Walking the border


A Wednesday extra for you

I was distracted yesterday, sort of like getting thunked in the head with a sopping wet beach towel just before having to get up on stage and tell people How I Spent My Summer Vacation. So I'm going to give an extra this week inspired by Lupa (Thanks!), who was kind and patient enough to respond to my scatterbrained scribbling yesterday.

See, I think there's a time and place for everything. There are faiths in America today that you can recognize by the clothes that they wear, Orthodox Jews, Sikhs, Mennonites, and so on.

And then there are some Neopagans.

I won't kid you, I don't think the ritual garb belongs outside the ritual. It reminds me of the old SCA bit of freaking the mundanes more than anything else. There's a time a and place for it. Most Paganism shouldn't be for the shock value.

Now, I say this as one of those who gets called to clean up. I'm not above using some theatrics of my own if the situation demands it, in fact, it can be quite effective. But small gestures can be made large by context.

When I work alone, yeah, I usually shuck the clothes. And I have been experimenting with body paint. But unless people are very accepting, that would get me arrested if I tried it with other people around.

Usually I don't look all that different than anyone else. Slacks, polo shirt, glasses, closely trimmed beard. It's only when you look closer that things begin to stand out. My hair length for one, usually it's tied up in a loop I call a bear tail, but it ranges from shoulder length to between my shoulder blades. I wear a pendent tied tight around my neck choker style so the pendent hangs just over my throat chakra, I used to put them on black leather but my sweat would rot the leather, black satin works better. I wear a large Celtic design belt buckle on a plain wide black belt. Sometimes I wear rings, but my fingers don't always cooperate.

So if I need to "make a Pagan impression," I can do three things before the actual rite that tells people that they are dealing with something unusual. I undo the slipknot on my pendent so it hangs above my heart. I undo my hair and let it flow free. And I blow on my hands. That last bit works even better if I take a long sip of water and expel it over my hands, but I don't always have water close at hand and it can be a little messy. Within a moment or two, these "quiet gestures" take people to the edge of their comfort zone and prepare them for what can happen.

I can do more if I need to.

Yes, it's manipulative. Yes, it's showmanship. Yes, it's basic psychology. But usually by the time I get involved, people don't know what else to do. They're not looking for a "weirdo," they're looking for help. What gives people faith in what I do (and makes my job much easier) is my ability to shift from one frame of reference to another and bring them along.

I couldn't do that if I wore ritual robes all the time and a five inch pentagram. I doubt if I could do it if I had visible tattoos. My old ritual scars used to cause a lot of problem with that, that's one reason I got into the habit of wearing t-shirts under my polo shirts. That and my nipples are a little on the dark side and can show through one layer of pale fabrics.

I guess what I am saying is that my Pagan identity doesn't depend on shocking people out of their reality. And when they do need to face their own edges, simple moves in context will take them further and with trust than any ritual garb worn as a costume.

I started in their world and I opened the gates.

Posted: Wed - February 25, 2009 at 03:30 PM
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