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ON THE MAGICAL EGREGOREby Phil Hine

The term egregore is derived from a Greek wordmeaning 'to U" aware of' or 'to watch over'' An"g."go." is commonly understood to be magical".rtity putposefully created by a group or order asan encapsulation of the group's collective aspira-tions and ideals. One such example is the entityGOTOS, created by the adepts of the FraternitasSaturni. Stephen E. Flowers, in Fire & Ice(Llewellyn Publications, 1994) describes the func-tion of GOTOS:"Through rhe experience of th'e GOTOS theSaturniin Brorher or Sister is able to feel direcllyrhe qualiries of personality that he or she isexpeited to devel.op as an initiate of the FS:compassionless love, willpower, resolution, se\ter-ity (with him or herself and others)' 'fhese arecl'eveloped in ortler to creale the conditions forhighei spirirual development lhrough mastery ofoieself ind lhe ent'ironmenl. In olher u'ords, theseare the characleristics of lhe Salurnian magician'"

Flowers goes on to relate how certain initiateswithin the FS were able to gain 'astral visions' ofthe humanoid appearance of the GOTOS, and thatits image was subsequently cast in bronze' Accord-ing to Flo*"tt, all members of the FS at one timepo-ssessed a bust of the GOTOS in their privateianctuaries. From what Flowers relates concerningthe relationship between the FS and the GOTOS, itappears to have been utilised as a source ofpiychic power-tapped into through both lodgeu"i i"Oiulaual work as a source of fortitude andresolve, and a guide in the collective developmen-tal aspirations of the FS'Flowers notes the similarity between the conceptof the GOTOS and the Golden Dawn's use ofSecret Chiefs. However, there are some majordifferences which help define the nature of anegregore. In esoteric movements such as theCotOen Dawn or the Theosophical Society, theSecret Chiefs or Inner-Plane Adepts were remotefigures, accessible only to the leaders of theofuanisations, whose ability to malie contact withthem became a source of legitimisation for theirmundane authority in those bodies' From whatFlowers tells us, access to the GOTOS in the FS

appears not to have been restricted' Further, whilstthe Secret Chiefs/lnner Plane Adepts appear tohave only been vaguely defined (by those whoclaimed contact with them), the persona of theGOTOS of the FS appears to be very clearlydefined.Another aspect of the egregore is the notion ofdirect communication nowadays known as chan-nelling, and much-practised by the white-lightmagical orders and so-called Spiritualists' With afew notable exceptions, the quality of the majorityof channelled communications from supposedlyhigher beings is low in the extreme' FromFlowers' description of the GOTOS, it seemsunlikely that the FS were concerned with attempt-ing to gain verbal guidance from their egregore'Rather, the GOTOS functioned as a 'mask of thevoid'-a projection of future otherness whichcould be used as a focus for personal, and groupdevelopment. Given that the GOTOS provided anarchetypal guide for the development of FSinitiatei in becoming Saturnian Magicians, ilwould seem to be more appropriate to examinesuch egregores in the light of modern conceptionsof the Holy Guardian Angel or Augoides' Furtherexamples of this type of entity include theTyphonian-Thelemic entity LAM, the antinomianNyarlathotep in the Cthulhu Mythos, and possiblyObinn in the guise of master magician' Suchentities reflect the aspiration of the magician tobecome 'other'. Such entities can be consideredgateways through which the magician prepareshimself to move into a particular state of con-sciousness. By this I do not refer to those etherealhigher states so often associated with magicaldeielopment. Rather, this is a lengthy process of**pt"tiitg the state of consciousness typified by apaiticulaigateway through aiigning one's Behav-ioural/Emotional/Cognitive patterns in a consistentmanner. Since most 'gateway' entities are multi-faceted in the extreme, this is not a restrictivework, but nor, by the same token, is it everyone'schoice.The practice, as related by Flowers, of FSinitiates having their own personal representationof the GOTOS, in addition to its role in lodge

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workings, reflects another common practice ofworking with so-called 'aspirational' entities. Thispractice is common in degenerative western mani-festations (such as Spiritualism) where individualsseek messages from well-known guides. In orientalreligions it is common for disciples to maintain ashrine to a particular guru, in reverence of theirinfluence. In tantrism, it is similarly common foradherents to maintain a shrine to a guru-entitysuch as Shiva or Dattatreya. However, the focushere is to aspire to the condition of freedom andattainment that the figure represents, rather thanmere worship or obeisance. Dattatreya, for exam-ple, is seen as the legendary founder of manytantric clans, and as such, embodies the aspirationsof those who come after him. The tantric practi-tioner is thus aspiring to the mastery of Dattatreya,rather than simply revering him as occurs in theBhakti cults.It should be understood that, in these terms, it isthe qualities embodied by an egregore that isimportant, rather than making contact with it inorder to seek hidden wisdom or the legitimisationof one's own spiritual authority. Further, it seemsfrom the exposition of the GOTOS as given byStephen Flowers that the egregore is distinctlycreated to act as such a focus and then subse-quently utilised by the members of the group ororder whose ideals the egregore reflects.

Thus the egregore becomes a focus for what inknown in the Chaos school as 'Ego Magic'-thework of integrating and transforming the facets ofthe personality, in accord with a particular set ofaims. In the FS, this was to become embodimentsof the qualities of the Saturnian Magician.Ego Magic is an area of magical work which isoften ignored, possibly due to the fact that it issomewhat unglamorous, having few of the trap-pings of ritual magic for example, and possiblydue to its nature. It is easier, after all, to convinceoneself of one's magical prowess, yet ignoreglaring deficiencies such as low self-esteem, orlack of confidence when dealing with that mosttortuous of magical planes-the everyday world.Self-examination is often painful, yet the challengeof magic is constant self-awareness and vigilance.The use of an Egregore as a focus for individualwork can be extremely useful, since the egregoreis a focus for a particular set of attributes and maybe worked with as a kind of shadow-self; aperspective through which one experiences theworld during specific periods, rather than in thelimited space of an invocatory working. Thus the

magician draws upon the power of the egregore byseeking to express those qualities which it encap-sulates, in appropriate circumstances.According to Cabalistic doctrine a Group Egre-gore must be carefully managed. If the qualitieswhich the egregore is stated to embody are notmade clearly explicit, the egregore is in danger ofattracting to itself the lower emotions and negativ-ity which abound in a group or order, becoming

eventually, little more than an astral shell without acoherent persona, thus reflecting and reinforcingthe uncontrolled emotions and conflicting desiresof those who work with it. Very much a case of"Garbage in - Garbage Out".There is, I feel, more than a grain of truth in thisview. The creation, implementation, and subse-quent work with any higher-order entity requires agood deal of discipline and a structured approachto work. Common occult doctrine holds that anycreated entity can become uncontrolled and malig-nant over time, and experience has shown that thiscan certainly be the case with servitors and tulpas.Caution is thus all the more important with acreated entity designed to embody common ideal

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qualities which a group can collectively andindividually aspire towards.That a vision may empower both an individual'sown work and the collective development of anorganisation appears to be well-understood bymodern corporate consultants :"Leaders articulate and define v,hat has previouslyremained implicit or unsaid; then they invenlimages, metaphors and models that provide afocus for new attenlion. By so doin.g lhey consoli-date or challenge prevailing wisdom. In short, anessential factor in leadership is the capacity toinfluence and organise mean,ing for the membersof the organisation. .... [The subjects in our study]viewed themselves as leaders, not managers. Thisis lo say lhat they concerned themselves with theirorganisations' basic purposes an.d general direc-lion. ... Their visions or inlenlions u'ere com.pel-Iing, and pulled people lou,ards them. Intensilycoupled with commitm,ent is m.agn,etic. And theseintense personalilies did not have to coerce peopleto pay attention; they are so in.tent on u'hal, theyare doing that, Iike a child completely absorbed increating a sandcastle in a sandbox, they drav,olh.ers in." Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus, Leaders.

Tom Peters, author of Th,riving on. Chaos, pointsout that to be effective, visions must be consist-ently projected and expressed appropriately bythose in positions of leadership. This, he says, ismore effective than any amount of Grand Declara-tions, which, without being expressed consistently,amount to little more than rhetoric. Peters warnscorporate managers of the trap that all too manymagical orders seem to have fallen into-that it isalltoo easy for even the most compelling vision tobecome static, so that it impedes the very changesthat it was first meant to induce. It does seem that,increasingly, managers are becoming aware of theeffect of providing an inspiring vision, the corevalues of which manifest, and are accessiLrle in anumber of ways, to both workers and customers.The creation of a group egregore is the work ofthose adepts who have clearly defined and ex-pressed the collective aims and ideals of the group.The Wiccan admonition to "keep pure yourhighest ideals" is certainly relevant here. This initself is fraught with difficulty in this post-modernera where world-weary cynicism abounds, yet tobe able to maintain one's ideals against the inertia,ridicule and narrow vision of the majority of thepopulation is the mark of the true adept.

DE,US EX MACHINAby Steven Snair

"It's perfectly dreadful, dah-ling. A rendez-vouswith the Deity, and I've got nothing to wearl" Iwas richlittling an o1d drag queen and pseudo-voquing in my spotting shaving mirror. Whenyou're awake six days and pumped full of crank,tongue-in-cheek looks like you're nursing a tu-mour. The pulse in my temple was jitterbugging.The hands on my watch were orbiting at moment-of-truth-in-a-spaghetti-western speed.It is a legitimate dilemma though. A rentedtuxedo or ratty 'l'm With Stoopid' T-shirt areequally out of place should you meet the Buddhaon the road. Turns out to be David Carradinestumbling home from a toga party; you feeloverdressed in a clean pair of undershorts. Igrabbed whatever first came in reach - the laundrypile I Ching method. My fractal print hoodedMexican and a pair of boxers. I washed back acouple of tabs of jiz (a maintenance dose) withsome warm gatorade, climbed up the tube, andshunted out.The high noon sun bore down on me like thehump did on Lon Chaney n The llunchback ofNolre Dame. There was too much bleach in theworld's wash - everything whited out and fallingapart at the seams. I paused in the shade of aventilation duct and lit a cigarette. Black market,real nicotine. Like smoking cornmeal and driedhorseshit (which everyone suspected it was, buthey, it had that swing). Just the way I like it.Nothing drops anchor in the real world like theflash-stench of sulphur and that first drag likesucking sand. And up here, 'bov'gLound, there'sno Comtrol Corp cops to hose your smoke andvolunteer you into Readjustment. They can't takethe heat.I dropped in on Kemo at The Stand. Kemo's gotone bum eye; caught a belt buckle with it as a kidwhen his papa was administering some cottageindustry Readjustment. He thinks himself a real.Tean-Paul Satre, sitting there under the plasticcanopy amongst his past-date ding dongs, ripoffsof designer shades, and thumb-worn magazines,one eye on the nano-telly, the other, floating,scanning Nothingness."What does?" quipped Kemo, in that kazoounder water voice of his.

Nothing is True