Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Nudity...

| |

Going skyclad is something that scares the bejebus out of a great many Pagans. Not because we have some belief that it is wrong to be naked, to have sex etc, but because of our own body image. Many of us come from Judea-Christian backgrounds, which means lingering in the back of our heads we do have that "OMG we can't be naked being naked is WRONG" lingering but for many of us it actually boils down to our own body images. We see ourselves naked and go "What God/ess would want to have that naked in front of them." Which frankly is a bit daft. We are the imperfect children of them, why wouldn't they delight in our bodies? So, what does this mean?

It means we need to work on our body image. I am the first to say I have serious issues with my body. I don't even like to bathe naked, let alone do a ritual naked. I'm working on it though. Here's how.

My ritual goes much like this. I stand in front of my mirror, often naked sometimes not, and focus on my body. As negative thoughts come in I arrest them. Stop them in their tracks and make myself focus on something else instead. For example, typically I stare at my face and see my teeth, my bearded chin, my mustache, and go "UGH I am so not the beauteous woman I should be." I stop myself. Frankly I am pretty.
I have to arrest those thoughts, put them in chains and bury them down. Instead I make myself focus on what I love about my face. My lips. They curve in a delightful arch, they are ripe they perhaps don't smile as often as they should but when they do it is stunning. I have been told my lips are extremely kissable. This is what I have to say to myself to retrain my dendrites to produce happy thoughts instead of negativity.

I then focus on my eyes. They are a deep dark brown. Very pretty actually. With sometimes golden flecks and occasionally when the light is right and my mood is perfect they are purple. Amazing.

All this has to be done, so you can "re train" your body to see the beauty in yourself. When you look in the mirror and you see the big belly, instead of that see the stretch marks as "These came from my beautiful daughter, what an amazing gift."

In short, try small rituals out skyclad. Work on not feeling so awkward naked. You are beautiful stunning and amazing just the way you are.


7 comments:

top
Unknown said...

Thank you for this. I really needed to hear this and I am totally going to start my sky-clad baby steps.

Being Pagan said...

Thank you, please share how you do!

Azi Loy said...

Thank you I will also start ny skyclad steps to doing rituals this way. :)

Being Pagan said...

I am so proud of both of you!

Zanna Russell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zanna Russell said...

Very nicely done. I heartily endorse coming to terms with and learning to love the body you have.

Gerald Gardner was a nudist (which is I'm sure how it ended up in the Craft) and it was a big deal back in the day to shed one's clothing in the harsh gaze of the still-lingering Victorian sensibilities. It is probably as much as a big deal today for those coming from Christianity to Paganism, so if it helps, think of your journey in historical terms if you like. Think about how it must have been for the Priests and Priestesses that came before you to learn to be okay with shedding their clothing in the mixed company of a circle.

There are all kinds of rationals for working skyclad. Everything from "it's just part of our Trad" to the BS of "one's magick is impeded by clothing and our hair must be lose and free." The first explanation I can understand completely - if it's part of your Trad, it's part of your Trad, and you are connecting to all of those in your Trad who have gone before. But the second one (which I've actually had said to me) is utter crap. If we can send out our magick through time, space, and distance, a ponytail and a robe isn't going to slow it down any. Seriously, try feeding that line to the Ceremonial Magicians and the Kabbalists.

So be clear about why you are choosing to work skyclad. Are you doing it because Doreen Valiente's "Charge of the Goddess" says you should be naked in all of your rites and that this is a sign that you are truly free? Are you doing it because the Trad you joined says that it's part of what they do? Are you doing it because you want to or because you think you should? As with so many things, do it because you want to, not because someone else says that you should or that "you're not a real Witch" if you don't.

Life is cyclical. There sometimes comes a point where nude is no longer special, it's just sans clothing. I've talked other Witches and Wiccans about this, and while your mileage may vary, most of those with whom I've had this discussion agree that for those of us who have been working skyclad for years, and have vacationed at Harbin and other clothing-optional spots, being robed feels delicious, and standing in a circle of black-robed coven-mates feels as special as skyclad used to. There is a learning curve, though. After years of not worrying about setting oneself on fire, there are new considerations that need to be taken into account, LOL.

Blessed Be.
Z~

Unknown said...

Just sae this today, snd I just wanna say somerhing along these lines. A good body image is everything. If y(u dont like your body, then othets will pick up on that. Just be positive.

This will be easier for some, bit harder for others. For example, I was billied for 12 yeats straight, in school and out of it. I learned to ignore what other people said early on. I learned to be happy with my body.

I know im not perfect, but my imperfections make me who I am. And quite honestly, I wouldn't trade my body for another for any reason.

So just remember. Be proud of who you are, because no matter what othets say about yiu, or how you look, you are always beautiful.

PS im talking to everybody there, not just fridr. Ive learnef to see beauty in everything, because no mattet what, the beauty is thete, just waiting to be seen.

Post a Comment

Pagan Blog Project

Pagan Blog Project
Check out all the amazing bloggers

Followers

Powered by Blogger.
 
 

BeingPagan | Designed by: Compartidísimo
Images by: Scrappingmar©