The next phase of work in the building of a new lodge is the creation of the vessel for the egregore. Some magical lodges do not purposely form the egregore, rather they let it form naturally out of the group mind and energy, relying on the inner contacts of the lodge to manage the egregore. In practical terms, that has resulted in some egregores becoming feral, and some being used by unscrupulous leaders to energise themselves and their own agendas.
When the egregore is formed in a specific fashion and has a filter in place, then that action can help to sidestep some of the issues that these constructs can create. If it is filtered and contained, it is much harder for parasites to take over and also hard for a lodge member to fashion it to their own use.
So what is an egregore?
A lot of what has been written about egregores speaks from a stand point of psychology which I think limits the understanding of how these power collectives work. Also I am not a psychologist, so I will talk from a standpoint of magic, not psychology.
When a magical group gets together and does inner work, which is essentially working through the imagination to manipulate energy, the energies of the group and the structures of their imagination, their knowledge, and their histories join together in the inner worlds in a natural ‘congealing’ of consciousness. If it is left purely to nature, the collective energy builds slowly over time and can be tapped into a resource by the group. But because it has no filters, boundaries or structure, it can also be tapped into by any being that comes along and spots it. This frequently happens when parasites spot what they see as a yummy pot of energy and stop by to feed. Once they discover that the energy is potentially a two-way stream, which all egregores are, the parasite begins to feed the lodge member information and visions in an attempt to encourage communion which to them is an output of energy. This happens if the magical work is also left unfiltered and unstructured.
Some sure signs that a magical lodge is being fed off by an egregore parasite are that the members will be gaining inner information that is trite but what they want to hear, and the other sign is that they will all be very tired a lot of the time once they are away from the lodge. If the egregore is being fed off by the lodge Hierophant as opposed to an inner parasite, then you will get the symptoms of a group who cannot think for themselves, who are weak and who constantly defer to the leader whom they treat like a god. The leader himself will have seemingly boundless energy and charisma which is fed by the egregore, but they will actually output very little magically. It becomes a feeding station for a messiah ego.
Sometimes an egregore can become very big if the organisation that it is connected to is big and in such cases if it is unguarded, a large being can move in and begin to operate it. This can become very dangerous because not only is the energy flow a two-way thing, but also the thought patterns that flow from the group to the egregore and from the parasited egregore to the group. A large egregore ridden by a powerful intelligent being can influence a vast number of people into certain ways of unhealthy thinking which becomes the exorcist’s worst nightmare.
The way to avoid a lot of these problems is to structure a vessel for the egregore and have good filters in place. This is one of the many purposes of the inner temple which is to act as a filter and vessel for the egregore. If there are checks and balances in place for the egregore, then there is less chance of it going wrong. The checks and balances also need to be in place in the outer lodge in the form of advised patterns of behaviour and shared responsibilities.
When working correctly, an egregore is an amazing tool and addition to a magical lodge. It amplifies the power of the work, it shares out the impact of power, it builds upon collective knowledge, and facilitates the storage of that knowledge which becomes the inner library. The inner library is an expression of a function of the egregore and while ever the egregore is given shapes and faces to act as an interface/filter, it cannot be hacked so easily.
The egregore also helps by gathering together all the available energy from all group members and focussing that power on a particular job. This is a very important dynamic for deep and powerful work so that the burden is shared out through the egregore and no one person takes the full impact.
There is also a strange energy dynamic with egregores that I do not fully understand but I have observed over and over, and that is that when the egregore has ten people powering it, it holds the power of a hundred people. The group power or energy is somehow magnified many times. When I first came across this, I wondered if it was a parasite that was manipulating the egregore to get people to do things. But when I looked closely, there was no such being involved and I realised I was looking at some strange power dynamic that is triggered by certain types of work.
This can have wonderful or terrible consequences depending on what the egregore is being used for and who is driving it. This is why it is so vitally important to have checks and balances in place at the very beginning of the construction.
Another thing to think about is that the egregore, when left to natural construction, can survive for a very long time after the lodge has ceased to be. An egregore has an energy dynamic in survival terms that is very similar to an inner temple, so it can survive unused for hundreds of years or longer. That raises interesting questions regarding the links to people’s energies and how deep those links go regarding the spirit after death and the genetic inheritance of power lines. The more I looked at egregores that had been allowed to just do their own thing, the more I became aware that we have a responsibility to form and filter these power sources, and have checks and balances in place.
As an exercise, many years ago I took a group through the inner worlds to look at the egregore of the Roman Catholic Church. It was a very sorry state of affairs to observe as it appeared as a huge egregore (and I mean really huge) that was feeding off guilt and suffering. When we got closer to the egregore (which had beings parasiting and operating it), we felt the weight of the negative emotions that the egregore fed its members in the form of guilt and the need to suffer. The egregore then fed off the emotions that this burden produced. It was heavily parasited but there was also an internal use of the egregore power that connected into the Vatican — it was all extremely unhealthy.
WHAT IS THE PRACTICAL FUNCTION OF AN EGREGORE IN A MAGICAL LODGE?
An egregore is basically a storage facility for energy, knowledge, and memory of the group actions. It amplifies the power of the group work and is particularly useful when it comes to new initiates. It powers their work so that their techniques are successful, which in turn encourages the initiate to continue their studies. It is also a knowledge store that the initiate can tap into to expand their studies, which also helps the next generation to develop their work further in exploration.
The other interesting thing about an egregore is that when it is filtered through the inner temple, it will also draw upon the knowledge of all the other adepts in the other temples that are connected to the line so that the knowledge available to a worker can potentially become great.
The egregore is also protective as it operates within a set structure, so the egregore can be tuned to watch over the entire group members at all times and any work that is undertaken by the lodge is filtered and guarded by the power of the egregore. The downside of all of this is that the adepts can become reliant on the group energy and knowledge which can encourage laziness and an unwillingness to protect, energise, and educate themselves. Such an attitude towards the work becomes a self-culling mechanism whereby the adept begins to feel himself to be all-powerful and all-knowing. This usually precipitates power demands which end up with the adept being excluded from the group. When this happens the adept is thrown back on his own power and knowledge, so if he has been relying on the egregore, his knowledge and power will not be very advanced at all. It can be a massive but needed wake-up call.
A while ago I was asked about the possibility of tapping into old egregores where the group disbanded in the past but the egregore still exists, and I replied that this is possible but unhealthy. Any patterns or poor foundation which resulted in the group falling apart will be pattern inherent within the egregore. Any use of such an egregore will result in the same patterns being played out once more.
THE BUILDING OF A VESSEL FOR THE EGREGORE
The best way that I have found to manage an egregore is to have a container for it and filters in place from the very beginning of the inception of the group. This can be done through the inner temple construction and can become a part of the inner temple itself, which has a lot of checks and balances inherent within it. It gives the egregore structure as opposed to a face — some groups create a human image or impose a façade of a deity to hold the egregore, and to my mind that is just asking for trouble. Doing such a thing is basically creating a situation whereby a thought form or actual deity can take over the egregore and it can end up running the group for its own agenda. By containing the egregore inside the building structure, the group can sidestep that sort of issue.
When you are approaching the design of a container, it is wise to have separate containers for the energy and the knowledge, so that the two can be used in tandem as a working method, but the two powers are not within each other. This again cuts down the likelihood of the whole thing being taken over by intelligent beings for their own use. One way of approaching that is to have a centre of knowledge where the members go to study, have teachers, and dispense knowledge, like the inner library. Similarly, a container for the energy should be part of the inner temple, but a unit that is just for the energy storage. It can be constructed to look like a container or tank, but that will limit its capacity, or it can be contained within a natural element like stone or water or fire. Water is a wonderful refreshing, energising element that can soak up energy and hold it, and it is compatible with our bodies which have a high percentage of water. This way, when the energy is drawn upon, our bodies can process it easily and naturally with minimum impact.
Stone can also store energy and heat, and can be very grounding — such a container may be appropriate for groups that are working with the nature, the earth, standing stones and mountains. However the density of the energy form can be heavy for the group to hold when they work and that would need to be taken into consideration.
Fire is also an interesting container of group energy and one that I have worked with before in this context, but what I did find is that when you draw upon that energy for work, the human body responds to the input of power by burning up. Fevers or inflammations are not always a good idea when you are in the middle of a massive magical project!
To begin the construction of the egregore, the consecrated foundation group along with the Hierophant go to work in the inner temple. As is always the case in magic, focus and intent is everything and this is a point that needs to be held to throughout this working.
In the inner temple, the container for the energy will need attending to first. It would probably be best to have the container in a separate space within the temple, like a large room or chapel off to one side. That can be built by calling the Sandalphon at the elemental threshold of the void, as they are coworkers and builders.
The Hierophant chooses an area off to one side of the temple and begins to stretch a doorway out of the walls by using his hands and voice. Once a gap has been created, the others can join in to stretch the walls out into another space, and the Sandalphon join in to create walls and floors. The container must not be too ‘contained’ — it needs to be able to allow the void to flow in and out of it to keep it healthy and balanced. This is the use of the void as unformed Divinity, which does not allow any Tom, Dick, or Alien to access it. But it will allow elemental power to flow back and forth thus giving the angelic thresholds access to the egregore to keep it clear and uncorrupted.
To explain the construction, I will talk through it using the element of water and the power of the stars, as these two powers are strong, uncorrupted, and are in purely natural forms in our world that our bodies understand and can process.
The constructed space consists of three walls and a floor. The Hierophant stands to the area with no wall facing into the nothing, which is the void. Two members stand on either side of the Hierophant and in physical reality they each put a hand upon the shoulder of the Hierophant to uphold her energetically.
The Hierophant then calls upon the angelic being Arariel (which is a hive being) to flow into the temple to provide a vessel for the egregore and the Sandalphon join in the call to give it strength. The Arariel appear out of the void and flow into the space as water, falling like a waterfall and filling the space like a lake. The water flows in and out of the void like a constant blood flow until the lake fills to a suitable depth. In the future, the egregore will grow with the lodge so that the lake will grow bigger and bigger, potentially becoming a sea if the lodge grows and survives for long enough.
The Hierophant and the group of adepts stand upon the edge of the waters and each places their right hand into the water. They feel the power of the Arariel flow through them, affecting the water within their bodies and filling them with a sense of peace and wisdom. As the Arariel flow through them, the group become aware that the angel is ‘copying’ their human energy and mirroring that energy into the water so that all the energy patterns of the group have are mirrored in the lake.
One by one, each adept sips a bit of the water and then slowly allows herself to slip into the lake and float in its peace. As she floats, every experience that she has ever had flows into the water — every illness, ever power surge, and every energy imprint flows into the water which copies and holds them like a recorder. The strength of the angel flows into her, filling her and changing the frequency that resonates through the water in her body, bringing her to the same frequency as the lake. As she looks up, she see stars that reflect down into the water and the power of the stars flows down into the lake, strengthening and energising the water. This use of stars instead of a constructed ceiling allows a much greater storage of energy and allows for different types of energy to flow through this place. One of the destructive things that can happen to an inner egregore container is if it is built in too rigid a manner which makes it unable to flex with universal power — such rigidity breaks the container and ultimately can break the group.
After a while of drifting, the angel tells the adept to climb out. As the adepts climb out, each person puts a bit of her spit into the lake to consciously give back of their fluids to the collective.
Upon completion of the exchange of energy and fluids, it is then time to ask for guardians to watch over the lake of power to keep it safe, clean, and focussed. The Hierophant utters across the water for the Arariel to offer their guardians to flow into the lake, to keep it healthy and strong. As the group watch the water flowing out of the void and into the lake, they begin to notice fish swimming out of the void and swimming around the lake. These are the guardians that work with the Arariel in sacred places; they are the Keepers of the ancient altars, the guards of Divine power, and the watchers of energy. The Hierophant and the group carefully wade into the lake and stand among the fish, stretching their hands out to allow the fish to swim over them or under them, to make contact and communion. The fish commune with the group, telling them of any needs they may have and giving the group adepts sounds that will be projected to the group if the lake is ever in danger.
The adepts of the lodge will be able to come here in vision if they need to draw upon large amounts of power for work, or if they are in desperate need of an energy input for a magical reason. However, because the vessel for the energy is an angelic being, it will guard the power so that if a member should try to breach the lake to draw upon it for their own selfish energetic usage, they will be attacked by the fish (who are ancient and aggressive temple guardians). Most of the time though, once the inner temple is merged with the outer temple, this lake will operate on automatic and the group workers will not be always aware of it. When the inner temple is merged with the outer temple, a container of water or a small waterfall or tank with fish should always be in the temple and kept clean and fresh and this outer expression of the vessel will reinforce the inner containment of the egregore.
That is also the time to build the door and lock it. Again, using the Sandlaphon, a door is constructed with the body of the Sandalphon and the lock is triggered by the consecration sigil — only those who hold the sigil in their inner pattern will be able to gain access to the lake.
Now the second part of the container for the egregore must be constructed. This can make use of the knowledge receptacle that was created during the building of the inner temple which is the inner library. Going to the inner library in the inner temple, the group adepts and the Hierophant place their hands upon one of the walls, and ask the walls to part to allow a guarded opening to the void. The group then use harmonics to change the power of the wall so that an opening appears with the void on the other side of it.
The Hierophant, standing on the edge of the void, calls upon the angel Raziel to become the guardian and Keeper of the inner library. A great wind flows out of the void into the temple and in the wind appears Raziel, the Keeper of magic, knowledge, and wisdom. The angel flows into the space and begins to fill the walls, the books, the doors, as well as the void entrance and the temple door. The angel becomes a part of the library and as you walk around the space, you will feel the angel’s power all around you as it protects the knowledge within the library.
The entrance to the void is kept open in the library so that knowledge can flow out of the void and into the consciousness of the people who frequent the temple. Often an altar is constructed just before the edge of the void which can act as a filter and anchor for knowledge to pass in and out of the void.
A being will appear who will identify themselves as the librarian: this being is a guardian that works with the angel Raziel as a Keeper of knowledge. The librarian hands each member a book and asks them to write their name as the title. Each member is then asked to put a drop of their blood upon the book that holds their name so that the book will hold all the collected knowledge of that person. This begins the process of the library storing the knowledge of the lodge so as each new person is consecrated or initiated into the group, a book will appear in the library with his or her name upon it. They will not need to go through the same process with the blood upon the book — that is a foundation action that tells the angelic being what the intention of the group is. Once it has figured out the intentions, it will then continue the action automatically with each new person that is initiated into the lodge.
This action creates a container for the group knowledge and the angelic being stops the stored knowledge from being misused, trapped, destroyed or taken away. Because the space has a direct access to the void, all knowledge that is passing into the general human consciousness will also appear in the inner library. It also allows all knowledge throughout time to potentially flow into the library, and discoveries that the group make will be accessible through the void to other groups who work on the same frequency of magic. It is important to have this two-way flow — freedom of knowledge and the willingness to share wisdoms is all part of the balance of a magical group which helps to keep the group in a sense of service and to focus on deeper issues.
One of the symptoms of an unhealthy group is where the leader insists on trapping and keeping the knowledge to himself, while drawing upon everyone else’s knowledge like a parasite. This type of leader often puffs himself up as something special and grabs the power, thereby putting himself upon a large pedestal where he can rule and control the group. The use of the Raziel in the library is a step towards stopping that from happening, as the Raziel protects knowledge from those who should not have it, and makes sure that those who should have it get it. This dynamic is a very important ingredient to put into the building of the egregore container.
The group needs to orientate the inner temple with the egregore containers by simple intention building. The group go back into the main part of the inner temple and, while standing in a circle at the centre of the temple, they begin to walk around the temple, acknowledging the various entrances and doorways to the library, the lake, the Abyss tunnel, and any other sections of the inner library that have been built. Walking around the temple, touching each door, and thinking about what is behind that door allows the thought intention to become impressed upon the building and strengthens it as a structure.
The group begin to see the detail of the inner temple, i.e. its walls, the height, colour, shape, decoration, pillars, shapes of the doors — but at the same time, seeing elements of nature running through those structures so that it does not become a rigid building that can limit the flow of power. The walls will have sound harmonics, platonic shapes, and the impressions of humans upon it. The ceiling may be of the stars and space, the floor maybe earth or natural stone, with the pillars being trees. This introduction of nature ensures that the structure has flexibility and organic life flowing through it so that it can flex and bend with the various flows of power that will come through it. It also allows for the wisdom of nature to become a part of the inner temple, which will act as a buffer from human stupidity.
When the vision work of establishing of the lake and library is finished, the group should break for a little bit. After a rest, the next stage of the work is the superimposing of the egregore container in the inner temple with the outer temple and group. This is the act of bringing the inner temple and containers into physical connection and should be performed so that the inner temple, its contacts, and the power of the egregore are established right into the fabric of the outer temple.
If the group does not have a permanent building to use as a temple space, then the anchor for the inner temple can be expressed through the sacred objects of the temple, i.e. a consecrated altar, a consecrated vessel for water, a book with the names of each member and the ritual implements. All of these things can be connected to the inner temple and containers, and can become outer expressions of the inner structure.
The Hierophant and adepts should assign a librarian who works in depth in the inner library and also keeps the outer books, a Keeper of the Vessel who works directly with the egregore and also looks after the outer vessel of water in the lodge. The Hierophant should take responsibility for the altar at the edge of the void and the altar in the lodge.
In times past, the Hierophant would have taken control of all the ritual belongings, but that opens doors for control issues and power grabbing. The sharing out of responsibility ensures a safer distribution of power and adds to the checks and balances. It also side steps an attitude the Hierophant may have that no one other than he is capable of holding power or responsibility — this attitude is the first indication of a distortion of power in the Hierophant and must be addressed.
The altar is the first thing that should be tied in and that is done by assigning an outer altar that will be permanently used in all the temple activities. The group prepares by having the altar with the element upon it and also having to hand the vessel, the book, and the consecrated ritual implements that the group use as part of the temple rituals.
The group go back in vision into the temple by way of the element/void and while they are in vision they stand with eyes open and circle the central altar. Each member of the group places their right hand upon the person next to them and the last person places a hand upon the Hierophant. Then with eyes closed, the group see with their inner vision the altar in the inner temple with the Hierophant placing his hands upon it. The Hierophant then physically puts his hands upon it and sees the physical altar and the inner altar become as one.
The Sandalphon that are in the structure of the inner temple emerge from the walls and place their hands upon the group to become thresholds for deep Divine power within substance, allowing it to flow through the group and into the Hierophant. When the Hierophant feels enough of the build up of power, he releases the power of Divinity within substance into the inner and outer altar.
While holding the vision, the Hierophant draws the sigil of the consecration over the inner and outer altar while saying, “I consecrate thee as a vessel of Divine substance, to the service of this lodge (name), the service of the inner worlds, and the service of Divine universal power.” Be aware that the Divine power that flows into the altar is pure universal power; it is not a power of a particular god or deity. To link such a power into an altar is the beginning of a religious movement and can open the door for a deity to hijack the group.
On completion of the altar, it is time for the lake to be tied into the outer temple. The vessel that holds water in the outer temple takes on the role of the cauldron or grail: the containment of regeneration and universal power. This use of such a vessel brings into the play the filter of the spiritual cup that has dominated spirituality in the northern hemisphere for thousands of years (back to the Beaker People), and such a filter ensures that the egregore energy storage in water is kept within the spiritual and magical confines of the grail.
The vessel is filled with consecrated water and is placed in the hands of the Keeper of the vessel while keeping the vision of the inner temple going. The Keeper of the vessel holds the vessel while in vision the group goes to the door of the lake and request entry. Upon placing their hands upon the door, the guardian recognises their sigil of consecration and the doors swing open. The vessel Keeper and the Hierophant enter first and the Hierophant’s job is to watch the door and keep the vessel Keeper safe while they work. The rest of the group gathers around the lake to be witnesses. The vessel Keeper calls upon the angel Arariel to assist in the transformation of the vessel into the container of the lake and the angel commands the vessel Keeper to step into the lake while holding the vessel.
The Keeper steps into the lake and dips the vessel into the lake among the fishes. The fishes each swim up to the vessel and nudge it to acknowledge it and the water of the lake flows in and out of the vessel, blessing the vessel and the consecrated water. One of the fish merges into the Keeper, leaving the mark of the fish upon the skin of the keeper. The vessel Keeper then drinks of the water both in vision and physically — she then opens her eyes and takes the vessel around to each of the group and gives them a sip of the consecrated water. This action binds the group to the lake through the vessel and establishes the vessel as the container of the lake. The vessel is brought before the angel for completion. Arariel places its hand over the vessel and the Keeper places her hand over the vessel. The Hierophant then places his hand over the hand of the Keeper and the power of the angel flows into the vessel through the two human filters.
The angel steps back and the Keeper physically places the vessel on the outer altar while also placing it on the inner altar. The vessel is complete and will stay with the altar as an outer expression of the lake. It will be filled with consecrated water while ever the group is working and it will be the responsibility of the vessel Keeper to consecrate the water and keep the vessel clean and safe. The Keeper may also choose to bring out the mark of the fish upon their skin in the form of a tattoo.
Next it is the turn of the book to be tied into the library. The book should contain all the names of the members of the lodge, and as new members are initiated so their names will be added also. The book Keeper or librarian picks up the book and holds it while doing the vision. The group leave the lake and go to the door of the library. Again the adepts, starting with the librarian, put their hands upon the door and the door opens as their consecration sigils are recognised.
In the library, the inner guardian of the library comes forward and the outer librarian offers the book of names to the guardian, stating that these are the names of those who hold knowledge and wisdom in this place. The book in vision is taken by the guardian and placed on a lectern in the centre of the library. The book is left there and acts as a filter for all members of the lodge, gathering their knowledge and distributing it throughout the library. It also acts as a reference index and as a container for the knowledge of the group, acknowledging each named member as a part of the inner library. The group take turns to go up to the lectern and look in the book for their names — they will also see the names of other books at the sides of their names which give reference to their life’s work in this life and in others. Note: the true birth name of each adept and initiate should be used, not any made up or magical name.
Once each member of the group has connected with the inner book, the outer book is put on the altar. After the vision is finished, it will be placed in a holding box and kept safe by the book Keeper. Each new initiate will be listed in the book and anyone who leaves the lodge and wishes to give up their initiation will have their name removed both in the outer and the inner book. If initiates leave the lodge but continue the work on their own path, their names should stay in the book.
The book and the vessel are now the outer manifestations of the egregore container, and the altar is the anchor in the outer world of the inner temple. If the group uses ritual implements that are consecrated, then this is a good time, while in vision, to take the ritual implements into the inner temple and place the inner versions of the implements in their rightful place in the inner temple. Keepers of the implements can be assigned and they will be responsible for the upkeep and work of the implement. The use of a variety of Keepers shares out the power and responsibility around the founding members of the lodge which is another action towards safeguarding against power grabs and control issues with the Hierophant and subsequent leaders. This is extremely important when dealing with the egregore. The Keepers should be chosen by the entire group on the basis of their balance, maturity, and stability.
In the unlikely event the egregore is breeched at sometime in the future, the outer containers can be cleansed and exorcised to rid the inner containers of parasites and bindings. If the temple is mobile, i.e. it has no set home, then it is very important that the containers are kept safe along with the altar and ritual implements. Although ideally they should all remain with their Keepers, this can practically become a problem when trying to pull the temple together for work. It is best that they are all kept together as a unit by the Hierophant but their ritual upkeep and use in the temple is governed by the Keepers.