Thérapeutique Magnétique — Scheda/en
The Thérapeutique Magnétique is the clinical treatise by Baron du Potet, dedicated to the therapeutic applications of animal magnetism. The title indicates the program: not philosophy (that is in Magie Dévoilée) nor pedagogy (that is in the Manuel), but practical medicine.
The clinical context of du Potet
Du Potet was first and foremost a therapist. As documented by Paret in the History of Hypnotism, when du Potet opened his school of magnetism in 1828, nearly one hundred students — "a significant proportion of whom were physicians" — attended his demonstrations. For du Potet, magnetism was never just spectacle or philosophy: it was a discipline for healing.
Donato in Le Magnétisme Triomphant confirms this approach: "In practice, du Potet mainly practiced therapeutic magnetism."
The therapeutic method according to Lafontaine (parallel source)
Lafontaine — a parallel and independent figure to du Potet — documents in his Art de Magnétiser the standard therapeutic method of the tradition, confirmed by Paret as a shared technique:
The magnetizer sits facing the patient, knees between the patient's knees without touching them, seated slightly higher. He touches the tips of the subject's thumbs with his own, without pressing — the thumb contact puts the magnetizer's brain in direct "rapport" with that of the subject. Then he fixes his eyes on those of the subject.
This technique is described as the method for inducing deep trance — the vehicle through which the vital fluid passes into the subject's nervous system and produces therapeutic effects.
Documented therapeutic phenomena
Paret (History of Hypnotism) documents the table of cases treated by Lafontaine in England — representative of the entire therapeutic magnetic tradition of the era, including du Potet. The success rate (complete cures + improvements) exceeded 80%. The pathologies treated included:
| Category | Specific pathologies |
|---|---|
| Neurological | Paralysis, muscle contractions, continuous convulsive movement, epilepsies, neuralgia |
| Psychic | Hysterias, choreas (St. Vitus' dance), nervous crises, nervous cough |
| Infectious/febrile | Intermittent fevers, scarlet fever, cerebral fevers, nervous fevers |
| Circulatory/gynecological | Palpitations, uterine inflammations, hemorrhages, suppressions |
| Osteoarticular | Rheumatic pains, ankylosis, contusions |
| Sensory | Deafness, mutism, vertigo, chlorosis |
Du Potet's therapeutic theory
Du Potet was a "determined fluidist" (Donato's classification): he believed that therapeutic magnetism acted through the transmission of a vital fluid. The magnetizer gave up part of his own vitality to the patient — a process that required health, concentration, and inner strength in the practitioner.
As Paret observes: "To give up one's vitality persistently to a patient for months, observing the effect of each pass and constantly exercising the will, is a very different thing from the hasty recognition of known symptoms and prescribing remedies from an official list."
This placed du Potet in direct conflict with conventional medicine: magnetic therapy required total personal investment on the part of the therapist — it could not be standardized into impersonal protocols.
Continuity with Di Pisa and the ISI-CNV corpus
The line Thérapeutique Magnétique du Potet → Lafontaine's healings → Donato's therapeutic fascination → Di Pisa's instant healings is documented in Paret:
- «Our Master Prof. Erminio Di Pisa used mainly the gaze to achieve his instant healings. He worked and collaborated with many physicians, as well as in hospitals (San Raffaele di Milano).»
The method was refined over the generations: from passes with contact (Mesmer) → passes without contact + gaze (du Potet) → pure gaze with intention (Donato, Di Pisa). But the therapeutic logic remained constant: the therapist transmits something of himself to the patient through energetic contact.
Primary sources
Anti-hallucination system: every statement is traced back to the sources below. Dossier estratti verificati ISI-CNV (17/05/2026).
Texts by du Potet — Drive
- Manuel de l'étudiant magnétiseur (Paris 1850) — 30 years of experience; includes Husson Academy Report
- Thérapeutique Magnétique — clinical cases and methodology
- La Magie Dévoilée (Paris 1852) — magical philosophy; verified OCR preface
- Magnetism and Magic (English translation Paret, .doc)
- Drive folder: all books by du Potet
Testimonials on du Potet
- Donato, Le Magnétisme Triomphant — Google Doc — sect. III «De Mesmer à Donato»: biog. + critical evaluation du Potet | PDF gallica
- Paret, History of Hypnotism — Google Doc — sect. «Dupotet and Lafontaine» (lines 1705-1775 in TXT) | Searchable TXT | PDF
Historical journals and periodicals
- Donato, Journal de Psycho-Physiologie (162 pp., 290MB) — Donato's journal; Donato-du Potet-Durville meeting (OCR in progress — 51/162 pp. with readable text)
- La Revue Magnétique Donato-Durville — PDF — secondary source
See also
- Baron du Potet de Sennevoy — Il Magnetizzatore di Parigi
- Manuel de l'étudiant magnétiseur — Scheda
- La Magie Dévoilée — Magnetism and Magic
- Du Potet e la Fascinazione — Passes, Sguardo, Eredità
- Charles Lafontaine — Il Magnetizzatore Franco-Svizzero
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