Gina and Melinda's Handfasting

HIGH PRIESTESS:
(casts Circle)

We cast the Circle of ancient lore;
Waves upon a timeless shore;
With no beginning, nor an end;
It always knows a foe from friend.
Ouroboros of legends old;
Rings of power forged in gold;
Circle of life, birth to bones;
A ring around the silv’ry moon;
We cast you now, O ancient rune!

PRIEST:

This sacred circle is now cast,
A place, which is not a place,
In a time where there is no time.
Here may we ever be under Your protection,
Lord and Lady of the Dance,
May You bless this union.

PRIESTESS:
(invoke Goddess with)

Great Goddess, Maiden of the dancing waves and glittering stars,
Mother from whose womb all life was birthed,
Wise woman of secrets and universal mysteries;
You who are all things to all women –
Full of the exuberance and vitality of youth,
The tender compassion of womanhood,
The wisdom of great age;
You who dwell within all women,
Be with us now, and with this couple
As they are joined together in Your name.

PRIEST:
(invoke God with)

Great God, Horned One of the forests and wild places,
Lord of the Sun, bringer of light and warmth;
You who run with the swift stag,
Soar with the birds in the sky,
And protect all of the Mother’s children;
You who are born of the Goddess,
Her lover and Her son, as are all men;
Be with us now, and with this couple,
As they are joined together in Your name.

PRIESTESS:

Be with us here, O beings of Air,
With your clever fingers,
Tie closely the bonds between these two.
Be with us here, O beings of Fire,
Give their love and passion,
Your own all-consuming ardor.
Be with us here, O beings of Water,
With your oceans of feeling,
Grant them lasting love and friendship.
Be with us here, O beings of Earth,
Let your strength and consistency,
Be theirs for so long as they remain together.
Blessed Goddess, Laughing God
Give to these before you, we humbly ask,
Your love and guidance.
Blessed be.

PRIEST RINGS BELL THREE TIMES.

THE COUPLE WALKS ARM IN ARM AROUND THE CIRCLE. AFTER MAKING A
COMPLETE CIRCUIT, GINA STOPS IN THE WEST WHILE MELINDA CONTINUES AROUND TO THE EAST, WHERE HER AUNT MEETS HER. GINA WALKS TO THE CENTER FOLLOWED BY MELINDA AND HER AUNT, AT THE ALTAR THE AUNT GIVES HER TO GINA.

PRIEST:

Who stands with this couple to witness their handfasting and commitment?

AUNT:

I do.

PRIESTESS:

Brothers and sisters, Melinda has come from the heart of the dawn, and Gina from the sunset. There is a wedding in the valley, a day too vast for recording! There is magick to be done and celebrated here; the magick of love.

PRIEST:

You have come together in this sacred space to stand in the presence of the Goddess of Love and the God of Plenty, that They may bestow upon you, Gina and Melinda, Their bountiful blessings of everlasting love and devotion for the other; through this most sacred rite of handfasting. This bond is not to be entered into lightly, but with seriousness and reverence, with hope and joy.

PRIESTESS:

Blessed be to all who have assembled here to witness the bonds of love being created.

PRIEST:

Today we gather here to celebrate the love of two individuals.

PRIESTESS:

Long have they been apart, each searching for the other.

PRIEST:

Two halves, longing to be made whole.

PRIESTESS:

Finally they found each other, and have freely chosen to make a commitment to share the rest of their lives together.

PRIEST:

Melinda and Gina are honored that you have come to share and witness in their exchange of vows, honoring the promise they are prepared to make.

PRIESTESS:

Before the Goddess.

PRIEST:

Before the God.

PRIEST AND PRIESTESS TOGETHER:

Before the world.

PRIEST:

Let us take a moment to join with them in their joy and love.

PRIESTESS:

Let us be one in heart and purpose.

PRIEST:

Gina, do you enter into this bond freely and willingly, with your heart and soul?

GINA:
(answers in the affirmative)

PRIESTESS:

Melinda, do you enter into this bond freely and willingly, with your heart and soul?

MELINDA:
(answers in the affirmative)

PRIEST AND PRIESTESS:

So mote it be.

PRIEST:

What vows do you make to each other?

MELINDA:

We promise to honor one another, to share our wisdom, and to strive to always inspire one another and to learn and grow together in harmony. We will make spontaneous gestures of love so we may create a beautiful and meaningful relationship that honors both of us in the eyes of the God and Goddess.

GINA:

We vow to love one another fully and completely, to always share our joys and fears and to be the bedrock and strength for the other half. This way we will have a strong base with which to build a home and family full of love. As the Wheel turns and the years roll on, we will continue to explore our feelings, our passions, and the sacredness of our union as divinely human beings.

PRIESTESS:

Lord and Lady, grant these two a long life together, bless them with Your love, that they may delight in Your many gifts.

PRIEST:

And now the exchanging of the rings –

Gina, place your ring on Melinda’s finger and repeat after me:

“I give this ring as a symbol of my love, and I promise to honor our commitment for as long as we both shall live. Our love will be like these rings, a perfect circle with no beginning and no end.”

Melinda, place your ring on Gina’s finger and repeat after me:

“I give this ring as a symbol of my love, and I promise to honor our commitment for as long as we both shall live. Our love will be like these rings, a perfect circle with no beginning and no end.”

Gina and Melinda, you may now join hands right-to-right, and left-to-left.

MELINDA:

I give to you, Gina, my hand and heart in marriage.

GINA:

As I give my heart and hand to you.

MELINDA:

Take my hand as a symbol of my love.

GINA:

Take my hand as a symbol of my love.

PRIESTESS:

Lord and Lady, bless the hands that you see before you on this day. May they always be held by one another.

PRIEST:

Give them the strength to hold on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment.

PRIESTESS:

Keep them tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their love.

PRIEST:

May Gina and Melinda see their four hands as healer, protector, shelter, and guide.

PRIESTESS:

With this cord I bind you to the vows that you each have made.
(wrap the cord loosely around both arms)

May the Lord and Lady smile upon this union and bless this couple with health and prosperity. For remember what one may not provide, the other may. So are you bound, in the light of the God and Goddess, each unto the other unto all your days.

GINA AND MELINDA TOGETHER:

Heart to thee,
Soul to thee,
Body to thee.
Forever and always,
So mote it be.

PRIESTESS:
(removes the binding and holds it over head)

I present to you Melinda and Gina. Having sworn oath on this day, each unto the other, until the end of their days. You may seal your union with a kiss.

PRIEST:

Out of the billions on the earth, these two have come together and looked into each other’s eyes, and are now made one. Their ways have converged, and they shall now be together. It is our deepest hope that their path may be gentle and the skies fair during their time together. However, if trouble comes, as it surely comes to all, may the stress of life’s trials bring you more closely together. With clasped hands and united hearts may you bear life’s sorrow’s together as well as sharing life’s joys.

PRIESTESS:

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth for the other.
Now there will be no more loneliness for you,
For although you are two bodies, there is but one life before you.
Go now, to the home you will make with each other,
And enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon this earth.

PRIEST:

We thank you, Elementals of the sacred marriage;
For attending and blessing this rite of life and love.

PRIESTESS:

We thank you, O beings of Air;
For hearing Gina and Melinda’s promise to honor
Each other as intelligent individuals.
Hail and Farewell.
We thank you, O beings of Fire,
For helping to create
A loving and passionate union.
Hail and Farewell.
We thank you, O beings of water,
For helping these two to fully
Share their emotions in perfect love and perfect trust.
Hail and Farewell.
We thank you, O beings of Earth,
For sharing with Melinda and Gina the ability to be
Steadfast in their devotion to each other.
Hail and Farewell.

PRIEST AND PRIESTESS:
(standing on opposite sides of the altar with arms raised)

A union of souls, of body, mind, and spirit
Together in harmony has occurred;
Freely chosen in love and joy,
These two have become One.
May your love always honor the Lord and Lady
As you go forth with Their blessings.

PRIEST:

O, mighty Lord of Life and Death;
You who dance upon the altar of time and
Whose pipes play the song that never ends,
We thank You for Your blessing, and bid You now
Hail and Farewell.

PRIESTESS:

O gracious Goddess, queen of love and birth;
Whose body is the green and flowering Earth,
And whose feet are the dust of the stars of heaven;
We thank You for Your blessing, and bid You now
Hail and Farewell.

PRIEST:

We wish to thank the Lord and Lady, the elements, and the friends and family gathered here, for being witnesses to this handfasting, this joining which Gina and Melinda have made freely and in love.

PRIESTESS:

May the blessings and gifts received within this Circle
Follow you as we prepare to return to the outside world.
This Circle is open but unbroken.
(salute sky and earth with athame)

PRIEST AND PRIESTESS TOGETHER:

All from air into air, let the misty curtain part;
All is ended, all is done;
What has been must now be gone;
What has been done by ancient art
Must merry meet and merry part
And merry meet again.
Blessed Be!

Eidolon Moon's Notes:

As you can see, this is in a different format than most of the rituals offered here. The ritual was originally put together by Gina and Melinda and then given to me to smooth out and flesh out. We spent a time working out exactally what imagery they wanted to use and in the end they gave me a fairly free reign to adapt their handfasting to make it more coherent and allow it to flow more naturally.

I, of course, Priestessed the ritual and Shadus was my High Priest for the ceremony. We were lucky enough to have plenty of time to do a runthough of the ritual before hand (something I wish I would have had with Raine) so we were very smooth. Gina and Melinda were nervous, Gina more so, but they both managed to get through the ceremony without stumbling at all.

Melinda wore a tuxedo and Gina was in a gorgeous wedding gown while Shadus and I wore our 'dress robes'. Friends and family were very open and supportive to the handfasting, even though many of them were Catholic and this was their first pagan handfasting. Not a single complaint about invoking God and Goddess, nor the fact that it wasn't a 'traditional wedding'.

I created a special wedding certificate for them that would be more in keeping with their beliefs and their relationship. I was honored that they wanted me to officiate their handfasting as I was a virtual stranger to them. Many blessings upon the happy couple!