Examples of Liminal Spaces

Learning to define and find the spaces in-between.

Definitions from Oxford Languages · adjective

1. occupying a position at, or on both

   sides of, a boundary or threshold.

2. relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process.

Liminal spaces have existed throughout human history. They come in many different forms, both natural and man-made, some are temporary, some are more permanent. But two things they all have in common is of of course their potent energy and how they fit into the above definition.

When you first delve into the mysterious and tumultuous world of liminality, defining these thin places for yourself can seem like a challenge, and it can get a bit confusing, but once you keep the above definition in mind, you’ll soon see that these spaces exist everywhere.

I am a witch, and liminality is a huge part of my practice. I utilize these spaces within my practice, and I hope that this list will inspire and encourage you to do the same.

What Makes A Liminal Space?

Before we delve in to some key examples, let's go over what I like to call the ‘liminal space checklist’. When hunting for these energy pockets yourself, it is important to use the process of elimination to differentiate a mundane space from a liminal one.

1. These spaces must be boundaries, thresholds, transitional, in a state of change. At its core, this is what liminality is all about. They are borders, they are spaces between, they transitions from one state to another.

2. The energy within these spaces is strange and strong. As a witch and seeker of the strange, hidden worlds, I am intune with the energies that come with it. Too often the energy of a space changes and feels ‘off’, or different when I go from a mundane space to a liminal one. More often than not, you can just work it out from point 1, but if you are intune with the world and unseen realms, utilize that ability to understand the space.

With these points in mind, you might have some ideas as to what counts as being a liminal space. But there a few things we need to go over before we continue.

Physical & Non-Physical Liminal Spaces

It's fair to assume that most people will think of physical spaces when it comes to liminality. Cemeteries, beaches, riverbanks, empty rooms & abandoned buildings, hallways, staircases, bodies of moving water… the list goes on.

But liminal spaces are not confined to physical spaces. Those we can touch and see. They are also spaces that occupy the mind, transitions within our lives, times of the year etc.

Teenagehood/puberty, travel (of all kinds), sunset and sunrise, Samhain/Halloween/Nos Galan Gaeaf, illness, pregnancy, menopause, meditation, … do you see the pattern?

Each of these spaces are transitional. They are havens of change. They are boundaries and borders. Spaces in-between other spaces.

Keep this in mind as you go on your Liminal journey. Not all liminal spaces are physical- some exist within the mind and within our souls.

Examples of Liminal Spaces

Just to give you more of an idea, here are a few examples of liminal spaces that you can look into. I highly recommend looking in to any that draw you in, any that fascinate you. While I am putting together a liminal space compendium that goes into more detail in other writings, these are just some examples that will get you started for now.

Included in this list are examples of liminal space that are physical and non-physical. Whether you are able-bodied or not, liminality and liminal magic does not discriminate and is available to everyone. Sometimes, you just need to get creative in your approach and what spaces you choose to work with.

Cemeteries

Starting off with one of the most well-known liminal spaces, cemeteries (and graveyards) are are fantastic examples of physical liminal spaces. They are a place where the living and the dead meet, a portal and bridge between worlds. They are boundaries between these worlds.

Cemeteries are usually the first example I give for a liminal space because most people have visited them, or can get to one, and the energy that you feel within these spaces is the perfect example as to what counts as a liminal space. When you visit these resting places, the whole area feels ‘thin’- the air feels both light and heavy, both silent and loud, both strong and delicate. This is the energy that comes with a liminal space. And once you have felt that, you will be able to use that experience to determine if other spaces are liminal too.

Teenagehood

This is an example of a non-physical liminal space. While puberty or teenagehood is very much a physical thing that is happening to us and our bodies, we cannot see it or touch it, we can only feel it. Hence why I categorize it as a non-physical space.

Puberty is a time when our bodies and minds are in transition- and it is a transition that takes literal years to complete. We are in an in-between state, not a child anymore but not quite an adult.

It's an incredibly powerful time. Often, teenagers will experience strange phenomena and magical things moreso than adults, usually without being fully aware. Is it really that surprising that in horror films or paranormal fiction (and even non-fiction) that it is usually teenagers who are possessed by demons, or abducted by aliens, or see something they can’t explain?

Hallways, Staircases, Bridges etc

I put these together just to save a bit of time, but they all have something in common. These are physical liminal spaces that are connectors, boundaries, thresholds and spaces between other spaces.

Think hallways (of all kinds), staircases/stairwells, bridges, tunnels, and anything similar. They are spaces that take us from one place to another, we are somewhere in between when we are travelling though them.

Travel & Pilgrimage

This brings me on to a small note about the act of travel. Again, I would class this as a non-physical liminal space. The act of travel goes beyond just getting in a car, or getting on a plane. Sometimes it can be as simple as taking a walk from your house to your local shop for a bottle of milk. It can be a journey within your mind through astral projection or meditation. It can be a bus ride that lasts 10 minutes or an overnight journey on a sleeper train.

When we travel, we are transitioning between point A & point B. We’ve all heard the saying “It's not the destination, it's the journey” and more often than not, this is wholly true.

Pilgrimages are often undertook by people who seek out holy places, or places of spiritual significance to them, their community, their faith, or their practice. Often, the journey along the way is transformative, it challenges and changes them. They arrive to the holy site a different person, and return home with more wisdom and insight into their questions, sense of self, and even faith.

The act of travel and pilgrimage are both liminal spaces. They are potent acts of liminal magic that can and will heavily benefit you in your practice. If you can't go on a pilgrimage for whatever reason, that is fine, just going from one room to another still counts as travelling. Try not to restrict yourself to ‘obvious’ examples when working with the liminal.

Doorways & Entryways

Doorways have always been considered to be portals. They are boundaries between one space and the next. All doorways and entryways count as physical liminal spaces that you can work with. You don't even have to leave your house for this example.

You can use you the entryway of your home, your bedroom door, your windows… be creative in your approach.

Remember, these spaces are boundaries and thresholds, making them perfect examples of liminality.

Forests & Woodlands

Some people may disagree with this example, but I have always found forests and woodlands to be incredibly potent liminal spaces. They are the last bastions of the natural world, dotted all around and usually between man-made industrial spaces, big bustling cities and remote towns and villages. This is of course an example of a physical liminal space.

Forests & woodlands are home to liminal beings, such as the fae. I am from Wales and the fae are quite prominent in our lands and our natural spaces. These magical beings are drawn to natural landscapes, and they are very prominent in our woodlands. I know this because I have had my own experiences with the fae.

Forests and woodlands of all kinds have a deep energy about them. I find the energy extremely similar to the energy of cemeteries. I also think because these natural spaces are left mostly untouched by modernity and man, they allow creatures like the fae, elementals, and forest spirits to be themselves and traverse the natural landscape more freely. Hence why weird stuff usually happens in the woods.

I see forests and woodlands as boundaries and thresholds between the modern world. This is especially true for natural, native and ancient woodlands, that have been left untouched for thousands of years.

Water

Water is a mystical force that we can't live without. It keeps us alive, hydrates us, and keeps us healthy. It can take many forms, all transitional, boundaries, and thresholds that are in a state of change. When it is boiled, we can use it in tea and dishes, we use it for spell work in the form of moon water and as a base for our cauldrons. When frozen, it can also be used for spells and it keeps our food fresher for longer, and it cools us down.

Water is magical, and incredibly liminal.

Running water is in a constant cycle of change, travel, and transition. Think rivers and waterfalls. Water is a boundary and a threshold. Think lakes and the seas and oceans.

On my journey to understand liminality, I have been lead down the water rabbit hole multiple times. It goes hand-in-hand with liminality. Last year, I did a whole lecture about the connection between liminality, water, and Welsh Folklore, and this experience, the research leading up to it, and the actual lecture itself were illuminating.

Water is featured prominently in multiple branches of folklore, across many different cultures. In Welsh Folklore, it is seen as a portal between worlds, specifically, it is known as one of the entryways to Annwfn- also known as the Welsh Otherworld, which is a realm that exists alongside our own. I could go more into Annwfn- but it would take too much time right now. To learn more about it, watch this video for now.

But this is part of what makes water so liminal. It is a boundary, a threshold, a portal between worlds. I will be writing a whole post about the connections between water and liminality in the future, but for now, let’s move on.

Pregnancy, Childbirth & Menopause

Women are incredibly magical beings. We are vessels between our realm and the unseen realms. We are naturally intune with the moon and magic, even long before we are made aware of it. We go through multiple stages in our lives that loop us back round to liminality.

Three prime examples of this are pregnancy, childbirth and menopause.

Beginning with pregnancy, this is a time when a woman’s body is in a near constant cycle of change. We are growing real life within our wombs from the tiniest of seeds, cultivating and nurturing it until it is ready to bloom. This is a 9 Month transitional stage of being, an incredibly liminal experience. I have found through research and even personal experience that pregnancy also leads to the woman experiencing strange events, latent psychic abilities, and other ‘weird’ phenomena. This is because it is such a liminal time and experience.

Childbirth is a boundary, a transition, and a literal bridge between worlds. We go from Maiden to Mother in a very literal sense and we very literally push new life from the womb to the physical room. The whole act of childbirth screams liminality. It is a sacred liminal experience, however that experience may look for the individual woman.

And Menopause very much fits in with the theme of change and transition. It is another time in a woman’s life when our bodies are changing and transitioning, when we enter a new phase of our life. A liminal phase of our life. I am too young to speak of menopause first hand, but learning of the liminal nature of this time has made me look forward to menopause at the appropriate time rather than dreading it. I look forward to what strange occurrences will happen, what (if any) psychic experiences I will be gifted, what weird phenomena I will witness.

Women are liminal vessels, this much is true. And this is not to say men are not. As a woman myself, I can only experience life as a woman, so bare that in mind when I ramble from my own personal perspective.

Meditation

At face value, meditation might not seem like it would be liminal, but let's dig a bit deeper. Meditation is a transitional state of mind, and altered state of consciousness. A space between this physical world and the unseen realms.

It is indeed a liminal space. A boundary and portal between worlds. Some people meditated to relax themselves, others to commune with entities and visit other dimensions.

Regardless of how you use meditation, just know that it very much counts as a liminal space, and you can meditate quite literally anywhere!

Burial Mounds & Stone Circles

Burial mounds and stone circles can be found throughout the world. Just here in Wales and the U.K. alone, we have so many sites scattered across the landscape.

These spaces have the same energy to them as cemeteries and forests. Burial mounds are places where the living and the dead meet, and stone circles are boundaries, literal physical borders. They are often associated with astrological and planetary alignments that are considered to be liminal too.

Performing rituals in these spaces, meditating, travelling to them, singing and chanting, or simply just existing in these spaces is a form of liminal magic and liminal devotion.

Another thing to note about burial mounds in particular is that in Welsh Folklore, they are often associated with Annwfn (the Welsh Otherworld). In lots of folklore, they are said to be liminal spaces that act as portals and entryways into the Welsh Otherworld. Which I think adds weight to their liminal nature.

Something else to consider about stone circles- circles as a shape are often associated with boundaries, portals, doorways, ritual, and entryways. Fairy rings, which are prominent in Celtic mythology and folklore around the world have been considered to be portals for thousands of years. Who is to say that stone circles are not portals or even bridges/links between the past, present, and future? Or even realms we may not be aware of.

Times of the Year

Have you ever heard the term ‘the veil is thin’? Well, there's a reason for that. During specific times of the year, the veil between our world and the next thins down to the point where spirits and creatures from the other side can traverse more freely and openly in our own. Because the veil is so thin, our perception of or physical world changes and we are more open to things we may deem impossible at other points in the year.

Specific times of the year that are considered to be liminal include Samhain (Halloween), or the Welsh equivalent Nos Galan Gaeaf, Beltane, and Midsummer.

There are also times of the day that are considered to be liminal. Think of times such as sunrise and sunset, midnight, the witching hour, dawn, and anything of this nature.

What do these times of the year and day have in common? Well, they are are transitional. They are all thresholds and boundaries. They are spaces in-between other spaces.

That's what makes them liminal.

Moving Forward

Liminal spaces as a concept is so vast, it's hard to condense it down into one, coherent piece of writing. There is so much that has been left unsaid here, so much more we could delve in to. But for now, all you need to do is digest this information. Take some time to reflect on it.

Using what you have learned in this entry, try finding some liminal spaces of your own. Feel the energy of spaces you may already think are liminal and confirm it. Spend some time in liminal spaces just meditating or being present within them. If you feel confident enough (and you have protection magic in place) try performing a ritual in these spaces, or try and see if you can experience strange phenomena.

Stick with me, and we’ll investigate liminality, liminal magic, Welsh Folklore, High Strangeness, witchcraft, and the paranormal together.

If you have any examples of Liminal spaces you wish to share, please drop a comment down below.

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