Fasting of the hands
Handfasting is the marriage rite used by many neo-Pagans and Wiccans. The term
itself comes from the custom of shaking hands over a contract. It was used in
Scotland for the engagement period of a year and a day before a wedding was
proved.
In most Pagan traditions today it may mean a non-state registered wedding or one
in which a marriage license is filed. For some it is a year and a day,
renewable “so long as love shall last” and for others a commitment to be
together through many lives.
There are probably as many rituals for this as there are people who have joined
themselves together.
The hands are generally bound with a cord as part of the ritual.
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