Non-pagans, and some neopagans, give special attention to the issue of nudity in neopagan culture. Some get a vicarious thrill out of it while others prefer to use nudity as a warning beacon for the lack of morality among modern pagans. Both of these attitudes are misplaced.
Titillation and judgment alike are rooted in immature or distorted attitudes about sex. Specifically, they stem from the presumption that nudity equals sex, and that sex is bad, dirty, or evil. The image in their minds of a few (or a few hundred) naked pagans frequently conjures fantasies of group sex, or people pairing off for sexual activity within sight of everyone else.
Equating nudity with sex is like equating cows with hamburgers. Generally speaking, sex often involves nudity and hamburgers involve cows more often than not. But people experience nudity in non-sexual situations and many cows never become hamburgers. For instance, except for a few radically shame-driven people, all of us take baths or showers naked. Certain medical procedures require nudity, and art classes all over the world employ nude models for life-drawing, painting, photography and sculpture classes.
Anyone who has enjoyed social nudity with friends in a hot tub or attended a nudist event knows better than to equate nudity with sex. The same goes for anyone who has attended or modeled for art classes. Nudist/naturist literature is replete with near–and sometimes not so near–paranoia about sex or the perception of sex in recreational settings. In fact, nudists are often more conservative sexually than the general population.
For nudists (who like to go naked wherever they can) and naturists (who restrict their nude activities to resorts, camping events, hot springs and beaches) nudity is about comfort, freedom and liberation of the psyche. It is relaxing. It helps them feel more connected to the environment and more in touch with themselves. All of these apply equally to pagans who practice nudity in their private lives or in ritual.
Pagans have other reasons for nudity, particularly in ritual. For a few it is a matter of dogma. Gerald Gardner (or the Charge of the Goddess, or simply tradition) says nudity is mandatory. Gardner rationalized ritual nudity by claiming that robes or clothes impede the energy coveners raise from their bodies. That is silly. The magical energy is supposed to work over long distances (and transcend time), through house and apartment walls, forests, mountains and any other natural barrier, so a few microns of fabric are hardly going to stop it.
Others claim that nudity dissolves class and social differences. That is debatable, but least when everyone is naked they are equally exposed.
In SoulCraft, the reasons for ritual nudity are multi-faceted.
• Sadly, we are embedded in a culture that is largely driven by "values" that view the body as shameful, dirty and even dangerous. Mainstream religion is a major conduit for these ideas, but they have leaked out of the domain of religion to poison most of the non-religious people in our society as well.
SoulCraft opposes this demeaning aspect of our culture. We view these attitudes as injurious and degrading. They promote false shame and guilt and cause untold anxiety in millions of people, interfering with healthy psycho-social development and harming relationships.
Gymnophobia (the fear of nudity) creates major stress in many marriages, most commonly those in strict, controlling religions. Demonizing the body is a common tactic hyper-religious bigots use to control the people in their congregations and to level charges of immorality against popular targets. This shame-based loathing of the body fuels useless and repressive acts by people in our government to suppress freedom of expression in the arts, in political speech and in recreation. The shame-inducing and fear-mongering politicos and religious zealots use nudity as a key issue in their efforts to control everything from private behavior to what they deem "inappropriate" or even dangerous content in the media, the performing arts and even in the doctor's office.
SoulCraft believes it is vital to disconnect ourselves from the culture of false shame and guilt for the sake of our mental health and our ability to function as reasonable people. We do this by directly confronting our internalized conditioning through the requirement of nudity during basic training in our tradition. Only by practicing and experiencing nudity in a safe environment can we rid ourselves of the insidious effects of false shame and guilt and free ourselves to use our energy in more constructive ways.
Policy may vary from group to group within SoulCraft after the training period. Some groups may wish to make ritual nudity mandatory while others may not.
• SoulCraft reveres nature, and the human body in it's natural state is perfectly normal. So whenever it is possible, nudity is always a personal option. No justification is necessary.
• Naked people cannot lie about their physical history. Their general condition is there for all to see, as are scars from surgery or past injuries and all of the other imperfections that tell the stories of their lives.
• Because one cannot hide their imperfections or clues to their physical history, nudity forces people to come to terms with those aspects of themselves. This results in more honest self-perception and presentation to others, and promotes self-esteem that is based in truth (and having come to terms with that truth) rather than pop-psychological crutches and props.
• The more one experiences the benefits of personal transparency the more that transparency migrates into the rest of one's life, reducing or eliminating falsely perceived needs for deception at work or in other relationships.
• When personal acceptance and self-honesty are achieved, the energy that was bound up in self-deception, unnecessary guilt and shame is available for more healthy and constructive uses.
• Greater self-honesty and more honest presentation to others results in clearer communications. This deepens trust and intimacy and improves the strength and quality of one's relationships. In turn, all of this fosters exceptional personal and group integrity and creates a deeper sense of acceptance and belonging.
• Better communication, deeper trust and stronger intimacy improve the quality of a group's ritual and magical work.
• For many of the classical cultures nudity symbolized, or even signified, spiritual purity.
• In Egyptian iconography Maat, the goddess of truth, is often depicted naked. This may relate to the origins of the expression, "the naked truth," but even if it does not it illustrates that one who has the truth in them has nothing to hide.
• In a related vein to the previous two items, one may hold the opinion or belief that one should approach the gods and goddesses as one was created, though exceptions may be made for wearing glasses or bringing prosthetics or whatever one needs to function with them into the circle.
• Ritually approaching the deities naked is also an act of fundamental trust and honesty. Being naked physically and psychologically makes us most vulnerable, and exposing that vulnerability is the ultimate act of respect and trust.
• The ritual circle represents, among other things, a boundary between worlds. Every ritual involves sacrifice at some level, and entering the circle, where change is effected, is analogous to entering the underworld or the cauldron. When we enter a ritual circle we are offering ourselves as a sacrifice. If we leave the circle unchanged, then we have accomplished nothing. But if we are changed, even in a small way, then some part of us has died, while another part has been born or reborn.
So entering the ritual circle is always in part a reflection of the descent of the Goddess into the underworld. Specifically in SoulCraft, it is a reflection of the descent of Inanna, who had to give up everything, all of her possessions, titles, and authority. She had to approach the last gate to the underworld naked, with nothing but her body and her name, and then she had to give those up, dying and having her body hung on a meat hook.
We enter the circle and approach the Mysteries in the same way, bringing nothing but ourselves, unadorned as we can be.
There have not been many studies on the psychological effects of nudism, but the few that have been done indicate that casual or social nudity promotes improved self-esteem and self-confidence and generally results in an integrated and balanced personality. Children who grow up in homes where nudity is common or where it is not stigmatized grow up with healthier perspectives about sex. They have healthier attitudes about bodies and are more accepting of other people's differences.
Contrary to the secret hopes and public fears of those who equate nudity with sex, healthy nudism does not degrade morals or lead to perversion. Instead, it cultivates stable and mature attitudes towards sex and better mental health, while it encourages better physical health.
Ritual nudity promotes openness, honesty and cohesion in a group. It reinforces individual and group identity and acts as a natural guard against egotism. It also functions symbolically and psychologically as an act of trust and of the personal sacrifice that is necessary for magical work The physical vulnerability of being naked opens channels to emotional, psychological and psychic vulnerability that are often not otherwise reached. And that vulnerability is where magical work takes place.