Welcome to Handfasting Info!

Elven Lovers

Welcome lovers, and others who are seeking information about the rite of handfasting - a modern (usually) Pagan wedding ritual. There are many thoughts and resources regarding the history of the term "handfasting", which, if you are interested, I will attempt to include many of them in the Historical Traditions section of the site. For the purposes of this site, handfasting refers to one of two types of ceremonies, either a "wedding" or a betrothal of a year and a day, which the participants can then decide to renew or not at the end of that period. Handfasting is quite popular today, among many people who find that their own lifestyles call for an alternative joining ceremony to that provided by more typical weddings. Handfasting can be used by couples of the same sex, or by group marriages who wish to have more than two people in their families. They can be used by people who are members of Pagan (polytheistic nature religions), or by people who don't necessarily share the same beliefs. There are also Christian and other folks who chose to use handfasting as their wedding rituals for various reasons, so don't feel excluded form these resources. To sum it up, take the ideas here and run with them. Make them your own, shape them to fit your own needs and desires to declare your love in a ritual. Inside you will find rituals, traditions, symbolism guides, poetry, and anything else we can dig up to make your handfasting special.

A note about Medieval and Rennaisance weddings, there is a lot of material about those here too. They are not synonymous with handfasting, but as it happens, it seems to be a theme that many people gravitate towards when planning handfastings. Maybe because of the historical connection. It is also a good way for Pagans to make their ceremony more "palatable" to their non-Pagan families and friends. That's why it's here.

This site is dedicated to the Irish Goddess Aine.

Divine And Beautiful Aine
I Entreat You To Warm This Site
With the Sunlight of Your Blessings
Inspiring Us to Shape the Words of Love
Eloquently, and with Heart-Deep Meaning
May All Who Visit Be Gifted To Be:
Healthy And Exultant
Wise in their Vows
Joyous in their Passions
Generous of Spirit
Tender in their Affections
Accepted by All Those They Love
No Matter What Faiths And Traditions
May Meet And Mingle
We Pray that All Will Gather on Common Ground
Recognizing the Universal Spirit of Love And Creation
To Share in the Human Rituals That Celebrate the Delights
In Choosing Those Who Will Become Our Family
According to the Free Will of All
So Mote It Be

Goddess Aine
Copyright Amy Brown Fantasy Art
used with artist's permission.


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All copyrights remain those of the original authors and artists. Material written by me are copyright Zaratyst. If you have questions email Zaratyst. This site was launched February 14, 2002, and will always be a living document. Feel free to contact me with things you would like to include on this site.
The URL for this site is http://handfasting.info