Rudolph Otto and Carl Jung's Numinosum

left: Caravaggio's "Conversion of Saint Paul on the Way to Damascus" c. 1600

Theologian Rudolph Otto coined the term "numinosum", adopted by Carl Jung, to refer to human experiences which produce a kind of holy terror, awe or dread.  Rudolph Otto described it as a feeling of the ‘mysterium tremendum' [awe-inspiring mystery].  Numen is a Latin word, deriving from the verb nuere, meaning “to nod.” In ancient practice, watching for the nod of a god (see links.)

We are, in this wandering, NOT particularly interested in the aspect of the numen and the numinous which are associated with awe, dread or holy terror as illustrated in Caravaggio's painting of St. Paul. Rather our interest regards its mundane and boring form where non-rational human ideas and behaviors are played out within everyday culture - blindly accepted without question - "something just right about it" - that may have as their obfuscated basis this numen factor described by both Jung and Otto.

For quick backgrounding, a review. Rudolph Otto bio.  Follows six "numen/numinosum" quotations selected from the recent book, The Quotable Jung, edited by Judith Harris, Princeton University Press 2015  and two links to further study on Jung and Rudolph's coinage of "numinosum" - from the Jungian Center in Newbury, Vermont and by Margo Mecks, Myth and More.  

From Judith Harris' edit:

from Psychology and Religion (1938/l940), CW 11, p. 6 & p. 9.  "Religion, as the Latin word [religio] denotes, is a careful and scrupulous observation of what Rudolph Otto aptly termed the numi­nosum, that is, a dynamic agency or effect not caused by an arbi­trary act of will. On the contrary, it seizes and controls the human subject, who is always rather its victim than its creator. The numinosum, whatever its cause may be, is an experience of the subject independent of his will. At all events, religious teaching as well as the consensus gentium [general consensus] always and everywhere explain this experience as being due to a cause external to the individual. The numinosum is either a quality belonging to a visible object or the influence of an invisible presence that causes a peculiar alteration of consciousness."

"I want to make clear that by the term "religion" I do not mean a creed. It is, however, true that every creed is originally based, on the one hand, upon the experience of the numinosum and, on the other hand, upon pistis, that is to say, trust or loyalty, faith and confidence in a certain experience of a numinous nature and in the change of consciousness that ensues. The conversion of Paul is a striking example of this. We might say, then, that the term religion designates the attitude peculiar to a consciousness which has been changed by experience of the numinosum.

from letter to Gunther Wittwer, 10 October 1959, Letters, Vol. 11, p. 517.  "I profess no 'belief.'  I know that there are experiences one must pay "religious" attention to. There are many varieties of such experiences. At first glance the only thing they have in common is their numinosity, that is to say, their gripping emotionality. But on closer inspection one also discovers a common meaning.  The word religio comes from religere, according to the ancient view, and not from the patristic religare. The former means "to consider or observe carefully." This derivation gives religio the right empirical basis, namely, the religious conduct of life, as distinct from mere credulity and imitation, which are either religion at second hand or substitutes for religion."

from "On the Nature of the Psyche" (1947/1954), CW 8, § 383.  "Numinosity, however, is wholly outside conscious volition, for it transports the subject into the state of rapture, which is a state of willless surrender."

from Visions: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1933-1934, Vol. 11 (22 February 1933), p. 919.  "In the least the greatest will appear - such is your expectation. And that is the numen, the hint of the god."

from Nietzsche's Zarathustra: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1934-1939, Vol. II (5 May 1937), p. 1038. "The idea of God originated with the experience of the numinosum. It was a psychical experience, with moments when man felt overcome. Rudolf Otto has designated this moment in his Psychology of Religion as the numinosum, which is derived from the Latin numen, meaning hint, or sign."

Carl Jung's Red Book: On Madness.

Excerpted from Culturium - ["Culturium explores the way in which mystical spirituality manifests through the cultural arts." Very positive view.]  See entire essay on Jung's Red Book at Culturium: 

Indeed, Jung’s detailed and exacting self-analysis would inform the very basis of his unique approach to psychotherapy, which he would later call Analytical Psychology, its central tenet being the concept of “individuation”, an inner psychological transformation, whereby the personal and collective unconscious are brought into consciousness, through dreams and active imagination, and thus assimilated into the entire personality, rendering it into an integrated whole. 

 My soul spoke to me in a whisper, urgently and alarmingly: ‘Word, words, do not make too many words. Be silent and listen: have you recognized your madness and do you admit it? Have you noticed that all your foundations are completely mired in madness? Do you not want to recognize your madness and welcome it in a friendly manner? You wanted to accept everything. So accept madness too. Let the light of your madness shine, and it will suddenly dawn on you. Madness is not to be despised and not to be feared, but instead you should give it life … If you want to find paths, you should also not spurn madness, since it makes up such a great part of your nature … Be glad that you can recognize it, for you will thus avoid becoming its victim. Madness is a special form of the spirit and clings to all teachings and philosophies, but even more to daily life, since life itself is full of craziness and at bottom utterly illogical. Man strives toward reason only so that he can make rules for himself. Life itself has no rules. That is its mystery and its unknown law. What you call knowledge is an attempt to impose something comprehensible on life. —C. G. Jung, The Red Book, Liber Novus 

       Despite the emotional turmoil that plagued Jung, forcing him to resort to yoga practices and even clinging on to the table in order to keep himself together, he persevered in compiling his artistic and literary magnum opus, knowing that the very salvation of his own soul was at stake.

Link to earlier notes on Jung's Red Book in this blog.