Hi. I hope you're having a great day.😊
I just wanted to ask if anyone knew about veiling and whether an AFAB enby could do it. I saw some posts about it and I don't know much about it but I'm rather curious. Thanks.
Short answer: It's your spiritual practice and you can do what you want!
Long Answer: Religious veiling in modern paganism is a relatively new practice, and usually (but not always) pretty gender-neutral. It's ultimately up to you to decide how comfortable you are with any gendered connotations a particular type of veil might have, but if you want some more information here are some (unsourced, woops!) notes on pagan veiling from a workshop I thought a few years back.
Veiling and Pagan Reconstructionists
Some pagan reconstructionists have started veiling as part of their religious practices.
In many of the cultures that Pagan deities come from, veiling was a secular cultural activity.
Ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Celts, and the ancient Norse all required women to veil in some form or another
Often this veiling was used to indicate rank or status. In some cases, women only began to veil to show that they were married and in other cases, only upper-class women were allowed to wear veils.
While these forms of veiling were mostly secular, pagan reconstructionism frequently involves incorporating cultural, as well as the religious aspect of ancient traditions into spiritual practice. As a result, some women in reconstructionist traditions have started veiling religiously
Hellenic and Roman Veiling:
Hellenic and Roman Pagans, in particular, are known for veiling, but this isn’t just about Hellenic reconstruction
Many Hellenic and Roman Pagan veil in devotion to Hestia or Vesta, the goddesses of hearth and home
Hestia is often depicted as wearing a head covering. This is fairly unique to her as far as greek goddesses go and as a result, many of her worshipers have started veiling.
The Vestal Virgins, who tended to the temple and fires of Vesta, also wore veils. These veils were called suffibulum. They were made of long white wool, and were specifically worn during rituals and offerings.
These artistic and historical connections to veiling have led many worshipers of Hestia and Vesta to start veiling.
Many of these worshipers feel that veiling for their goddess gives them strength and helps them improve and enjoy their housework and other domestic chores.
How much time worshipers spend veiling tends to vary by person. Some veil all the time, some veil only when leaving the house, some veil when doing domestic activities as a devotional act, some veil only during rituals, and others don’t veil at all.
Many Ceremonial magickal traditions like the OTO and Golden Dawn practice veiling during rituals. While not everyone from these traditions considers themselves to be Pagan, many do, so they’re veiling practices are worth talking about.
Within the OTO or Ordo Templi Orientis, magicians wear what is referred to as “The crown”. This is a gold band with specific imagery on it that holds down a shoulder-length crimson cloth. The crown itself represents the attainment of magicians' work, and the eternal circle of perfection while the crimson cloth represents concealment, the divine kiss, and the blood of god.
In the Golden Dawn, “ritual officers”, or in other words ritualists, wear an ancient Egyptian styled veil called a Nemysses, which they stripe with the color of their mantels or quarters.
Many other ceremonial groups like to use hooded robes as a head covering during ritual to protect the magician from the outside elements. Whether or not these hoods would be considered veiling is dependent on whether or not the hood is attached to the robe or not and this can differ by group as well as status within an organization.
Some pagans aren’t Reconstructionist, Hellenic, or Ceremonialist but they still chose to veil.
Sometimes this is due to a particular deity requesting veiling as a devotional act
In other cases, it has more to do with magickal practices. For instance, some pagans veil because it allows them to create a more physical shield between them and outside energies. Many empaths in particular use veiling in this way.
Young pagan women in particular often chose to veil because it makes them feel more grown up. Head covering was historically something that a lot of women did to show that they were married or of age, so veiling can act as a nice reminder of maturity.
Others pagans chose to veil simply because it looks nice and then end up using their style in a devotional way.
Like I said, these notes are a bit old, so I apppoligize for any inaccurate or out of date info. I also didn't include any photos, since most Pagan veiling photos are personal pictures that I don't have consent to share, but I hope this helps anyway!
