Mesmerism, Magic & Mind Control

“They controlled the currents by guiding them with their will-power. The wonders were both of a physical and a psychological character; the former embracing effects produced upon material objects, the latter the mental phenomena of Mesmer and his successors… Mesmerism is the most important branch of magic; and its phenomena are the effects of the universal agent which underlies all magic and has produced at all ages the so-called miracles.” – H.P. Blavatsky

“Mesmer rediscovered the science of Nature; he did not invent it.” – Eliphas Levi

“To direct magnetic forces is then to destroy or create forms; to produce all appearance, or to destroy bodies; it is to exercise the almighty power of Nature.” – Eliphas Levi

“If this secret, which is a scientific secret, were perfectly understood, as it is not by me after more than twelve years’ almost constant study and experiment, there would be nothing which the human imagination can conceive that could not be realized in practice.” – Aleister Crowley

Albert Pike, Morals & Dogma

It was not random that I chose Mesmerism as my first topic to cover on this blog, which I created to point out the hidden causes of what history as we know it is only an outer shell, the subliminal layer of reality that goes unseen yet holds the roots of all that is seen. Just as the roots of a tree remain occulted or hidden no matter how far the branches reach for all to see, the roots of our conscious actions and expressions are hidden in the depths of our unconscious psyche.

Hypnosis is the art of subduing the conscious mind to communicate directly to the unconscious. In this hypnotic state seeds can be planted deep in the dark fertile soil of the psyche, where they take root and effect changes in the personality. These seeds sprout and blossom into behaviors and actions, which are obedient to silent whispers from the psyche.

Mesmerism operates on the subtlest planes. The universal fluid that Mesmer writes about is said to be even more subtle than ether. This fluid is the plane that carries thoughts, just as air is the plane that carries speech. The Mesmeric fluid is the even more subtle than ether, which is more subtle than air. He wrote that the fluid, or invisible fire, was not truly a substance, but a “motion.” Just as words are a motion perceived through the air, but not the air itself, Magnetism is a motion within the hidden layers of reality. “Animal Magnetism, when considered as an agent, is in fact, an invisible “fire;” the issue is to know how to bring about and maintain this fire by every possible means, and to know how to apply it.”

I do not intend to address the technicalities of how this works, for that one can study Mesmer’s 27 Aphorisms, rather I intend to shed light on how Mesmerism is central to all magic and mind control. I will however quote the first two of Mesmer’s Aphorisms:

1. A responsive influence exists between the heavenly bodies, the earth, and animated bodies.
2. A fluid universally diffused, so continuous as not to admit of a vacuum, incomparably subtle, and naturally susceptible of receiving, propagating, and communicating all motor disturbances, is the means of this influence.

Books have been written on the roots of psychotherapy and hypnosis, which mention Mesmer as an influence on Sigmund Freud and Wilhelm Reich, but none have given due treatment to its occult origins. Mesmer himself was a devout member of the infamous Bavarian Illuminati, and those who continued to develop his teachings and methods did so mostly within the confines of secret societies.

“It is possible to magnetize in two ways: first, in acting by will upon the plastic medium of another person, whose will and whose acts are, in consequence, subordinated to that action. Secondly, in acting through the will of another, either by intimidations, or by persuasion, so that the influence will modifies at our pleasure the plastic medium and the acts of that person. One magnetizes by radiation, by contact, by look, or by word.” – Eliphas Levi

“It is true that spiritual magnetism which one makes use of in mesmeric seances, does not easily project the product of the medium’s pure fantasy or that of the operator, and that, consequently, the image percieved may really be an objective reality of the mental plane; but, on the other hand, how is one to know if what one takes, in these cases for spiritual exaltation is not a simple simulation?” – Paschal Beverly Randolph

Randolph, the father of modern sex magic, writes about mesmerist techniques of achieving visions and contrasts them with his preferred method of the magic mirror, which “the fluid rays are reflected.” He writes that “spiritual magnetism, which one makes use of in mesmeric seances” can be used to attain visions of “an objective reality on the mental plane,” but that it is also possible to perceive ones own delusions and fantasies with the same methods, warning “how is one to know if what one takes for spiritual exaltation is not simple simulation?”

Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin was an avid Mesmerist “but he felt that Mesmer’s emphasis on the action of the fluid could lead to materialism and expose his followers to the evil influence of spirits called “astral intelligences.” The Mesmeric fluid is the medium through which thoughts are communicated. This is how magicians would communicate with spirits or djinn, entities whose physical bodies have long ago returned to the earth, but their imprint on the subtler plane of Mesmer’s “universal fluid” have hardly faded. With tools such as magic mirrors and methods of inducing trance states (often times drugs), the magician seeks to perceive the “motions” in the astral light in order to communicate with spiritual entities.

“It is possible to magnetize in two ways: first, in acting by will upon the plastic medium of another person, whose will and whose acts are, in consequence, subordinated to that action. Secondly, in acting through the will of another, either by intimidations, or by persuasion, so that the influence will modifies at our pleasure the plastic medium and the acts of that person. One magnetizes by radiation, by contact, by look, or by word” – Eliphas Levi

“This is the modern magnetism and mesmerism of Du Potet and other masters, who, when they have subjected a person to their fluidic influence, can impart to them all their thoughts even at a distance, and with an irresistible power, force their subject to obey their mental orders” – H.P. Blavatsky

This passage from Mesmer’s writings shows how magic functions through the subtle fluid that connects all things, including mind and matter. This is the medium through which the will of one individual can influence (or control) the will of another. Many contemporary cult leaders have been documented as exercising hypnotic or mesmeric influence over their members. Charles Manson was known for hypnotizing his fellow inmates while in prison, and later using these powers in ways that we have all heard about.

The most famous occultist of Mesmer’s time was a man named Cagliostro, aka Joseph Balsamo. He was known to exert a hypnotic gaze and to be able to control the will of those he came into contact with. Mesmer and Cagliostro most certainly knew each other, they ran in the same circles of Illuminati. Many remember Cagliostro as a master Mesmerist or magnetizer. I will write more on Cagliostro in the future, I mention him now to illustrate that the enlightened radicals of the French Revolution, who are remembered as initiating an age of reason, held among their ranks a network of men studying, developing and implementing occult methods of hypnotic influence, which today would be categorized as mind control. This scene from the 1949 film Black Magic is a fictional account of a meeting between Mesmer and Cagliostro that may very well have actually taken place.

Another notable member of the Bavarian Illuminati who wrote about Animal Magnetism was Karl von Eckartshausen. In his book “Magic” he writes that “any healthy human being who is capable of saturating himself with this magnetic fluid, has the ability to affect any weaker human being.” In the higher degrees of the secret fraternities, members are taught techniques of sexual transmutation and alchemy. These practices magnetically charge the aura of the initiate and refine him to be able to contain higher and higher degrees of “magnetic fluid” or “light.” Initiates, especially those of Cagliostros Egyptian Rite, were bound to strict oaths of chastity, discipline and daily spiritual exercise. This is not based in morality as much as it is based on energetic economy. Eckartshausen wrote that the only reason Animal Magnetism “does not enjoy its proper place is because it requires a sound mind and a healthy body.” The initiate was not repressing the sexual instinct but rather redirecting it to increase his magnetism, and manifest his will. This all may leave one with more questions than answers, but hopefully some of the dots are starting to connect.

“The mesmerizer wills a thing, and if he is powerful enough, that thing is done” – H.P. Blavatsky