Forbidden Fruit

Handsfasting - A Wiccan Marriage Ceremony
Home | About the Creator | History of Wicca | The Wheel of the Year | The Wiccan Rede | Handsfasting - A Wiccan Marriage Ceremony | Colour Associations | Crystals & Stones | Contact Me | Thank You | LiNkS | BOS

 
Just what is Handsfasting all about? Let me tell you...

Handsfasting, was a tradition form of marriage or religious rite of passage for people in Scotland until the 19th centuary. It has now, been adapted to those practicing in more Nature based religions, to allow couples to make a commitment to eachother, regardless of ethnic culture. There is no set rule when performing a handsfasting ritual, there can be only guidelines. It is up to the two people carrying out the ritual to decide "exactly" how they wish it to be performed, in order to make it meaningful.
 
Traditionally, the handsfasting ceremony, lasts one year and a day, sometimes termed as a "celtic engagement" ceremony, for others it is a marriage ceremony. After the one year and a day, if the couple have performed this as an "Engagement" they then may get married.
If used as a marriage ceremony, couples may stay together or go their separate ways, with no guilt.

book3.gif

The spiritual bond of a handsfasting ceremony, is taken very seriously that a physical bond.
 
Traditionally the palms or wrists were slightly cut to shed some blood so that their blood may be exchanged and therefore signifying how seriously this commitment is taken by both parties. In Scotland there used to be handfasting 'chant' that went something as follows, " blood of my blood and bone of my bone...". Today, couples favor just the handfasting with a ribbon without the blood ritual.
Vows, which have been written by each person are then exchanged, signifying the spoken contact between the two. Rings (or jewelery of some description) are exchanged to symbolise eternal love. After the vows and the rings, the couples wrists are then unbound and they can walk together along the same path.

t

t