Using more contemporary psychological terms, we propose that the boundaries between internal and external loci of control are shattered when one is enmeshed in a numinous experience. The outside enters the inside and the inside is drawn to the outside. In Jungian terms. our inner psyche is drawn outward by the numinous experience; it confiscates this experience and brings it back inside—where it becomes even more frightening and threatening to the ongoing integration of various parts of the psyche. It is through the numinous experiences that deeply embedded archetypes residing in our unconscious are activated.
In the case of freedom that is found after political revolution, these archetypes, on the positive side, might involve images of the great warrior or martyr. The images associated with these archetypes might interplay with images of nature and birth rights evoked by even more primitive archetypes of the sacred mother or images of kingdom and progeny evoked by an archetype of the all-powerful father. These archetypes might instead (or in addition) evoke images of a new utopia—a paradise on earth.
There are negative archetypes, residing in the shadow domain of our unconscious, that can be potentiated by politically activated freedom. The archetype of chaos is readily activated—and it evokes images of the inundating flood—leading to massive destruction. The complementary archetype of Satan evokes images of powerful evil forces that are sweeping in to fill the void (chaos) and take command—leading to Armageddon. These compelling positive and negative images swirl around one another, creating a confusing and ultimately quite frightening intra-psychic storm.
The Psychic Storm
What does this psychic storm look like? We can get some sense of the storm’s nature by looking at its more benevolent manifestation. Jung (and Otto) would suggest that the storm takes place when we are transported to another domain of experience while listening to a Bach mass or an opera by Mozart or Puccini (depending on our “taste,” i.e. amenability). This type of psychic storm is a numinous-inducing experience. We view a miracle, in the form of a newborn child or the recovery of a loved one from a life-threatening disease. This leads us to a sense of the numinous.
