Conte Franz von Szápáry/en
Count Franz von Szápáry (in Hungarian Szápáry Ferenc; Presburg, 15 January 1804 – after 1875) was a Hungarian aristocrat, magnetizer, and founder of Magnetotherapy (Magnetotherapie). He is a fundamental figure for the ISI-CNV school: his system of codified magnetic passes — the douze passes, the neuf passes, and the correspondence between the fingers and the five senses — represents one of the most precise 19th-century attempts to transform animal magnetism into a teachable and replicable therapeutic technique.
Biographical data (documented)
According to the Beiträge zum Nekrolog des Grafen Franz Szapary (honorary obituary drawn up in Paris, 20 June 1857, when Szápáry was still alive):
- Birth: Franz Szápáry was born on 15 January 1804 in Presburg (present-day Bratislava).
- He belonged to the ancient and illustrious Hungarian magnate family of Szápáry. The obituary emphasizes that he was given the name «Franz (the Free)» and was commonly called «der gute Franz» («the good Franz») for his «magnetische Gemüthlichkeit» — the magnetic disposition to self-denial that would inspire his charitable works.
- Magnetic training: he was encouraged to study magnetism by one of the most renowned physicians in Vienna, Dr. Malfatti, who strengthened his resolve to delve deeper into the subject.
- Recognitions: in Paris his method was recognized, and he was awarded the medal of honor of the Mesmer-Verein (Mesmeric Society). As author and founder of Magnetotherapy, he held a place of honor at the great Parisian Mesmeric festivals.
Connection with the Strict Templar Observance
Szápáry fits into the lineage of initiatic currents that run through the hermetic tradition. The Strict Templar Observance — the Templar Masonic system that was one of the main containers of 18th-century magical-hermetic culture, documented in Boella's work — constitutes the historical-initiatic background in which the transmission of magnetic knowledge matured, which Szápáry would systematize in a therapeutic key.
The work: Magnetotherapy as a science
Szápáry did not merely practice magnetism: he codified it. His ambition was to transform magnetic practice — until then entrusted to the intuition of the individual operator — into a doctrinal method with precise rules, often organized in the form of a catechism (question and answer), so that it could be taught.
The core of the system rests on three technical pillars, each treated in its own page:
- The twelve passes (douze passes) — the opening sequence to rebalance the magnetic force in the patient.
- The nine passes and the magnetic plexuses (neuf passes / plexuses) — the theory of the nine nerve nodes and their use, with the operations of «intercepting» and «binding» the force.
- The correspondence of the fingers and the five senses — the «closure»/choice of the finger according to the affected sense or organ.
Main works
The ISI-CNV documentary collection preserves several works by Szápáry, in German and French:
- Ein Wort über animalischen Magnetismus (A word on animal magnetism)
- Handbuch der Magnetotherapie (Manual of Magnetotherapy)
- Die magnetische Lehre der neuen Schule (The magnetic doctrine of the new school)
- Der kleine magnetische Katechismus (The little magnetic catechism) — the catechetical source of the pass techniques
- Trophæen des Magnetismus (Trophies of magnetism)
- Szápáry's Magnetismus von anno 1850
- Magnétisme et magnétothérapie (French version, basis of the ISI-CNV operational text)
Primary sources
OCR text for instant verification of citations: Szápáry Magnétisme et magnétothérapie — OCR text (archive OCR_FONTI_WIKI).
ISI-CNV Drive folder Szápáry — works and techniques:
- Beiträge zum Nekrolog des Grafen Franz Szapary (Paris, 1857) — PDF Drive — biographical data
- Magnétisme et magnétothérapie (complete text, rev. ed. 2018) — Drive text — source of the pass techniques
- Handbuch der Magnetotherapie — PDF Drive
- Die magnetische Lehre der neuen Schule — PDF Drive
- Der kleine magnetische Katechismus — PDF Drive
- Trophæen des Magnetismus — PDF Drive
- Szápáry's Magnetismus von anno 1850 — PDF Drive
Note: the technical citations in the linked pages derive from the French text Magnétisme et magnétothérapie (numbered sections of the catechism, nos. 145–160).