Liminal phases and the EA ritual (Egyptian Masonry)

Liminal phases and the EA ritual

Threshold states—or liminal phases—are transitional, in-between spaces and moments of profound change that characterize initiatory processes and psychic development. They mark the boundary between the known and the unknown, the conscious and the unconscious, the profane and the sacred. An awareness of these liminal aspects is what facilitates the growth and integration of consciousness itself.

Our Masonic rites are designed to bring forth these liminal experiences. In both practical theology and its liturgical applications, such phases are intentionally created, for example, by formally welcoming participants, thereby separating the sacred from the profane. In our rituals, as with the opening of the lodge, we constitute a sacred space by dissociating ourselves from the profane world. The experience of these separations differs with each degree and rite, thereby creating a unique, shared sacred space that engages different psychic regions of the participants.

The initiate's journey

While the ritual is a collective act, the initiate undergoes a more prolonged and personal liminal process. This journey is facilitated by the other participants, who in turn act as catalysts for their own internal liminal processes. The initiate, however, is guided through the inner psychic dynamics that the ritual is designed to awaken within them.

Freemasonry offers a structured framework for these threshold experiences to occur. In our rite specifically, the beginning of the initiation into the degree of Entered Apprentice is conceived as a symbolic death, a classic element of a rite of passage. This death, or the death-like state of the candidate, represents the dissolution of the old self, prefiguring the renewed state that awaits them. They transition from being a part of the outer world to becoming a participant in the shared, inner mystery made manifest by the rite.

Thresholds as gates

The first and primary threshold is marked by the Chamber of Reflection. This represents the candidate's descent into the depths of their own unconscious. It is a preparation for what Carl Jung described as "womb symbolism"—a return to an embryonic state as a precursor to rebirth. In alchemical terms, this is the nigredo: the dark, disorienting state that precedes transformation.

These ritual events function as bridges to the unconscious, enabling a non-rational engagement with the psyche. In other words, the ritual transforms psychic energy to facilitate insight into the mysteries. During one of the symbolic journeys, the ritual explicitly refers to such a liminal gateway:

Thanks to this mysterious protection, you finally passed through the first 'Door', and the Archon who guards it gave you entrance...

A psychological perspective

I perceive these thresholds as gates within the psyche, each guarded by a gatekeeper. Such a transition is difficult to grasp with logic, as the rational mind cannot fully comprehend the nature of liminality.

Life often appears to move in a spiral: experiences, ideas, and interests recur, yet each time with the potential for renewed insight. This is the apparent nature of things. However, when this pattern of repetition is consciously broken, one can recognize life as a continuous liminal process. The ego-consciousness constantly seeks to ground itself in a fixed, defined framework. It wants to concretize experience—to capture it, make it useful, systematize, control, and direct it. Yet, our ritual reveals that the "mysterious protection" is not a conscious faculty, not a part of the ego. It is the Archon, a non-ego entity, who grants passage.

Herein lies the key: the infinite nature of the psyche and its various modes of distinction (dissociations) are what enable us to explore these inner realms. The rituals provide the blueprints, so to speak, for discovering these different forms of consciousness. Within this framework, "consciousness" is not a static object of study, nor is it a possession. Instead, it is experienced as the active process of "becoming aware." The integration of the opposites we encounter in this process is the very essence of incorporating the liminal into our everyday lives, leading to a more whole and integrated self.