hierophany
A physical manifestation of the holy or sacred, serving as a spiritual eidolon for emulation or worship.
The technical meaning of symbolism is more extensive than the mere assertion that a particular stone or a specific tree is a hierophany. […] Water symbolism involves the common element of water, but lacks a central hierophany such as unites lunar symbolism. […] But there is, for [Mircea] Eliade, an overarching system which implies a meaning which is more comprehensive than any hierophany standing alone, and this system is implied in each particular hierophany.
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French hiérophanie, as used by Romanian religious historian and philosopher Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) in his book The Sacred and the Profane (1959; translated into English from an unpublished French original), from Ancient Greek ἱερός (hierós, “sacred, holy sign”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “show, appear”).
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry hierophany (CC BY-SA 4.0).