Handfasting Ritual

Apythia and WreckShop's Handfasting Ceremony

(This is the handfasting section of our wedding ceremony.)

Know now before you go further, that since your paths have crossed in this life, you have formed ties between each other. As you seek to enter this state of matrimony, you should strive to make real, the ideals, which give meaning to both this ceremony and the institution of marriage.
With full awareness, know that you are not only declaring your intent to be handfasten before your friends and family, but you speak that intent also to your creative higher powers.
The promises made today and the ties that are bound here greatly strengthen your union; they will cross the years and lives of each soul's growth.
Do you still seek to enter this ceremony?

Yes, We Do.

In times past, it was believed that the human soul shared characteristics with all things divine. It is this belief which assigned virtues to the cardinal directions: East, South, West and North. It is in this tradition that a blessing is offered in support of this ceremony.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of the East. Communication of the heart, mind and body. Fresh beginnings with the rising of each Sun. The knowledge of the growth found in the sharing of silences.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of the South. Warmth of hearth and home. The heat of the heart's passion. The light created by both. To lighten the darkest of times.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of the West. The deep commitments of the lake. The swift excitement of the river. The refreshing cleansing of the rain. The all-encompassing passion of the sea.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of the North. Firm foundation on which to build. Fertility of the fields to enrich your lives. A stable home to which you may always return.

Each of these blessings from the four cardinal directions emphasizes those things which will help you build a happy and successful union. Yet they are only tools. Tools that you must use together in order to create what you seek in this union.
I bid you look into each other's eyes.

WreckShop, Will you cause Apythia pain?
I May (What was actually said was an emphatic yes)
Is that your intent?
No
Apythia, Will you cause WreckShop pain?
I may
Is that your intent?
No
*To Both*
Will you share each other's pain and seek to ease it?
Yes
And so the binding is made. Join your hands
*First cord is draped across the bride and grooms hands*

Apythia, Will you share WreckShop's laughter?
Yes
WreckShop, Will you share Apythia's laughter?
Yes
*To Both*
Will both of you look for the brightness in life and the positive in each other?
Yes
And so the binding is made.
*Second chord is draped across the couple's hands*

Apythia, Will you burden WreckShop?
I may
Is that your intent?
No
WreckShop, Will you burden Apythia?
I may
Is that your intent?
No
*To Both*
Will you share the burdens of each so that your spirits may grow in this union?
Yes
And so the binding is made.
*Drape third chord across the couple's hands*

Apythia, will you share WreckShop's dreams?
Yes
WreckShop, will you share Apythia's dreams?
Yes
*To Both*
Will you dream together to create new realities and hopes?
Yes
And so the binding is made.
*Drape fourth chord across the couples' hands*

WreckShop, will you cause Apythia anger?
I may
Is that your intent?
No
Apythia, will you cause WreckShop anger?
I may
Is that your intent?
No
*To Both*
Will you take the heat of anger and use it to temper the strength of this union?
We Will
And so the binding is made.
*Drape fifth chord across the couples hand's*

Apythia, Will you honor WreckShop?
I will
WreckShop, Will you honor Apythia?
I will
*To Both*
Will you seek to never give cause to break that honor?
We shall never do so
And so the binding is made.
*Drape sixth chord across the couples hands'*
*Tie chords together while saying:*
The knots of this binding are not formed by these chords but instead by your vows you make today. Either of you may drop the chords, for as always, you hold in your own hands the making or breaking of this union.