Holistic Spirituality
Color Choices in Gyms
While there are online articles on suitable colors to be worn for training in gyms, the reality is that most people will wear black. I base this on gyms I have trained in on the east and west coasts of America as well as a couple of the flyover states along with Sydney. It’s not hard to see why – black is slimming and looks fantastic.
My preference is for well-equipped gyms with lots of free weights and machines for variety. I’m not really interested in anything else, such as pools, basketball courts, and so on. Different people have different needs and so their preferences will vary from mine.
I consider Gold’s Gym Venice, CA, to be the very best gym I have ever trained in but there are a number of others which aren’t too far off. One of them is the Palm Springs gym I have been training in, on and off for the last few years.
The Palm Springs gym is a rather unique gym and I would estimate that roughly 90% of members are gay males. They have the largest stream room I have ever seen and I am told that a number of members do not use the gym equipment at all. The gym is almost empty in the early evening so workouts can be very quick and effective. I had noticed that there was less emphasis on wearing black in the gym but hadn’t given it too much thought.
Planetary Colors
I work with the planets on a daily basis, and a component of this is wearing the color corresponding to the day. While there are numerous correspondences for the planets, the ones I have experience with are the Queen Scale from 777 and my colors from Graeco-Egyptian Magick.
Day Planet Queen Scale GEM
Monday Moon Violet Silver / Gray
Tuesday Mars Scarlet red Red
Wednesday Mercury Orange Orange
Thursday Jupiter Blue Purple
Friday Venus Emerald Blue
Saturday Saturn Black Black
Sunday Sun Yellow gold Gold / Yellow
For the past five years I have been on a theurgy panel which is recorded on Fridays. I have been on most of the panels. Another panel member, Brandy Williams [author, teacher, priestess, initiator into the mysteries] always wears green to the panels while I wear blue, leading to good natured cries of “team green” and “team blue.” The point is that both of us are harmonizing with the Venusian energies of the day, but are going about it using different colors, fragrances and invocations.
The Gay Handkerchief Code
In the 1960s and 1970s gay men started using handkerchiefs to “not only to signify their roles but also their sexual preferences and fetishes. Initially, the colors were limited to black, blue, yellow, red, and white – the colors most handkerchief companies produced. However, as we moved into the 1980s, the Handkerchief Code expanded to include a broader spectrum of colors and materials. … The left pocket typically signifies a dominant or ‘top’ role, while the right pocket signals a submissive or ‘bottom’ role.”
The controversial 1980 movie, Cruising, is about a cop who goes undercover to catch a serial killer targeting gay men, associated with the hardcore leather scene in the late 1970s. In one scene Al Pacino goes into a shop to learn about the Handkerchief Code. This is still available on YouTube.
Partying in inner city Sydney in the 1990s, I’d see the leather men wearing their handkerchiefs. It made so much sense as it took the guesswork out of finding trade [a “companion”] for the night.
Modern Take on the Gay Handkerchief Code
I naively thought that the handkerchief code was a relic of the late 20th century and was but a dim memory. A friend in my Palm Springs gym, Patrick, informed me that many of the guys were currently incorporating the colors into the clothes they were wearing. Yikes!
I had previously dreaded walking into Target on Tuesdays as there was always a chance of having shoppers ask me where items were located in the store. Now I had other worries! Just what messages was I sending in my naiveness?
Day Planet GEM Handkerchief Code
Monday Moon Gray Bondage (newish)
Tuesday Mars Red Fisting (old)
Wednesday Mercury Orange Few Limits (newish)
Thursday Jupiter Purple Piercing (newish)
Friday Venus Light Blue Oral sex (old)
_ _ Dark Blue Anal sex (old)
Saturday Saturn Black S&M (old)
Sunday Sun Yellow Watersports (old)
The “old” colors have been around since the 1960s, while the “newish” ones were developed in the 1980s along with numerous others.
Armed with this new knowledge, I found myself looking around the gym and I noticed that most days roughly half of the gentlemen were wearing various shades of blue. Sometimes it was blatantly obvious with a blue tank top, blue shorts, blue socks and blue shoes. Other times it was subtler with just a splash of blue here and there.
I have learned that it is important to be cognizant of the fact that while a color can mean something very specific to me, it can mean something very different to others.
So, are there any points of intersection between the planetary colors and the gay handkerchief code? I see two or possibly three.
Firstly, Saturn represents restriction and so ties in with S&M.
Secondly, Venus represents love and so ties in with oral and anal sex.
Lastly, Mercury has many correspondences [travel, communication, magic, alchemy, gambling, etc] that it could be seen to tie in with the concept of anything goes, or few limits.
Conclusion
To sum up, when visiting a town like Palm Springs, if you find yourself bonding with a gentleman, you may think it’s over a shared love of the planetary energy of the day, but he may have a totally different idea. It’s all part of life’s rich tapestry…
Tony Mierzwicki
Author of Hellenismos: Practicing Greek Polytheism Today and Graeco-Egyptian Magick: Everyday Empowerment.
https://www.amazon.com/Hellenismos-Practicing-Greek-Polytheism-Today/dp/0738725935
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1905713037/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
Gay Handkerchief Code for Beginners: Unlocking the Rainbow!
https://garconofficial.com/blogs/salut-les-garcons/gay-handkerchief-code-in-depth-guide
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