As artists, we are world-builders. Whether we write stories, compose music, or create visual art, we are constantly shaping new realities—giving form to imaginative visions that did not exist before. J.R.R. Tolkien had a name for this kind of world: Faërie. Faërie is a secondary world, a world invented by an artist. As artists, we spend much time living between the secondary world and the primary world, between Faërie and the mundane.
In his essay On Fairy-Stories, Tolkien draws out that there are gifts and burdens associated with entering this secondary world. On the one hand, this enchanted space is filled with beauty and goodness—as such, it is a gift that brings deep transformation. Yet this enchanted space is also liminal, and as such, it also brings estrangement from those around you. Entering Faërie means stepping out of the familiar into the enchanted—a transformative process that can leave one feeling caught between worlds.
Faërie as Sacred Space
The way I have made sense of Faërie’s double-edged nature (gift and burden) is by comparing it to the ancient Jewish idea of the Most Holy Place in the temple. The closer one gets to the Most Holy Place, the closer one is to something profoundly good but also dangerous. The danger does not come from hostility, but from the overwhelming presence of something powerful. The gift of access to these spaces is in beholding what lies inside. It is a beauty and goodness so deep that one cannot help but experience transformation and awe.
Faërie as Liminal Space
This analogy with the temple’s Most Holy Place illustrates not only the gift of Faërie, but also the burden—being set apart. Faërie is a liminal space—between heaven and earth, between reality and myth, between waking and dreaming. My own experience with cross-cultural life shaped my understanding of Faërie on this point. When I moved to a new culture, I never fully adapted to it, and I knew I never completely belonged. Yet, this new culture reshaped me and changed how I saw the world. When I revisited my home culture, I found that I no longer fully belonged there either. My identity became a kind of “third culture” that straddled the line between different spaces. This transformation was enriching, yet it also reveals the burden of Faërie—bringing a sense of displacement.
Smith’s Transformation in Faërie
In his short story Smith of Wootton Major, Tolkien illustrates the impact Faërie has on those who enter it. The protagonist, Smith, is granted access to Faërie. His ventures into this enchanted realm give him a distinct perspective on life. What he sees enhances his joy and wisdom. As such, it is a deep gift of transformation. His access to Faërie is also a burden, however, because it sets him apart from the rest of the villagers. He is different, and that difference is felt.
Faërie and the Artistic Journey
In many ways, an artist’s journey mirrors Smith’s experience. Immersing themselves in the secondary worlds they create changes them. On the one hand, engaging in these creative acts opens them up to wonder and beauty, which transforms them for the better. On the other hand, artists can often come back from creative immersion with a sense of distance from the mundane world. Like someone who lives between cultures, navigating the tension between two identities, artists experience the blessing and burden of living between the primary and the secondary world. This is the life of an artist—an invitation to a liminal space where transformation and estrangement coexist. Are you ready to embrace the gift and burden of living between worlds?
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