A Wiccan bride and eclectic Pagan groom wed on the Winter Solstice at a Unitarian Universalist Congregation. They both prefer the Roman pantheon and wanted to acknowledge Saturnalia in the ceremony, which includes a handfasting and a unity candle lighting. Candles are included throughout the rite, symbolizing the return of the light. The seating for their 75 guests was in a circle with openings at the four directions.
Ceremony Script
Processional
Guests enter and sit. Under each guest chair is an unlit taper candle in a glass holder.
Officiant enters at east (sanctuary entrance) with a censor burning wedding incense and circles clockwise behind the chairs, then turns into circle at East opening and stands at center facing towards the door.
Attendants line up as couples, one holding the unlit colored candle for their direction and the other a lighter.
Attendants enter as couples in the following order:
North/Earth
West/Water
South/Fire
East/Air
and circle outside the guest chairs, clockwise. Each couple stops at the opening between seating for their direction, far enough back for the wedding couple to walk between them and the seats.
Groom enters, circles clockwise to West (opposite door), then turns into circle and stands at center at officiant’s left hand, facing door.
Welcome! Please stand if you are able.
Bride enters and walks straight into center of circle, to right of officiant. Bride and Groom face each other.
Create Sacred Space
Please be seated.
Friends and family, it is wonderful to be here with you today. I am Reverend Debbie Philp and I am so happy to be officiating today. Please put your cellphones and other technology away so you can be fully present and allow the photographer to capture all the magical moments.
We are gathered during Saturnalia, the celebration of the god Saturn at the start of winter, when all were invited to party and feast. Let us invoke the spirit of Saturnalia with lines from novelist John Dos Passos.
In earth’s womb the old gods stir,
Fierce chthonian deities of old time.
With cymbals and rattle of castanets,
And shriek of slug-horns, the North Wind
Bows the oak and the moaning fir,
On russet hills and by roadsides stiff with rime.
In nature, dead, the life gods stir,
From Rhadamanthus and the Isles,
Where Saturn rules the Age of Gold,
Come old, old ghosts of bygone gods;
While dim mists earth’s outlines blur,
And drip all night from lichen-greened roof-tiles.
In men’s hearts the mad gods rise
And fill the streets with reveling,
With torchlight that glances on frozen pools,
With tapers starring the thick-fogged night,
A-dance, like strayed fireflies,
‘Mid dim mad throngs who Saturn’s orisons sing.
From “Saturnalia” by John Dos Passos (1896-1970)
And now we create sacred space. I invite the wedding party to acknowledge the directions and elements and call them in to this ceremony.
Call Directions
Before speaking, each couple moves to the inside of the circle of chairs.
[East Couple 1] Spirits of the East, Powers of Air! Bless these lovers with every breath they take.One holds up candle, other lights it.
[East Couple 2] Venti, great winds, stir the air and release all strife. Aurora, maiden of the dawn and new beginnings, lend us your presence. [South Couple 1] Spirits of the South, Powers of Fire! Warm their days and nights with passion and adoration.
One holds up candle, other lights it.
[South Couple 2] Vulcan, shape a strong union in your fiery forge. Vesta, keeper of hearth and home, lend us your presence. [West Couple 1] Spirits of the West, Powers of Water! May their love run deep and strong as the rivers of the world.
One holds up candle, other lights it.
[West Couple 2] Neptune, calm your turbulent seas for smooth sailing. Venus, goddess of love and beauty, lend us your presence. [North Couple 1] Spirits of the North, Powers of Earth! Give them a strong foundation on which to stand.
One holds up candle, other lights it.
[North Couple 2] Faunus, tame the wild beasts of youth. Terra Mater, land beneath our feet, lend us your presence.
Officiant lights center candle.
Lovers! You stand at the center of the universe, and all powers are listening to you at this moment, in this sacred space, witnessing this rite.
Wedding Address
You chose to be married tonight, at the winter solstice, the longest night. Like your dreams of the future, this night is filled with magic, and hope, and the light of your friends and family.
Saturn turns the time, creates the generations, and brings abundance. It is fitting to invoke him in your marriage rites. We are celebrating you as you deepen your commitment to each other, the years of love you have already known, and the many to come.
Bride and Groom, your love is sacred, as is all love. There will be hardships, of course, but there will be joy, magic, and hope. May the light you bring to each other brighten each day like ever lengthening days.
Declaration of Intent
And so, Bride and Groom, if it is your intent to be joined together in marriage, take each other’s hands.
Couple faces each other and joins right hands together and left hands together, forming an infinity sign.
And all of you who love each other in this circle, take each other’s hands as well. We all understand the gesture you are now making. Taking the hand of one who loves you is the unspoken symbol of the bond of love, a reminder of the promises you once made, just as Bride and Groom will be reminded again in turn.
Will you, Groom, welcome Bride as your wife, and will you give yourself to her and accept the gift of herself and her love which she gives to you? Will you endure all pains and hardships life brings, and share all joys together in unity?
[Groom] I will.Will you, Bride, welcome Groom as your husband, and will you give yourself to him and accept the gift of himself and his love which he gives to you? Will you endure all pains and hardships life brings, and share all joys together in unity?
[Bride] I will.Bride and Groom continue to hold hands for the handfasting.
Handfasting
Our couple has asked some special people in their lives to present the cords.
Person 1 comes to the center with the cord and lays it over their joined hands with the ends hanging.
[Person 1] These are the hands of your best friend, full of love for you. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. May they be forever joined.
Person 1 sits.
Person 2 comes to the center with the cord and lays it over their joined hands with the ends hanging.
[Person 2] These are the hands that will love you and cherish you through the years, and comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will wipe tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy. May they be forever joined.
Person 2 sits.
Person 3 comes to the center with the cord and lays it over their joined hands with the ends hanging.
[Person 3] These are the hands that will tend your children with you. And these are the hands that, even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours. May they be forever joined.
Person 3 sits.
Officiant ties the cords so they will tighten into an infinity knot when hands released.
Bride and Groom, as I fasten your hands together and tie the knot, I invite you to reflect on the joy and responsibility that awaits you. From today, you are bound together as lovers and partners throughout time.
Bride and Groom will now make their vows to each other.
[Groom] I see in you the face of the GoddessAnd I promise to honor you as I honor her.
You light my way in the dark like Luna
And I promise always to find my way back to you.
You are sensual like the sea from which Venus rose
And I promise I will never confine your charm.
You nourish my life like Terra Mater sustains all
And I promise to never take your caring for granted.
Your love is as precious to me as the air I breathe,
The blood in my veins, the work of my hands,
And I promise to hold you in my heart forever.
[Bride] I see in you the face of the God
And I promise to honor you as I honor him.
You light my life like Sol lights the sky
And I promise to never take that light for granted.
You are wild like Faunus’ sacred dance
And I promise I will never chain you.
You defend our home and our love with the strength of Mars
And I promise to never cease to respect you.
Your love is as precious to me as the air I breathe,
The blood in my veins, the work of my hands,
And I promise to hold you in my heart forever.
Officiant holds the ends of the cords and tightens the knot as they remove their hands.
May you keep these knotted cords as a visible reminder of your promises to one another.
Officiant places the cords on the altar.
Exchange of Rings
Officiant takes rings from altar and passes through the incense smoke.
Blessed be these rings, symbolizing the endless circle of life and death and rebirth, and blessed be they who wear them.
Groom, please place this ring on Bride’s finger and repeat after me: “Bride, I give this ring to you as a sign of my love.”
Groom repeats
Bride, please place this ring on Groom’ finger and repeat after me: “Groom, I give this ring to you as a sign of my love.”
Bride repeats.
Unity Candle Ceremony and Parental Blessing
Bride and Groom turn and walk to altar. Parents stand, come to other side of altar, and speak together as Bride and Groom lift the two lit tapers on the altar and light the unity candle together.
[Parents, speaking together] Juno, Lady of Marriage, bless our children.Venus, Lady of Love, bless these beloveds.
Ceres, Lade of the Fields, may their fortune grow.
Jupiter, Lord of Thunder, may luck always be with them.
Mars, Lord Protector, defend their vows.
Mercury, Lord of Words, bless their promises.
Sol and Luna above, witness our joy.
Saturn, Lord of Time, mark this day forever blessed.
Parents return to their seats. Bride and Groom step back from the altar and turn towards each other again.
Pronouncement, Kiss, and Candle Lighting
Please stand, everyone.
Bride and Groom, with the blessings of all the powers gathered here, and by the power vested in me by the State of the New York, it is my joy and privilege to declare you married. Kiss in the returning light!
As Bride and Groom kiss, the Attendants move to the spaces between the rows of seats and light the candles of the guests on the ends to their right (looking out of the circle). The guests pass the light down the rows until the circle is lit.
Recessional
Attendants at East step to the side. Bride and Groom take hands and leave through the East direction. Attendants at East follow. Remaining Attendants step outside the circle and walk counterclockwise around circle to exit at the East.