With the addition of the rainbow tights and glitter mask, the outfit was complete. You shall go to the ball!
This entire outfit cost only £25 and took just a couple of hours to put together. If you have a bit more time to find the really good bargains and put in a personal, creative touch, you too can create something truly unique and amazing!
The Power of Dressing Up
It is easy to dismiss the idea of dressing up as frivolous or as something that is “just for fun” and quite separate from any genuine connection or magickal practice. Indeed, it can be just that, and it is, of course, not in any way a required part of Faery Craft if it is something that simply does not sit well with you. However, hidden beneath the face paint and extravagant clothing there are depths to explore that yield surprising results and even practical everyday applications.
This may seem like a superficial concept until we consider the fact that ceremonial magick of invocation and classical theatre have the same roots, and that by taking on the appearance of the gods, usually through masks, actors would become more priest than player, taking on some part of that divine quality for the span of a play. Indeed, masks are still widely used within both theatre and magick, and as both a trained actor and a practitioner of magick, I can confirm that the effect in both cases is extremely powerful. Masks are fascinating objects with a power and personality of their own, which even without intent can affect the energy and behaviour of the wearer almost immediately. How, then, is putting on a costume or dressing with intent any different? Wearing face paint or particular makeup is a form of mask work and can be just as effective. In fact, if we consider the potency of energy contained within a painting done with magickal intent and then consider how that would affect an individual acting, in a way, as a living canvas, how could it not be transformative? When we combine this with the idea of forming an entire costume with this intent, we have a powerful technique that can also be a great deal of fun!
We have already seen how many people use dressing up at balls and festivals as a way of expressing their inner selves or to simply rejoice in the beauty of imagination. Let us now consider how we can harness the art of dressing up as a magickal technique for deepening our understanding and connection, and for bringing our inner elemental energies into balance.
Exercise: Dressing as the Elements
This is not a clearly instructed exercise as such but is more of a series of suggestions for you to try if you wish, as well as a commentary on the effects that I and others experienced whilst experimenting with these ideas ourselves. We have already taken an in-depth look at the elements and worked towards connecting with the different aspects of each element through contemplation. For the most part this is a passive, receptive process, connecting to our surroundings through opening our awareness and expanding our energy to join with the landscape. This results in a powerful internal process that can lead to understanding and transformative wisdom when performed regularly and with the right intent. However, let us also consider another approach that may be tried alongside these spiritual techniques. Why not transform the physical appearance in order to take on the qualities of each element?
Air
Traditionally the element of air is associated with the colours yellow, gold, and white, so you may wish to use any or all of these colours in combination for your air costume. Depending on how much of a hoarder you are, you may well find you already have things that you can use or adapt for this purpose. Also think about using makeup, face paint, or even a mask; changing your facial appearance is probably the most important part of this technique, as for the most part it is your face that transmits your personality to the world around you—it is the window to your emotions and inner thoughts. When we change that outer appearance, the most remarkable inner processes can occur! We chose to use face paint in white, silver, and gold. You do not need to be an expert to create really good effects with face paint. Here is a basic step-by-step guide.
You will need:
At least two or three colours in decent quality water-based face paints that will blend well together.
Makeup sponges. In fact, we used a cut-up dishwashing sponge for this exercise (unused, obviously)!
Brushes, at least one thicker and one for fine detail. There are special face-painting brushes available, but we just used regular artist’s paintbrushes, and they work great!
A bowl or cup of clean water.
A cloth or paper towel for blotting any excess water.
Step One
Using a damp sponge (be sure that it is not too wet, blotting any excess water if necessary), apply your foundation colour around the eyes, nose, and cheeks, including part of the forehead if you wish. In this case we used white as a foundation, a good all-purpose base colour that will help other colours to stand out, and of course very appropriate for air!
Step Two
Again using the sponge, choose another colour to bring out highlights and/or lowlights. Here we used gold around the eyes and cheeks, with a bit of silver to bring out the cheekbones. It seemed fitting for the element of air to try and sharpen the features, emphasizing bone structure.
Step Three
Using the brushes, add any details in a colour that will stand out against your
