This morning, I performed my first handfasting (that is, I officiated at one, as opposed to attended or was handfasted to someone else). We had a pretty lovely time, and I, performing a non-traditional ceremony for a rather non-traditional couple that I know through some of my summer work. I used my (gradually becoming) traditional framework that I use for my summer rites, and asked for guardians of the quarters (east/air, south/fire, west/water, north/earth). Then we had a reading, and the couple gave their oaths. did some drumming, and I consecrated a dipper of water with the power of the elements for them to drink as the blessing. They lit a unity candle, and a number of additional candles as symbols of the forces they thought were going to make their magic work. It was not a legal ceremony, because they have family to appease in another part of the country, but I think this ceremony mattered more.
This afternoon, and I went to the co-op, and the farmers’ market. We’re going to make pesto again tomorrow, and save it for this winter (probably). The stuff we had tonight was so delicious, though; it may be very hard to save it all the way to winter.
This evening, we had a bunch of folks here for a little potluck for my birthday. Afterwards, we did some hula-hooping, and then we did fire-spinning. I taught a new friend of our Quiet Corner Burners group to breathe fire, and learned just how many different elements you have to keep track of, and know that you’ve said to someone — about not breathing too many times in one night, about using Ultra-Pure, about breathing with the wind rather than against it, and so on. He did good, but I also got to breathe myself a few times. I also lit up my staff three times, and I also got to spin a hula-hoop with fire elements for a few minutes before it went out.
We also had a conversation over dinner about Justices of the Peace (J.P.s), ordination from the Universal Life Church (ULC), and Connecticut law which can put a minister of the ULC in jail or forced to pay a $500 fine and have the weddings he/she performs nullified if they’re challenged in court. With that in mind, I think that I should look into the legal processes a little more, but I’m thinking I should have my ULC ‘ordination’ certified by the town, and then work with J and C and A and some other folks I know about designing our ULC process for handfastings, weddings, etc., and protecting ourselves a little more carefully. I think today’s handfasting was the first, and the last, I’ll do without some sort of more clearly articulated process.
I’m feeling a call toward ‘ordination’ or ‘initiation’ of some sort. I had a visitation that I’ll have to talk about some other occasion, but someone stopped me on the road the other day and harangued me about my relationship to Spirit. And this couple today originally asked me to do this legally, and I had to say “no, I can’t do that”. And while I’ve been doing the Munay-Ki rites with ‘s direction, it doesn’t feel the same as doing some sort of formal initiation process. I have to figure out how and whether to do some sort of process for myself. It bears thinking on.
