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Numinous

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Numinous (/ˈnuːmənəs/ or /ˈnjuːmənəs/) is a term coined by Rudolf Otto to describe that which is wholly other. The numinous is the mysterium tremendum et fascinans that leads in different cases to belief in deities, the supernatural, the sacred, the holy, and the transcendent.

Etymologically, it comes from the Latin word numen, which originally and literally meant "nodding", but was associated with meanings of "command" or "divine majesty".

This was an important concept in the writings of Carl Jung and C S Lewis. It was also used by Carl Sagan in his book "Contact".

Also alternative rock type Numinous [link]from Northern Ireland. With members Gareth Gilkeson, Chris Dunn, Steve Gilkeson, Glenn Woodward and Andrew Briggs

 


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