Simple Proof
Nine Signatures of a Live Parasite
Each is a test you can run on patterns already in your life. They are the proof — not because they are scientific, but because once you can see the signature, you cannot stop seeing it.
An egregore is a social pattern with its own interests, which uses human beings as substrate to sustain itself — while the hosts experience the relationship as meaning, identity, or conviction. This is not a metaphor.
The One-Line Test
Does it ask more from its hosts than it gives back, while making them certain the exchange is favorable?
If yes, something other than the host is doing the accounting.