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A review by jsabrina
Egregores: The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny by Mark Stavish
4.0
This is an excellent book, and I think I enjoyed it as much for the things I disagreed with or questioned as I did the things I agreed or resonated with. For example: I disagree with the belief that deities are a form of egregore, but it was interesting to read why it's a credible theory.
Stavish does a fine job surveying a range of sources from mutliple time periods to explore how people have defined and/or experienced egregores. There is far more variety to the definitions than I had expected, which is one reason I enjoyed it so much. He also did a good job balancing the theoretically with the practical: if such-and-such is true, what are the implications for an individual and for groups?
I was surprised by the negative view Stavish has about egregores. While he acknowledges that participating in some egregores can be positive or helpful for some people at certain times of their lives (eg: when they need outside help to protect or develop themselves) his overall position is that an egregore is a form of external authority which can shape our thoughts, feelings, and actions beyond our conscious awareness. Because of this, they are things which a mature person needs to free him/herself from in order to achieve true mental and spiritual freedom. His section on "Therapeutic Blasphemy" as a method was fascinating and gave me insight into why some people engage in "unbaptisms" and other rituals as a way of separating themselves from spiritual communities they no longer wish to be part of.
While this book is primarily for people involved in magical work, I think it could be interesting for open-minded people in general, since we are all involved in groups which exert influence over us and are bombarded by media and advertising. Even if someone doesn't believe in magic, there are concepts here which can be applied in purely psychological terms.
Stavish does a fine job surveying a range of sources from mutliple time periods to explore how people have defined and/or experienced egregores. There is far more variety to the definitions than I had expected, which is one reason I enjoyed it so much. He also did a good job balancing the theoretically with the practical: if such-and-such is true, what are the implications for an individual and for groups?
I was surprised by the negative view Stavish has about egregores. While he acknowledges that participating in some egregores can be positive or helpful for some people at certain times of their lives (eg: when they need outside help to protect or develop themselves) his overall position is that an egregore is a form of external authority which can shape our thoughts, feelings, and actions beyond our conscious awareness. Because of this, they are things which a mature person needs to free him/herself from in order to achieve true mental and spiritual freedom. His section on "Therapeutic Blasphemy" as a method was fascinating and gave me insight into why some people engage in "unbaptisms" and other rituals as a way of separating themselves from spiritual communities they no longer wish to be part of.
While this book is primarily for people involved in magical work, I think it could be interesting for open-minded people in general, since we are all involved in groups which exert influence over us and are bombarded by media and advertising. Even if someone doesn't believe in magic, there are concepts here which can be applied in purely psychological terms.