Do you consider yourself a “touchy-feely” person? You can use your sense of touch to enhance your magick. Remember, the more you engage your senses and your imagination, the more power you put behind a spell. Witches often wear special clothing when performing rituals: rich velvet or tapestry robes, long flowing dresses, or Renaissance garb, for example. Dressing for the occasion separates the event from everyday activities and sets the tone for magickal workings, just as dressing up in evening clothes makes you feel different than wearing jeans or a business suit. Notice how you feel when you don various types of clothing and the sensations you experience when different fabrics touch your skin.

Some witches practice skyclad (naked), others prefer to wear robes, masks, and various accouterments. Some covens use special markings or colors to indicate different things, such as the season, the purpose of the ritual, or a person's level of achievement in that group.

Costumes and masks play roles in sympathetic magick, too, whereby a person “becomes” what the costume represents in the sacred space. Consider the medicine man who puts on the mask of an honored tribal spirit before going to a healing ritual. Participants no longer see a friend or family member; they see the face of a spirit. Thus, robes and costumes provide an extrasensory dimension in ritual practice.

Astrological Correspondences

Just as colors are connected with the four elements and the astrological signs, so are fabrics. Some of the correspondences in the following list are obvious; leather, for instance, relates to Taurus, the bull. Others are based on the similarities between the characteristics of the material and those of the sign. Virgo is a practical, unassuming sign and those qualities also pertain to canvas cloth.

When celebrating a ritual, you might choose to wear fabrics associated with the prevailing zodiac energies in order to attune yourself to the time. Yule, for instance, is the perfect time to don a mohair cape. Or dress in materials that either emphasize or complement your own astrological attributes.