(no subject)

[darchildre]

Also. You guys, it is Halloween! Happy Halloween!

Halloween, for me, is about a lot of things and which one I'm focused on depends on the year and how I feel when the holiday rolls around. There's the horror aspect, of course, the ghoulies and ghosties and my beautiful monsters, which is always lovely. And there's the dead aspect and the honoring of one's own dead and Little Miss Heathen over here says that there is never a bad time to honor your ancestors.

This year, I find myself thinking about masks. And I find myself, as I often do, thinking about Loki. (Warning: UPG ahead.) I've been thinking about him as shapeshifter, as liar - which are, of course, ways of wearing masks. And the thing about Loki is that he is a liar, yes, and he is one that wears masks, but he's also a god who tells the truth when you don't want to hear it (but need to). Because he's a trickster, and trickster is for paradox and liminal spaces.

And so I've been thinking about masks as a way to tell the truth. People keep asking me, "Are you dressing up for Halloween?" and my first response is surprise because of course I am, why wouldn't I be? And then they ask me what I'm dressing up as and I have to fumble for a minute because the correct answer is "I'm dressing up as me."

This year, for me, Halloween is about being who you are, or want to be, or are afraid to be. Just for one night.

Here, have a song. Oysterband, On the Road to Santiago

Comments

[silveradept]

That's always the appeal of the day to me, as well - it's the one day of the year where it's okay to be exactly who you are, whether that's a superhero from a 70s television show or the authentic person that you've always been afraid to let out.