Pagans, do you dress "differently"?
I am a Pagan and I do not dress very differently, I try to wear organic and cruelty free clothing as much as possible, but I don't think I really stand out when it comes to clothing. I ask because today I read on an online forum someone saying that they could tell who was a Pagan or not by how they dressed. Pagans, this person claimed, wore tie dye and black pointed hats and long boho skirts and pentacles. This is certainly not the case with me and the pagans I know in real life. But do you dress "differently"? And if you do, is it tie dye, long boho skirts and black pointed hats?!
Comments
You forgot to mention the tattoos. <g>
A lot depends on whether or not you're at festival or in the corporate workplace. Most pagans I know wear a pentagram or other jewelry just as Christians often wear a cross. Some dress like Stevie Nicks in their daily lives. Still others wear military uniforms and serve their country proudly.
I reminds me of the Wednesday Addams line when she was asked what her Halloween costume was, "I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everybody else." (I may have the exact words wrong here but the idea is there.)
I don't really consider myself pagan (more New Age hermeticist) but I've let out all the stops for rituals (One of the best was at Beltane and consisted of a black and gold corset w/ black and gold lace harem pants.) and sarongs are de rigeur at gatherings but I dress like everyone else in my daily life.
I make costumes and ritual garb so I've worn a wide variety of outfits over the years at gatherings and festivals. If I'm in work mode (building the fire) I'm typically in camping style clothing and a fox tail. I only see pointed hats at rituals or on Halloween.
Black pointed hats? No. Organic, tie die, long skirts. That sounds more new age. Wiccans will on occasion wear black because it is the color of the universe and it is also for protection. I dress normally. I do wear a pentacle. Not all the time. Like a Christian doesn't always wear Jesus shirts and crosses all the time. Pagans will dress totally normal. There are a few who like to stand out but you will have that in any belief.
Pagans I've know over the last 40 years all dressed pretty much like everybody else. You'll always have the occasional eccentric who wants to stand out, but that's a personal choice not a religious requirement.
The person was a ... well, add your derogatory comment of choice.
I wear jeans, tshirts, and sneakers. On occasion, a sundress with a bright hawaiian print on it. I wear historically accurate clothing when I am at work as an historical interpreter- does this make me a refugee from the 1770s or 1840s? NO.
You can't tell a pagan by the way they dress, talk, act in public or their careers - they come in all shapes and sizes, all levels of education, and do any sort of job their heart leads them to -e everything from construction worker to doctor, from teacher to politician - and everything in between.
I dress like a middle aged white guy. Which I am.
I used to wear nothing but black (not gothic) but black t-shirts and black jeans. I am partially color blind anyway so.... Now I wear whatever I grab in the morning whether its color coordinated or whether had been tested on monkeys or not.
I am pagan and have been for over 20 years.
I dress differently than most people, but, I just like to be different!
In fact, I revel in it. I like to wear odd color combinations, I LOVE silk, especially silk "broomstick skirts", I go around in a minivan loaded with my teenagers' band equipment, or hockey equipment with weird looking dogs, and strange sayings on the windows. I dance to my own tune, in public. Some times I like to wear tye dye, but that's cause I'm an old hippie. I have never actually owned a black pointy hat, but the one on my avatar drives the other witches on here crazy, so I leave it, cause I like being different!
Edit: Thanks Prairiecrow!
I think she's pretty cool!
No. I am very conservative in my style of dress. I doubt you could pick me out of a crowd of other middle class forty-somethings.
Nor do other Pagans of my acquaintance dress in an outlandish style. In fact (and I'll admit this is a prejudice of mine) I often pick out the "playgans" from the serious Pagans based on how flashily the former dress. The real tip-off is a pentacle larger than the palm of one's hand.
ETA: Wicked Witch™ of the West, I like your avatar. :-)
I'd agree that your belief could generally be called "New Age". One must understand that the origins of all religions are based on man's exploration of his psyche through the use of "trance states" induced via hallucinogenic plants, dancing, meditation, prayer (concentration) often accompanied by supportive practices such as fasting, the practice of "ego submission", "dharma" etc etc. Via these techniques man has tapped into the "spirit world" of the archetypes and there is a broad range of these archetypes from elementals and ancestors, demons and angels right the way through to monotheistic archetypes and Trinities. All of them are valid ie: they exist on some level as a "force" whether within the psyche or without. (or probably both). In one sense there must be a single "source"...and here we enter into the philosophies of Buddhist Nihilism. A "no-thing" contains all-potentials and is hence is omnipotent in that respect...ie: it can become anything. This is why physicists maintain the sum of forces in the Universe = 0. So it's not so much an issue of good vs. evil, but rather All = No-thing, the Tao and the Teh of Yin-Yang. When No-thing becomes Something we have division and differentition, ie: 0 = (-)1 + 1...and hence we have our first Trinity as the Primal cause of existence. So the ultimate Source (God, if you will), is No-thing, Everything and two opposites. When examining Abrahamic religion in this context it starts to make sense and one doesn't need to oppose those old prophets anymore (though one understands the folly of the interpretation of it's modern followers.) There is great wisdom in those old Biblical books such as Genesis and Revelation when one has the wisdom to interpret them metaphorically. After all, the psyche speaks to us in symbolism rather than in literalism. A study of dream analysis will make that clear and a study of religious techniques makes it clear that we are exploring the psyche, so those old books are to be understood metaphorically. Even Islamic sages have stated for example that "Shaitan" (Satan) is simply the "ego consciousness" of mankind and in order to explore the deeper aspects of our minds it must be transcended in some way. In a very real sense it is our "downfall" and the source of our miseries. This is a practice that almost all religions advocate in some way, either via transcendental techniques or via practices such as "dharma" (leading a "good" life, compassion for others etc) So yes in a way religions are very very different but they're also very similar and one gains incredible insights into the mysteries of existence by studying and examining all of them. We must however look past the Dogma, the cultural and political influences and the misinterpretation and everything becomes clear.
I wear a lot of black, but otherwise I don't really dress weird. Jeans and a t-shirt are my normal garb. I wear a pentacle most times, but that's the only way you could tell what faith I'm of.
Other than free balling, having all my suits custom tailord, and matching my socks to my tie, I dress the same as any other lawyer. What seperates me from my peers in internal.
Clearly you don't think for yourself if you don't wear tie--dyes. To be non-conformist you have to wear the proper uniform.