A liminal deity is a god or goddess in mythology who presides over thresholds, gates, or doorways; "a crosser of boundaries". These gods are believed to oversee a state of transition of some kind; such as, the old to the new, the unconscious to the conscious state, the familiar to the unknown. Types of liminal deities include dying-and-rising deities, various agricultural deities, psychopomps and those who descend into the underworld: crossing the threshold between life and death. Vegetation deities mimic the annual dying and returning of plant life, making them seasonally cyclical liminal deities in contrast to the one-time journey typical of the dying-and-rising myth.

Etymology

The word liminal, first attested to in English in 1884, comes from the Latin word limen, meaning 'threshold'. Liminality is a term given currency in the twentieth century by British cultural anthropologist Victor Turner. It is used to describe a state of transition; such as from the old to the new, from the familiar to the unknown, even from an unconscious to the conscious state.

European

Greek mythology

Roman mythology

Norse mythology

Baltic mythology

Etruscan mythology

Asian religions

Chinese mythology

Filipino mythology

Korean mythology

Shinto

Vietnamese mythology

Hinduism

Mesopotamian mythology

Phrygian mythology

Middle East and Abrahamic religions

Christianity

African and American religions

African religions

Afro-American religions