question about robe

[Crimson Stormfire]

I have noticed that the majority of not all druids robes have been represented as white,
i have a slight problem, if this is the expected color.

w\last summer i was called to make my robes, {i have the outer cloak and hood completed} when looking up pictures i only found white and that voice of calling told me white was not for me. the robe ended up black on the outside, royal purple inside. since then it seems everything i do involves those two colors in some fashion or form or shape, example i took some "model magic" {foam clay type stuff} and crafted an egg for my wife using herbs, and oils to scent and infuse it. i used colors that when combined would not make black or purple the end result? a wonderfully energetic soft foam egg in the color of deep purple....is it expected that druids robes are white or can they be of the colors that call to you? that have resonance with you? as any of you who have followed my postings may have figured out i am pulled to what i refer to as the "paths of shade shadow" maybe that has something to do with it? which brings me to the original question...are the robes white for ritual practice or can they reflect our own personal druids path as mine seem to?

[Kima]

I cannot answer you but was wondering myself whether white was the prescribed druid robe colour or simply the one that most people happen to associate with druidry. If I ever make myself a robe it will probably be more of a hooded cloak in either green or brown shades.

[Daire]

I don't know if there is an official OBOD policy, but another order I belonged to we used unbleached "natural" mulsin, linen, or cotton.

Dáire

[Corwen]

It looks nice when everyone wears the same colours and style, and people kind of expect to see Druids wearing white, but aside from that I don't think it matters. The robe is a tool to make you feel like you are having some special time aside from your normal life, and anything that fulfils that function is fine IMHO.

[shirley mclaren]

Robes are not essential I believe.

Shirley

[mantis]

I read somewhere,but i could be wrong,but the colour denots the grade.I think it was white for Druidic grade,green for ovates and brown(i think) for Bardics grade.I don't know where I read this though.

[Lily]

Some wear grade-colored tabbards over the robes that are mostly white.
Blue and green robes aren't the fashion so much. This season anyway. Let's see how that changes after the royal wedding.

Colored cloaks over white robes are more "in".
That's just the traditionalists though. Then there's the guy with the "Technicolor dreamcoat" Trousers... a sight to behold!!

[Huathe]

I cannot answer you but was wondering myself whether white was the prescribed druid robe colour or simply the one that most people happen to associate with druidry. If I ever make myself a robe it will probably be more of a hooded cloak in either green or brown shades.

I too prefer earth tones or colors. Greys, greens, browns, etc.

[Crimson Stormfire]

lots of great replies!

[mantis]

No one mentioned "skyclad".

[Lily]

No one mentioned "skyclad".

ahh. I remember the wise words of a seasonned druid in this context...

At Samhuin*, wear something blue - skin is best

* for most temperate climes, this applies to roughly 6 of 8 high festival days...

[Crimson Stormfire]

i am a little modest about skyclad closest i will get is a sarong....

back to original question tho- i appreciate all answers and have somewhat of a better understanding of the robes, its the colors that get me.....i am only called to these colors any others and i feel false,{if you catch the meaning} like i am just pretending at the throne....but in my black and purples i feel most invigorated and alive alm ost to the point of being intoxicated.....{if you catch the meaning} not like drunk with power but just whole and more aware, alive if it fancies ya.....
again thank you for all the wonderful discussion

[skh]

Don't worry.

At larger OBOD gatherings I haven't heard anything about fixed rules yet, though there's a definite mainstream in white with or without grade-coloured accessoires. But I've also seen bright red and if not black then definitely really dark brown.

If you are in a local group, they might have agreed on a dress code for group rituals or not, check with them. (I would be surprised if you found the one group with a really fixed rule that everybody must wear white, but OBOD seed groups and groves are autonomous units, so I just don't know.)

When you're alone, what feels right, is right.

peace /|\
Sonja

[Crimson Stormfire]

[Mick Hart]

(…) is it expected that druids robes are white or can they be of the colors that call to you? (…) are the robes white for ritual practice or can they reflect our own personal druids path as mine seem to?

Dear Crimson Stormfire.

I have yet to see white robes made mandatory as druidic ritual robes, and I consider amenity far more important than color in terms of apparel. However, there is a tendency that druid apparel is associated with the color white, and there is a reason for this. We know very little about the ancient druids, and thus we have sought much inspiration from the few historical records we have. One of these records is found in Naturalis Historia, a book published by Pliny the Elder around 77 AD, in the period of Classic Druidry and the Roman Empire. The last chapter of volume 16, chapter 95, describes the the ritual of oak and mistletoe, where you will find the following sentence:

Sacerdos candida veste cultus arborem scandit, falce aurea demetit, candido id excipitur sago.

According to Wikipedia this translates into: "A priest arrayed in white vestments climbs the tree and, with a golden sickle, cuts down the mistletoe, which is caught in a white cloak." I believe that it is entirely from this description that we have come to associate druids with white robes, golden sickles and mistletoe. This accociation was present in the beginning of the period of Revival Druidry, as shown in this painting by Armand Laroche (1826-1903).



A more recent and wider known example is Getafix, the druid character from the comic books of Asterix, made by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in 1959. You don't see mistletoe on the picture, but throughout the stories it is the most prominent ingredient in his reknowned strength-enhancing magic potion.



My ritual robes are white, but I do not believe it makes me a better druid than those who use different colors. From what I read it sounds like your colors are black and royal purple. Druid is as druid does.

Thank you.

[Lily]

http://www.thunderpaw.com/neocelt/DRP-HOW2_CNL.txt even says, jokingly, never to wear white...

[Reyna]

I'd run around skyclad but there's all those laws and the horrible sound of retching as I pass kinda ruins the mood

I haven't made robes yet but I just got a cloak and its black on the outside, silver on the inside. I lean more toward leather-brown but at the price (and I can't sew) it was perfect. Since I haven't been able to find anyone close to me I just use everyday street clothes. *sigh* I'm boring.

Those technicolor trousers sound awesome!

[Zylah]

I agree with the preponderance of opinion, it should be your own business what robe (if any) you wear to ritual. I have one that I love and feel exactly right in; it's reversible green with black knot pattern (which is how I've always worn it so far, except to Samhuinn, when the black goes outward) or black with green knot pattern. Here, I have a pic of it (although in this case I was at a costume party as Queen Maeve, not a ritual, and unfortunately you can't see much of the pattern; guess I need a better pic of it!):

Maeve & Caladin.jpg

(34.82 KiB) Downloaded 902 times

As you can see, my husband's robe is black, but he usually doesn't wear his at ritual. He's more atheist than druid anyway, lol!

[Merlyn]

Yes, the robe is a kind of "mood-ring". I do kind of feel the color.
If deep blue feels right then it is right. Later on after a lot of seeking I found a natural (un bleached) white cotton felt and looked right to me. My robe has a white and woven gold color fabric tabard, and a hemp rope belt. Trouble with white is that more often than not the ground is a bit damp and grasses are another problem. I elected that mud and grass stains are ok

In light.
Merlyn /|\

[Crimson Stormfire]

thank you all for your wonderful and thought provoking answers. i feel my robes are MY robes they are vested with my energy and provide me safe armor. the colors are a part of that spell i wove into the sewing of it. it is mine whole and part. i think i just got up in the old trap of fitting in again instead of going with energies as they called me to do, and sought the right answer for a question i had the answer for all along, and a special thanx to mick for helping me see it with the simple statement "druid is as druid does" my path is my path and only i walk it. thank you all sooo very much!