What is ‘skyclad’?
According to Wikipedia:
In Wicca and Paganism/Neo-paganism, the term skyclad is used to refer to ritual nudity. Some Wiccan groups, or Traditions, perform some or all of their rituals skyclad.
Right, you probably wonder why I made you read that.
Pagans
I’m a Pagan. Pagans are folks who don’t follow any of the large religions with just one god. Enough of that, though, this post is about being skyclad. Being nude, obviously, clothed in sky.
And this is a way how pagans can perform their rituals. Skyclad.
Not all of them do. It’s a matter of choice.
Why do I bring this up? Well, on the friend of all naturists and nudists, Facebook (I’ll wait for all the laughter and boo-calls to end now…) I had an interesting discussion with a Wiccan friend of mine concerning burkinis.
You know, those unfriendly slabs of cloth that Islamic women can wear to beaches. She said that she was in favour of them because that way those women could go to the beach if they wanted. “Because everyone has the right to go to the beach the way they want.”
I asked her how she felt about nude beaches. Her response was that such a thing wasn’t right, because “at some point there is enough naked flesh“.
This of course made me ask her how that mixed with her previous statement about having the right to go to the beach the way you want. This, she said, was a matter of common decency. Because being naked wasn’t decent. (Note that I know she has done plenty of skyclad rituals.)
The minds of people and their attitude towards our lifestyle keep surprising me. Even someone who isn’t against nudity in one form can pull back from nudity in another form.
Safety
I think it has to do with safety. Someone who engages in a nude ritual does so with people (s)he knows, feels safe with. People like us, who engage in nude life do so with people we know and feel safe with. We have the advantage here because we don’t have such a tiny group of people we dare to trust.
Naturists and nudists are nude for (mostly) a common goal: not wearing clothes. For feeling free. For experiencing nature in the most optimal way. The way I like to do that is having nude walks. As many as I can. Along beaches, in forests, in the mountains. As long as I can feel the air on me, move without being hindered by cloth and such.
I wonder if you, the reader of this piece, have experiences with people who condone nudity in one way but are very opposed to it the other way. I’d like to hear about them.
And in the mean time: stay happy, be nude as much as you can.