The Magic of Between
A doorway.
Midnight.
Twilight.
The one thing these have in common: they are all 'betweens'. Between one space and another, one time and another. Between light and dark. These have long been associated with magic; the idea being while you're between two things, you're not in either.
If I stand in the doorway between my living room and kitchen, I'm in neither room, and both, at the same time. The idea is, if you can find the right 'between', you can straddle the line dividing two worlds, that of magic, and that of 'reality'. Able to see both, but you wouldn't truly be IN either world.
Why is it this theory has grabbed hold of me so tightly? I think because the possibilities are endless. Once you start looking for a between, they're everywhere. Once I got the concept of not being part of either room, and extrapolate it to 'not being part of either world'...the idea of being a ghost took on true terror for me. You're...un-tethered.
But it also leaves a lot of room to explore, too. What is between light and dark? Shadows? But aren't they something all their own? So what, then, would be between the shadows and light...In my stories, it tends to be a warrior-figure, someone who battles the darkness and shadows from overtaking the light. But my mind doesn't work like everyone else's, and I'm mostly okay with that ;)
See if you can come up with a between I haven't listed (there are thousands)...If you have time today, stand in a doorway, and enjoy that threshold, that feeling of being disjointed. (It's especially nice if you have family in one of the rooms you can join after this experiment :) )
5 comments:
I like that old Irish proverb, "May you cross the threshold of heaven before the Devil knows you're dead."
I'm working on an an entire book based on that sentence. :)
Great blog! Some of my favorite places are in-between. :-)
Seriously, that's where the magic happens. Partially it's the quality of being in two places and none at all, which your blog captures so well. But I also think it's the prospect of change liminal places represent. Thresholds, gates, crossroads--they're all places where change happens, where you go from one to the other on so many levels.
Ack! There I go talking about transformations again. LOL
Being "in between" sleep and wakefulness gives me some of the best book plots I've ever conjured. Brainstorming while on the virge of sleep has become a staple for me in the creative process.
~~Becka
Oooo Becka! I love that concept!
I kept thinking of something that happens to me on occasion.
When I dream, I often dream of real things--actual people and places that exist. But somewhere, the dream changes and it's no longer "real". It's confusing and the transition is so subtle and shifts very quickly. When I wake up, I have a hard time remembering what is reality and what isn't.
That point "between" in my dreams is fascinating to me.
*happysigh* This is why I love this blog. You don't give me the wtf!? face. You just add more fuel to my fire :)
*g* Carolan, my entire series is based on the word/theory 'between', and I barely scratch the surface of my ideas/theories. (Though I have to say, when you write the word 'between' a few hundred times (as I did when brainstorming plots) it looks very odd, and not like a real word at all!
JM I think that's part of the appeal...'between's aren't limitted to any one thing...it applies in so many ways. Oh I love it :)
Becka, I love that point, too. If only I could laze in bed for days upon days, I'm sure I'd have a billion book ideas :)
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