Walking between Worlds | Becoming Nephilim

Walking the Between

Prehistorians and paleontologists have speculated that almost all of the 130 ancient cave sites have representations or alignments that relate to astronomy

In Hebrew, angels are called mal'āḵ (מַלְאָךְ), which translates to "messenger" and as we’ve covered in the Tribal Tales page, angels did not originally have wings. In fact the whole concept of how they acquired wings is a bit of a mystery, but archaeologists believe this goes back to ancient Sumeria, where depictions of winged creatures were used as inspiration (we also cover the idea of angel wings deriving from legendary storm birds on this page). As messengers they could access the divine, physical and infernal realms, they were walkers between worlds, which is the theme we want to further explore as it’s incredibly interesting and you will see how the idea permeates thoroughly into pop culture, science and psychology.

The Watchers were an angelic group whose role was primarily, as it says on the tin, to watch. The concept of Watchers as intermediaries between realms aligns with various other mythological and religious traditions that feature beings who traverse different worlds or realms of existence. This idea of entities that can move between the divine and mortal spheres is a common theme in many cultures. Let's explore a few examples:

In Mesoamerican cultures, Aztec priests were the conduits to the gods. The Mayan Hero Twins of the Popul Vuh journeyed through the underworld and were resurrected to the celestial realms to become the Sun and Moon, heralding a new age. The Sumerian gods could access the divine, physical and infernal realms, although access to the infernal realms came with a heavy price, as we saw with Inanna’s descent into the underworld. However, the Anunnaki were able to access all realms, and were referred to as judges of the underworld.

In Celtic mythology, the Druids were able to access all realms - Neamh (Sky), Bitu (Land), and Muir (Sea), which were accessible through sacred hallows - fire, tree and well hallow, or through the central pillar, the Axis Mundi, similar to Yggdrasil of Norse mythology. Their Underworld was quite complex and overlapped with other worlds, that were possible to access through caves, underwater, or through mists.

The Druids hold that the soul of a dead man

does not descend to the silent,

sunless world of Hades but becomes

reincarnate elsewhere; if they are right,

death is merely a point of change in

perpetual existence. These Northerners

are most fortunate to believe in a doctrine

which frees them from that besetting terror

of mankind: fear of extinction. Lucan

That takes us back to the idea of walking between worlds. Liminal spaces like shorelines, forests and misty areas (and who doesn’t love a misty forest?) represent places between realms where transformations can occur. I find this idea of liminal spaces, or spaces in-between, extremely fascinating. Those places call to my spirit, they are natural portals. I want to show how this idea of moving through realms has evolved into popular culture, philosophy, psychology and esoteric thought.

Legendary artist and occultist Austin Osman Spare developed the concept of “Neither-Neither” as part of his system of magic. It is a means to open up perception through ambiguity and non-duality. Through this technique, a person can access states of consciousness beyond normal perception - essentially walking between worlds. What is neither sorrow nor ecstasy, what is neither freedom nor bondage? While it may sound vague in a mundane sense, it is exactly this ambiguous contemplation or meditation that is needed to cross the threshold between worlds and break free of our own limitations.

My personal favourites are the spaces between night and day (especially twilight) and between sleep and waking, where access to other realms can be found. You may also wish to explore gender fluidity or androgyny, thresholds such as doorways or gates that are neither inside nor outside, shorelines or places where the water is brackish (neither fresh nor saline), and horizons.

Austin Osman Spare, Ascension of the Ego from Ecstasy to Ecstasy from The Book of Pleasure 1913

American writer and cult hero, HP Lovecraft created a mythos that existed beyond human comprehension, with deities who occupy other dimensions. They travel by many means, including bending time/space and stepping through, the use of higher mathematical dimensions, or manifestation through their worshippers.

The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know,

but between them, they walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen. Yog-Sothoth

knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate.

Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones

broke through of old, and where They shall break through again.

The Dunwich Horror, HP Lovecraft

I love his statement about the Old Ones being undimensioned, unbound by place and time, and thus able to move fluidly and simultaneously between spaces. There is something both thrilling and utterly terrifying in that statement! The idea of deities or beings who could move between realities greatly influenced later science fiction and horror authors. Building on this idea, we can trace the evolution of "walkers between worlds" in popular culture:

Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" features a multiverse and characters traveling between parallel universes.

“Witches hear the immortal whispers of those who pass between worlds.

They speak of a child who is destined to bring the end of destiny.

If told what she must do, she will fail. But she won’t walk alone.

There is a boy whose fate is bound with hers. Together, they will change everything.”

Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, which was inspired by a poem by Robert Browning and Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, presents the Dark Tower as a magical structure and linchpin of time and space. In his universe all worlds are “real” and accessible through the tower, all things are possible, and fictional realities sit alongside what we perceive as realities as levels in the tower. Mind blowing idea, isn’t it?

Neil Gaiman's works often feature characters straddling the mundane and mythical worlds. In C.S. Lewis’ Narnia, there are many portals to travel between worlds, including the Wood Between the Worlds, a serene place of many pools, one of which leads to Narnia. In the comic realm, Marvel’s Doctor Strange, the sorcerer supreme, can cast portals to other worlds (over 14 million, apparently) to protect Earth from interdimensional threats. From a supernatural perspective , DC Comics' John Constantine navigates infernal realms through a ritual involving water and a cat, but he can also open celestial and infernal portals. In The Matrix, we see characters moving between simulated and “real” worlds through technology portals.

Within modern occult thinking, concepts like astral projection and channeling involve the idea of consciousness traveling between different planes of existence. Psychedelics have been used for thousands of years to enable shamans and others to journey to other dimensions or realities. The Many-Worlds Interpretation in quantum mechanics suggests the existence of parallel universes, inspiring many fictional takes on interdimensional travel. Carl Jung's psychological concept of the collective unconscious can be seen as a shared realm that artists and others can access.

This evolution shows how ancient concepts of intermediaries and liminal beings have been reinterpreted and expanded through art, psychology, science and pop culture. The idea of entities or individuals who can traverse different realities or states of existence continues to captivate our imagination, reflecting our ongoing fascination with the unknown and the spaces between defined categories of existence. Exploring these spaces between worlds is possible, and we’ve outlined a few examples in the concepts of Neither Neither, astral projection, mind altering substances and psychological explorations.

"Suppose that all worlds, all universes,

met at a single nexus, a single pylon, a Tower.

And within it, a stairway, perhaps

rising to the Godhead itself.

Would you dare climb to the top, gunslinger?

Could it be that somewhere above all of endless reality,

there exists a room?..."-

Walter O'Dim, The Gunslinger, Stephen King