What Is an Egregore?

Call it a spirit, call it energy, or as the old esoteric texts do call it an egregore. It’s not a fantasy, and it’s certainly not new. It's a living thought-form created and sustained by us. By our attention, emotion, rituals, and belief. It moves through our groups, projects, temples, and even brands. And the more people feed it, the more power it has.

What Exactly Is an Egregore?

The word egregore comes from the Greek egrégoroi, meaning “watchers.” In mystical traditions, it refers to a non-physical entity, a field of influence, created by the collective thoughts, emotions, and rituals of a group.

But here’s where it gets fascinating: unlike a simple shared belief, an egregore begins to act like it has a life of its own.

You’ll find them behind religious institutions, political movements, activist circles, startup companies, and spiritual orders. And you’ll feel them, sometimes as a charge in the room, sometimes as a push toward shared behavior, sometimes as an unspoken “presence” guiding the group. And yes, you’re probably part of more than one already.

Egregores are everywhere.

• Your workplace has one (you know that feeling you get on Monday mornings when you walk through the doors? It’s the egregore of that office).

• Even your country has one, shaped by centuries of shared history, symbols, holidays, and myths.

We are always participating in egregores, knowingly or not.The question is: Are you choosing which ones you feed?

An egregore is powered by group energy. Here's what that means in practice:

• Every group's intention, emotion, and repeated action adds fuel to the egregore. Over time, it develops a kind of magnetic pull, drawing participants into certain moods, values, and behaviors.

• The more the group interacts with the egregore, the more powerful it becomes. The egregore, in turn, subtly influences the group’s direction. It’s a two-way dance.

• Egregores are usually tied to imagery: logos, chants, colors, sigils, even architecture. These become gateways to connect with the egregore’s energy.

While not conscious in the way you or I are, an egregore feels personal. It “responds” when acknowledged and can support or disrupt based on how well it’s maintained.

If you’re a practitioner of magick, or even just someone sensitive to energy, understanding egregores is vital. You can either work with them consciously or be influenced unconsciously.

To ground this further, here are some well-known cases:

• Spiritual Orders: Every long-standing magical lodge has an egregore, often visualized as a guardian spirit or guiding presence. These entities assist rituals and guide initiates through inner transformation.

• Brands: Apple’s egregore is innovation, elegance, and individuality. It's not just marketing it's an emotional field that influences how people feel using the product.

• Social Movements: each of these movements generates a powerful egregore, influencing art, policy, and public emotion.

• Sacred Spaces: A pilgrimage site like Lourdes or Mecca carries an egregore built over centuries. People feel it the moment they arrive.