LA PIEDRA IMÁN Y SUS NARRATIVAS CURATIVAS Y RELIGIOSAS EN MÉXICO (SIGLOS XVII-XIX)

Abstract

The Lodestone and Its Healing and Religious Narratives in Mexico (17^th-19^th Centuries). This article examines the narratives constructed around the lodestone and its alleged healing properties in Mexico between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. It traces a long-standing tradition based on the notions of sympathy and antipathy in the interaction between the lodestone and the diseased human body, while also exploring how religious literature appropriated and reinterpreted these ideas. From the convergence of two spheres—natural magic, occult philosophy, and medical discourse on the one hand, and Catholic Counter-Reformation religiosity on the other—there emerged textual productions such as Oración y alabanzas a la santa piedra imán. The study argues that these narratives should be understood not only as part of cultural history, but also as elements within literary history. The reflections, metaphors, and applications associated with the lodestone were incorporated into both institutionalized orthodoxy and socially tolerated heterodoxy. In earlier centuries, individuals suffering from illness sought comfort and healing through these narratives. Significantly, such beliefs have not entirely disappeared; even in the twenty-first century, alternative therapeutic practices involving magnetism continue to resonate among those seeking remedies for physical or moral afflictions.

Article history: Received 23 February 2026; Revised 10 April 2026; Accepted 5 May 2026; Available online 30 June 2026; Available print 30 June 2026.