Freemasonry, Christian theosophy and Illuminism
Franz Anton Mesmer
A physician, not an occultist — whose theory of a universal magnetic fluid nevertheless generated hypnotism, psychical research, Spiritualist trance practice and occult ideas of subtle force.
- Dates
- 1734 – 1815
- Dating
- documented dates
- Died
- Meersburg
The life
He studied medicine at Vienna, moved to Paris in 1778 and became famous for dramatic group treatments. A royal commission including Benjamin Franklin investigated animal magnetism in 1784 and rejected the proposed physical fluid.
Place in the tradition
His importance to occult history lies less in what he intended than in what later movements made of him.
a note on the record
History and later legend
He considered himself a physician rather than an occultist, and the commission's rejection did not slow what followed.
the written record
Principal works
-
1766
Dissertatio physico-medica de planetarum influxu
His medical dissertation on planetary influences and a universal physical fluid.
-
1779
Mémoire sur la découverte du magnétisme animal
The foundational statement of animal magnetism.