Handfasting for All!!

Handfastings!

Be still my partially pagan heart!

(I'm an Interfaith Minister, remember?)

We've gone mainstream!!

It seems that couples are wanting to have Handfastings more and more, and why shouldn't they? There are many, many different ways of making a Handfasting work for you.  A Handfasting ceremony that includes a Statement of Intention and a Pronouncement at the end can be the whole ceremony in itself, or you can insert a Handfasting into your already traditional ceremony.

(I'll post some ideas here but you can find tons more by doing a Handfasting search on the internet.)

The Ribbons (Hand Binding)

Officiant:  The couple will now make promises and vows to one another.  Let these promises hold them fast when life is rough and rocky, and (displaying the 5 colored ribbons) let these ribbons bind their hearts, hands and lives together.

(Guest, parent, maid of honor, etc. ties the ribbons as the officiant reads the prompts)

Officiant: The color green symbolizes earth, representing the physical and material.  As the green ribbon is tied about your wrists, please repeat together after me:

I promise to live with you always,

to share all I have in the material world with you.

We are partners in life and love,

and we will always work together fo the best of our lives together.

Officiant:  The color Yellow symbolizes air, representing all that is intellectual and mental.  As the yellow ribbon is tied about your wrists, please repeat together after me:

I promise to communicate as clearly as I am able,

to share my thoughts with you,

to share my hopes and dreams,

as well as my fears and insecurities.

I promise to be open to hear you

whether the words be good news or bad.

I promise always to look for the good in your words.

Officiant:  The color Red symbolizes fire, representing the power and passion in your relationship.  As the red ribbon is tied about your wrists, please repeat together after me:

I promise always to feed the fire of our passion,

never to take you for granted,

always to remember who you are,

to treat you as my lover,

always to be open to your expressions of love,

and to share myself totally with you.

Officiant: The Blue ribbon symbolizes water, representing love and the emotions.  As the blue ribbon is tied about your wrists, please repeat together after me:

I promise my heart will always be open to you,

to love and respect you,

always to put you first in my life,

always to consider your feelings when making decisions,

and to put our relationship in the first priority before all else.

Officiant:  The White ribbon symbolizes Spirit, representing the spiritual and philosophical in life.  As the white ribbon is tied about your wrists, please repeat together after me:

As everything in life is a circle,

so is our love.

There is no beginning and no end.

We have been here before, and someday we will return.

We are two, and we are the same.

With this White ribbon,

I promise to honor and preserve

this Spiritual connection.