Retreat Theme ‘Numinous’ is that term theologian Rudolf Otto coined in his Idea of the Holy to describe arresting religious experiences that at once elicit awesome fear, intense affect, and fascination. These epiphanies can be either powerfully dramatic or subtly transformative. But they do not leave things as they found them. They are not the preserve of mystics and saints. All of us ordinary folks have experiences of the numinous that we might not recognize or understand. 

Psychoanalyst Carl Jung appropriated Otto’s term: ‘numinous’ appears extensively in his Collected Works to describe experiences of the divine that align the conscious ego with the mystery of its own depths and divine origins, to effect wholeness and holiness. 

Rilke claims experiences of the ineffable numinous exceed the capacities of language: “the flame that limits the world to the circle it illumines” Many of the mystics also alluded to that luminous darkness that draws us into the depths and intimates the loving presence of the divine. 

The days of November grow short. Nature calls us inward, as we lean towards the interiority of Advent.  In gathering together for reflection and for silent meditation, with poetry, imaginal drawing, and dreamwork together we can court the dark numinous. We can invite a deeper aligning connection with the Holy One, that  “great presence stirring” in the depths of our own hearts and souls.