Animal Magnetism

The theory that well-balanced magnetic fluids or fields are the key to human health

German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) had a theory that all things had magnetic fluid in them, with a natural energetic transference occurring between living and nonliving things in the universe, the energy in question being largely derived from the stars. Mesmer held that the magnetic fluids or fields in humans could be manipulated for healing or other purposes, Imbalances in the invisible magnetic fluid were held to cause disease, which could be psychological (such as anxiety or phobias) or physical (including spasms, seizures, and pain).

The term "animal magnetism" refers to the universal principle that everything contains the magnetic fluid, and also to the therapeutic system by which people alter the state of their magnetic fluids, re-balancing or even transferring the magnetic fluid, either through touch or by holding hands passively over the body.

"The action and virtue of animal magnetism, thus characterised, may be communicated to other animate or inanimate bodies."
----Franz Anton Mesmer

In 1774, Mesmer produced an "artificial tide" in a patient. She was given a preparation containing iron, and magnets were attached all over her body. A mysterious fluid seemed to stream through her body, and her symptoms were relieved for several hours. But Mesmer's best-known patient was eighteen-year-old Maria Theresia Paradis, who had been blind since the age of four. During 1776 and 1777, Mesmer treated her with magnets for nearly a year, and her sight seemed to be restored. However, after some time had passed, her blindness returned. A committee at the Vienna University investigated Mesmer and declared him a charlatan, saying that rather than curing her he simply made her believe she was cured.

Mesmer's animal magnetism and practices drew attention to the fact that psychological treatment undoubtedly had a direct influence on the body and its ailments. Treatment with magnets is still being practised in continental Europe today, and in the United States you can buy the "ionised" Q-Ray bracelet.
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Source:
"1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think"
-- by Robert Arp.

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