It made me happy, both for her sake and for the wonderful memories it reawakened from the first handfasting I ever witnessed, last summer. It turned out to be one of my most memorable experiences in 2010.
First, let me ask: Do you know what handfasting is?
Don't feel bad if you don't. I didn't know until a few years ago. It's a traditional Celtic ceremony in which a couple is married, and it dates back to the Middle Ages. It is used by many neopagans, but the old tradition is also incorporated into the ceremonies of people who are not pagan.
In handfasting, the partners literally have their hands tied together. The term originates from the ages-old ritual of shaking hands over an agreement--and getting married is as serious an agreement as there is, even among polyamorous folks like the neopagan group I visit each summer.
That's where last year's handfasting took place, at that group's annual mid-summer gathering in southwestern Wisconsin. The couple's names are Amanda and Jim, and I have known them since I first attending their gatherings. It took place in the evening, at the main ritual circle.
First, say hello to Amanda and Jim ...
And here is something that played a central role in the ceremony; a picture I took earlier that afternoon. Only I didn't know it at the time. I took the photo because I thought it looked really neat, with all the stars and ribbons ...
I went to last year's gathering with S and T, and they attended the handfasting with me. Since Amanda knows I am handy with a camera, she asked me to be her handfasting photographer, using her little camera. I also took a few photos before the ceremony with my own camera.
Amanda got this photo of T and S and me, as we waited for the ceremony. It was just before sunset, as you can see, and I was so grateful my eyes were shielded from the setting sun. Wedding attire, as you can see, was casual ...
Many butterflies were flittering around through the campground and at the circle. Some chased each other around above the ritual circle. One landed on T's knee as the people gathered ...
The different items used during the ceremony were assembled at the altar ...
And Jim talked to the priestess who led the ceremony just before it began, making sure the broom was on hand. A broom? To be explained ...
Then the ceremony started. Quite memorable. The couple committed their lives and love to each other. The familiar wedding vows were replaced by promises of love through good times and bad times, of treating each other with kindness and patience.
It was pagan ... and as sincere and heartfelt and beautiful as any wedding in any church I have ever seen. The bride wore a beautiful white gown, and the groom wore a Utilikilt. Nobody spent money on dresses or flowers or booze or receptions. Like us, everyone who attended dressed in typical camp casual style.
I wish I could remember the words the priestess used; she spoke so well and wisely. Something like this: "Be understanding and patient, each with the other. Be free in the giving of affection and warmth. Be sensuous with one another. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for the Gods are with you now and always."
At the end, the couple clasp their right hands and their left hands together, and they were tied together with ribbons by the priestess, symbolic of their lives coming together. The hands make an "8" if seen from above. Or like the symbol for infinity ...
But the ribbons were untied later, and then came the final part of the ritual: jumping the broom together, symbolizing the effort both need to make so the relationship will succeed.
This provided the unexpected photographic highlight: As noted before, the groom was wearing a Utilikilt. And when he jumped up, the kilt also jumped up, and ... oh, my!
Well, it is a clothing optional camp, after all, and superfluous garments are not in style. In any case, the couple made several circuits to jump the broom, and this shot didn't need to be digitally altered to protect your virgin eyes ...
The new bride got a big laugh when she saw that photo. Just another vivid memory of a unforgettable day.
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