Elvis’ clothes were so drab and un-glorified, when hanging on a hanger the material was even ugly! But when he put them on - WOW! And when he walked on stage, my gosh - his clothes even took on a radiance, ‘glory’, as he called it - he shone head to toe and it was not just the lighting! It was from inside him.

He liked the prehistoric birds as he called them-they were the Egyptian symbols for "life" and used in the tombs where royalty was buried and they had the "honor" of looking after them and protecting them from harm etc; he said and that they "carried their spirits up to the sun God whom they worshipped" but he said the Sun God was actually the infinite all mighty wisdom and power of the Father of the Universe...known as our Lord and God the Father. Those suits were so beautifully detailed-all of them were but it seemed that the ones he wore in 76,77 were the most meaningful as far as spiritual messages go of any he wore. Especially so, the Sun Dial Suit that was the last one he specifically wanted done-it took a year to do nearly, and there was another that was in the works but never got to the decorating stage. It's too bad that the sketches he made for it were not displayed -at least not when we were at Graceland in 80. There were some drawings there...but they did not depict the last suit and I can't recall what he called it or what it was to have on it and it was not taped...so no transcripts either. It was very, very spiritual and came from the Bible-that's all I can recall now...he hadn't quite got everything in that he was trying for-but they were going to be royal blue and white and was going to have lots of colorful jewels and rhinestones and religious symbols from several different cultures all of them to send a message to those who saw them-especially those receptive to the message-he said. And that he was the "light bearer"...what that meant, I do not have a clue now. - Wanda June Hill

One image of Elvis himself in performance was of the great high priest. His highly decorated costumes bore many similarities to the vestments of the priest presiding at the Catholic mass. Had he been standing behind an altar, his high collars and the spectacular designs on his white jumpsuits could have been mistaken for the garb of a priest celebrating the eucharist. He was announced on stage by the music of Richard Strauss which was composed to stimulate in the imagination of the listener the awe and majesty of the ancient middle-eastern Zoroastrian priesthood....In Exodus Chapter 28, the Bible tells of the founding of the old Jewish priesthood by Moses: ‘Tell all the craftsmen whom I have endowed with skill to make the vestments for the consecration of Aaron as my priest....using gold, purple, and scarlet yarn; and fine linen....two chains of pure gold formed into ropes.’ - Ted Harrison from Elvis People - The Cult of the King

Some of Elvis’ most impressive and intricately designed suits were: his peacock suit, with varying shades of blue, the jeweled, feathered design trailing down his pants legs; a fabulous tiger inspired by his martial arts philosophy, and the fiery oriental dragon, which also came from the symbology attached to the ancient spiritual concepts embodied in martial arts. One of his suits displayed a modified rainbow in shades of blue; another, the entire Aztec calendar in gold upon the front and back of the suit. There was also his American Indian jumpsuit, and one with the symbols of East India upon it. - Ed Parker from Inside Elvis

Symbolic interpretations of some of the more esoteric images on Elvis' jumpsuits: