Leading to what Otto calls” ‘creature-consciousness’ or creature-feeling. Following on from this is the shudder: “ The ‘ shudder‘ reappears in a form ennobled beyond measure where the soul, held speechless, trembles inwardly to the farthest fibre of its being … it implies that the mysterious is beginning to loom before the mind, to touch the feelings.” (1958: 17). This then leads the person to a feeling of stupor, a “blank wonder, an astonishment that strikes us dumb, amazement absolute” (1958:26). And yet–and yet–O Mole, I am afraid.” (The Problem of Pain). A modern example may be found (if we are not too proud to seek it there) in The Wind in the Willows where Rat and Mole approach Pan on the island: ‘”Rat,” he found breath to whisper, shaking, “Are you afraid?” “Afraid?” murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love. This feeling may be described as awe, and the object which excites it as the Numinous. You would feel wonder and a certain shrinking–a sense of inadequacy to cope with such a visitant and of prostration before it–an emotion which might be expressed in Shakespeare’s words ‘Under it my genius is rebuked’*.

Your feelings would then be even less like the mere fear of danger: but the disturbance would be profound. Now suppose that you were told simply ‘There is a mighty spirit in the room’, and believed it. With the Uncanny one has reached the fringes of the Numinous. It is ‘uncanny’ rather than dangerous, and the special kind of fear it excites may be called Dread. It would not be based on the knowledge of danger, for no one is primarily afraid of what a ghost may do to him, but of the mere fact that it is a ghost. But if you were told ‘There is a ghost in the next room’, and believed it, you would feel, indeed, what is often called fear, but of a different kind. CS Lewis has described the difference between this awe and normal fear: Suppose you were told there was a tiger in the next room: you would know that you were in danger and would probably feel fear. It may become the hushed, trembling, and speechless humility of the creature in the presence of- whom or what? In the presence of that which is a mystery inexpressible and above all creatures (Otto, 1958: 13). This is the feeling of awe and recognition that there is a power beyond the physical world what is beyond our comprehension. He outlines a number of numinous responses that are possible: He argues that experiences with the other (God) are numinous in nature and gives numerous examples where this may be so. In his book The Idea of the Holy Otto proposes and investigates the word numen which can then be extended to the numinous. He coined this new term based on the Latin numen (deity).

His most famous work is The Idea of the Holy (1917) It defines the concept of the holy as that which is numinous.

The idea of the holy by rudolf otto