2021: Creating a Lexicon of Future

L is for Liminality

Liminality is a term used to describe the psychological process of transitioning across boundaries and borders. The term “limen” comes from the Latin for threshold; it is literally the threshold separating one space from another. It is the place in the wall where people move from one room to another. ~ Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion

The idea of liminality was introduced into the field of anthropology in 1909 by Arnold Van Gennep in his work Les Rites de Passage. Van Gennep described the rites of passage, such as coming of age rituals and marriage, as having the following three-part structure: separation; liminal period; and re-assimilation. A person grieving can be considered going through this pattern. She feels the loss, then is inducted into the liminal transition period, and finally re-assimilates into society. It was not until the second half of the 20th Century with the writings of Victor Turner, that the concept of liminality was explored fully. In Liminality and Communitas, Turner began by defining liminal individuals as “neither here nor there; they are betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention, and ceremony”. But Turner gives hope by referring to “betwixt and between” through the concept of the “realm of pure possibility.” ~ Liminality: The Threshold Betwixt and Between