Numina is the plural form of Numen, which refers to the power of a spirit or deity, seen in the Roman Religion, which can be found in objects (Bird-David, 1991). The word is used in Ancient Rome, mostly seen in the imperial cult. There is a belief that Italic gods have traits like ordinary people, yet accomplish a type of numinous presence over the world. The emperor was said to have this type of spirit, and that is why they believed him to be divine and why the Romans worshipped him (Bird-David, 1991). Sociologists would use the word in reference to a power believed to be magical which can be said to be living inside certain objects. Concepts of numen can be found across cultures and societies in their ancient systems in beliefs. Here are some examples:

• Anglo-Saxon Mythology: wod
• Australian Aboriginal Mythology: maban
• Egyptian Mythology: ka
• Inuit Mythology: sila or inua
• Lenape Mythology: manetuwak (Bird-David, 1991)

The Roman Religion believes in Animism, which refers to the ancient Italic belief that there are spirits or non-human entities which are found in the natural world (Bird-David, 1991). Animism is the type of belief that humans share the natural world with the physical realm and that spirits exist in everything on the earth, even inanimate objects. A lot of mythologies in the ancient world were based on the belief of Animism – of souls and spirits roaming the earth. For example, the Australian Aborigines believed that the world was created through a Dreamtime phase where their ancestors, which were sacred beings, formed the earth (Bird-David, 1991). Also, in Jivaroan and Urarina people, base their practices of head-shrinking around animistic beliefs that their enemy’s spirit may escape his dead body, and it must be trapped via head-shrinking (Bird-David, 1991).