In ancient times, people would travel hundreds of miles to visit a temple, mostly built in the wilderness.  To reach this remote temple one had to pass through a consecrated buffer zone, such as a wide meadow or sacred grove. The consecrated area was called a fanum.  You couldn’t get to the holy place without passing through the fanum.

The modern word profane comes from this idea: pro meaning before + fane rooted in fanum. Profane means “everything before the fanum.” 

Mystics and devotees who spent a lot of time in the fanum were called fanatici, from which we get the word fanatic. It used to have a more noble connotation, until a smear campaign painted them as “too much,” extremists and zealots.  

Our common word fan is an abbreviation of fanatic. You become a fan of something because it brings your awareness to the holy place. You can reach it from any direction — anything that gives you a whiff of exquisite beauty, deep peace, even a garden,  or a baby’s innocence. 

This space, then, acts as a digital fanum: a place to remember and connect with the temple within you.