1. What are your preferences for ritual wear?  

Comfort. Nothing excessively hot or binding, and nothing long or trailing to trip me or catch fire.

2. Is there a difference between dressing for worship and dressing for witchcraft?

I don’t tend to ‘dress’ for witchcraft, unless I’m working outdoors. I might wear colours or jewelry I think will enhance the casting in that case. But typically I don’t stress about it and just wear whatever I’m wearing that day.

3. Do you feel that you must dress to please the Gods? Or that the Gods could be offended by what you wear?

Some Gods are very specific about the items they want worn, or absent from their presence. Some will be very offended if you wear an item or material they have forbidden. It doesn’t take a lot to make yourself presentable, as long as you’re aware of those things.

4. Are there rules or guidelines of your religion or path that dictate what you wear?

With the coven, certainly. We have our own rules regarding ritual robes and regalia, how hair is worn, being barefoot, etc. On my own, I don’t tend to bother much aside from regarding the preferences and desires of my Gods and wearing appropriate colours and jewelry, as I mentioned in the last question.

5. Do you ever perform ritual, worship or perform spellwork naked?

Clothing sucks. So yes.

6. Do you feel that a certain style of dress brings you closer to the Gods?

I don’t see my Gods as the micro-management type. As long as I’m comfortable in my self, it’s fine. Clothes are just an extension of self-expression. If something really displeased them I’m sure they’d let me know - but as long as I’m not bringing it into their temple or sacred spaces, I don’t think it’s a problem.

7. If you practice witchcraft or any other non religious path, do you feel that a certain style of dress augments or limits your abilities?

Not really. It’s certainly easier when you’re not uncomfortable or distracted, but at the same time I know I have the will and the focus to work effectively through all kinds of situations.

8. Are there particular colors that you prefer to wear for ritual? Are there any colors that you never wear in ritual? Why?

Coven-wise, there are restrictions on certain colours. If I’m not practicing Wicca, I don’t tend to stress about it. I do prefer particular colours: black, grey, brown, blue, and green. Sometimes red.

I’ll probably never wear pastels. Or yellow.

If I’m a guest at a group I always inquire beforehand as to their dress code.

9. Do you ever veil for ritual, worship, or spellwork? Why? What’s your preferred style? 

Hair is always worn down and loose for coven. At home I prefer to have it up in a ponytail or braid. I hate having my hair in my face. I have very long hair on top, but a shaved undercut that I tend to keep quite short; it’s practical and cooler in the summer. I keep it shaved at the behest of one of my deities.

10. Do you ever use cosmetics or body paints for ritual, worship, or witchcraft?

At coven, I might put some eyeliner on occasionally, maybe some shadow. Sometimes I attend rituals that require henna on hands and feet. That’s about it. At home, I go bare because my skin is a sensitive nightmare and cosmetics just make it worse.

11. Do you have rules about jewelry or other wearable sacred objects for ritual, worship, or spellwork? How do they differ? 

I make jewelry for a living, so I always have a million things here and there. Some are specific regalia for specific deities - they don’t get worn outside specific rites, and live on their respective shrines. My BTW regalia has its’ own box, and I don’t wear it outside BTW ritual either.

All my other jewelry (the stuff that isn’t regalia) I wear whenever I like - some of it has been in and out of ritual, or worn for witchcraft. I like the idea of being able to carry some of those sacred energies into the mundane world with me when I need them. Sometimes I do this to charge a piece, and then I give them as gifts to friends or family.

12. Is there anything that you feel is taboo to wear in ritual, worship, or spellwork? Why? 

Not a fan of synthetic materials. I try really hard also to avoid really flammable materials - lots of pretty things don’t pass the ‘Whoof!’ test (‘Whoof’ being the sound that burning material makes). I also don’t want or like phones, watches, or other electronic gizmos in the circle. And I don’t like perfume because I’m pretty allergic, and so are a couple of other covenmates. I work hard to make sure the oils and incense we use aren’t a trigger for anyone - when someone wears their own perfume on top of that, it’s usually not good.

Aside from that, I don’t have any real personal hangups about stuff - but as I mentioned before, it behooves guests to any circle or temple to inquire beforehand as to what’s good and what’s not.

templewitch:

What do you wear?

a Ritual, Worship, and Spellwork Survey

There has been some conversation on multiple platforms about the idea of fashion choices in religion and ritual today… so I thought I’d cook up a little survey thing for people.

Feel free to answer either by text or by…