Tag: Groom

WEDDING/HANDFASTING CEREMONY

WEDDING/HANDFASTING CEREMONY

The following wedding ceremony was written to provide for Pagans who must of
necessity be wed in the presence of the uninitiated who are not pagan and are
perhaps unaware that the bride and groom are pagan. Replace the words Bride and
Groom below with the names of the happy couple. This ceremony was used by both
my wife and  myself and by my sister and her husband.  They modified the text
at the point below where it says “loving each other  wholly and completely” to
add the phrase “forsaking all others” as  they are into monogamy.  Either
version works beautifully, I recommend the participants rewrite where necessary
to form a legal contract that they can and will keep. It is easy to avoid being
an oathbreaker if you only swear to that that you will keep and avoid swearing
to something just because the other party wants it or because it might be
“expected” by the family. Notice: parts of  this ritual were cribbed from the
writings of others. I apologize in advance  for failure to reference sources but
after the fifteenth rewrite we had forgotten where we got the text and what was
and what was not original to us.  I doubt if there are quotes from other sources
longer than paragraph length and thus should not be a copyright problem.  If you
see something that is yours, please send me mail and I will reference you in the
future. Our thanks to those who paved the way. –Ryan Hunter]

[PRIEST] We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of
____bride______ and ____groom______.  There are  many things to say about
marriage. Much wisdom  concerning the joining together of  two souls, has come
our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union,
more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give
all this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with
them the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom
that comes with time.  The law of  life is love unto all beings. Without love,
life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to
Life, posterior  to  Death, initial of Creation and the exponent of  Earth. If
we learn no more in life, let it be this.

Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and
reflection.  As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and its
downs, its trials and its triumphs.  With full understanding of this,  Groom and
Bride have come here today to be joined as one in marriage.

Others would ask,  at this time, who gives the bride in marriage, but,  as a
woman is not property to be bought and sold, given and taken,  I ask simply if
she comes of her own will and if she  has her family’s blessing.

Bride, is it true that you come of your own free will and accord?

[BRIDE] Yes, it is true.

[PRIEST] With whom do you come and whose blessings accompany you.

[FATHER] She comes with me, her father, and is accompanied by all of her
family’s blessings.

[PRIEST] Please join hands with your betrothed and listen to that which I am
about to say.

Above you are the stars,  below you are the stones,  as time doth pass,
remember…

Like a stone should your love be firm like a star should your love be
constant. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your
marriage,  let the strength of your wills  bind you  together,  let the power of
love and desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you
inseparable.  Be close, but not too close. Possess one another, yet be
understanding.   Have patience with one another, for storms will come, but they
will pass quickly.

Be free in giving affection and warmth.  Have no fear and let not the ways of
the unenlightened give you unease,  for God is  with you always.

Groom, I have not the right to bind thee to Bride, only you have this right.
If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in her hand.

[GROOM] It is my wish.

[PRIEST]  Bride, if it be your wish for Groom to be bound to you, place the
ring on his finger.  (places ring on Groom’s left ring finger)

Bride  I  have not the right to bind thee to Groom only you  have this right.
If it be your wish,  say so at this time  and place your ring in his hand.

[BRIDE] It is my wish.

[PRIEST] Groom,  if it be your wish for Bride to be bound to you, place   the
ring on her finger.(places ring on   Bride’s   left ring finger)

(to Groom) Repeat after me:

I,   (grooms full name),   in the name of the spirit of God that resides within
us all,  by the life that courses within my blood and  the love that resides
within my heart,   take thee  (bride’s full  name) to my hand, my heart, and my
spirit, to be my chosen  one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess
thee,  and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in
the purity of my love for thee.   I promise to love thee wholly and completely
without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life
and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again.  I shall not seek to
change thee in any way.   I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy
ways as I respect myself.

(to Bride)
I  (bride’s full name), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us
all, by the life that courses within my blood, and the love that resides within
my heart,  take  thee, (Groom’s full name) to my hand, my heart, and my spirit
to be my chosen one.   To desire and be desired by  thee, to possess thee, and
be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity
of my love for thee.  I promise to love thee wholly and completely without
restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and
beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again.  I shall not seek to
change thee in any way.   I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy
ways as I respect myself.

[PRIEST]
(hands  chalice to the groom,  saying:) May you drink  your  fill from the cup
of love.

(Groom  holds  chalice to bride while she sips then  bride  takes chalice and
holds it to groom while he sips.  The chalice is then handed  back to the Priest
who sets it on the  table.   Next  the Priest  takes the plate of bread,  giving
it to the groom.   Same
procedure  repeated  with bread, groom feeding bride  and  bride feeding groom.)

By the power vested in me by God and the State of  ________,  I now pronounce
you husband and wife.  May your love so endure that its flame remains a guiding
light unto you.

Flying Spell

Upon 40 days of Prayre and Fasting, with Purest Faithe and Calling unto the Gods…

I. Clasp near thy rod of power (a.k.a. a telephone)

II. Call forth for ye Spirits of Travelle and theire nefarious Agents

III. Yea, state and visualize thy destination –thrice, for the Agents of Travel to Comprhende Thee…

IV. Yea, Task them and overcome them in Ye Test of Wills

V. SPEAKE THE WORDS OF POWER: VISA, MASTERCARD, AMEX

VI. Two weeks hence, take ye under New Moon to Clearing of the Travel

VII. Present Thyself in Trembling and Loathing to the Guardians of the Towers of the North, East, South and West and Present to them the holy scroll of the High Priestess: TICKET

VIII. Pass ye surely through the Elemental Detector and its “Ever Alert” guardians of Thy Safety (But not Thy Rights)

IX. Wait Until the Stars show, the wind blows and the new grass grows

X. When your Gryphon of Metal arriveth (and, ha, craven fool, it arriveth not when ye expect but only upon the winged beast’s good and fickle pleasure), board it and fly away.

Wishing You A Very Happy & Blessed Wednesday!

Good afternoon, dear readers! I will make this quick. I am going to finish up the handfasting that I didn’t get to yesterday, real quick. Which by the way I hope you enjoyed. Then I am getting back to the regular stuff. Who knows I might throw in a little extra between posts. I hope you are enjoying the blog. I almost forgot the main reason for posting this today. I have over 500 comments in the back. They keep coming in faster than I can read them. I deeply appreciate them and please have patience and I will get to your eventually. It is wonderful to hear from my readers. I love to hear your comments whether good or bad. So keep’em coming and I will get to them soon as I can. Till then……

Much Love & Blessings,

Lady A

The Ceremony

The service commences with the groom and the high priest or priestess approaching the altar, accompanied by hand drummers. Let’s imagine that this ceremony is conducted by a high priestess. The high priestess carries an ornamental cushion with colorful ribbons or cords, draped across it. These will be used later to bind the couple’s hands in matrimony. If it’s a breezy day, the ribbons are pinned to the cushion to keep them in place.

After the groom and the priestess have taken their places at the altar, the drummers return to the bridal party and drum the bride and the handmaidens into the circle. The groom’s attire is of his choosing: he may be wearing a frock coat or a fancy, colorful vest. The bride is usually color-coordinated with the groom. She may wear something long and flowing, not necessarily white, accessorized with a headdress or a wreath of seasonal flowers on her head and possibly a wand tipped with rose quartz. The bride has her handmaidens in attendance  throughout the service, and there can be as many or as few as she wants. Their costumes are often very witchlike – long, dramatic, gothic-style dresses in rich fabrics such as velvet, with colors ranging from deep purples and reds to vibrant turquoise. Each handmaiden wears a pentagram necklace or ring.