Kelly Cooke: Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture 12/5

Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture

Kelly Cooke

In the book 'Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture' by Victor Turner and Edith L.B. Turner, the several stages within journey are explained in relation to pilgrimage. It is stated that pilgrimage is traditional and tribal. This emphasizes the meaning behind pilgrimage. The three phases discussed within the book are separation, limen, and aggregation. Separation is exactly what it sounds like, one is detached from their life as they currently live it. Following this is the liminal stage of journey, which is where one finds themselves, "...betwixt and between all familiar lines of classification." The final phase of spiritual journey explained within the text is aggregation. This is when the subject of the spiritual journey returns to daily life changed from their journey. One element of the phases I am curious about is whether the subject of the journey is always aware of the journey itself as they are passing through each phase? Is it possible to be unaware during such drastic change and still experience a spiritual journey that changes you or is it similar to the third axiom in which you must be aware to experience?

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