numinous
adjective

- supernatural or mysterious; filled with a sense of the presence of divinity; holy; appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense.

- having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity; evoking a sense of the mysteriously sublime.

- relating to a powerful religious or spiritual quality that makes you feel that God or another power beyond normal human powers is present; inspiring awe through spiritual or sublime qualities.

Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "numinous" was derived in the 17th century from the Latin numen, meaning "nod" and thus, in a transferred sense, "divine will, divine command, divinity or majesty". The Latin numen is etymologically derived from the idea of divine will and represented by a "nodding" of the head.


The term's modern philosophical and religious usage comes from German philosopher and theologian Rudolf Otto (1869-1937), who first coined the term "numinous" and described it as a religious experience in his influential 1917 book "The Idea of the Holy".

Otto explored the nonrational aspect of the religious dimension, coining the term numinous from the Latin numen ("god," "spirit," or "divine”),… he described the numinous experience with the Latin phrase mysterium tremendum et fascinans. 

As mysterium, the numinous is "wholly other"—entirely different from anything we experience in ordinary life. The phrase captures both the fearful (tremendum) and fascinating (fascinans) nature of encountering the divine or sacred.

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WHEN WORDS FAIL

A quiet moment alone in an old church can stir numinous feelings, even if one never goes to services. The word “numinous” points to that sense of something bigger than everyday life, like divinity showing up without warning.

We feel it in nature sometimes, standing on a mountain or watching stars at night. It stirs emotions that go beyond words, a mix of wonder and a little fear.

Not everyone experiences numinous the same way. For some, it’s a work art or a piece of music that lifts them out of routine. Others find it in meditation or physical activity. And who hasn’t been touched by the eyes of partner or the scent of a rose?

Psychologists talk about numinous feelings as a human response to mystery, not tied to one belief system. It happens across cultures, from ancient rituals to modern quiet reflection. 

What makes such feelings so significant is how they change us, urging us to question and connect deeper.

In a busy world full of screens and noise, numinous moments remind us to pause and glimpse a higher reality,… if only for a moment.

Helga & Paul Smith

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“Awe is the beginning of wisdom.” — Socrates

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SYNONYMS

airy, angelic, awe-filled, awe-inspiring, beyond the veil, blessed, celestial, devotional, divine, enchanting, ethereal, exalted, extramundane, filled with divine presence, ghostly, godlike, heavenly, holy, immaterial, incorporeal, ineffable, in the presence of the sacred, inspired, magical, metaphysical, miraculous, mysterious, mystic, mystical, NUMINOUS, otherworldly, reverent, sacred, seraphic, spiritual, sublime, superhuman, supernal, supernatural, touched by the divine, transcendental, transcendent, unearthly, uncanny, unworldly

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SMUGGLE
 OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

"Ancient cathedrals were designed to create NUMINOUS experiences through architecture, light, and acoustics."

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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D