Occult Clothing
Posted by: Tanoro
- January 05, 2007
Intro
Some new seekers of the path often wonder what sorts
of clothing Craft users are required to wear. It is natural to assume that
one does not practice the Craft in T-shirt and jeans, but something as
formal as a tuxedo would not be practical or appropriate. Something formal,
but appropriate is needed to properly play the role of the aspiring Craft
user. The various styles depend greatly on your chosen tradition or coven,
but I'll discuss the most common types of ritual regalia.
Why Use Regalia?
Being a good Craft user is like being a good play
actor. If you do not dress the part, playing the part becomes awkward,
clumsy, and less confident. If you are one who truly appreciates good play
acting and cinema, you know how so very different a non-dress rehearsal
is from a spectacular dressed performance. An actor would find it very
difficult to bring an audience into a story brought to life without his
costume to set the mood. In magick, the mood is the root of everything.
You can not work magick without the proper mood setting. Many magicians
find it counter-productive to go to all the trouble setting up candles,
incense, and proper music to set the mood and not use any available regalia
to help as well. This is why magicians have used this tradition for thousands
of years.
Types of Clothing
Naturally men and women of the Craft have their
own specific dress codes that are, while loose and liberal, very distinguishing.
Outer dress for men normally includes a cape, hooded cloak, or robe of
natural fabric. Natural fabric (i.e. cotton, silk, wool, etc.) is a tradition
in the Craft and many well-seasoned magicians agree that using natural
fabric aids in the manipulation of magickal energies, where man-made fabrics
(i.e. polyester) blocks natural energies entirely. Under dress for men
is very personal and quite liberal in this day and age, but many of your
old fashion practitioners choose a Renaissance style with long sleeve shirts
with baggy sleeves, jerkins, surcoats, and short-sleeve tunics. This is
the type of under dress I also prefer in my practice, especially tunics
as they are very cool and breezy to wear in the summer when I do most of
my outdoor workings. Pants are usually cotton, but not denim. Footwear
generally includes simple leather boots, mid-calfs, or leather shoes.
Women also wear capes, cloaks, robes, and also gowns.
Their fashion tends to conceal less of the body than men's regalia, which
conceals almost their entire bodies. Women tend to wear lighter fabrics
such as silk and thin cotton fabcrics, where men tend to wear thicker,
heavier clothing. Women sometimes choose to wear stockings or coverings
for their legs. Footwear includes mostly slippers or anything that is comfortable,
but appropriate for the type and color of the clothing chosen.
This is a picture of me wearing my cloak. Notice how well it conceals
most of my body.
On top of all of this, I want to stress that your
choice of clothing depends greatly on you. If you truly believe that your
magick will work just as well in your normal clothing, then by all means,
go for it. It is all personal preference.
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