Liminality

What is liminality? The liminal refers to anything that is in the in-between, emerging or borderline state. The words liminal and liminality were coined by anthropologists to describe things like rituals, where people are “in between” states, either literally or symbolically, like childhood and adulthood, life or death, or between seasons like summer and winter. The liminal state is that which is “neither this nor that,” but somewhere in between.

We can see liminal themes in Celtic culture, mythology and symbols, The Celtic Otherworlds, for example, where the faery folk live, is a kind of twilight (itself a liminal state, between day and night) world that is not  quite human, and where time does not flow in the normal way.

Symbols such as Celtic knots and crosses also have liminal themes involving time, connectedness and the infinite. I will be looking into this subject in more detail as I study some of the ways that Celtic culture is involved with the idea of liminality.

You can find out more about liminal things at Liminal Worlds.