Mana

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Mana is a Melanesian term referring to a spiritual power that apparently pervades the universe but which is embodied in a person or object.

Those believing they can direct this power may try to manipulate it for their own helpful or harmful purposes. Such persons are often revered, worshipped as well as feared and avoided within a community.

Popular figures like Joseph Campbell sometimes equate the idea of mana with that of numinosity, which isn’t entirely wrong considering numinosity is said by both Rudolf Otto and C. G. Jung to display various textures and intensities.

But Otto’s concept of the numinous – which includes lower demonic and higher forms, to include the Holy – arguably embraces a wider range of personal experiences than does the term mana.

Search Think Free » Numen, Numinous, Power

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