Latin for potential, it refers to the concept of a force or entity that guides what occurs in either a singular location or entire world. It also referred to a the cult that viewed the Emperor as having this numen, so he could be seen as having the power of a living god without actually calling him a god.
Today sociologists use the term to describe supposed magickal power within an object such as a talisman or religious fetish.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Alice Markham-Cantor, author of the new Once & Future Witch Hunt.
My 9x-great-grandmother, Martha Carrier, was hanged in the Salem witch trials. She wasn't a witch. She wasn't an herbalist or a...