The attractive, alluring aspect of the divine or sacred that draws one irresistibly toward the numinous experience. The magnetic quality that makes the mysterious seem beautiful rather than merely terrifying.
From Latin 'fascinare' meaning 'to bewitch or charm,' used by Rudolf Otto to describe the attractive pole of numinous experience. Originally related to the evil eye and supernatural enchantment, later transformed to describe divine attraction.
Fascinans represents the brain's reward system responding to transcendent beauty - the same dopamine pathways that drive romantic attraction fire when we encounter the sacred. This is why mystics often describe their relationship with the divine in erotic terms; the neurochemistry is remarkably similar.
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