Wearing White
After being an iyawo from my elekes initiation into Lucumí and wearing white from head to toe for seven days, I've felt the ashe of wearing Obatala's color and being intimately protected by it. So I want to share a bit about this practice in Orisha traditions and discuss what it means and where it comes from to clear up misconceptions and dive into an Afrocentric perspective on this color's spiritual significance.
While the mainstream and Eurocentric colors of magic and witchcraft for clothing tend to be black or deep purples and other darker hues, in many Afro-diasporic traditions the most popular color to wear is white. If you are starting down the road of Santería / Lucumí, you’ll quickly notice that it’s considered better to try to wear white or at least lighter shades in general and absolutely mandatory to wear white during certain ceremonies or for periods of time after being initiated. On the surface, it might seem problematic in the same way that white is often seen as implicitly better or more sacred in many Eurocentric contexts… read more on WordPress
