John Tyler - Turner - Luminality

“Luminality – the state and process of mid-transition in a rite of passage” - Victor Turner and Edith Turner (249). 

In “Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture” Victor and Edith Turner describe the phenomenon of luminality.  This is a process where the liminars or the ritual subjects pass through a cultural realm. In this phase there is a lot of ambiguity because the liminars are between the past and the coming future.  It is helpful to think of this process as standing in the threshold between two rooms. 

On the trail, the hiker is leaving the comfort and normality of life and walking towards transformation and new life.  In this threshold, there seems to be more happening then the participant knows or is aware of.  For example, the spiritual baggage hikers bring to the trail is slowly lifted in typically subtle ways.  Additionally, a lot of reflection and contemplation takes place within the threshold.  On the other side, there is liberation from the domains of the world, self, and enemy.  Luminars are stripped from all their titles and oppressive expectations.  When this happens in the context of a group, they forge deeper relationships and a sense of comradeship.