Between Here and There: The Magic of the Liminal

There’s Magic Between This and That!

Have you ever found yourself in a slightly altered state at twilight or when walking at the edge of a forest? That’s liminal magic!

I remember talking about “between areas” with my childhood friends long ago. They were places that felt like they were outside of ordinary reality — neither here nor there. Since then, I’ve learned that these liminal places are actually portals between the worlds. There are also liminal times, like the famous witching hour, where night turns into morning.

Here are some other examples of liminal times and places:

• Twilight at dawn or dusk
• a crossroads
• the moment between sleep and waking
• where woodland meets meadow
• where sea meets shore
• a gate or doorway
• the pause between the in-breath and out-breath or the other way around
• guided shamanic journeys

These are all liminal times and places where magic is enhanced. In mythic path-working, particularly in the Celtic traditions, we often meet our Otherworld allies at a crossroads in the inner realm. It’s the place where all worlds come together.

What other “between” times and places can you think of? Start to notice how you feel when you encounter them. It’s where faeries and nature spirits like to hang out, so you might even run into some otherworldly beings.

What Does Liminal Mean?

So, what exactly is the liminal? The term stems from the Latin word ‘limen,’ meaning ‘threshold.’ In a literal sense, liminality can denote being on the edge of or between two different physical spaces. But the concept goes far beyond the physical. It encompasses the metaphorical, psychological, and sociocultural spaces we inhabit, where we find ourselves in a state of in-between-ness, transitioning from one phase, state, or status to another.

The magic of the liminal lies in its potential for transformation. It’s the twilight zone of life – mysterious, transformative, and oh-so-powerful. Liminality is the doorway to change, the corridor between who we were and who we are becoming. It’s the cocoon phase in a butterfly’s life, the uncertainty of adolescence, or the transitional phase in rites of passage.

Anthropologist Victor Turner, one of the key figures in liminality research, described it as a state or process that is betwixt and between the normal day-to-day cultural and social states. Turner focused on rites of passage and rituals in different cultures, observing that during these transitional periods, individuals often experience a sense of unity, fluidity, and equality, which he termed ‘communitas.’

This sense of collective oneness, experienced in the liminal state, holds the potential to reshape societal structures and personal identities. When this reshaping is done intentionally, we call it magic!

Noticing the Liminal Magic in Everyday Life

Liminal magic isn’t confined to grand ceremonies or life-altering changes. We encounter liminal spaces and moments in our everyday lives — the quiet, early morning hours before the rest of the world awakens, the hypnotic experience of a long drive, the eerie silence of an empty parking lot late at night, or even the calming stillness of an airport waiting lounge in the wee hours.

These spaces and moments can feel strange and disorienting, but they also possess a unique beauty and magic. Liminal spaces are often where we find clarity, inspiration, and insight, precisely because they exist outside of our normal routines and expectations. They shake us free from the familiar, offering a fresh perspective, an opportunity for introspection, and the possibility of transformation.

Have you ever had a breakthrough idea while taking a shower? That’s the power of liminal spaces at work. Liminal spaces disrupt our automatic pilot mode, shifting us out of the rational left brain functionality and allowing us to tune into our creative and intuitive processes more deeply. They invite us to be present, to question, to imagine, and to reconfigure.

So next time you find yourself in a liminal space or moment, take a deep breath and lean into the weirdness of the unknown. Embrace the magic and potential that comes with being neither here nor there but somewhere in between. After all, it’s in these in-between spaces that we often find the freedom to become more authentically ourselves.

I’ve been so fascinated by the liminal experiences in my life that I decided to try to capture the feeling in a painting. This one is called Between the Worlds.

You can view a bigger version or order prints here.