Numinous

Numinous (/ˈnjmɪnəs/) means "arousing spiritual or religious emotion; mysterious or awe-inspiring";[1] also "supernatural" or "appealing to the aesthetic sensibility." The term was given its present sense by the German theologian and philosopher Rudolf Otto in his influential 1917 German book The Idea of the Holy. He also used the phrase mysterium tremendum as another description for the phenomenon. Otto's concept of the numinous influenced thinkers including Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and C. S. Lewis. It has been applied to theology, psychology, religious studies, literary analysis, and descriptions of psychedelic experiences.

  1. ^ Collins English Dictionary - 7th ed. - 2005