Fascination and Magnetism — Introduction
This page is the introductory entry for the first of the three axes of the Paret Method: direct fascination and the European magnetic tradition. For the overall vision and the other two axes (Presence and Hermeticism, CNV-Polyvagal), see the Main Page.
A New Historical Perspective
This wiki proposes a reading of the history of hypnosis and fascination different from the conventional one.
The official history tells of Mesmer, then Braid who "discovers" hypnotism in 1842, then Charcot, then Bernheim and Nancy. In this narrative, direct fascination — open-eye hypnosis, the power of the gaze, personal magnetism — is marginal or ignored.
The documentary research conducted by ISI-CNV on 19th-century primary sources reveals a different history:
- The true heart of the tradition is direct fascination: a state produced by the gaze, without sleep, without progressive induction, which produces complete anesthesia, catalepsy, and suggestibility.
- The central protagonist is Donato (Alfred d'Hont, 1845-1900) — not Braid, not Charcot — who fascinated over twenty thousand people across Europe, inspired neurologists like Morselli and Luys, and whose technique is documented by direct eyewitnesses.
- The chain of transmission is precise: Donato → Caravelli → Di Pisa → Marco Paret — and the Paret Method is the contemporary systematization of this tradition with modern neuroscientific understanding.
"Donatism leaves patients more awake and self-aware for longer, although it removes all voluntary control over their actions. Fascination produces a state of conscious automatism."
- — Prof. Enrico Morselli, neurologist, after attending all of Donato's sessions in Turin (1886)
The Documented Historical Chain
| Mesmer 1775 |
First system of animal magnetism. Trials before the Royal Academy of Paris, then condemned. |
| Du Potet 1820s |
First to systematize passes and demonstrative magnetism. Master of Lafontaine. |
| Lafontaine 1840s |
Franco-Swiss magnetizer — his demonstrations in England led Braid to "discover" hypnotism (Braid was a spectator, Lafontaine the practitioner). |
| DONATO 1875–1900 |
The turning point. Inaugurates in 1875 the fascination of healthy subjects, in public, with open eyes. "Donatization" becomes a scientific term. Inspires Morselli, Luys, De Rochas. 20,000+ people fascinated across Europe. |
| Prof. Luys 1886–1897 |
Brings fascination into the hospital (Charité, Paris): 12 documented clinical cases, painless childbirth, rotating mirror. The Donato→clinical chain. |
| Di Pisa 1970s–1990s |
Student of Caravelli. Explicitly cites Donato in his video. Applies fascination to therapy: smoking, tinnitus, pain, alcohol in a few sessions. |
| Paret Method from the 2000s to today |
Marco Paret integrates Donato, Ghigi, Di Pisa, Ceccarelli/Taurus with polyvagal theory, mirror neurons, and understanding of the autonomic system. ISI-CNV teaches this system worldwide. |
The Documentary Corpus
This section of the wiki is based on real primary sources — not second-hand books:
- Magazine «Le Magnétisme»
- 104+ issues, 1880-1886. Donato writes, responds, publishes cases. The most direct source.
- → Donato — La Rivista Le Magnétisme (1880-1886)
- Morselli (1886)
- Neurologist who personally attended Donato and allowed himself to be fascinated. Data, measurements, terminology.
- → Prof. Enrico Morselli — Il Magnetismo Animale, la Fascinazione e gli Stati Ipnotici (1886)
- Luys — Charité (1890)
- 12 documented clinical cases. Painless childbirth. Rotating mirror. Fascination in the hospital.
- → Prof. Jules Bernard Luys — La Fascinazione Terapeutica alla Charité
- Seligmann (1922)
- World encyclopedia of the power of the eye in all cultures. 3 volumes, universal documentation.
- → Il Potere dell'Occhio nelle Culture del Mondo — Dr. Seligmann (Die Zauberkraft des Auges)
Fundamental Articles
Fascination: History and Method
- Donato — Il Padre della Fascinazione ★ — the central figure
- La Fascinazione di Donato — Guida Completa al Metodo ★ — everything in one place
- Lo Stato Fascinatorio nelle Fonti Primarie — Donato, Morselli, Luys ★ — analysis of the state
- Fascinazione e Teoria Polivagale — Luys 1890 e Porges 1994 ★ — the modern scientific explanation
- Tre Stili di Ingresso alla Fascinazione — Donato, Ghigi, Di Pisa — the three approaches
- Il Metodo Donato — Outline Operativo (Note di Paret) — step-by-step technique
The European Tradition
- La Tradizione Europea dell'Ipnosi — da Mesmer a Paret — complete map
- Baron du Potet — Il Maestro del Sonnambulismo Magnetico
- Charles Lafontaine — Il Magnetizzatore Franco-Svizzero
- Prof. Jules Bernard Luys — La Fascinazione Terapeutica alla Charité
- Prof. Erminio Di Pisa — Ipnosi con lo Sguardo
- Di Pisa — Applicazioni Terapeutiche del Metodo
The Italian Transmission
- Dott. Enrico Ceccarelli — Ipnotista di Massa
- Taurus do Brasil — L'Ipnotista delle Masse
- Sergio Salamini — La Tradizione dell'Ipnosi Italiana
The Power of the Gaze
- Il Potere dello Sguardo — Dalla Tradizione Mondiale alla Neuroscienze ★
- Hippos — Il Cavallo nell'Occhio: Nistagmo, Movimento Oculare e Fascinazione
- La Visione del Punto Luminoso — Fenomeno Percettivo durante la Fascinazione
- Il Fascinum — Storia ed Etimologia della Parola 'Fascinazione'
- Sguardo e Neuroni Specchio — La Scienza Moderna della Trasmissione dello Stato
Sources and Testimonies
- Donato — Il Corpus Completo delle Fonti per ISI-CNV ★ — academic reference
- Albert de Rochas — Testimone Oculare di Donato (Les États superficiels, 1893)
- Pickmann e la Fascinazione in Italia — Testimonianze Oculari (1899)
- Antoine Luzy — La Puissance du Regard (1947)
Related Entries in Other Axes
- Paret Method — the integrated system of the three axes
- Il Paret Method e la Fascinazione Diretta — distinction of levels
- Fascinazione e Teoria Polivagale — Luys 1890 e Porges 1994 — bridge to the CNV-Polyvagal axis
Figures Yet to Be Expanded
This section is an open documentary workshop. The following figures have pages or stubs and will be expanded with primary sources:
- Charles Lafontaine — Il Magnetizzatore Franco-Svizzero — key figure between Du Potet and Donato; Braid was his spectator in 1841
- John Braid e il Braidismo — La Versione Corretta della Storia — not "inventor of hypnosis" but re-labeler of magnetism
- Beauregard — Il Magnetizzatore della Tradizione Europea — character under documentary research
- Regazzoni — La Tradizione Italiana del Magnetismo — character under documentary research
- The Hypnotic Magazine (Chicago, 1896) — the Anglo-Saxon tradition of magnetism
- 19th-century French and Italian therapeutic magnetism
Wiki of the Paret Method · ISI-CNV · Université Européenne — primary sources preserved in the ISI-CNV Drive archive.