about the Gotos egregore April 30, 2008

On the Magical Egregore

by Phil Hine

The term egregore is derived from a Greek word meaning “to be aware of” or “to watch over”. An egregore is commonly understood to be magical entity purposefully created by a group or order as an encapsulation of the group’s collective aspirations and ideals. One such example is the entity GOTOS, created by the adepts of the Fraternitas Saturni. Stephen E. Flowers, in “Fire & Ice” (Llewellyn Publications, 1994) describes the function of GOTOS as:

“Through the experience of the GOTOS the Saturnian Brother or Sister is able to feel directly the qualities of personality that he or she is expected to develop as an initiate of the FS: compassionless love, willpower, resolution, severity (with him- or herself and others). These are developed in order to create the conditions for higher spiritual development through mastery of oneself and the environment. In other words, these are the characteristics of the Saturnian magician.”

Flowers goes on to relate how certain initiates within the FS were able to gain ‘astral visions’ of the humanoid appearance of the GOTOS, and that it’s image was subsequently cast in bronze. According to Flowers, all members of the FS at one time possessed a bust of the GOTOS in their private sanctuaries. From what Flowers relates concerning the relationship between the FS and the GOTOS, it appears to have been utilised as a source of ‘psychic power’ – tapped into through both lodge and individual work as a source of fortitude and resolve, and a guide in the collective developmental aspirations of the FS.

Flowers notes the similarity between the concept of the GOTOS and the Golden Dawn’s use of “Secret Chiefs”. However, there are some major differences which help define the nature of an egregore. In esoteric movements such as the Golden Dawn or the Theosophical Society, the Secret Chiefs or Inner-Plane Adepts were remote figures, accessible only to the leaders of the organisations, who’s ‘ability’ to make contact with them became a source of legitimisation for their mundane authority in those bodies. From what Flowers tells us, access to the GOTOS in the FS appears not to have been restricted. Further, whilst the Secret Chiefs/Inner Plane Adepts appear to have only been vaguely defined (by those who claimed contact with them), the persona of the GOTOS of the FS appears to be very clearly defined.

Another aspect of the egregore is the notion of direct communication nowadays known as ‘channelling’, and much-practised by the white-light magical orders and so-called Spiritualists. With a few notable exceptions, the quality of the majority of channelled communications from supposedly ‘higher beings’ is low in the extreme. From Flowers’ description of the GOTOS, it seems unlikely that the FS were concerned with attempting to gain verbal ‘guidance’ from their egregore. Rather, the GOTOS functioned as a ‘mask of the void’ – a projection of “future otherness” which could be used as a focus for personal, and group development. Given that the GOTOS provided an archetypal guide for the development of FS initiates in becoming “Saturnian Magicians”, it would seem to be more appropriate to examine such egregores in the light of modern conceptions of the Holy Guardian Angel or Augoides. Further examples of this type of entity include the Typhonian-Thelemic entity LAM, the antinomian Nyarlathotep in the Cthulhu Mythos, and possibly Odhinn in the guise of master magician. Such entities reflect the aspiration of the magician to become “other”. Such entities can be considered ?gateways’ through which the magician prepares himself to move into a particular state of consciousness. By this I do not refer to those ethereal ?higher’ states so often associated with magical development. Rather, this is a lengthy process of expressing the state of consciousness typified by a particular ?gateway’ through aligning one’s Behavioural/Emotional/Cognitive patterns in a consistent manner. Since most ?gateway’ entities are multi-faceted in the extreme, this is not a restrictive work, but nor, by the same token, is it everyone’s choice.

The practice, as related by Flowers, of FS initiates having their own personal representation of the GOTOS, in addition to it’s role in lodge workings, reflects another common practice of working with so-called ‘aspirational entities. This practice is common in degenerative western manifestations (such as Spiritualism) where individuals seek ‘messages’ from well-known guides. In oriental religions it is common for disciples to maintain a shrine to a particular guru, in reverence of their influence. In tantrism, it is similarly common for adherents to maintain a shrine to a guru-entity such as Shiva or Dattatreya, however, the focus here, is to aspire to the condition of freedom and attainment that the figure represents, rather than mere worship or obeisance. Dattatreya, for example, is seen as the ‘legendary’ founder of many tantric clans, and as such, embodies the aspirations of those who come after him. The tantric practitioner is thus aspiring to the mastery of Dattatreya, rather than simply revering him as occurs in the Bhakti cults.

It should be understood that, in these terms, it is the qualities embodied by an egregore that is important, rather than making contact with it in order to seek ‘hidden wisdom’ or the legitimisation of one’s own ‘spiritual’ authority. Further, it seems from the exposition of the GOTOS as given by Stephen Flowers that the egregore is distinctly created to act as such a focus and then subsequently utilised by the members of the group or order whose ideals the egregore reflects.

Thus the egregore becomes a focus for what in known in the Chaos school as “Ego Magic” – the work of integrating and transforming the facets of the personality, in accord with a particular set of aims. In the case of the FS; to become embodiments of the qualities of the “Saturnian Magician”.

Ego Magic is an area of magical work which is often ignored, possibly due to the fact that it is somewhat unglamorous, having few of the trappings of ritual magic for example, and possibly due to it’s nature. It is easier, after all, to convince oneself of one’s magical prowess, yet ignore glaring deficiencies such as low self-esteem, or lack of confidence when dealing with that most tortuous of magical ?planes’ – the everyday world. Self-examination is often painful, yet the challenge of magic is constant self-awareness and vigilance.

The use of an Egregore as a focus for individual work can be extremely useful, since the egregore is a focus for a particular set of attributes and may be worked with as a kind of ?shadow-self’; a perspective through which one experiences the world during specific periods, rather than in the limited space of an invocatory working. Thus the magician draws upon the power of the egregore by seeking to express those qualities which it encapsulates, in appropriate circumstances.

According to Cabalistic doctrine a Group Egregore must be carefully managed. If the qualities which the egregore is stated to embody are not made clearly explicit, the egregore is in danger of attracting to itself the ‘lower’ emotions and negativity which abound in a group or order, becoming eventually, little more than an ‘astral shell’ without a coherent persona, thus reflecting and reinforcing the uncontrolled emotions and conflicting desires of 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 this view. The creation, implementation, and subsequent work with any higher-order entity requires a good deal of discipline and a structured approach to work. Common occult doctrine holds that any created entity can become uncontrolled and ‘malignant’ over time, and experience has shown that this can certainly be the case with servitors and tulpas. Caution is thus all the more important with a created entity designed to embody common ideal qualities which a group can collectively and individually aspire towards.

That a vision may empower both individuals’ own work and the collective development of an organisation appears to be well-understood by modern corporate consultants:

“Leaders articulate and define what has previously remained implicit or unsaid; then they invent images, metaphors and models that provide a focus for new attention. By so doing they consolidate or challenge prevailing wisdom. In short, an essential factor in leadership is the capacity to influence and organise meaning for the members of the organisation. …. [The subjects in our study] viewed themselves as leaders, not managers. This is to say that they concerned themselves with their organisations’ basic purposes and general direction. … Their visions or intentions were compelling, and pulled people towards them. Intensity coupled with commitment is magnetic. And these intense personalities did not have to coerce people to pay attention; they are so intent on what they are doing that, like a child completely absorbed in creating a sandcastle in a sandbox, they draw others in.”

Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus, Leaders.

Tom Peters, author of Thriving on Chaos points out that to be effective, visions must be consistently projected and expressed appropriately by those in positions of leadership. This, he says, is more effective than any amount of ‘Grand Declarations’, which, without being expressed consistently, amount to little more than rhetoric. Peters warns corporate managers of the trap that all too many magical orders seem to have fallen into – that it is all too easy for even the most compelling vision to become static, so that it impedes the very changes that it was first meant to induce. It does seem that, increasingly, managers are becoming aware of the effect of providing an inspiring vision, the core values of which manifest, and are accessible in a number of ways, to both workers and customers.

The creation of a group egregore is the work of those adepts who have clearly defined and expressed the collective aims and ideals of the group. The Wiccan admonition to “keep pure your highest ideals” is certainly relevant here. This in itself is fraught with difficult in this post-modern era where world-weary cynicism abounds, yet to be able to maintain one’s ideals against the inertia, ridicule and narrow vision of the majority of the population is the mark of the true adept.

Spiritul de Jertfa in Masonerie. Asemanari cu Ortodoxia. February 12, 2008

Spiritul de Jertfa este notiunea cea mai profunda din cadrul multor sisteme de gandire religioasa. Desi de o vechime incerta, aceasta notiune a fost adoptata si de anumite grupari filosofice care se considera a fi pastratoarele unei Cunoasteri ezoterice.

O buna provocare o consider a fi aceea de a incerca un paralelism intre abordarea ideii de Jertfa asa cum este vazuta ea in Ortodoxie si Francmasonerie, cu ramurile inrudite ei.

Pentru inceput voi spune ca atat in Ortodoxie cat si in societatile secrete, Jertfa este in mod special asociata cu notiunea de Sacru. In ambele apartenente, Jertfa presupune un sacrificiu aflat la baza fondarii si care continua sa inspire si astazi pe membrii respectivi.

Astfel, Biserica se raporteaza la jertfa lui Cristos, moment in care are loc comuniunea cea mai profunda cu divinitatea si elementul care reprezinta centrul vietii crestine, prin referire la Sfanta Euharistie. In Masonerie, Jertfa ia forma mitului care sta la baza fondarii acesteia, pe vremea construirii Templului regelui Solomon. Legenda spune ca, fiind aproape terminata lucrarea, 3 calfe care nu fusesera avansate la gradul de Mare Maestru au decis in secret si au pus in practica planul de a-l ucide pe arhitectul regelui, Hiram Abiff. Urmare a acestui fapt, parola de Maestru este pierduta pana astazi, iar fratii care au gasit trupul lui Hiram au fost nevoiti sa substituie “Cuvantul Pierdut”.

Si in cadrul lojei, referirea la acest element tragic al Maestrului care se jertfeste pentru a pastra secretele dorite de cele 3 calfe, simbol al Ignorantei, Trufiei si Instinctului, este perpetua : la toate ceremoniile, membrii lojei poarta manusi albe, semn ca nu se fac vinovati de uciderea lui Hiram.

Tot ca o jertfa poate fi privita in Ortodoxie si atitudinea umila, care ar presupune un efort continuu de a depasi dorinta de a te mandri fata de aproapele si de a-l desconsidera. In Masonerie, inca de la initierea in gradul de Ucenic, noului initiat i se spune ca scopul calatoriei sale in aceasta lume materiala si simbolic, in viitorul sistem de grade, va fi acela al invingerii si stapanirii pasiunilor. Se impune evident o jertfire a acestor porniri in scopul construirii a ceea ce masonii numesc “Omul Nou”, eliberat de tot ceea ce este material si capabil de a vedea adevaratul sens al existentei sale.

O alta jertfa crestina poate fi considerata caritatea si ajutorarea aproapelui. In cadrul mai multor societati secrete sau discrete, aceasta este o practica la ordinea zilei, care nu se rezuma doar la oferirea de ajutoare materiale, ci si la intentiile pozitive pentru Umanitate formulate in loji, precum si la alte aspecte mai speciale : de exemplu, in Franta, una din practicile proprii societatii Roza-Cruce o reprezinta vizitarea si ajutorarea bolnavilor, care in mod traditional are loc noaptea.

Astfel, Masoneria este binecunoscuta pentru referirea voalata de care a avut parte cu privire la Jertfa, chiar si in folclor, un bun exemplu este cel al Maestrului MAnole, personaj care reprezinta poate cel mai bine mitul central al Masoneriei Universale, acela al uciderii Maestrului Hiram Abiff. In plus, acest mit al Mesterului MAnole este peste tot in Europa apreciat a fi eminamente masonic, in Franta existand chiar unele lucrari si referiri cu privire la acest aspect.

Am zis.

Raspuns la o mai veche cerere de a initia o ramura paramasonica iregulara. De ce anumite reactii initiatice nu sunt indicate. February 10, 2008

Imi rezerv placerea de a comenta pe larg o “disputa” avuta cu un admirator al ramurilor paramasonice iregulare, cu toate ca este posibil ca el sa-si fi pierdut interesul, fie efectiv sa nu afle de existenta acestui blog.

Cu toate acestea, raspunsul meu se va adresa altor posibili admiratori ai acestor loji sau pur si simplu “curiosilor” fenomenului.

Intotdeauna intreprinderea oricarei actiuni implica o raspundere a “initiatorului” fata de parerea publicului, insa consider ca situatia se complica cand vine vorba de a “crea” o societate discreta.

Si pentru ca nu doresc promovarea unei atitudini favorabile societatilor “incropite ad-hoc” si in general cam “inspirate” din gruparile care au un cuvant ferm de spus in domeniu, voi argumenta un punct de vedere putin “extremist” : Crearea unei noi ramuri/societati oculte nu isi mai are rost astazi, cand cunoscatorii fenomenului, membrii sau admiratorii ne confruntam cu o sumedenie de astfel de imitatii. Deja insasi imaginea adevaratelor grupari de traditie este grav stirbita de neintelegerile si scandalurile provocate, se pare, de evidenta intentie a gruparilor-imitatie care nu doresc decat avantaje financiare, renume nemeritat sau “devotamentul” unui numar cat mai mare de adepti.

In al doilea rand, o adevarata evolutie in domeniu nu se poate obtine decat prin ceea ce initiatii numesc “continuarea Traditiei” sau “Succesiune”. Asta deoarece fenomenul Ocultului se imparte in cel traditional, veritabil ( vechile organizatii consacrate) si “imaginar” (societatile infiintate recent de simpli profani sau chiar Frati exclusi din ordinele anterior mentionate).

Nu se poate obtine Real din Imaginar si evident nu este acesta scopul nostru.

O alta problema o reprezinta influenta pe care o va avea opinia publica ca urmare a anumitor paragrafe de Constitutie, practici ritualice sau chiar a statutului afisat de gruparea respectiva. Sa nu uitam ca pana si gruparile consacrate (anumite ramuri) se bucura de un statut negativ si marginal si au fost, de-a lungul timpului, implicate in serioase scandaluri.

Daca cineva isi doreste o astfel de apartenenta trebuie sa nu se lase inselat de varianta cea mai usoara, aceea de a infiinta ad-hoc o astfel de grupare.

O loja cu “succesiune” se obtine numai prin initierea ei de catre un Frate care a primit patenta necesara pentru a intreprinde acest lucru, altfel nu va exista in asa-zisa “loja” absolut nici o cunoastere ezoterica.

Asadar, daca vreti ceva calitativ, singura solutie este adresarea la o loja “regulara” si obtinerea unei imputerniciri reale.

Segmentul respectiv chiar nu mai are nevoie de inovatii, imitatii si superficialitate.

Am zis.

Erh:.