What Is Liminality? The Spiritual Meaning of Liminal Space, Symbolism, and Everyday Magic

Last Updated on July 11, 2025 by Avia

I didn’t realize the power of being couched in liminal space until I successfully accomplished that zen-like experience for the first time. It was taught to me while I was training to become a certified medium. My mentor guided me into a space that wasn’t quite here, wasn’t quite there…a space where time seemed to stretch, edges softened, and all the usual noise in my mind fell away like autumn leaves. Once I hit that magical, meditative mecca in my essence, my whole world opened up. It was such an impactful practice, I wanted to share everything I know about the spiritual meaning of liminal space (what it is, how to do it, and why you should).

Since those early days, I’ve learned how to return to that liminal space almost at will…even in high-pressure, super-stressful situations. And let me tell you, it’s made all the difference between spiraling into chaos… or stepping into clarity. That’s the kind of power liminality can bring. And yes, you can do it too.

If you’ve ever felt like you were standing on a threshold…not quite where you were, and not quite where you’re going…then you’ve already touched the edges of this space. You’ve felt the sacred tension of transformation.

In this article, I want to take you there, deeper into the heart of the in-between. Together, we’ll explore the spiritual meaning of liminal space, its symbolic importance in myth and ritual, how archetypal guides can help you navigate it, and how you can step into this powerful space in your own daily life.

Ready to walk the threshold with me? Let’s rock the socks outta this soulful practice, shall we?

What Is Liminal Space?

The term liminal comes from the Latin word limen, which means “threshold.” And that’s exactly what liminal space is. Liminal space is also known by other terms, like:

• At a crossroads
• On the edge
• Standing on the brink
• The in-between
• Conscious crossroads
• Threshold space
• Twilight
• In the gap
• Betwixt & between
• Into the vastness
• Into the void (not my favorite term, but it still applies)

In anthropology, liminality was popularized by Arnold van Gennep, who first introduced it in his study of rites of passage. He observed that nearly all major human rituals…from puberty ceremonies to funerals…have a middle phase: a liminal stage, where identity is stripped, ego dissolves, and something entirely new is ready to be born. Victor Turner, a British anthropologist, later expanded on this, calling liminality a time of “communitas”…a sacred space of equality, vulnerability, and raw humanity.

Psychologists and spiritual teachers alike have embraced this idea. Carl Jung tapped into the archetypal significance of the threshold. He called it “the confrontation with the shadow, the bridge to the unconscious, the path of individuation.”

In modern spiritual traditions, liminal space is often described as the thin place, where spirit, intuition, and divine mystery become more available to us than ever.

So, what is liminal space, really? I can’t say it any better than this: Liminal space is the “in-between.” It’s neither here, nor there. It’s the pause between breaths, between thoughts, between heartbeats. It’s deeply disorienting and profoundly sacred. Why? Because it’s when you’re in the “in-between” that transformation begins.

This space may feel like nothing is happening, but trust me…everything is happening here.

Liminality is like a sacred chamber for becoming. A space of gestation, alchemy, and sacred unknowns.

So if you’ve ever found yourself feeling betwixt and between (emotionally, spiritually, physically) you haven’t been lost. You’ve been standing in a doorway. And what lies beyond that doorway may just be the most powerful version of you yet.

My Experience With Liminality in Spirituality

I first learned about liminality while training to become a certified medium. At the time, it was introduced to me as a necessary space…the “soul’s gloaming hours,” as I came to call it. That sacred space between worlds was essential if I wanted to receive messages from those who had passed into non-physical (the so-called “deceased”). To be an effective channel, I had to sit in that in-between, where the veil thins and the ego quiets. And once I learned how to enter that threshold… it changed everything.

But here’s the wild part: that practice didn’t just serve me as a medium…it served me in everything. That soul-soaked liminal space spirituality became my go-to lifeline in some of the most difficult moments of my life.

When my father passed, my world went sideways. Everything was chaotic, surreal, soaked in grief and fear. There were decisions to be made, people to comfort, things to hold together…but I was crumbling. So I did the only thing I knew to do: I entered liminal space. I chose to sit in the sacred unknown. It was there…in that eerie quiet, in the hollow ache between breaths…that I found a peace that defied logic. Liminality gave me a buffer from despair. It helped me stay centered so I could show up for others and for myself with some measure of grace.

It’s shown up in less dramatic, but still intense ways too, like in pressure-cooker situations at work. Tight deadlines. Angry bosses. That bone-cracking panic of “I don’t know how I’m going to pull this off!” That’s when I slide into the threshold, where everything slows down, and the noise gets filtered. I find my breath, I find the next right step, and I move forward from a place of power instead of panic.

Liminality has also been a godsend in the murk of personal conflict. I’ve had to coexist with people who couldn’t communicate consciously…people who resorted to passive-aggressive jabs or emotional shutdowns. You can’t reason with that. But you can meet it differently. Instead of reacting, I step into liminal space. It helps me detach from the drama, regulate my energy, and reconnect to what I know is true. From that centered space, I can live in a hard dynamic without losing myself to it.

In all these moments, liminal space changed me. It gave me a still point in a spinning world. It offered sanctuary, clarity, and restoration when nothing else made sense.

I didn’t just survive the liminal…I became something new within it.

The Spiritual Meaning of Liminal Space

There’s a reason why so many ancient traditions revere the in-between. Mostly because liminal space is a portal to fabulously mind-blowing awareness, opportunity, and perception. Moreover, it’s the sacred pause where intuition flows freely, transformation brews quietly, and divine guidance slips through the cracks of ordinary consciousness.

The spiritual meaning of liminal space is tied to its mystery. It’s the space where the veil is thin…between life and death, between night and day, between who we’ve been and who we’re becoming. These are the places where spirit speaks, and where we are most open to hearing it.

Think about the times in nature and life that feel charged with something otherworldly:

• Dusk and dawn, when light and dark hold hands.
• The winter and summer solstices are tipping points of energy and intention.
• The moment before a vow, a birth, a loss, a major leap…rites of passage that shake our foundations.

In spiritual practice, liminality invites us to shed our skin…to loosen our ego, release our grip on certainty, and open our third-eye vision to things not seen by ordinary sight. You may not “do” much in a liminal space. But what happens to you there? That’s the alchemy.

Whether through grief, meditation, ritual, or simply a moment of stillness, stepping into the threshold reconnects us with Source…with the mystery that created us and continues to shape us. It reminds us that we are not static beings. We are always becoming.

Liminal space spirituality is not about control. It’s about surrendering to the mystery, walking into the fog, trusting the path will rise to meet your feet. And in that surrender, something holy begins to form…not in the light, not in the dark, but in that wild little place in-between.

Symbolic Meaning of Liminality in Ritual, Myth & Folklore

Across cultures and throughout time, the symbolic meaning of liminality has been understood as the space where the old self dissolves and the new self has not yet emerged. It’s the cocoon between caterpillar and butterfly. It’s the blank canvas, the pregnant pause, the hush before the chant begins.

In myth and folklore, the in-between is where magic happens.

• In Greek mythology, Hermes is the god of thresholds, travelers, messages, and transitions. He’s a psychopomp, guiding souls between life and death…between worlds. He lives in the liminal.
• The Celtic festival of Samhain honors the thinning of the veil between the living and the dead. Bonfires, offerings, and ritual disguised as merrymaking all center around this liminal space where contact with the “other side” is easiest.
• In many Native traditions, vision quests are rites of passage that literally place the seeker into liminal space (alone in nature, fasting, praying, dreaming, or even in sweat lodge ceremonies), awaiting a spiritual vision that will guide their life forward.

Common Symbols of Liminal Space

Objects and places that embody the energy of the in-between are spangled throughout myth, ritual, and spiritual practice…and they’re often marked by powerful symbols. These symbols serve as invitations, reminders, and gateways into deeper transformation. Here are a few for your consideration:

• Bridges – connection between two states, two selves, two worlds
• Crossroads – a place of decision, fate, magic, and mystery
• Caves – symbolic wombs of death and rebirth
• Mirrors – self-reflection, portals between realities
• Labyrinths – inner journeys with uncertain paths and transformative outcomes
• Rivers and shorelines – boundaries between land and water, known and unknown
• Eggs – containers of life not yet born; perfect liminal vessels

These symbols remind us that we don’t always have to be fully here or fully there. Sometimes the most sacred transformation happens when we allow ourselves to float between identities, roles, beliefs, or destinations.

The world’s stories knew this long before we gave it a name.

Archetypal Guides: Exploring the Liminal Through Universal Characters

Liminal archetypes have always existed to help us navigate transformation. These figures walk the threshold with us, guiding us through the fog, the death of the old, and the birth of something new.

Liminal Deities: Gods and Goddesses of the Threshold

These mythic beings rule the places in-between…between life and death, dusk and dawn, silence and speech.

• Hermes (Greek) – Messenger, trickster, guide of souls to the underworld. A classic liminal deity, Hermes straddles heaven, earth, and the underworld, fluent in transition and transformation.
• Hecate (Greek) – Goddess of magic, crossroads, ghosts, and liminality itself. She carries keys to hidden realms and stands at the gates of change, torches in hand.
• Janus (Roman) – Two-faced god of beginnings and endings, gates and doorways. One face looks to the past, the other to the future…a walking embodiment of liminality.
• Odin (Norse) – A seeker of wisdom who hangs himself on the World Tree to gain deeper knowledge. He journeys through death, dreams, and prophecy.
• Anubis (Egyptian) – Guardian of the dead, protector of the journey to the afterlife. Anubis watches over souls in transition and offers calm presence at life’s most intense thresholds.

Treat these deities as maps as you make your way through the gloaming (liminal) realms. When invoked, contemplated, or meditated upon, they offer energetic support for navigating your own sacred transitions.

Tarot Archetypes: Guardians of the In-Between

The tarot is a liminal language in itself…a symbolic tool that speaks from one side of the veil to the other. Some cards in particular, are gateways to deep inner thresholds:

• The High Priestess – Keeper of the veil, silent wisdom, and deep intuition. She is the liminal space.
• Death – Endings that lead to beginnings. Not destruction, but profound transformation.
• The Moon – Illusion, dreams, and the unconscious. She rules the hidden and beckons us to trust our inner tides.
• The Fool – Zero-point energy. A step into the unknown. A leap of faith into new becoming.

These tarot archetypes in liminal space teach us to trust what we can’t yet see and remind us that transition is its own kind of magic.

Jungian Archetypes: Liminality of the Psyche

Carl Jung knew that the psyche has its own in-between zones…and its own cast of characters, here are some common Jungian archetypes that represent the concept of “getting into the gap”:

• The Shadow – Our unseen self. Confronting it is a rite of passage into wholeness.
• The Trickster – Breaks boundaries, bends rules, forces evolution through chaos.
• The Crone – Wisdom keeper, destroyer of illusions. She lives in the forest of “what now?”
• The Threshold Guardian – Appears when we’re about to change. Tests our resolve. Challenges our fear.

To work with these archetypes is to partner with your own evolution.

Invite the Archetypes In

When you find yourself in transition…grieving, deciding, becoming…try invoking one of these guides. Light a candle to Hecate. Meditate with the Moon card under moonlight. Journal with the Crone. Whisper a question to Hermes as you stand in a literal doorway. These figures aren’t distant…they’re part of your symbolic DNA.

“To enter the liminal is to meet your inner myth. Don’t just walk through the threshold…walk it with someone ancient and wise by your side.”

Examples of Liminal Space + How to Step Into Them for Sanctuary

Liminal space is definitely a metaphysical concept, but liminality is also everywhere. You can find (and move yourself into) liminal space in nature, architecture, life itself. Everything can offer a threshold to duck into if we’re willing to notice them. These spaces may seem ordinary at first glance, but they hum with spiritual possibility. When we treat them as sacred, they respond in kind.

Natural & Symbolic Liminal Spaces

These are places where energy shifts, edges blur, and spirit tends to slip through the cracks. Spend time in these spaces and you’ll feel it…that charged stillness, that sense that something unseen is brushing your soul. I already laid out a few symbols that represent liminality, but here are a few additional catalysts that can help you lodge yourself in that blissy in-between state:

• Dusk and Dawn – The twilight hours (or what I like to call “the gloaming”). Neither day nor night. Perfect for meditation, intention-setting, or simply being.
• Fog – Obscures what is known, softens what is real…an ideal metaphor for surrendering to the unknown.
• Forests between paths – The hush before choosing a direction.
• Airports, train stations, waiting rooms – I know, you wouldn’t think so, right? But it is literally & physically a space between one place or another. It’s a fab place to practice getting into the gap. I’ve done so during countless layovers (back when I used to travel for my work all the time), and it’s worked wonders on reestablishing my harmonic setpoint. Spaces between origin and destination are often overlooked, but these are spiritual steroid centers if you allow them to be.
• Dreaming – The classic liminal state, where messages and transformation come cloaked in metaphor. I’d love it if you could try lucid dreaming to soulfully wedge yourself in the betwixt and between zone. I do, and it’s a killer practice with soul-popping results.
• Deep grief or loss – Painful but profoundly liminal…when life as you knew it dissolves, and you haven’t yet rebuilt.

How to Enter Liminal Space Intentionally

Sometimes life tosses us into liminality. But other times, we can choose to step into it…gently, mindfully, with reverence.

• Create a Quiet Transitional Altar

Gather objects that represent transition: keys, feathers, stones, tarot cards, a mirror. Light a candle and sit with the intention of opening to what’s between.

• Walk a Threshold Path

Take a slow, mindful walk across a bridge, down a hallway, through a forest trail that splits into two. Let your body feel the energy of crossing over.

• Use Symbolic Rituals

Try writing something you’re releasing on paper and burying it at twilight. Or sit at your front door with a cup of tea and breathe in the idea of possibility.

• Sit in Silence at the Edge of Something

The edge of the bed before sleep. The edge of a dock. The edge of a big decision. Stay there. Feel it. Don’t rush through.

• Accept Uncertainty as a Sacred Invitation

This one’s big. Instead of trying to “figure it out,” let liminality hold you. It’s okay to not know. That’s where new knowing comes from.

Meditations for Entering Liminal Space

Liminality doesn’t just pop up and say, “Hey! I’m here! Jump in!” (if it were that easy, everybody would be doing it…maybe? Maybe not). Nope, it can be a squirly, twirly thing to grasp…but it CAN be invited. Through intention and practice, we can train the mind, body, and spirit to slip into that soft in-between where transformation stirs. Liminal meditation is less about controlling your thoughts and more about allowing yourself to hover between states…between form and formless, sound and silence, ego and essence.

Here are some sacred practices that have helped me (and can help you) access liminal space with more ease and grace.

Twilight Walking Meditation

Twilight is naturally liminal…it holds the energy of endings and beginnings, of light letting go and darkness waking up.

Take a slow, barefoot walk at dusk. Match your breath to your steps. Don’t rush. Let your senses take over…feel the cooling air, the lengthening shadows, the sound of the earth settling. Walk as if the ground beneath you is shifting realms, because… it is.

Floating / Weightless Visualizations

Close your eyes and imagine yourself suspended in warm water, gently held by invisible currents. No agenda. No destination.

You are simply held between breath in and breath out, between knowing and not-knowing. This kind of visualization helps the nervous system release tension and lets your spirit settle into the sacred pause that liminality offers.

Mirror Gazing (Safely and Ritualistically)

In folklore and esoteric practice, mirrors are portals…tools for accessing deeper truths and spiritual dimensions. Mirror gazing (also called scrying) is an ancient technique for liminal awareness.

Set the stage: dim light, quiet space, maybe a candle. Gaze softly at your reflection…not with critique, but with curiosity. Let the image blur. Ask yourself: Who am I when I’m not trying to be anyone at all?

Note: Mirror work is potent. Protect your energy beforehand with grounding rituals (salt, prayer, protective stones) and always, always, always, cleanse the mirror when you’re done.

Affirmations for Threshold Moments

Speak these words slowly, aloud or within, when entering liminal space:

“I open to the sacred unknown.”

“I am held between worlds.”

“I do not rush the becoming. I trust the mystery.”

Now…just rinse & repeat!

Japa Meditation: Chanting Through the Veil

Japa is the sacred repetition of a mantra…an ancient practice used to transcend surface-level awareness and enter a deeper, more spacious consciousness. It’s often taught as a sound-based practice. However, in my experience, true Japa is both auditory and visual. When you take this dual approach the process of entering liminal space becomes mega-powerful.

Here’s how it works:

• As you say the mantra (aloud or silently), focus not just on the words, but on the space between the words.
• That pause (the quiet between sound and sound) is a gateway, a moment of threshold, where your consciousness begins to float.

Now here’s where the magic deepens:

As you hear those subtle spaces, visualize your essence moving in between them. It’s like directing your consciousness in between the spaces of the words (you can see your energy standing between the spaces between the letters and words). Imagine your awareness gently sliding between syllables like mist through a doorway. Your spirit steps into the pause. Your soul breathes in the in-between.

What really helped me make the most of Japa was Wayne Dyer’s “Getting In the Gap” meditation CD. His guided process helped me understand that the goal isn’t to chant endlessly, but to feel the divine pause between the words. To rest in the gap. To allow the space between to become its own sacred destination.

Suggested mantras for Japa meditations:

“So Hum” (I am That)

“Om Namah Shivaya” (I honor the divine within)

Let the rhythm lull the thinking mind. Let the spaces open the intuitive one. Let the visualization carry your soul into the soft, luminous fog where liminal energy begins to glow. 

Speaking of audio spiritual resonance, you’re going to love these next tips and tricks about utilizing sound for getting into that deliciously vibrating void of in-between…check it out! ⬇️

Rhythm as a Gateway: Using Sound to Enter Liminal Space

As a classically trained musician, sound is a natural way for me to get into the liminal groove, but sound has always been one of the most ancient and intuitive keys for opening the door to the in-between. The steady rhythm of drumming, the chant of a mantra, the rise and fall of a flute…these aren’t just noises. They’re ritual sound practices, coded with spiritual memory, designed to soften the edges of the everyday and lead us into liminal space.

Why is rhythm so powerful? Because our souls already speak in cycles.

Our lives pulse to the beat of heartbeats, breaths, tides, moon phases, seasons. Rhythm bypasses the logical mind and speaks directly to the spirit. It draws us inward, downward, and beyond…into that sacred stillpoint between moments.

In my own spiritual training, I found this out firsthand.

At the First Spiritualist Temple (where I earned my mediumship certification) I used to sit in the fellowship hall, completely alone, and let the tick-tock of the wall clock carry me in. Not the tick. Not the tock. But the space between the second hand clicking. That gap. That’s the betwixt sweet spot!

And it’s not just clocks.

Sometimes, I use the hum of an air conditioner (that soft, mechanical drone) as a threshold tone. A steady backdrop that becomes almost hypnotic when listened to with spiritual ears.

Other times, I’ll rest my head on one of my dogs (Gus or Chadwick) and let my awareness slip into the rhythm of their breath, or the beat of their hearts. If I listen deeply enough, and drop in with full presence, I can feel myself slide sideways into a space beyond thought… beyond time.

Ways to Work with Liminal Sound

• Drumming or heartbeat rhythm – Use a frame drum, or a recording with a steady beat around 4–7 Hz (theta brainwave range) for deep trancework.
• Binaural beats or ambient soundscapes – Great for meditation music for liminal space. Look for tones designed to create gentle brainwave entrainment.
• Nature’s rhythms – Crickets, ocean waves, rain on a roof, or even your pet’s breath…let them be your guides.
• Mechanical drones – AC units, fans, distant highway hums… if it has a steady pattern, it can become a threshold.
• Personal body rhythm – Your breath, your pulse, your footsteps. Anything rhythmic is a potential portal.

The key is this: choose a rhythm. Let it carry you. And when you find the space between beats, linger there. That’s your doorway.

“In the space between each sound, the spirit speaks. In the rhythm, we remember we are made of cycles. The pulse of the universe echoes in our bones.”

Don’t Forget to Honor Liminal Spaces as They Honor You

Liminal space (as I’ve mentioned) is both ephemeral and metaphysical, but it can also be literal & physical. It can be sacred ground that can catapult you into netherrealms. And like all sacred spaces, it asks to be honored, tended, and treated with quiet respect.

Crossing into the in-between…whether through meditation, grief, dreams, or spiritual practice…creates a subtle shift in your energy field. And when we engage with that space, we open ourselves to unseen currents. So it’s vital that we both enter and exit that threshold with intention. That’s where liminal rituals come in.

Tips for Cleansing Liminal Space

Before or after working in liminal space…whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually…take time to gently cleanse and realign. This can be done through ritual acts that signal to your spirit (and to unseen energies) that you’re honoring the transition.

• Smoke – Use sacred herbs like sage, palo santo, or mugwort to cleanse the air and create energetic boundaries.
• Salt – A bowl of salt or a salt circle can absorb excess energy and ground your spirit.
• Moonlight – Place your ritual tools or self in the moonlight to purify and recharge. You can even make moon water for cleansing purposes.
• Sound – Bells, chimes, singing bowls, or even your own humming can realign your energy and “seal” the space.

You don’t need to do all of these. Sometimes one small, meaningful act is enough to say: I was here. I honored this space. I am whole again.

Rituals for Closing the Threshold

When you’re done working in or with liminal space (especially after deep meditation, dreamwork, or emotional processing) make time to close the door gently.

• Blow out a candle and whisper gratitude.
• Place your hand over your heart and take three slow breaths.
• Speak a word of closure, like “I return,” or “It is done.”
• Clap your hands, shake your body, or drink water to reground.

These rituals for transition don’t need to be complex to be powerful. They remind you (and any lingering energies) that the journey is complete, for now.

Offerings of Thanks

Liminal space often holds us when nothing else can. So, when you’ve been changed by it…even just a little…give something back. Offerings don’t need to be grand. They just need to be real.

• A candle lit in silence
• A breath of gratitude released into the air
• A stone left at a crossroads
• A written word folded and burned under moonlight

“Thresholds are sacred. Treat them as holy ground.”

When you honor the liminal, it honors you back, again and again, in unexpected ways. These practices remind us that we are in relationship with the unseen. And relationships thrive on reciprocity.

Conclusion: The Sacred Space Between

Liminality (or the process of moving in the glorious “in-between”) makes showing our transitions, our uncertainties, our quietest moments, and our deepest reckonings more bodaciously blooming. It’s not always comfortable, and it rarely feels “finished.” But oh, is it beautiful.

These in-between places, where we shed old skins, sit in the unknown, and wait for the next version of ourselves to rise, are titanically transitional pathways. They are the epicenter of transformation, where the soul reshapes, the heart recalibrates, and spirit whispers its most honest truths.

So if you’re in one of those strange, stretchy moments of not-knowing… you’re not lost.

You’re exactly where the magic happens.

Pause.

Feel.

Listen.

The in-between is its own kind of sanctuary.

“When I allowed myself to rest in the in-between, I discovered…”

Liminal space has changed my life…and it can change yours too. Not by pushing you forward, but by inviting you deeper into what already lives within you.

Thanks for walking the threshold with me. And as always, thanks for reading! May all your gloaming moments be glorious!

Mighty brightly,

© Copyrighted. All Rights Reserved.

Elevate Your Meditation With These Amazon Selections