Athanasius Kircher (1601-1680)

Kircher’s work set the stage for the healing practices of magnetism, Mesmerism, and hypnotism.

Kircher was one of the most significant thinkers of the seventeenth century, publishing works in virtually every field, especially in comparative religion, medicine, and geology. One of his greatest interests was magnetism, and he wrote five books on the subject. Kircher saw magnetic attraction and repulsion as an omnipresent force governing the earth and planets, the tides, love, attraction, repulsion, and even the power of music.