In ancient times, people would travel hundreds of miles to visit a temple, most 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 which derives from fanum. Profane then 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. These devotees would tend the grounds, maintain ongoing prayerfulness and occasionally break into euphoric dance. The term took on its modern derogatory connotation from the Christian smear campaigns against the established religions of the time. 

It is also where the more casual word fan comes from. 

People in your life who love you fanatically and emphatically, do so because a part of your exchange brings them to the holy place. Those you might call “frenemies” bring you closer to healing and wholeness and holiness. Finding them in the middle of the wilderness was no accident. 

Imagine that your inner Being is a temple,

What kind of fanum do you have? A cave, a forest, a vinyard?

Are you a fanatic of your own temple?

Do you behold your inner temple with esteem? Or are you one of its biggest secret detractors?

What rituals do you have in place to acknowledge, pay homage to and cultivate the Brilliant Light within you?