Pagan Pride

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

Esselean

neither is being a b***h

Flaming is against ToS, as well as guild rules.
I'm not being a b***h. If I was, you wouldn't have replied thus far.

EDIT: Once again, deleting that post was great...except that it's preserved via a quote in my post.
And a screen cap on my computer.
Cheers!  

[Rose_of_May]

i read all this and one thing i must say is

i love dressing up for events. hell i love fae they are my main totem. but truth be told yes there are fluffy pagans and yea ppl try to learn magic to get a boy to like them or other crap but it's what we feel about ourselves that counts.....Are you a fluffy pagan? Do you practice for the wrong reasons or the right? after answering those to yourself ask yourself this



"And it harm none..." our thoughts create so much energy.....do you wish to give off positive or negative.......is that what you want empaths to feel off you if it's someone you seem to wanna meet?  

[mechanical kitsy]

if anyone ever says anything to me about me wearing my corset... they'll get a smack.
i've never actually been to a pagan pride thing, but my friend that went has a ton of pictures and i didnt see any people like the ones you described... but maybe they were avoiding the camera lol.
but really, people like that should be talked to...  

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

Rose: The thing is though, many fluffy Pagans do think that they are practicing for the right reason. So it can be almost impossible to show them that learning spell/energy manipulation for the sole purpose of getting their crush to love them forever and to kill off the prettier girls is practicing for the wrong reasons.

kitsy: Hey nothing wrong with corsets; I'd like one myself if I felt more comfortable wearing one out and about wink .  

[Lotus Poem]

This is a great topic btw

Sweet, how do you feel about events including PPD where public rituals are held? At most local events of that magnitude around here rituals of some kind or another are performed and therefore those participating do walk around in ritual garb.

Alright, we have to be honest with ourselves as a community and admit that Paganism generally attracts a certain type of person. Please note the word generally, not all pagans are into fantasy etc... but many are and probably more than in most Southern Baptist Churches around here. Most the people I see at our PPD are in jeans and t-shirts, usually fantasy themed or movies or PPD related. I am apt to wear a long skirt and tank top or t-shirt...of course that's what I wear pretty much everyday. My daughter however is probably running around in faery wings, covered in glitter with her face painted. Also I am usually covered in glitter by proxy LOL even my husband gets the odd bit on him that is usually commented on at work the next day. wink I swear wee one sweats glitter. biggrin

I agree that people should be more mindful of how they present themselves and how they represent not only themselves but those that they attach themselves to. However, I think that this isn't a problem just for pagans. I know plenty of christians, teachers, feminists, employees, and concert goers who are just as upset by the fluffies among them! The most we can do is make sure that we feel we are proudly representing our communities of choice. Deep breathing is also good smile  

[Alice Nakagawa]

Maybe they thought it was Ren Faire part two? rofl
I seriously can't believe the Harry Potter uniforms. x__x;; Many people dress up in nice ritual clothes to the Vegas Pagan Pride, but thankfully I did not see any lost Hogwarts students.  

[too2sweet]

Quote:

Sweet, how do you feel about events including PPD where public rituals are held? At most local events of that magnitude around here rituals of some kind or another are performed and therefore those participating do walk around in ritual garb.

I think it all depends on the formality of the event. The one I was at had a very relaxed atmosphere, and the ones who chose to wear their "Sunday best", looked a little strange mixed in with everyone else who dressed a lot more casual.

There is also the school of thought that you shouldn't wear ritual garb outside of ritual, and even though there is an opening and closing "ritual" at the PPD, it is very brief and informal, and I don't really feel that you need full on ritual garb for it. Seems a bit of overkill. xd Now if you were going to a public ritual, where the focus of the event is the ritual - then obviously ritual garb would be appropriate, though I still don't know that I would wear the same thing that I would wear to my own personal rituals (or for coven rituals if I were in one).  

[Lotus Poem]

Quote:

I think it all depends on the formality of the event. The one I was at had a very relaxed atmosphere, and the ones who chose to wear their "Sunday best", looked a little strange mixed in with everyone else who dressed a lot more casual.

There is also the school of thought that you shouldn't wear ritual garb outside of ritual, and even though there is an opening and closing "ritual" at the PPD, it is very brief and informal, and I don't really feel that you need full on ritual garb for it. Seems a bit of overkill. xd Now if you were going to a public ritual, where the focus of the event is the ritual - then obviously ritual garb would be appropriate, though I still don't know that I would wear the same thing that I would wear to my own personal rituals (or for coven rituals if I were in one).

I see what you're saying. I have only participated in one public ritual and it's casual dress, in a local park so there were people dressed "up" a bit but nothing overly dramatic. However, a couple years ago there was a witchvox benefit down here and there was an open ritual there and everyone seemed to wear their ritual dress, those that didn't attend the ritual were dressed normally so they stuck out but everyone there knew why.  

[o sunflower king]

I really, really, REALLY dislike it when people are like, "LOL I IZ A PAGUN LOLZZZZ" just for the shock value.

If someone wants to be taken seriously, then they have to dress that way.
When the general public thinks of "pagan", they think of goth kids running around spewing Harry Potter spells and making blood sacrifices to their gods.
In order for the pagan community to have a better image, everyone has to try and not fall into that stereotype and present paganism in a serious light.

I also feel it's inappropriate for people to wear traditional dress outside of rituals and gatherings. It's just asking for trouble. To me, it's like a priest wearing his robes and such out to Sunday brunch. I don't think it's right; disrespectful in a way.

 

[Ellisari]

Here's Wolfie's two cents on the matter:


If you are just doing the 'lulz-i'm
a-wiccan-ha-ha-i-kan-cast-majickk**!!1122!!one!!!' just for the shocking effect, its probably because you're too chicken to say 'satanist'.

I have NO tolerance for posers. I dont even like telling people my religion, not even my parents, so I dont get the "Oh she's just a teenager, she'll get over this phase" or the "beat it out of her and make her go to catholic school" effects.

Honestly. If you want to impress someone, telling them you are part of the fake internet version of Wicca, or any other Pagan religion is not the right way to go about it. Try getting a freakin' hobby and stop making the rest of us look bad.

Sadly, most Pagans are all attributed to the fake 'lulz-i'm-a-withch-cause-I-read-silver-ravenwolf's-book-lulzzzz' because no one WANTS to pay attention to those who are serious about what they do.

And because those fluffies dont even CARE that their internet religions arent real, it's hard to, um, educate [I want to say 'eradicate' but its a bit harsh] them about real Paganism and tell them that if what they're looking for is 'hocus-pocus-i'm-a-witch-lulz', Paganism is not for them.

Anyways, thats my two cents  

[doistu]

I've personally never worn and particular ritual garb for my rituals. I don't see how it necessary...I hardly have the money or resources to get my own so as far as I'm concerned a clean set of clothes is acceptable.

I feel like I know my clothes a lot better and they've become a new skin, especially my boyfriends jumpers, I love feeling him around me. It gives me lots of confidence too.

I've never been to a public event and highly doubt, unless asked to, that I would "dress up". It's just not me. I'm a jeans and camisole kinda girl. The clothes I feel comfortable in are my uniform lol

Just my POV
xx  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

The purpose of ritual garb is to help one make the transition from "normal mind-space" to "ritual mind-space". In the same way as your boyfriend's jumpers make you feel a particular way, doistu.

What we wear really does influence how we feel, and having a particular sort of clothing for ritual - be it a robe or culture-appropriate clothing or just something set aside specifically for ritual - will help us get into a devotional sort of frame of mind.