#cassiachloe

Cassia Chloe captured by Transformational Eye

Locks, also known as Dreadlocks, Elf Locks, Locs, Dreads, Plica, Fairy-locks or in Sanskrit, Jaṭā, are one of the eldest hair styles in the world. Idigenious to every continent, locks are rich in history & meaning. For many they represent wisdom, protection and magic, though for each individual and culture the meaning is vastly different.

Exploring the global history of locks: 'The oldest depiction of locs is in ancient Crete, now part of Greece, in 1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization. Locked hair has also been found in mummified remains of ancient Egypt. A photograph in 1885 depicts a Native American Chief with locked hair. The style was also worn by Ancient Christian Ascetics in the Middle East and Mediterranean, and the Dervishes of Islam, among others. Some of the very earliest adherents of Christianity in the Middle East may have worn this hairstyle; there are descriptions of James the Just, first Bishop of Jerusalem, who is said to have worn them to his ankles.In Senegal, the Baye Fall, followers of the Mouride movement, a Sufi movement of Islam founded in 1887 AD by Shaykh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, are famous for growing dreadlocks and wearing multi-colored gowns. Maasai warriors are known for their long, thin, red dreadlocks, dyed with red root extracts or red ochre. Some Indigenous Australians of North West and North Central Australia have historically worn their hair in a locked style, sometimes also having long beards that are fully or partially locked. Within Tibetan Buddhism and other more esoteric forms of Buddhism, locks have occasionally been substituted for the more traditional shaved head. Rastafari movement dreadlocks are symbolic of the Lion of Judah. Their dreadlocks were inspired by the Nazarites of the Bible. In Europe the ‘Polish Plait’ or ‘plica’ is documented and depicted in the 1700’s, though dates back much further and is associated with European folklore. ‘Elflocks’ worn by Druids who were the shamans and mystics of the Celts. The earliest written record of ‘Elflocks’ in folklore comes from the 15th Century Shakespeare in 'Romeo and Juliet' worn by the gypsy girl Mercutio. ‘Elflocks’ too are discussed in Jane Eyre worn by the fortune teller. In folk-lore, ‘Elflocks’ or ‘Fairy-locks’ are thought to be made by faeries, and thought to be unlucky if combed out.'

I’ve named only a few examples of locks around the world, and they are rich in History, and I do not doubt the style is as old as humanity itself. Dreadlocks today are seen throughout the world, and more famously known as worn in both Rastafarianism and by the Sadhu Ascetic Monks in India.

In the UK, locs have long been associated with gypsies, druids and the Windrush generation of the 40’s-60s. Later, locs became an integrated part of a variety of old and new music cultures, and free music culture, as well counter-cultural and political movements.

I can recall when travelling different people’s reactions to my hair. The reaction of Cambodian people, who repeatedly asked if I was ‘voodoo’, as they felt my hair was worn only by witches, especially knowing my vegetarian diet. Where as, while traveling in China my hair was met with a lot of mistrust, so I tied my hair back with a scarf, which changed people’s reaction towards me drastically.

It doesn't matter whether or not you've had your vaccines. Everyone should have a problem with the government forcing things inside people's bodies against their will. It's rape, it's undemocratic, it's abuse of the most basic human rights. Through coercion, segregation or mandate, force is force. While I believe vaccinations have done great things for humanity, having a vaccination is a personal choice and we cannot allow individuals to be stigmatised for personal medical choices, we need to respect these basic moral principles, for that is an essential component of a decent society. 🙏🏼

Do not allow yourself to be turned against one another.

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Locks adorned with magic hand-made beads by Coco Ivy Squish www.etsy.com/shop/cocoivysquish

"Physical matter is music solidified" - Pythagoras.

finding flow, magical spaces 🌕🦢

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@cassiachloe

"The basic project of art is always to make the world whole and comprehensible, to restore it to us in all its glory and its occasional nastiness, not through argument but through feeling, and then to close the gap between you and everything that is not you, and in this way pass from feeling to meaning. It's not something that committees can do. It's not a task achieved by groups or by movements. It's done by individuals, each person mediating in some way between a sense of history and an experience of the world." Robert Hughes

Koh Rong Samloem, Cambodia

"Only the gentle are ever really strong."

James Dean

'A riot is the language of the unheard,' Martin Luther King Jr.

Contemplating the Police Crime Courts & Sentancing Bill; The death of the right to protest is the death of democracy.

Wearable art: clothing & headdress by Cassia