What does your religion/spiritual path say about head covering (if anything)? There are a great many opinions in Judaism on head covering, and head covering among women. Daily head covering by men is custom, not law, and most Jewish women who are not orthodox do not cover their head. However, some do, and I feel there are two reasons women cover. Either egalitarian, like men, usually in the same manner (with a kippah), which is usually called a reminder that G-d is always above you, or for tznuit, modesty. Head covering for modesty only applies to married women in the Jewish tradition.
Why do you head cover?
My reasons for covering aren't actually all that Jewish, exactly. I cover my head because I feel called to, because it feels right. I think that a part of the reason it feels right is that though DP and I aren't married yet, there is a less commonly held opinion in Judaism that recognizes common law marriages (the opposite opinion, that you don't need a religious divorce, unless you had a marriage according to Jewish law, is now prevalent, which is good, since otherwise it would cause a lot of issues with mamzerim). When I was a very young girl (maybe 10? no, I must have been more like 12 or 13, but around puberty), I read somewhere that according to the Talmud, having sex and living together like a married couple made you married. It wasn't as good as getting married, but made you married, and it ingrained itself in my spiritual consciousness. The opinion is based off the text of the Torah, which says "when a man takes a woman as a wife and has relations with her" rather than the definitions of marriage in the Talmud, requiring certain ceremonies. We do plan to have a wedding ceremony, and "get married", but also definitely have a common law marriage (though not a legally registered one, and I don't think we would bother doing so, as we plan to get legally married at some point). So that's definitely part of it for me, is that I feel pretty much married. Another part is that I want to put myself forward as such, and in Judaism, a head covering woman is a married woman, and thus, not single. I definitely experiment with covering more and less, and sometimes cover only a bit (like with a 3-4 inch headscarf/headband), and sometimes cover all my hair. It depends on how I'm feeling. Sometimes I find that if I cover a lot, and dress really modestly, and don't change how I dress when I come home, I forget my sexy self. To me, hair is one of the most sexual parts of the body, and covering it makes sense from a modesty perspective, but if I get too modest, and don't dress a little different (less modest) at home with DP, I forget about my sexy, sexual side, and that has libido repercussions. Also, sometimes I want to be more carefree and sexy even in public, and then I might wear a small head covering, and let my hair down. It's always a work in progress, feeling out what feels right. The main reason I cover though, is that I feel I should. When I don't, I feel really self conscious. My brain is constantly on my UNCOVERED HEAD. It's distracting. When I'm covered, I feel more comfortable, and at home. Plus, it's pretty! I think head coverings on women are so gorgeous.
