pagans who cover? - Page 5

[LionessMom]

Originally Posted by gun

LionessMom - Boy, I sure could have used that site last summer. I looked high and low for a long denim skirt. I finally found it as I was driving past a garage sale, for $3! Since then I have found 2 others at the Salvation Army. But I would like to be a bit more dressy than denim sometimes. Thank you for sharing the site!!

you are welcome. i love the head scarves they are so pretty. i like the way they tie them so that they are rolled over the top of the head. it looks like a princess crown.

Originally Posted by PatienceAndLove

Do you sew?
http://www.xanga.com/connimom/549154...1-cutting.html

I am going to make myself an army of these skirts!
And quite possibly several knee length ones, as well.

these look easy enough for even me to make! : my yule wish list now includes lots and lots of fabric!

Originally Posted by PatienceAndLove

I feel the same way.
(Let me start by saying sorry for intruding on a pagan thread, but all of this facinates me because many of you are stating reasons I have for wanting to dress more modestly and to cover my head- because Catholicism doesn't say I "have to", it's become more of a personal devotion)

I am Catholic (as previously state), and sometimes I feel like people would assume that because of the way I dress and cover my hair, I am a Fundamentalist Protestant or an Orthodox Jewess (especially since I think tiechels are just the ultimate in feminine cover!).

But, in my mind, I like to think of how Mary appears in all of the visions/apperitions. She is veiled- and she is BEAUTIFUL!
IMHO- what better model for fashion and feminine beauty than the Mother of God?

i think having been Catholic before, I look to Mary as a Mother symbol. as a child, my Catholic family always put up Her picture and less of Jesus. i also wanted to be a Nun as a little girl. i like how they dressed. and i liked the being committed to a religion. to me they were priestesses.

Originally Posted by CariOfOz

For me it isn't about bad or good, I'm just very sensitive to out of control energy. Crowds send me into a cranky frantic mess for example. I soak up stray energy flying around like a total sponge, and sometimes it really causes emotional 'moments' for me that are inconvenient.

that is how i feel too. energy just is. other peoples energy throws me for a loop and so i stay home alot. it gives me alot of anxiety.

[1littlebit]

i used to want to be a nun when i was little too! i also liked how they dressed and was quite disappointed when their dress code was relaxed. lol i was a weird kid

[CariOfOz]

Originally Posted by LionessMom

that is how i feel too. energy just is. other peoples energy throws me for a loop and so i stay home alot. it gives me alot of anxiety.

In a fortnight hubby & I are dropping the kids off with the grandparents and going into the frey of christmas shopping, it will be easier without the kids, but I may get a bandana or something to wear just to test whether it is helpful in keeping all the energy 'out'.

[BellaLuna Rayne]

I am seeing a lot of explanations that resonate with me, especially the blocking out of other people's energy. I have HUGE anxiety issues and rarely leave my house because of it. I think covering will help me with my goal of practicing my spirituality every day.

I really like the Tichels and wish the cover your hair site would have them in the color I want. I can't find another site that really has the kind I want either.

I talked to DH about this the other day when he called and he said it was up to me. However, I don't think he got what I was talking about considering how tired he is.

[wombatclay]

We had to visit the evil empire today (we don't have a dining room/table... we eat on cushions on the floor... we are hosting turkey day and needed some sort of folding table do-hickie).

Anyway, they were selling soft cotton "shawls" in the winter wear section for 5 dollars... they came in a dozen different colors, some solid some a sort of paisley. Basically a huge rectangle of fabric with a fringe on the two short ends. Might be worth checking out if anyone wants to try that sort of fabric size.

[CariOfOz]

I dont' know that I'll cover full time, but I'm dipping my toes in the water I picked up a couple of wide headbands today... my hair isn't totally hidden but the entire top of my head is. Without further ado: Me Ignore the really bad redeye caused by my mobile phone cam and the generally crappy nature of the pic

[LionessMom]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

We had to visit the evil empire today (we don't have a dining room/table... we eat on cushions on the floor... we are hosting turkey day and needed some sort of folding table do-hickie).

Anyway, they were selling soft cotton "shawls" in the winter wear section for 5 dollars... they came in a dozen different colors, some solid some a sort of paisley. Basically a huge rectangle of fabric with a fringe on the two short ends. Might be worth checking out if anyone wants to try that sort of fabric size.

i just bought 2. one a black "paisley" and a grey "paisley". i like them. DH liked them. the only thing is that they say they are only spot clean. i am going to try them in the washer though. they are really soft and comfortable. they are long enough to wrap around twice like they show you on the website i posted awhile back. i think they look good. however, they cause some static charge for me and they are not cotton. they are rayon and acrylic. i have been wearing them for a week now. I still want some off that website though. LOL.

[CariOfOz]

Originally Posted by LionessMom

i just bought 2. one a black "paisley" and a grey "paisley". i like them. DH liked them. the only thing is that they say they are only spot clean. i am going to try them in the washer though. they are really soft and comfortable. they are long enough to wrap around twice like they show you on the website i posted awhile back. i think they look good. however, they cause some static charge for me and they are not cotton. they are rayon and acrylic. i have been wearing them for a week now. I still want some off that website though. LOL.

They sound pretty I saw a black headband like the ones I got (still floral but oh well) and I'm wishing I had gotten it now I have a lovely pashmina in my favorite colour & I tried once (a few months ago, see how long I've been considering this? lol) to tie it like the demos on here but just couldn't get it to look decent.

[MommaFox]

I've been batting around the idea of covering, if for no other reason than I don't want my LO's first words to be "Ow! That's Mommy's hair." But I'd been thinking about it for ages, even before I got pregers. I'm glad I'm not the only one who'd thought of it. I like the way it looks and feels, but I've never been an expert at tying them. Now with the online instructionals, I should be doing better

[lolar2]

Not a pagan, but I wanted to point out that until the mid-sixties, and in some parts of society until the mid-seventies, it was a given that any adult going out of the house would wear a covering of some sort on his or her head. Men (at least non-Jewish men) would then take off their hats indoors, but not women.

[LionessMom]

Originally Posted by CariOfOz

They sound pretty I saw a black headband like the ones I got (still floral but oh well) and I'm wishing I had gotten it now I have a lovely pashmina in my favorite colour & I tried once (a few months ago, see how long I've been considering this? lol) to tie it like the demos on here but just couldn't get it to look decent.

here i am wearing one. I got DSD2 to take the pic. i am in my pj's but it wa the only time anyone was home long enough to take a pic of me. lol

http://s366.photobucket.com/albums/o...t=100_1959.jpg

[wombatclay]

Oooohhh... very gypsy! And I mean that in a good way, not as an intro to discussing the plight of the Rom or anything like that. Maybe I'll go get one the next time I'm at the evil empire!

How to tie- I've found that with a longer scarf the trick (for me) is to tie it much tighter than I think is going to work. And then really pull the ends. I have to confess, I'm a tribal style belly dancer so some of the head covering stuff I know simply from costuming. The "dutch crown" tie on Tzinius (sp?) is very common in the belly dance community... of course, in belly dance costuming, the scarf is the "bottom" of the head piece. You stick all sorts of things into it once it's secure... hat pins, brooches, feathers, ribbon, flowers, the works!

Here's a book that (probably isn't in the library, but maybe interlibrary loan?) discusses the how to do aspect of belly dance head coverings... and there's always YouTube! You might find a style that really works for whatever you need!

And a few pictures of belly dance covering:
http://homepage.mac.com/eglintonsc/G...8-waist-c2.jpg
http://www.desertveils.org/images/kp-ats-01.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/eglintonsc/G...s/31-head3.jpg
http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload...47f6a98.medium

[LionessMom]

i tried the crown and loved it but DH was not a fan. oh well. i will be trying to some other ways to tie it too. i had to wrap it around twice. if i tie it too tight iit slips down the back of my head.

[avent]

As a Muslim who doesn't cover except as the masjid (mosque) I find this conversation very interesting. I don't know a lot about Paganism but the funny thing is I had assumed somewhere along the line that most Pagans would be into covering, based on imagery and such.

I look at covering as a somewhat modest thing, but I think that overly simplifies it. I do think there is more to it--retaining your power to yourself, commanding respect, and protecting the top of your head from unwanted energy. What I have noticed is that throughout a lot of time people have used "head gear" as a sign of something sacred and important, as if much humanity understands that innately and somehow I assumed Pagans would be really in tune with that concept. It's interesting to hear about it from the POV of rebelling against Abrahamic traditions. I hope nobody thinks Abrahamic folks (esp Muslims) somehow have a "monopoly" on headcovering in the world, when it's beneficial to whoever feels called to it. I can't imagine any Muslim I know having an issue with it for someone else.

[wombatclay]

Neat perspective Avent!

I think that what has happened is that in modern mainstream north america the predominant "covering" imagery comes from religious groups that have abrahamic roots. And when the pagan movement was first getting established in north america as a "popular" movement, it aligned itself in many cases with the women's movement. Since the women's movement at that time was distancing itself from anything (social or religious) that restricted women in any way, and many covering groups were seen as "restricting" women (even if, in fact, they do not)... well... the baby went out with the bath water to some extent.



But I totally agree with you... associating head covering with a specific "set" of religions or a specific "set" of practices/beliefs doesn't make sense. There is no monopoly after all!

[Sheal]

Married women usually had the head covered either with a hood (caille, pron. cal-le) or with a long web of linen wreathed round the head in several folds.

This is one reason I cover. I am married now and I cover because of this and rituals that I perform on a daily basis and for Sabot as well as for major pagan holidays (Imbolc, Equinox, Samhuian, ect).

For marriage it is a symbol of being married much like the ring on a finger. I cover in public to signify my being unavailable to other suitors and my dedication to my hubbs as being his wife. I do wear a wedding band as well because not everyone knows that this is what the head covering signifies.

[aweynsayl]

golly! one really ought to at least mention some of these awesome conversations in the ah-hem, main pagan thread.... so that sillies like me who manage our limited online time by only reading sub'ed threads dont totally miss out! <gesh>

i probably wont catch up with all 5 pages, but...

i tend to wear hooded things if i'm specifically focusing intent inward in a ritual... but generally, i get too hot to wear anything on my head much.

i do wear my vast ammount of hair up, though, almost ritualistically, and keep being drawn to putting things IN it. that's a totally different concept, but i've been finding myself thinking of it in terms like you're using, clay, as a sort of status type thing... being the age i am, and in the living situation i am, i'm feeling a need to have some sort of ritual for myself declaring that i'm a Real Woman, even though i'm temporarily not Goddess of my Own Home.... the expression of this that has come to me (meditations, readings, etc) has been of some sort of head-embelishment. but i've not done anything about it yet, lol....

subbing to read more later!

[BellaLuna Rayne]

I have been wearing a bandana around the house for a few days now. I am noticing a slight difference in my overall well being I guess. If coveryourhair.com ever gets the colors of Tichels I want back in I will definitely get one or two of those.

The only person I have told about covering IRL is DH and I don't think he quite understands yet. Haven't told my family cause well, I really don't care to hear their negativity.

[eilonwy]

I picked up a couple of headcoverings at a local Mennonite store ($2.70 each, and they're warm-ish, for winter ) over the weekend; Today was my first day walking around covered. I felt decidedly "protected;" It was almost a tinfoil hat kind of sensation. It was great! When MIL saw me wearing it Saturday, she said I should wear a long, flowered skirt to go with it. : (Actually, these particular coverings are more favored by a particular group of Amish folks, but you get the idea. ) I tried to take a couple of pictures today, but I was half asleep-- Tomorrow I'll get Mike to do it properly.

[wombatclay]

I can't wait to see! I'm loving all the pictures...

I've got one scarf that I really really like in terms of how it fits and drapes so I'm going to see if I can find a similar fabric and make some. I think it started life as part of a freecycle bag of "play clothes" dd1 got a year or two ago... and was probably a table runner of some sort. I had been wearing it as a sort of headband, but if I unbunch the fabric it stays close to my head in front but covers most of my hair in back...

Here's a picture with the fabric sort of bunched up... but you get the idea!

And I agree... whether the covering or the intent, I feel a lot less "pushed on" when I'm out and about. Which is saying something this time of year!

I do have a challenge coming up though... I'm in a wedding party at the end of this month. The dress is actually really nice (the bride is a very close friend and she really did try to find something we could wear "in the real world" too) but I have NO idea what to do with my hair! Besides not wanting to go uncovered in a hyper stressful situation, my hair just isn't styled these days to look "good" on it's own. I found a gauzy black/silver metallic hair tie (by goody, at target) that might work... it's thin and wont cover much, but it will cover some, keep my hair neat, and match the dress. So we'll see.