tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post1638278491264491342..comments2024-02-26T08:43:47.488-08:00Comments on Domesticated: Symbolism, Fashion Statements, Pentacles & PentagramsThe HouseCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-16214720757306025172015-01-17T09:26:49.771-08:002015-01-17T09:26:49.771-08:00I agree with you entirelyI agree with you entirelyThe HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-79421363467279474482013-04-04T09:27:52.374-07:002013-04-04T09:27:52.374-07:00The only religious symbols I regularly wear are my...The only religious symbols I regularly wear are my pentacles and pentagrams. I have an elemental knot-work cross, but I think it looks too Christian and rarely wear it. <br /><br />I tend to tie a scarf around my head when it's windy - a lot of older women do it here, and I think it's been a practical solution to wind + long hair for a while. I guess a lot depends on what you are tying around your hair, why you are doing it. If I'm wrapped up in all my outdoor gear and it's rather windy, having a scarf around my head with a quick knot is probably not going to misconstrued, especially in a place where it is quite frequently done. I also tend to put a scarf around my head when doing my makeup because a ponytail doesn't keep my fringe out of my way, but I don't wear it like that out of my bedroom or bathroom (although I did wrap my hair up for a make-up tutorial, with some random beady necklace tied up in it because I wanted to make an effort to be decorative for my blog). <br /><br />Head coverings for religious reasons are usually a specific style depending on the religion, and are done by various Muslim, Christian and Jewish groups, and I try to avoid those styles. The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-7986251725842665442013-04-03T17:21:28.636-07:002013-04-03T17:21:28.636-07:00I just figured I'd leave my two cents on the m...I just figured I'd leave my two cents on the matter of an old post here. I'm not a fan of misplaced religious symbolism, even in simple crosses. It seems to end up as being seen as decoration or a statement by those who wear them, and subsequently outside folks might grow to associate an alternative person wearing a cross as a person disrespecting a religious symbol, whether they belong to the religion/mean no harm or not. Of course there's the matter to ignorance to what you're wearing communicates to people around you in general and not knowing what a pentagram or pentacle is.<br /><br />Personally, my one religious piece (though I consider myself agnostic) is a simple, wooden necklace with a wooden ankh pendant, mainly because an ankh is hard to be misunderstood by onlookers if they know what it is and due to a deeply rooted fascination with ancient Egyptian symbolism and culture that I've had since childhood. It's the only one I consider acceptable for me to wear personally<br />I was rather uncomfortable in a shop the other day when my father insisted I go in with him (babybat here) while I had a small sarong wrapped around my head due to hair dying. I felt like it would be misinterpreted if not just seen as silly by the people in the store, but got no comments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-37001656796704412012012-09-03T21:18:01.873-07:002012-09-03T21:18:01.873-07:00I totally agree with you. If you don't know w...I totally agree with you. If you don't know what the symbol represents/agree with it, then don't wear it, the same goes for pagan jewelry. As a pagan, I hate it when I see people wear a pentagram, and have no idea what it represents, but wear it just because it looks 'alternative', or 'shocking'. A lot of people already think that pagans sacrifice animals to Satan, we don't need any more misguided information about our group.Kaguyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05571111853872128194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-20841939172116595652012-09-02T09:09:11.882-07:002012-09-02T09:09:11.882-07:00Sorry for the late response! I accidentally missed...Sorry for the late response! I accidentally missed your comment. Thank-you for reading :)<br /><br />The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-62973527098471079292012-09-02T09:08:16.653-07:002012-09-02T09:08:16.653-07:00I'm not sure how one can wear something like a...I'm not sure how one can wear something like a swastika in an ironic manner. Yes, it's possible to use Nazis in a satirical manner (such as in Iron Sky, where there's a very good Sarah Palin parody too...) but to wear them in public? I'm not sure the majority of people will see any irony or satire, and will see either an attempt at being shocking or support for Nazis. <br /><br />The concept of the material elements and the spiritual in harmony that is embodied in the pentacle is special to me, and I wear at least one pentacle ring and my necklace at all times. The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-60270538005673433102012-08-27T04:02:12.072-07:002012-08-27T04:02:12.072-07:00Interesting to read of your perspective :)
Peopl...Interesting to read of your perspective :) <br /><br />People wearing swastikas drives me nuts, too, as do people turning up at the Goth club in S.S. uniforms... The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-13104888034899319502012-08-27T04:00:42.070-07:002012-08-27T04:00:42.070-07:00I went to a church school, and we were expected to...I went to a church school, and we were expected to wear discreet crosses, nothing flashy, as there, too, it was considered ostentatious (at a school with three clashing colours in stripes on their blazers...).<br /><br />I don't get how you can wear something as an ironic statement. <br /><br />The worst problem with the "cartoon Satanism" interpretation is when people really believe that I engage in that sort of behaviour, and then won't listen to reason when I try to explain that I don't. I've been called "Whore of Babylon" in the street and continually get total strangers telling me to repent of my sins, asking if I know about Jesus, etc, as if I have be either ignorant of Christianity or practising its antithesis. Note that cartoon Satanism is a deliberately perverted denomination of Christianity - it acknowledges all the same divine beings and theology, just chooses to worship a different figure within that theology. The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-82873573469885939842012-08-27T03:55:01.346-07:002012-08-27T03:55:01.346-07:00You raise an interesting point. I think there defi...You raise an interesting point. I think there definitely needs to be differentiation between people wearing something because of a personal connection (like you wearing a cross or Madame Mari Mortem's rosary) and people who are either wearing something to be trendy or wearing something with the intent of hijacking the symbolism or co-opting it for shock value. <br /><br />I think if you wear something, you have to remember the context you'll be wearing it in, and people assuming you're into fetish for wearing a collar with O-ring or a Catholic for wearing a rosary sort of comes with the territory. The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-44143559237535631682012-08-27T03:51:26.596-07:002012-08-27T03:51:26.596-07:00Crosses, as a very easy symbol to incise, have bee...Crosses, as a very easy symbol to incise, have been around for millennia, and certainly predate their Christian use. I think a Christian cross is only a symbol of guilt and oppression to someone who has had predominantly negative encounters with Christianity - I'm sure there's quite a few people who see it as symbol of hope in Christ. Whether we agree with them religiously or not is a personal matter. <br /><br />To you, I guess, a rosary is symbol of family, and the Catholic heritage of your grandmother, and thus something meaningful, not something simply being worn because it's trendy. <br /><br />If you're interested in Neo-Pagan and Wiccan history, I recommend the book "Triumph of the Moon" by Prof. Ron. Hutton - it's very interesting! <br /><br />I've been tagged several times for these awards; I'm not sure whether I'm really into partaking in it as a circular, but I appreciate the sentiment. <br />The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-71114196107131376582012-08-25T19:12:30.718-07:002012-08-25T19:12:30.718-07:00So so so so so so agree!!!!!!So so so so so so agree!!!!!!Elizabeth_Bethezdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01488447492356797855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-64527322499310244042012-08-24T12:00:21.000-07:002012-08-24T12:00:21.000-07:00Interesting post. I went to a Catholic school and ...Interesting post. I went to a Catholic school and I recall the nuns getting very upset should any of the kids slip their rosary over their necks. In the community that I grew up in, wearing anything bigger than a tiny gold or silver cross necklace (inside your shirt, no less) was considered to be ostentatious and disrespectful. I really don't wear crosses too much, but I tend to think that lots of people wear them ironically.<br /><br />Once upon a time I was a practicing Wiccan, too, and I appreciate your points about pentacles. Very annoying to have people assuming they have anything to do with cartoon Satanism. As time has gone by, I've become more completely atheistic, but I still sympathize most with Wiccan/ Neo-Pagan perspectives. Still, I occasionally wear a pentacle for its representation of the four elements surmounted by spirit. <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-63152265843140135342012-08-24T06:48:39.202-07:002012-08-24T06:48:39.202-07:00I agree with you about not taking other group'...I agree with you about not taking other group's symbols and using them out of context inappropriately. I don't personally get upset when I see people wearing crosses/crucifixes a part of fashion, even though I'm Catholic- at this point if I see someone dressed in a non-mainstream fashion and wearing a cross I assume it's just for fashion. At the same time, I don't wear the symbol myself because I don't know if I'd be wearing it as a religious symbol or a fashion statement and for some reason that bothers me.<br />People wearing swastikas drives me nuts though. Lizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08396164170206850260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-88319628254371728462012-08-24T03:31:13.159-07:002012-08-24T03:31:13.159-07:00This is really interesting. Swatikas always make m...This is really interesting. Swatikas always make me uncomfortable even when people try to wear them ironically, and i never would. I used to have pentagram earrings but I no longer have them, and while I am attracted to the power and meaning of the symbol, it does not mean as much to me as say the ankh, which has a myriad of meanings for me, both magical and personal.Laura Morriganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16402692693911867276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-69978599128104956962012-08-23T21:29:50.283-07:002012-08-23T21:29:50.283-07:00Personally, I'm actually very irritated (and e...Personally, I'm actually very irritated (and even offended) by those who hijack symbols and try to change their meaning. I once cam across a post insisting that the Peterine/Inverted cross was a Satanic symbol simply because that's how society now views it and society's view of the symbol negates its' original meaning! <br /><br />Personally, I try to avoid wearing symbols for movements I don't agree with -- or even those I do agree with that have been hijacked simply because I don't feel like explaining their actual meaning to those who are ignorant of it. Despite this, I regularly wear a cross necklace, even though I'm not Christian because of the emotional meaning it holds to me -- because my mother is a very strong Catholic and wearing them reminds me of the times I've gone to mass with her (which were really important moments to me...)<br /><br />So, I feel there ought to be a little bit of leeway about the whole symbol thing... One shouldn't HIJACK the meaning of a symbol and try to portray it as something it's not but if a certain symbol holds an important emotional meaning to someone then I see no problem with them wearing it... As long as they're not offended when people make an assumption about them for wearing it! (For example, a post on the "goth problems" tumblr complaining about people assuming they were Catholic for wearing a Rosary!) RK Canaanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369643770688375438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-45463525990986458252012-08-23T16:40:02.561-07:002012-08-23T16:40:02.561-07:00I've been known to "pilfer" the cros...I've been known to "pilfer" the cross symbolism from time to time. Very truthfully, I find it to be most beautiful and admittedly know very little about it-- enough to know that the cross didn't originally come from christian/catholic religion, and it is no longer a symbol of guilt and oppression. <br /><br />Wearing rosaries comes so naturally to me, since my mother grew up with them and eventually I did. I wore them before I really considered them goth. They make me feel at home.<br /><br />The ironic thing about that is both my mother and I believe in Paganistic views-- she taught me as her grandmother taught her, but her mother was fiercely catholic. <br />I consider myself a student of Wicca. Like you, it irks me to hear that the symbolism is taken for "black magic" and "satanism", when really I find that the same openess and forgiveness that is preached in the bible runs along the same lines as in the Rede.<br /><br />I realize they're not the same, and have extensive friction in history. But I'm a huge believer of forgiveness, and if those mutual views were connected by all-- the world will be a little less stressful.<br /><br />That's my take, anyway.<br /><br />(btw I tagged you in my blog for liebster)<br />Madame Mari Mortemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14092879436628518422noreply@blogger.com