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ENCYCLOPEDIA Glossary What's New Most Popular List of Articles |
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New Worlds January / February / March 2012 Issue Issue
Download the PDF File version of the latest issue of Llewellyn's New Worlds Catalog |
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Term: handfasting
| DEFINITIONS |
Handfasting: The pre-Christian, Roman wedding ceremony also practiced in Celtic lands. As the name implies, it included tying the hands together and is the source of the expression “tying the knot” as a description of a wedding. In the sixteenth century, one English cleric noted its use as separate from the Christian marriage. Today the term is used by Wiccans and Witches for a wedding ceremony. In some traditions, a handfasting endures for a limited time, often a year and a day. Hence, a probationary marriage during which a couple would cohabit as husband and wife. After the probationary period the couple could decide if they wished to continue in a permanent marriage or part.
According to Handfasting and Wedding Rituals by Raven Kaldera & Tannin Schwartzstein (Llewellyn Publications), a handfasting was generally no more complex than the couple joining hands (thus making “fast” their hands) and declaring themselves united, sealing it with a kiss. They add that the handfasting gesture made a figure-eight with the hands, right to right and left to left, symbolizing that all parts of themselves were joined.
| ARTICLES |
Summary: An oracle deck (not a Tarot) with photorealistic (and surrealistic) art that crosses the boundaries between our physical world and the spiritual world of the fairy. It’s ideal for learning about the classical myths of fairies and various ...
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When I first came up with the idea of writing the book Spells for Tough Times, I did so because I knew people out there needed help. They may need help with their finances, they may need help with their families, they may need help with their health; whatever the topic, there are people in this world in need, and it seems we often tend to forget... read this article
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