PBP: Week 25- Masks

Masks are powerful. There is a lot of work done using masks. From animal masks we don to take on the aspect of the animal to very realistic masks we might use on Halloween to look like a specific person. But wait, that last one isn't a magical practice, is it? I think it is. I think we use masks in way more ways than we think, and that when we recognize all the ways we use (and can use) masks, we open up a whole new arena to work within.

What is a mask? A mask is something worn on the face to disguise or make us look like something else. Masks can either hide, reveal or change the self we project to the world. Most people, when they interact with another person, focus on the face. Our face is the portal through which we shine out for the world to see. When we mask, we alter the image we project, and often this changes the way others deal with us. But masks touch us more than skin deep. They often change the way we act as we adapt to fit the mask we wear.

Masks can hide by covering up features. They can cover imperfections, like when we put on makeup to cover up a scar or blemish. They can cover insecurity, like when keep our mouth closed when we smile because we feel our teeth are unattractive. They can give us a sense of anonymity, covering up our entire being, when we veil or wear Harlequin style mask. We can use this knowledge to chose to keep hidden things we feel are private. It can also be empowering to work on revealing things we normally mask. Some things are easier to leave unmasked with strangers and others with those closest to us. Even spending time alone and completely unmasked and dealing with our bare selves (by spending time meditating with our own reflection, focusing on the parts we normally avoid or mask) can bring a lot of compassion back towards ourselves (which can be the one person in our life we may be the harshest towards).

Masks can also reveal things that may not be obvious. We all have many pieces in side of us. Most of us have different parts that hide or reveal depending on who we are with. I expose different parts of my self when with family versus friends. Learning to call up specific parts of our selves at need is a very powerful tool to have at our disposal. Likewise, learning to set aside masks we have donned for our own protection can help us grow beyond past trauma's and defenses.

Masks can transform us into things we don't feel we are (or things we want to cultivate more of). I believe we have a tiny bit of everything within us, so even when I am working with something I feel I have almost no innate capability for, I am confident that there is the tiniest spark of it somewhere inside me, I just have to find it and call it out. But masking can help us to build up these tiny pieces by creating a bigger place to express them from.

Most of us would not want to walk around wearing a physical mask all the time, and luckily we don't have to. We can build and don energetic masks that will work just as well. When we start it might be helpful to build a physical mask and practice using it. We can use these physical masks in rituals designed to help us take on the traits they represent. If you have people who would be interested in masking rituals, you can get a group together and everyone can build (or bring) a mask, and you can interact with others and get feedback on what they felt from you. The more you work with a mask, the more you learn how to call up those pieces within you. As you get more familiar with them, you may find that you don't need the physical mask anymore to call up the energy within you.

You can also tie the mask into another (less obvious) item while you are learning to work with it. If you do not feel you are confident enough to express yourself in a job interview and are working with a mask to be able to show that you are a good and talented worker, you probably don't want to wear the mask to the interview. However you can tie that energy into a piece of jewelry or an outfit, and use the other items to draw upon the energy of the mask. When you are working with the mask at home, make sure you wear the other item that you will be wearing for your interview so that the two become energetically bound. Make a ritual about putting them on and taking them off (put the mask on last and take it off first). Then, when you dress for the interview, instead of putting the mask on you, place it on your altar or another place of power (in front of a mirror, on the pillow of your bed, hanging from your clothes closet).