Nudity in ritual

[iKillCaustic]

Sanguina Cruenta

My vision's about the same as yours, maybe a little poorer. I think it would make group rituals difficult, being blind as a bat throughout xd

In one of the group rituals I attended one of the ladies decided to remove her glasses...she ended up nearly catching fire >.<
Needless to say now when she partakes in rituals she stays away from the candles while her glasses are off.  

[kyndryana3]

X-Yami-no-Ko-X

Sanguina Cruenta

The weird thing is, it sort of doesn't to me. rofl I see no particular reason why transparent bits of glass in front of my eyes that help me to see would "block" the gods off from me in any way. And yet they seem to do just that.

I wonder sometimes whether loss of vision is some sort of sacrifice to "see" in other ways.

That last part is what went through my mind. When a person is blind their other senses strengthen. It could be that They want you to use your other senses instead of relying completely on your eyes.

At least that's what I think. I know people get so depended on their eyes that they sometimes forget about their other senses (except maybe hearing. But that one's another that's taken for granted).

I notice this sort of. I'm not a hugely visual person to begin with (more likely to pay attention to scent or sound), but I do find that when I take my glasses off and can't really see clearly (I can see shapes and such just fine, everything is just blurry) I tend to not really try to pay attention to things and kind of naturally look beyond the physical.

Also, I don't know if it is because my prescription is always just a bit off, but even with the glasses on, it takes effort to focus on things properly. Not much, but a little. Not having them on feels much more natural to me.  

[Angel Bruja]

I never done a ritual nude. I suppose I could try it once. I keep my clothes on because I feel comfortable with them on.  

[iKillCaustic]

Hmm...if it wasn't for the fact that I have to deal with my parents and little brother I'd love to do a nude ritual in front of the fireplace friday next week... it's a Blue Moon.  

[Talesofbiro]

Sanguina Cruenta

kyndryana3

I forgot about glasses. I do sometimes feel moved to remove mine for rituals. My sight is good enough close up that I can still read if needed, but anything beyond arms reach is fuzzy. There are times though, where I just feel the need to take a break from them (since I wear them from pretty much waking up until going to bed). It is interesting to me though, I have rarely ever felt compelled to remove all jewelry.

My vision's about the same as yours, maybe a little poorer. I think it would make group rituals difficult, being blind as a bat throughout xd

I have yet to run into this, but the thought of the gods wanting my glasses off makes me nervous. Passed two inches everything is just a blur, while simple rituals would be doable anything complex would be difficult.  

[kyndryana3]

I was painting my nails the other day and thinking about this thread and remembering a conversation I had with some of my local Pagan friends.

What about nail polish? I have never had it bother me, but one of my friends asked if the polish interfered with working in ritual. Neither me or the other gal present have ever had problems with it. Just curious if others have thoughts on this.  

[a_little_blue_fairy]

Maybe I'm just being foolish here...but my opinion is that nail polish, glasses and/or clothes shouldn't matter in rituals, unless they matter to you.

Personally I don't think nail polish would make it more difficult to connect to the gods. But I don't like nail polish at all and don't wear it. I play the harp and some guitar and it chips off about 10 mins after I applied it...

I can imagine that taking off your clothes can bring a bit more to a ritual, on the other side; 'they' already know how I look naked. 7/8 parts of the year, the weather isn't suitable to go skyclad. Unless you've been in a hot cabin for 15 mins (sauna!) prior to running out naked into the snow.

Me and my sabbath-group celebrate the sabbaths outside if we can, preferably in a wood. Yes Yule too. Even when we have to stay home due to thunderstorms or severe raining, we try to at least celebrate in some members backyard. We almost never celebrate inside. This makes going skyclad very difficult.
Even more so; celebrating outside forces you to be really focused nature and on the weather. You can dress for rain or cold. So most of the winter time I'm wearing 5 layers of clothing, a panty hose, thin socks, thick socks, hiking boots, a thick sweater, a winter coat and a big scarf around it. A hat, a smaller scarf and gloves.
In summer times, we'll dress lighter and these are the times to really dress up, make a flower crown, sew a dress, go barefeet.

As for glasses; I need them too, although I could wear contacts. Safety first! If one wants to take away sight, one can simply close the eyes....

But this is just my 2 cent...  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

a_little_blue_fairy

As for glasses; I need them too, although I could wear contacts. Safety first! If one wants to take away sight, one can simply close the eyes....

Yeah, tried closing the eyes. Makes no difference. As I say I'm not sure what the deal is. Closing the eyes rather than following instructions and removing the glasses just seems to irritate.  

[Morgandria]

Sanguina Cruenta

a_little_blue_fairy

As for glasses; I need them too, although I could wear contacts. Safety first! If one wants to take away sight, one can simply close the eyes....

Yeah, tried closing the eyes. Makes no difference. As I say I'm not sure what the deal is. Closing the eyes rather than following instructions and removing the glasses just seems to irritate.

In my experiences with invocatory ritual, most deities will ask people to take their glasses off, or outright remove them. I found it odd, but some of them see them as a mask, and that it hides your face. They want to see directly into your eyes.

I've had to explain several times that they are a medical device, because I otherwise can't see well enough to work.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Morgandria

In my experiences with invocatory ritual, most deities will ask people to take their glasses off, or outright remove them. I found it odd, but some of them see them as a mask, and that it hides your face. They want to see directly into your eyes.

I've had to explain several times that they are a medical device, because I otherwise can't see well enough to work.

Ha, maybe I should ask for proper eyesight back if They want me to take my glasses off. xd  

[a_little_blue_fairy]

Sanguina Cruenta

Morgandria

In my experiences with invocatory ritual, most deities will ask people to take their glasses off, or outright remove them. I found it odd, but some of them see them as a mask, and that it hides your face. They want to see directly into your eyes.

I've had to explain several times that they are a medical device, because I otherwise can't see well enough to work.

Ha, maybe I should ask for proper eyesight back if They want me to take my glasses off. xd

Heh! I'd like that too... but the laser thingie scares the bejeebers out of me...  

[Moonlite__Syren]

be it because im not comfortable with my body or because ive evolved with the rest of the brain washed media sub messages and/or civilization i prefer to wear clothes. which i feel like a total black sheep since everyone in the thread has said otherwise. but i have specific ritual clothes which were made and passed to me by my deceased mother. ill wear these during serious rituals. but quick cleansing/blessing rituals i might wear my every day clothes. call me a modern witch i guess. i also have my pentacle necklace which is only worn during rituals. i dont like wearing religious based jewelry on a daily basis because i dont want to offend anyone or have to explain myself. im really in the closet when it comes to my practices. instead ill wear other things that has a personal meaning to me that supports my practices in discreet ways. like this hummingbird necklace i have. the hummingbird i feel is my spirit animal. i took the sign when i was surrounded by them during my pregnancy.  

[pompoennetje]

My clothes stay on. End.  

[X-Yami-no-Ko-X]

Moonlite__Syren

which i feel like a total black sheep since everyone in the thread has said otherwise.

Not everyone did.