I always seem to have a favourite word. Maybe that’s one of the hallmarks of being a writer. It’s probably tiresome for other people when I cram it into conversations. By now, I’m sure you are quite desperate to know what the damn word is this time.
Ok. It’s ‘liminal’. From the Latin ‘limen’ meaning ‘threshold’, it refers to that stage in life when one is hovering…departing from what is in the past: not quite at home here in the present: not quite arrived there, in the future…it’s an uncomfortable, fluid state to be in, but highly creative and full of potential.
How about this contemporary usage, definition from Wikipedia: ‘…More recently, usage of the term has broadened to describe political and cultural change… During liminal periods of all kinds, social hierarchies may be reversed or temporarily dissolved, continuity of tradition may become uncertain, and future outcomes once taken for granted may be thrown into doubt…’
I don’t know about you, but this to me sounds just like where we are collectively on planet Earth at present. Let’s hope in the long run – which we baby-boomers likely won’t live to see – we end up with something better than the mess we have now.
‘As above, so below’ : no contemporary astrologers have come up with a pithier definition of the essence of our art than did fabled Ancient Egyptian sage Hermes Trismegistus in the equally fabled Emerald Tablet. Hermes was conceived as apparently hovering between the divine and human worlds.
Down here in that all-too-human world, thinking about Hermes in relation to the world ‘liminal’ is providing me with some inspiration; much needed in my case, as I hover uncomfortably and uncertainly between the end of one 12 year Jupiter cycle, and the beginning of a new one.
Jupiter cycles have always been a big deal for me, since third house Jupiter at 19 degrees 07 Scorpio squares all six of my Leo 11th and 12th house planets. I wrote about the dubious but transformative delights of this astro-lineup in my very first column for Dell.
This idea of hovering between the divine and human worlds might be of some comfort and inspiration also to those of you readers who are ending one cycle at present, without being able to see how the energy of the next one is going to form. Standing in this liminal place, one cannot bully, cajole or entreat the new order to reveal itself. There is divine time, and there is human time.
This may sound pretty mystical, but my feeling – from both personal and professional experience– is that the deeper wisdom of our soul knows the direction in which we need to proceed in order to become all we can be, and how long it may take to get there.
The astrological cycles can put us in touch with that spark of divinity within each of us, offering profound insights into what a waning cycle has been about, and what the newly-forming one might bring. They also teach us that ‘… there is… a time to every purpose under the heaven…’ (i) .
Our egos, located in human, ordinary time, can often rail against this when we don’t like what we see of the shape of things to come, or how long a particular transitional period is going to take. Try consulting your ephemeris, as I did at the end of 1998, to realise that I was about to have a series of sixth house Neptune oppositions to twelfth house planets lasting from 1999 until 2012, as well as the ending/beginning of five major cycles.
It was some immersion, I can tell you. Did my ego rail against it? You bet. I had to quit my career in 2002, and did not begin to surface, via writing on the Web at first, until 2008, not returning to consulting and teaching until 2012.
But guess what? I now look back on that period, when I felt liminal approximately twenty-four hours a day for years, as the most soul-enriching of my entire life.
One of the many lessons I took from that period was to pay close attention especially to the feelings of restlessness, dissatisfaction and uncertainty which herald the end of, for example, the 29-30 year cycle of Saturn which we all share. Many of us recall – or are experiencing now! – the turbulence and pain of the end of our twenties, from which most of us emerged or will emerge by around the age of thirty-three with a much clearer idea of who we are, and most importantly, who we are not.
Those difficult feelings and experiences occurring in the twelfth house phase of any major cycle are part of the dissolution of the old order of that part of our lives. An ending must take place– so that new energy may arise, taking us forward to the next stage of our unfolding.
Astrology’s great gift is to show us that we are not random butterflies pinned to the board of Fate. We each have our small, meaningful strand to weave into life’s vast tapestry.
In the end, it was consent to my tough and frightening period of liminality, patient waiting, the love and support I was fortunate to have, and trust in the wisdom of the Unseen that got me through.
So, my liminal fellow travellers, take heart. The old order may be waning, but something fresh and new is surely arising…
Endnotes:
(i) Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
This slightly edited version of my bi-monthly column for Dell Horoscope Magazine first appeared as ‘The astro-view from Scotland’ in the May/June 2018 Issue.
Zodiac
1000 words copyright Anne Whitaker/Dell Horoscope Magazine 2018
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page of Writing from the Twelfth House
Astrology: Questions and Answers 
Oh I feel so liminal as if nothing makes sense. Inside and outside – above as below, nothing is clear and sure to me right now. Professionally I am in transition with so many new ideas of what I can do…omg! So I am Volunteering in a Women Professional Network, where I feel I could meet with other women in high positions. My Pluto in 10 is calling…
On the other I am thinking of writing, just a thought…Astrology opens up a lot of spiritual energy and confuses sometimes.
Personal relationships are fragile and some end probably.. profound change inside me makes this inevitable and no bad compromises this time!
Not easy and comfortable but chaotic times, I agree personally but of course also globally, politically, socially, naturally on our planet earth. Only fools ignore that. I follow inspirational influencers like you for finding truth and meaning in me and the universe.
Thank you for doing what you do! Love & light
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Thank you so much for this wonderfully reflective, personal feedback, Sabine! Glad you find what I write inspiring…it’s what I hope to achieve with my writing at this stage in my life…All good wishes to you, my liminal friend.
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I’m also in a “liminal” state/phase Anne. You can be sure I’ll be borrowing that word btw. Having a stellium in Sadge plus the IC and Saturn at 7 Capricorn has meant the last 3-4 years have felt rather heavy and tiring to say the least. At the end of July my progressed Moon finally nudged over the Ascendant, stirring… SOMETHING… As Jupiter will soon shift into Sagittarius where my natal Jupiter is, next year will also be a Jupiter return for me. I can certainly say my mood is hugely Liminal! This time is a rich one… the seeds of new things stir in its dark but rich soil. All good things have their incubation periods after all! ♐️😁
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it’s a great word, Carole! And you are so right about incubation periods…thanks so much for this thought ful and illustrative personal feedback.It’s how we all put actual flesh on the symbolic bones…
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Thank you so much Anne for putting a positive spin on such a challenging time. Your guidance is invaluable and your writing is so beautiful! “Astrology’s great gift is to show us that we are not random butterflies pinned to the board of Fate. We each have our small, meaningful strand to weave into life’s vast tapestry.” This is just brilliant! Thank you!
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Lovely to hear from you, Laura! Do drop by again…Glad you find my efforts helpful…that’s my aim…
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15.8.18:
Carol Ann Cormack:
Wonderful article.
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Well, thanks for that, Carol Ann. Most pleased!
⚡️
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15.8.18:
Carol Ann Cormack:
It’s very meaningful for me, being as I am in the liminal space between one life and the new one coming (55-56 seed phase and a move to a new city) – it’s exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. I’ve always been interested in that concept too. This is really intuitive and helpful astrology – thank you!
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Every possible good wish to you as you cross the threshold, Carol Ann…🙋
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16.8.18:
Luisa Francesca Hillard:
I feel stuck in limbo with not a clue for the future.
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16.8.18:Hannah Kirchner:
Me too . Totally trapped
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Luisa and Hannah – so sorry to hear life is very difficult for you both at the moment. I have certainly been in states like that in the past, once for years. But my life is very good now…The only advice I can offer from my own experience is : do not give up, do not give in, do the best you can in the day you’re in. 🌻🌻
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16.8.18:
Mary Ann Rodgers:
Same Luisa Francesca Hillard, so for now its just staying in the present and hopefully I’ll take the next right step and it continues. Life is a mystery and I’m not sure where I belong.
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Thanks for commenting, Mary Ann – please include yourself in my comment to Luisa and Hannah. Life is indeed a mystery…
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16.8.18:
David Anthony Wood:
So well said! Timely for the immediate, with the summer’s retrogrades, for the immense, with the looming Saturn/Pluto/Jupiter alignment of 2020, and for the personal, as my Saturn Return takes its time this year.
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Thanks very much, David!
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16.8.18:
Bob Ruth Hoole:
Thank you so much for this. I have been thinking about the difference between faith and belief lately. This is an open moment for many of us and just staying open is an act of faith.
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That is so well put, Ruth…’staying open is an act of faith…’ Thank you.
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16.8.18:
Carol Twardoch:
Brilliance….thanks for sharing this…💜💜💜
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Many thanks, Carol!
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Love this word. An apt description of what it feels like to be me right now. Observing the state of things across the planet as you have done so well in this piece reminds me that I am in it…and not of it!
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Yes, it’s a brilliantly contemporary word – for our world, and so many of us… Thanks as ever for dropping by, Carrie!
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I’m currently experiencing that passage of Neptune transiting my 6th house. It started in 2011 and since then I’ve been more or less becalmed and have had to withdraw from my old life for chronic health reasons. In my case Neptune is squaring my numerous 9th house Gemini planets including Sun and Mercury and Chiron in Sagittarius in 3rd. I can see even now that as well as the frustration and fear there have been positives coming out of this in terms of personal and spiritual growth. My progressed Moon is within 3 months of crossing my progressed Ascendant in Scorpio Let’s see what happens going forward. “Let go and Let God” says Neptune.
Thanks for such a helpful posting. I am everlastingly grateful to astrology!
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So glad you found this post helpful, mm. And many thanks indeed for this feedback. So many resonances with my 2001-8 …2012 experiences. It would be interesting to hear from other people with experience of long Neptune transits to multiple planets…it would make a great research study. Must think about that. All good wishes as you slowly emerge from the fog!
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A research study on transiting Neptune in 6th in aspect to natal planets would be fascinating. I’d be happy to contribute my data if it happens. 🙂
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Thanks so much, mm. I will keep you posted and be in touch if I do … would certainly like to include your feedback!
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Pingback: SOME #Karmic Cycles end, new ones begin…hovering with #Jupiter in #Scorpio… — Astrology: Questions and Answers – Ola Queen Bee of Astrology
Love this! Thank you for a rejuvenating post! I especially loved this line, “We each have our small, meaningful strand to weave into life’s vast tapestry.” I have written similarly, though not all published yet, since having an experience with one of my unborn siblings.
Many blessings to you in ALL ways. OM
❤️🦋🌀
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Many thanks for taking the trouble to drop by, Sheila – and very glad you found the post rejuvenating!
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