Egregore

The term "egregore" comes from a Greek word meaning "to watch over" or "to guard," and in 20th-century occult and Theosophical traditions it came to mean a collective energy-information formation that arises when many people think, believe, or act in the same direction for a long time — around a religion, a family, a company, or even a fan community. The idea is that this shared energy starts to "feed itself" and, in turn, influence its participants, reinforcing shared beliefs and behavior patterns. There's no scientific evidence for the concept, and it's best treated as a metaphor rather than a literal fact. Its practical value lies in giving you language for a real psychological phenomenon: how group thinking, family expectations, or corporate culture quietly shape our decisions and even emotional reactions that feel entirely "our own." Noticing which egregore's field you're currently standing in — family, professional, ideological — is a way to tell your own desires apart from borrowed beliefs and take back authorship of your decisions.