecognizetheneedforthisaction.

This, we hoped, would ensure that we as individuals, and the school ingeneral,wouldsurvivethemoremadreveriesoftheChief.Butasitturnedoutthenatureof theSecretChiefsand theegregore that they formedwasamajor

contributor, not just to the mental illness of the Chief, whom they had firstcontacted, but to the corruption and eventual destruction of the school as awhole.Ibelievethatafewfactorswereinvolvedhere.

1. The Secret Chiefs, who had formed the egregore, were relentlesslydemandingofsuperhumaneffort.Theyinventedtechniqueslikestayingfordays insideclosets andwhipping recruits.The sheerdifficultyofobeyingtheSecretChiefsdissuadedmanyaspirantsfromcontinuing.Peoplesimplyburnedout.Thefewleftwerefrighteningzealots,makinggraduationfromtheschoolunattractive.

2. ContactwithSecretChiefswasacovetedprizeforsomepeopleandgaveaccess to a lot of techniques that were otherwise unknown. With thatcontact camepower, andwithout humanizing elements likenurturing andbasicmentalhygiene, thepowermadepeoplemaniacal andcruel. (Giventhiseffectonpeoplewhowerementally stable,onecanonly imagine theeffectonapersonrecoveringfromamentalillness.)

Ihopethatthislittlestoryhelpsanyonewhoisaspiringtoheadanyspiritualorganizationtounderstandthekindsofforcesthatmaybeatplayandtheneedtoexercisebasicwisdomandcommonsense.Justbecausethespiritswantsomeoneinchargedoesnotmeanthatyouareobligedtolistentothem.Remember,youareinchargeofyourspiritualpath,notspirits,notChiefs,andnotImperators.

As a postscript, I’d like to add that themethods used by the group wereincredibly effective in inducing mystical states of consciousness but had theterriblesideeffectofmoderatetototalbrainwashing.

APPENDIXII

AnAccountoftheRevivificationofanEgregore

Late in 1929 an esoteric Italian journal edited by Julius Evola carried thefollowingnarrative,describinghowagroupofoccultistshadattemptedtorevivetheegregoreoftheRomanEmpire,usingBenitoMussoliniastheirinstrument.

THE“GREATSIGN”:ONSTAGEANDINTHEWINGS

Attheendof1913,signsbegantoappearthatsomethingnewwassummoningtheforcesoftheItalictradition.Thesesignsweredirectlyperceivedbyus.

Inourstudy,withoutanyoneeverknowinghowitcouldhavegotthere,wefoundasheetofpaper.Onitwassketchedaroute,adirection,aplace.AroutebeyondmodernRome;aplacewherethepresenceoftheancientCitysurvived,bothinitsnameandinitssilentandaugustremains.

Later indicationsreceived throughonewho thenservedusas intermediarybetween the bodiless and the embodied, confirmed the place, specified amission,adate,andapersonentrustedwithit.

It was in the period sacred to the force that raises the sun in its annualcourse,afterhavingtouchedthemagicalhouseoftheRam:intheperiodoftheNatalisSolisInvicti [birthof theunconqueredsun]and inanightofmenacingandrainyweather.Theroutewasfollowed.Theplacewasfound.

The fact that nobody noticed the unusual nocturnal expedition; that thepersonwhoguidedusrecallednothingafterward;thatnomeetingoccurred,andthenthatthegrilleofthearchaictombwasopenandtheguardabsent—allthatwasnaturallywilledby“chance.”Alittlescrapingrevealedacavityinthewall.Insidetherewasalongishobject.

Longhourswereneededtoremovetheouterwrapping,resemblingbitumen,

hardenedbycenturies,whichatlastrevealedwhatithadprotected:abandandascepter.Onthebandwerewrittenthesignsofaritual.

Andtheritualwasperformedmonthaftermonth,everynight,without fail.Andwithastonishmentwefeltthecomingofforcesofwarandforcesofvictory;andwesawshininginitslighttheancientandaugustfiguresofthe“Heroes”oftheRomanrace;anda“signthatcannotfail”wassealedbythebridgeofsolidstonethatunknownmenbuiltfortheminthedeepsilenceofthenight,dayafterday.

Thehorrendouswarthatbrokeoutin1914,unexpectedbyanyothers—weforesawit.Weknewitsoutcome.Bothwereseenintheplacewherethingsarebeforetheybecomereal.AndwesawthepotentactthatanoccultforcewilledfromthemysteryofaRomantomb;andwepossessed,andstillpossess,thebriefregalsymbolthatwouldhermeticallyopentoitthewaysoftheworldofmen.

1917.Variousevents.Thenthecollapse.Caporetto[defeatofItaliantroopsbyAustrians].

A dawn. In the limpid Roman sky, above the sacred Capitoline Hill, thevision of anEagle; and then, carried by its triumphant flight, two coruscatingwarriorfigures:theDioscuri.

Asenseofgreatness,ofresurrection,oflight.In the midst of devastation by the tragic news of the great war, this

apparition spoke the hoped-for word to us: a triumphal announcement wasalreadyinscribedontheItaliccalendar.

Later, in 1919. It “chanced” that the same forces, using the same person,communicatedtohimwhonowheadstheGovernment—atthetime,directorofaMilanesenewspaper—theannouncement:“YouwillbeConsulofItaly.”Itwaslikewise “chance” that the ritual form of augurywas transmitted to him—thesameason thepontificalkey:“Quodbonumfaustumquesit” [May itbegoodandfortunate].

Later. After the March on Rome. An insignificant fact, an even moreinsignificant occasion. Among those who paid homage to the Head ofGovernment, a person clothed in red came forward and handed him aFasces.Thesameforceswilledthat:andtheywilledtheexactnumberofrods,thewayofcuttingthem,andtheritualbindingoftheredribbon;andtheyalsowilled—onceagain—the“chance”thattheaxforthisFascesshouldhavebeenanarchaicEtruscanax,towhichequallymysteriouswaysledus.1

FOOTNOTES

*1MartinismisaChristianmysticalmovementrootedintheteachingsofLouisClaudedeSaint-Martin(1743–1803).Saint-MartinwasastudentofthePortuguesetheurgistMartinesdePasqually(1727–1774)butwaslaterdeeplyinfluencedbythewritingsofJacobBoehmeandturnedawayfromthemagicalpath.Saint-Martin’swritingsandteachingsinfluenceddiverselinesofstudentsacrossFrance,Germany,andRussia.Duringthenineteenthcentury’sFrenchOccultRevival,GerardEncausse(1865–1916),betterknownas“Papus,”combinedmanyofthesestreamsintotheMartinistOrder.TheMartinistOrderanditsnumerousvariationshaveplayedamajorroleinEuropeanandAmericanesotericisminthetwentiethcentury.

*2TheKaliYugaisthelastoffourages,orcycles,inclassicalIndianastrologyandplaysapredominantroleinIndianandTibetanBuddhistcosmologies.TheKaliYugaisdominatedbystrife,war,violence,andpronouncedsufferingasaresultofspiritualignorance.Accordingtotradition,theKaliYugawillendinacataclysmicbattlebetweentheforcesofspiritualenlightenmentandmaterialism,andwithit,anewspiritualagewillbeusheredin.

*3ThelemaisthemainreligiousandphilosophicalmovementestablishedbyAleisterCrowleyafteraseriesofrevelationsfromadisembodiedentitynamedAiwassin1904.TheresultoftheseencounterswasCrowley’swritingofTheBookoftheLaw.ThefocusofTheBookoftheLawisthateachindividualisresponsiblefordiscoveringtheirown“TrueWill”orpurposeforliving.Themottoofthosewhofollowthispathis“DowhatthouwiltisthewholeoftheLaw.Loveisthelaw,loveunderwill.”

†1Assassinsisthenameusedtorefertoaneleventh-centuryIslamicsectthatwasfamousforcarryingoutthemurderofpolitical,military,andreligiousleaders.Theiruseofdrugsandmysticismcombinedwithmilitarytrainingmadethemoneofthemostfearedorganizationsforthreecenturiesandgaverisetothewordassassinaswenowknowit—asecretkillerforhire.

ENDNOTES

PREAMBLE

1.Salaman,vanOyen,Wharton,andMahé,“TheWayofHermes,”76–77.

INTRODUCTION

1.“TheBookofEnoch,chapter7,”SacredTextswebsite,www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe010.htm.

2.“TheBookofEnoch,chapter8,”SacredTextswebsite,www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe011.htm.

3.Sadhu,TheTarot,24.

4.Godwin,TheGoldenThread,47–54.

5.Godwin,TheGoldenThread,49–50.

6.Godwin,TheGoldenThread,53.

7.“TheEmeraldTabletofHermes,”SacredTextswebsite,www.sacred-texts.com/alc/emerald.htm.

8.Dubuis,FundamentalsofEsotericism,8.

Chapter1.TIBETANBUDDHISMANDTHEREALITYOFTHEEGREGORE

1.David-Néel,MagicandMysteryinTibet,115.

2.David-Néel,MagicandMysteryinTibet,283.

3.David-Néel,MagicandMysteryinTibet,116.

4.David-Néel,TheSecretOralTeachingsintheTibetanBuddhistSects,footnote14onpage105;114–15.

5.David-Néel,MagicandMysteryinTibet,147–48.

6.David-Néel,InitiationsandInitiatesinTibet,91–97.

7.Hilton,TheSearchforthePanchenLama,297–98.

8.Hilton,TheSearchforthePanchenLama,298.

9.Guenther,WholenessLostandWholenessRegained,146.

Chapter2.THEHERMETICORDEROFTHEGOLDENDAWNANDRELATEDEGREGORES

1.Zalewski,SecretInnerOrderRitualsoftheGoldenDawn,138–39.

2.Zalewski,SecretInnerOrderRitualsoftheGoldenDawn,138–39.

3.Zalewski,SecretInnerOrderRitualsoftheGoldenDawn,138–39.

4.Zalewski,SecretInnerOrderRitualsoftheGoldenDawn,138–39.

5.Butler,“TheEgregoreofaSchool.”

6.Butler,“TheEgregoreofaSchool.”

7.Butler,“TheEgregoreofaSchool.”

8.Butler,“TheEgregoreofaSchool.”

Chapter3.MODERNERAANDTHEFRENCHOCCULTREVIVAL

1.AntoineFaivre,backcoverendorsementforMeditationsontheTarot.

2.“HansUrsvonBalthasar,”Wikipedia,lastmodifiedOctober29,2017,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Urs_von_Balthasar.

3.Sadhu,TheTarot,28.

4.Sadhu,TheTarot,250.

5.Sadhu,TheTarot,50.

6.Sadhu,TheTarot,326.

7.FormoreinformationonthispracticeseeChildoftheSun:PsychicandPhysicalRejuvenationinAlchemyandQabala,IHSStudyGuideSeries,Vol.3.

8.Sadhu,TheTarot,232.

9.Sadhu,TheTarot,238.

10.Sadhu,TheTarot,380.

11.Sadhu,TheTarot,389.

12.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,402.

13.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,403.

14.Masters,SwimmingWhereMadmenDrown,155.

15.Masters,SwimmingWhereMadmenDrown,155.

16.Masters,SwimmingWhereMadmenDrown,155.

17.Wasserman,IntheCenteroftheFire,128–29.

18.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,407.

19.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,408.

20.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,419–20.

21.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,409.

22.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,419.

23.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,409–10.

24.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,424.

25.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,425.

26.Godwin,AtlantisandtheCyclesofTime,184.

27.Rhine,TheReachoftheMind,20.

28.McDonald,WhatWellKnownScientistsSayaboutTelepathy.

29.McDonald,WhatWellKnownScientistsSayaboutTelepathy.

30.Ambelain,PracticalKabbalah.

31.PatrickZalewski,privatecorrespondence.

32.Sedir,Initiations,185–86.

33.Lachman,ComingtoOurSenses,299.

Chapter4.POPCULTUREANDTHECREATIONOFEGREGORES

1.WuandEckstein,LightingtheEyeoftheDragon,42.

2.Evola,RevoltAgainsttheModernWorld,364–66.

3.Evola,RevoltAgainsttheModernWorld,364–66.

4.Evola,RevoltAgainsttheModernWorld,364–66.

5.Evola,RevoltAgainsttheModernWorld,364–66.

6.MastersandHouston,MindGames,199.

7.MastersandHouston,MindGames,200.

8.MastersandHouston,MindGames,200.

9.MastersandHouston,MindGames,203.

Chapter5.THELOVECRAFTCIRCLE

1.Lovecraft,lettertoFarnsworthWright,July5,1927.

2.Moore,“BeyondOurKen,”156.

3.Moore,“BeyondOurKen,”155–62.

4.Moore,“BeyondOurKen,”156.

5.Grant,RememberingAleisterCrowley,156.

6.Grant,AgainsttheLight,97–98.

7.RustyBurke,“AShortBiographyofRobertE.Howard,”RobertE.HowardFoundationwebsite,www.rehfoundation.org/a-short-biography.

8.RustyBurke,“AShortBiographyofRobertE.Howard,”RobertE.HowardFoundationwebsite,www.rehfoundation.org/a-short-biography.

9.ArthurMachen,T.P.’sWeekly,November27,1915.

10.Grant,OutsidetheCirclesofTime,232.

Chapter6.THEEGREGOREOFTHEANCIENTMYSTICALORDERROSAECRUCIS(AMORC)

1.Lewis,Pronunziamento.

2.RalphM.LewisinLewis,Pronunziamento.

3.Lewis,Pronunziamento.

4.Lewis,Pronunziamento.

5.Lewis,Pronunziamento.

6.Lewis,Pronunziamento.

7.Lewis,Pronunziamento.

8.Lewis,Pronunziamento.

9.Lewis,Pronunziamento.

10.TheRosicrucianDigest,September1932,backpage(nonumber).

11.TheRosicrucianDigest,September1932,backpage(nonumber).

12.Lewis,announcementintheRosicrucianDigest,January1930.

13.Dean,Liber777,4.

14.Dean,Liber777,4.

15.Dean,Liber777,6.

16.Dean,Liber777,7.

17.Dean,Liber777,8.

18.TheRosicrucianDigest,May1987.

Chapter7.FREEINGONESELFFROMTHEINFLUENCEOFEGREGORES

1.Tomberg,MeditationsontheTarot,421.

2.RochedeCoppens,TheNatureandUseofRitual,81.

3.LettertoJosephLisiewskiinHowlingsfromthePit1,no.2(August2007).

4.Sadhu,TheTarot,420.

APPENDIXII.ANACCOUNTOFTHEREVIVIFICATIONOFANEGREGORE

1.ExtractfromEkatlos,“La‘GrandeOrma’:Lascenaelequinte,”Krur,XII(1929).

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AbouttheAuthor

MARK STAVISH is a respected authority on Western spiritual traditions. Theauthor of 26 books, published in 7 languages, includingThePath ofAlchemyand Kabbalah for Health andWellness, he is the founder and director of theInstituteforHermeticStudiesandtheLouisClaudedeSt.MartinFund.Hehasappearedonradioshows,television,andinmajorprintmedia, includingCoasttoCoastAM,theHistoryChannel,BBC,andtheNewYorkTimes.TheauthoroftheblogVOXHERMES,helivesinWyoming,Pennsylvania.

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MarkStavishisarespectedauthorityonWesternspiritualtraditions.Theauthorof 26 books, published in 7 languages, including The Path of Alchemy andKabbalahforHealthandWellness,heisthefounderanddirectoroftheInstituteforHermeticStudiesandtheLouisClaudedeSt.MartinFund.Hehasappearedon radio shows, television,and inmajorprintmedia, includingCoast toCoastAM, theHistoryChannel, BBC, and theNewYork Times. The author of theblogVOXHERMES,helivesinWyoming,Pennsylvania..

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INDEX

Allpagenumbersarerefertotheprinteditionofthistitle.

,70Aiwass,93n1“Akhenaton,”45.SeealsoRandall-Stevens,HughClaytonAlhazred,Abdul(the“MadArab”),38,68,69Ambelain,Robert,49–51AMORC(AncientMysticalOrderRosaeCrucis),xii,79–82,86–88,90.SeealsoLewis,HarveySpencer“CathedraloftheSoul,”86–90Medifocus,90–91angel,xii,5,23,41,43,44,76archangel,41,103fallen,2,102ankh,102Anthony,Saint,101ArkhamHouse,74.SeealsoDerleth,AugustAssassins,93AssumptionoftheGodform,92asthma,119astraltunnel,27astrology,3Indian,60nastrosome,33Atlantis,45AtlantisandtheCyclesofTime.SeeGodwin,Joscelyn

Balthasar,HansUrsvon,32Barnes,Larry,38BeatGenerationwriters,11.SeealsoBurroughs,WilliamS.Berman,Morris,55BhagavadGita,115blasphemyofthedharma,115therapeutic,98–101Blavatsky,HelenaPetrovna,9blooddiseases,118,119bodhisattva,24,101,117Boehme,Jacob,3nBookofEnoch,2BookoftheLaw,The,93n1“Bowman,The.”SeeMachen,Arthurbrainwashing,123Buddhism,9,10,11,15,21,24,42,50,98,114,115,116.SeealsoTibetanBuddhismBulwer-Lytton,Edward,55Burroughs,WilliamS.,91–92Butler,WalterErnest“EgregoreofaSchool,The,”28–30

Campbell,Joseph,121Carroll,PeterJ.,93“CathedraloftheSoul.”SeeAMORCCatholicism,10,32,41,42,50,71ceremonialmagic,35chaosmagic,70,93–94childrenimpressionabilityof,58representingcollectiveunconscious,58Christ,42,50,71,101theMasterJesus(AMORC),85,90“WhatwouldJesusdo?”asentrainment,92–93Christianity,2,6,24,33–34,42,43,75,98–99,101,102,117

Martinist,3nCommunism,40,62,103compassion,116complex,psychologicalanddemons,40ConantheBarbarian,74.SeealsoHoward,RobertE.Consciousness-ExpansionMovement,62consumerism,62CorpusHermeticum,xvii–xviiicross,symbolismof,102–3Crowley,Aleister,38,40,75andKennethGrant,71opinionofMachen’swork,70andThelema,93CthulhuMythos,66,69,73–74.SeealsoLovecraft,HowardPhillips;Howard,RobertE.CulturalRevolution,103cycles,celestialandcosmic,51,60n.SeealsoGodwin,Joscelyn

David-Néel,Alexandra,9–14.SeealsoTibetanBuddhismfourtypesofritualpractice,14–17Dayananda,Swami.SeeGriffiths,BedeDean,CharlesDana,86Dee,John,38Delphi(TempleofApollo),96demons,36,39–40,41,43,44,94.Seealsocomplex,psychologicalbattling,100–101,102ofKabbalah,61–62deprogramming,100,108fromtheBuddhadharma,115–16,117Derleth,August,74desacralization,99.Seealsoblasphemy,therapeuticDetsen,KingTrisong(ofTibet).See

Ozer,NyangrelNyimaDevil,The(tarotcard),36,39dharma,44,115–16,117.SeealsoBuddhism;TibetanBuddhismdistraction,44–46,107DorjeShugden,17–19,21dreams,72,77strange,afterextractionfromegregore,118–19dubthab(ordoubtob),12,14–17Dubuis,Jean,7–8,36,56–57,106Dzogchen,24

Eady,DorothyLouise.SeeOmSetyegregore.Seealsospecificexamplesdecisiontobreakwith,109–10definitionsof,2,3,8,33,40,50,59,111destructionof,51,53originandformationof,4,33–34,53typesof,ix-xiii,19–20,34,40,43,52,108“EgregoreofaSchool,The.”SeeButler,WalterErnestEgypt,4,5,19,44.Seealsoankhemotions,28–29,34,36,48,51,52,53,56,58,61,67,81,92,97,104,108,111Encausse,Gerard(pseud.Papus),3nEnochian,52Erickson,Milton,62ErosandEvil.SeeMasters,Roberteschaton,117evil,36–37,39,42,44,45,46,67,85,112Evola,Julius,59–62,104,124exercise,physical,107

Faivre,Antoine,32“Faustian”literature,69fengshui,58fictionAMORC’s“SecondFAMA,”80–81fan,72,109vs.reality,71–72,78,84,108–9inspiritualpractices,71

fire,asmeansofdestruction,103–4Flamel,NicholasandPerenelle,71FlyingRoll,24Fortune,Dion(VioletMaryFirth),28,30Francis,Saint,41Freemasonry,10,31,49,50

Gebser,Jean,54Gelukpa,17–18genius,96George,Saint(Britishegregore),76–77.SeealsoMachen,ArthurGnosticUniversalChurch,49God,xviii,35,41,42,43,44graceof,119goddesses,5gods,xii,1,4,5,6,15,16,17,41Godwin,Joscelyn,4–6AtlantisandtheCyclesofTime,45TheosophicalEnlightenment,The,98goeticpractice,94GoldenChainLineage,117GoldenDawn.SeeHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawnGrant,Kenneth,70–72,78,93,94AlanMoore’sopinionof,70Crowley’sopinionof,70Lovecraft’sinfluenceon,72,75Machen’sinfluenceon,75,77GreatWhiteBrotherhood,9,24,80GreatWhiteLodge,90Griffiths,Bede,32groupmind,xi,29,56,64,97.SeealsoMindGamesgroupspirit,63–64.SeealsoMindGamesGuenther,Herbert,22guruyoga,30,92gylapo,18

Gysin,Brion,91

Hermes,mindof,93HermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn,23,31,52,75GoldenDawn–styletemple,accountof,120–23Hermeticism,31,35,36,43,75,106Christian.SeeTomberg,ValentinHill,Napoleon,96ThinkandGrowRich,91Hitler,Adolf,56Houston,Jean,37,62,63.SeealsoMasters,RobertHoward,RobertE.,72–74,75,77,78.SeealsoConantheBarbarian;LovecraftCirclesuicideof,73HowlingsfromthePit.SeeLisiewskiJosephHugo,Victor,31HumanPotentialmovement,37,55.SeealsoHouston,Jean;Masters,Roberthypnosis,premiseof,58.SeealsoMindGames

IChing,58IgnatiusofLoyola,Saint,51illnessmental,121shamanic,121illuminati,59–60imagination,13,16,40,41,42,43innercontact,2,23Islam,9,50,57,103Assassins,93n2

Jesuits,51Jung,Carl,121

Kabbalah,34–36,61–62,75Qlippoth,38,44,94TreeofLife,35,104Kalachakrateachings,117KaliYuga,60,117Keating,Thomas,32KelsangGyatso,Geshe,17kerubim,103Lachman,Gary,45–46PoliticsandtheOccult,54–55Left-HandPath(groups),94Lennon,John,64.SeealsoMindGamesLévi,Eliphas,23,31,39,54Lewis,HarveySpencer,80,81–89.SeealsoAMORCadditionalmanifestos,85mysticaloriginsofAMORC,82–83propheciesofFrenchhost,85–86“SevenMasterMinds,”83–84Lilly,John,62Lingwood,DennisPhilipEdward.SeeSangharakshita,Urgyenlink,etheric,25–27Lisiewski,Joseph,104asfactorintelepathy,48asRosicrucianprincipleofGodhead,85,89LovecraftCircle,65,73,74,75.SeealsospecificnamesLovecraft,HowardPhillips,38–39,65–69,70,72,73,74,75,78,93.SeealsoNecronomiconopinionofhumanity,67WeirdTales,66,73Luxor(Egyptiantemple),96

Machen,Arthur,70,75–78“Bowman,The,”76–77Crowley’sopinionof,75magic

defined,40operational,104magicaltools,destructionof,105–6Martinism,2n,23,32,31,49Marxism,41Masonry.SeeFreemasonryMasterMind.SeeThirdMindMasters,Robert,37–38,62,63ErosandEvil:TheSexualPsychopathologyofWitchcraft,37,62MindGames:TheGuidetoInnerSpace,62–64SwimmingWhereMadmenDrown:Travelers’TalesfromInnerSpace,37,62Mathers,MacGregor,24Mebes,GrigoriiOssipovich,31media,mass,46,55,98,111aspurveyoroffiction,108MeditationsontheTarot:AJourneyintoChristianHermeticism.SeeTomberg,ValentinMemphis-Mizraim,49Mephistopheles,44–45mindcontroldestructivecults,108movements,100premiseof,58MindGames.SeeMasters,RobertMindParasites,The.SeeWilson,ColinMoorcock,Michael,93Moore,Alan,70Muslims,117Mussolini,Benito,104,124narrative,controlof,110NationalSocialism,40,103NaziParty,ix,49,56–57,103.SeealsoNationalSocialismNecronomicon,38–39,68,69,72.SeealsoLovecraft,HowardPhillipsNephilim,2–3,31neurolinguisticprogramming.See

Erickson,MiltonNewAgemovement,98nightmares,Lovecraft’s,66,68non-duality,113–14

offerings,19OldOnes,38–39,68.SeealsoCthulhuMythosOmSety(DorothyLouiseEady),19OrdoTempliOrientis(OTO),70,94“Osiris,”44–45Ouijaboard,121Ozer,NyangrelNyima,69

Padmasambhava,44,69,71Papus.SeeEncausse,Gerardparapsychology,46–49Pasqually,Martinesde,3n.SeealsoMartinismPathofReturn,8,23Paul,Saint,104PhilosophersofNature.SeeDubuis,Jeanpituitary,106politics,4,54–55,56,103feminist,10memes,46,112andoccultism,54–55Tibetan,17,18PoliticsandtheOccult.SeeLachman,GaryPracticalKabbalah.SeeVaughan,PiersA.Pratchett,Terry,93Price,EdgarHoffman,74.SeealsoLovecraftCircleProtestantism,50designofcross,103psychedelicresearch.SeeLilly,John;

Masters,Robertpsychicphenomena,49psychosynthesis,99–100psychotherapy,premiseof,58psychoticbreak,120

Qlippoth,38,44,94quantumphysics,93

Randall-Stevens,HughClayton,44–45Regardie,Israel,40,71resistance,spiritual,99–100Rhine,J.B.,46–49RhineResearchCenter,46,47RochedeCoppens,Peter,102–3RomanCatholicism,41,42,71RomanEmpire,104,124fallof,5rose(symbol),103Rosenkreutz,Christian,71,104.SeealsoAMORC;RosicrucianismRosicrucianism,23,24,31,71,79–80,82,83,91,103.SeealsoAMORC;Rosenkreutz,ChristianVaultoftheAdepti,53

Sadhu,Mouni(DymitrSudowski),3,31–32,43,49andavoidanceofegregores,106–7TheTarot,31–36Saint-Martin,LouisClaudede,3n.SeealsoMartinismSangharakshita,Urgyen(D.P.E.Lingwood),98,99.Seealsoblasphemy,therapeuticSecretChiefs,120,121,122,123demandsof,122–23SecretHistoryofConsciousness,A.SeeLachman,Gary

SecretInnerOrderRitualsoftheGoldenDawn.SeeZalewski,PatrickSedir,Paul,53–54ServantsoftheLight(SOL),28,30Set(Egyptiangod),19Shakyamuni,114.SeealsoBuddhismShugden,Dorje,17–19,21Simon,38,39.SeealsoNecronomiconSlenderman,57–58Smith,ClarkAshton,74.SeealsoLovecraftCircleSocietyforPsychicalResearch(British),76SocietyoftheInnerLight,28solarplexus,105,106,119Solomon,King,44,71,86“Solomonic”literature,69SovietUnion,103Spare,AustinOsman,70,93spinning,102superconscious,100SwimmingWhereMadmenDrown.SeeMasters,Robert

talisman,34,43Taoism,24,27workofBaolinWu,58Tarot,The.SeeSadhu,Mounitelepathy,46–48terma,69TheosophicalEnlightenment,The.SeeGodwin,JoscelynTheosophicalSociety,9,10ThinkandGrowRich.SeeHill,NapoleonThirdMind,91–92thoughtform,xi,11,13,28–29,55,56,62,73,77,111.SeealsoGeorge,Saint;Masters,Robert;tulpaTibet,17,68–69,103TibetanBuddhism,18,21,24,39–40,42,44,68–69,96,

101.SeealsoBuddhismdoctrineofrefuge,100extractionfromegregoreof,113–118andtheKaliYuga,60Tomberg,ValentincommentaryonTheDevil(tarotcard),36–37,39MeditationsontheTarot,31–32,101methodofextractionfromegregore,101–2opiniononegregores,32,40,41–44andRobertAmbelain,49tonglen,101Traditionalism,59–61.SeealsoEvola,JuliusTrueWill,93ntulku,11–12,22tulpa,11–12,22,39–40,62tummo,11unidentifiedflyingobjects(UFOs),56–57

Vajrayana,14,24.SeealsoTibetanBuddhismVallée,Jacques,57vampirism,34,35Vaughan,PiersA.,50

Waite,A.E.,75Wandrei,Donald,74Wasserman,James,38Watchers,60Weiner,Eric“geniuscluster,”96WeirdTales.SeeLovecraft,HowardPhillipsWestcott,Wynn,24–25Wicca,70will.SeealsoTrueWillfree,7

human,40,41,42,43Wilson,Colin,45–46witchcraft,37–38,104WorldWarI,47,66,125andMachen’s“TheBowman,”75–76Wu,Baolin,58.SeealsoTaoism

Zalewski,Patrick,52SecretInnerOrderRitualsoftheGoldenDawn,25Zenercards,46ZenithRadioCorporationandtelepathyexperiments,45–48

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