Spellbound: Love Locks, Lockets & Handfastings

Can magic make love last forever?

Spellbound: Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft, the exhibition currently on at the Ashmolean in Oxford, is about the subject of magical thinking - the natural instinct we all have to feel that acts, rituals and objects have power to help us in supernatural ways. Even if intellectually we don't really believe in magic, our feelings tell us it might just tip the odds in our favour and give us what we wish for.

Some of the most prevalent folkloric practises, superstitions and magical beliefs relate to love. Spellbound compares the modern fashion for couples locking padlocks inscribed with their names on bridges, in the hope it will increase their chances of an enduring relationship, with historic examples of love tokens.

Hundreds of magic rings, seals, brooches and lockets engraved with mottoes and lines from famous romances survive from times when those found practising witchcraft were persecuted. The words on them range from hope - ‘Joy without end’ - to warning - ‘Desire no other’.  Despite risks, in times of stress and heightened emotion, people have resorted to magical intervention to achieve their desires. Love spells have always been one of the things witches and cunning folk have been most asked for.

A similar ritual to those engraved seals and lockets has developed in recent years by couples attaching inscribed padlocks to city bridges and throwing the keys into the river. The inscriptions on locks from Leeds Centenary Bridge include, ‘I wanna lock your love’, ‘LOCKED + SEALED’ and, ‘Be Mine’. While in many cases this is done just as a symbolic gesture, the outcry at the removal of locks, in spite of the obvious problems they cause for structural engineering, and authorities’ reluctance to simply destroy or dispose of them, suggests people attach significant emotion to the ritual. The exhibition suggests the locks might be considered modern magic objects.

In some ways, I see the symbolism of sealing a love lock as being similar to the pagan wedding tradition of handfasting - ritually tying the hands of the couple together with cord as a sign that they are joined in love. Usually those being handfasted will swear an oath to remain together for a year and a day, or for life, or for eternity. Certainly, when I got handfasted, it did feel as though a powerful magical rite had been enacted.

I don't believe that magical marriages or ritual love pacts are unbreakable. If a relationship breaks down, then sometimes the best course of action is to formally dissolve the partnership. I would, however, say that if you performed a significant ritual to be joined in love to another person, you should do an equally significant rite to end the vows made and to go your separate ways in peace, without ties.

But what do you think? Can magic make love last forever? Do leave a comment.

Pictures: Gold locket in the form of a miniature padlock with the inscription ‘sauns repentir’ (‘without regret’), mid- to late-15th century, © British Museum, London; Contemporary ‘love lock on Leeds Centenary Bridge, 2016, image courtesy of Ceri Houlbrook; my own handfasting, image by Mel.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/09/impressions-of-spellbound-magic-ritual.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/08/exhibition-spellbound-magic-ritual-and.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/09/poppets-magical-dolls-in-spellbound.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/04/review-discovering-folkore-and.html
https://www.ashmolean.org/spellbound

News: Gay Pagan Handfasting, Closures, Blair Witch

"Same-sex couple married in pagan first" - story at BBC News Edinburgh, Fife and East Scotland: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-30885393

"London’s Curiosities are Quietly Closing Down" - story on Christopher Fowler's blog: http://www.christopherfowler.co.uk/blog/2015/01/18/londons-curiosities-are-quietly-closing-down/

"Will Pagans appreciate the possibility of a ‘Blair Witch’ sequel?" - story at examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/article/will-pagans-appreciate-the-possibility-of-a-blair-witch-sequel

Review: The Woven Word - A Book of Invocations

Over the years I've collected quite a few books of pagan rituals that I look at when I'm asked to put together a ceremony. Some are better than others, of course, and these days I'm picky about buying any books to add to my collection. However, a new publication I'm really pleased I've got is The Woven Word: A Book of Invocations and Inspirationsby Romany Rivers.

Publisher Moon Books describes it as: "A creative compendium of invocations, inspirations and blessings for the novice or adept to design personal, unique and magical rituals."

The first part of the book offers simple poems, chants and prayers for specific purposes - such as purification, invocation or blessing. They can be easily slotted into rituals or used on their own. Some are relatively traditional, others less so. Take for example this elegant but simple "shower cleansing":

Wash away the stress and strain
Wash away the hurt and pain
Refresh and cleanse my tired soul
To reconnect, to make me whole

The second part of the book contains complete rituals. As well as ceremonies for the usual seasonal festivals, there are ways to honour rites of passage from baby blessings and handfastings to rituals at death. The latter include last rites when a person is dying and a requiem for someone who has died.

As we are approaching Samhain, and this month on my blog I have been looking at various aspects of death, here is a short quote from The Woven Word's passing over ritual:

Dearest Beloved, you are not alone
I am here to help guide you home
If your soul is ready now to depart
Then leave without a heavy heart
With forgiveness and without fear
For those you love will hold you dear

I wish I had had those words to say when I was sitting a bedside vigil for my father and then my mother before they died.

Moon Books says about The Woven Word on its website: "This is a pagan tome of poetry and prose designed for rituals, festivals and celebrations. Working with deities, Romany has chronicled invocations and evocations for many Gods and Goddesses, and created clear and crafty quarter calls, circle castings, celebratory prose and meditations. Ritual is broken into its component parts allowing for easy reference and personal adaptation."

What I would add is that Romany's words are beautiful, simple and powerful. As I read the book I could not only see myself using its rites without adaptation, I also felt that I wanted to use them. And to be honest that's rare for me. With most of the other books of rituals I own, I find myself changing the words quite a bit to suit my personal taste or simply using them for inspiration and writing my own invocations or whatever based on them. I know I will be using many of the refrains and rites in The Woven Wordin the years to come.


Links and previous related posts
The Woven Word: A Book of Invocations and Inspirations
http://www.moon-books.net/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/03/review-ceremony-for-every-occasion.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/05/review-wiccan-celebrations.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/05/review-grimoire-of-kitchen-witch.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/03/book-dead-good-funerals-book.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/08/review-rituals-of-celebration-by-jane.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/11/one-covens-ways-book-of-rites.html

Exorcism, Satanism, Witch Killing and a Pagan Wedding

Here is a round-up of some of the news stories from the past few days about Satanism, exorcism, witchcraft, the occult and paganism:

"Pope Francis and the psychology of exorcism and possession": Article by Chris French in The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/09/pope-francis-psychology-exorcism-possession

"Satanism 101: The faith behind the headlines": Feature on Charlotteobserver.com: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/07/02/5018066/satanism-101-the-faith-behind.html#.U70ihPldWSo

"‘Witch’ killings top in Lupaula": Report on the Zambia Daily Mail website: http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/index.php/local-news/item/5847-%E2%80%98witch%E2%80%99-killings-top-in-lupaula

"Pagan wedding takes place in Black Country park": Story on the Express and Star website: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2014/07/08/pagan-wedding-takes-place-in-black-country-park/

News: Handfasting, Samhain Dig, Power of Myth, History

"UK's first NAKED Pagan wedding takes place in Forest of Dean" on Gloucester Citizen.

"Dig at Halloween ritual site to get under way" on the Irish Examiner.

"Ancient warrior myths help veterans fight PTSD" on Yahoo! News

"How the Germans went crazy for witch hunts" on The Local

The PF London Conference 2013 - Rites of Passage

I had a panic the evening before the Pagan Federation London Conference 2013 - I realised my ticket hadn't arrived in the post. A quick email to PF organisers Luth Adams and Elle Hull got it sorted. They told me a friend of mine was manning the door and there'd be no trouble getting in. There wasn't - but I got there early anyway and chatted to Eleanor of Pagan Radio outside the venue while waiting. She told me some exciting things are planned for Pagan Radio in the autumn, which I'll blog about in more detail nearer the time.

The venue itself - The London Welsh Centre - was excellent. You can see a photo of the outside of the building at the top. Inside it is really spacious, with a large main hall, a stage, lots of smaller side rooms, a very comfortable reception area with armchairs and a huge bar upstairs that has a magnificent vaulted ceiling with wooden beams. The staff were friendly too.

Rites of Passage was the theme of this year's conference and the programme was designed with this in mind. The first workshop I went to was a women-only event called Black Moon Lodge - Harnessing the Power of Menopause. Being a woman who is approaching that time of life I thought maybe I ought to, even though it sounded a depressing subject. It wasn't. In fact, it was empowering. Hazel Loveridge, who ran the workshop, told the story of Inanna's descent into the underworld. Although I'm familiar with the tale, it is one I can listen to repeatedly - especially when it is well told. For women who might feel that one stage of their life is ending, this ancient story of loss, death, resurrection and empowerment can offer insight into the positive aspects of the wisdom years of cronehood.

Later in the day there was another women-only workshop called The Red Tent Moon Lodge, about women's mysteries. Other talks were on handfastings, funerals, initiation and becoming a priestess. The opening and closing rituals of the day followed the rites of passage theme, with older PF organisers passing on the mantle of responsibility to younger members - and finishing with a lovely ceremony put together by members of the Pagan Threads moot for young pagans.

If you weren't interested in rites of passage, there was still plenty to enjoy, including music in the bar, a showing of the film Spirit of Albion and talks including Anglo-Saxon Place Names with a Pagan Origin and The Cerne Giant: Landscape, Gods and the Stargate (which I hope to be posting more about at a later date). The photo at the bottom shows Brighde Dolls that were on the central table during a lovely meditation on Brighde's Cave and the power of creativity.

I had a fantastic time at the PF Conference. It was lovely to meet up with friends as well as learning and gaining valuable insights from the talks and workshops. Oh, and once again I was lucky in the raffle, winning the wooden board decorated with a rabbit and the moon that you can see in the photo of prizes to the left.

If you want to go along to another pagan event today, the 16th Pagan Pride March in London starts at Red Lion Square, Holborn, at noon, ending at Russel Square by the fountain. This is a free event but bring a picnic - and a towel if you want to paddle in the fountain. For more information about the PF London, and future PF London events visit the website: http://london.paganfed.org/

Previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/10/winning-day-at-pf-40th-anniversary.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/10/pagan-federation-london-has-new-website.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/03/all-about-pagan-federation-london-pf.html

News: Irish Pagan Weddings To Get Full Legal Status

Pagan weddings - often called handfastings - are to get full legal status in Ireland under proposed new legislation. The same legislation will give non-religious wedding ceremonies the same legal status.

You can read the full story here: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-government-to-give-full-legal-status-to-Pagan-weddings-149628925.html

Previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/03/news-pagan-weddings-legal-in-ireland.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/03/review-ceremony-for-every-occasion.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/04/review-discovering-folkore-and.html

Review: A Ceremony for Every Occasion

If you have ever had a go at writing a ritual for a pagan event, you will know that it isn't as easy as it might seem.

You have to make sure it is appropriate for the time of year, the occasion being celebrated and the people taking part. It usually takes quite a bit of time and not a little creative inspiration to get it right.

The easy option is to look for a ritual that someone else has already written, ready to use off the peg or with very little adaptation. The problems is there just aren't enough collections of good, practical and simple to use pagan ceremonies easily available.

A new book called A Ceremony for Every Occasion: The Pagan Wheel of the Year and Rites of Passagegoes a long way to plug the gap. Written by Siusaidh Ceanadach, who has run both Druid and Pagan groups, it is a compilation of the best open rituals she has put on over the years.

The first section of the book covers celebrations for each of the pagan festivals over the course of the seasons from Imbolc to the Spring Equinox and through the summer and autumn on to Yule. The second part includes baby naming ceremonies, pagan weddings (known as handfastings), rites for burials and cremations and even words to say after the passing of a beloved pet.

Publisher Moon Books says on its website: "One of the most comprehensive books on ritual and rites of passage available to date. A Ceremony for Every Occasion has been written as a guide for Pagans and non-Pagans alike who wish to celebrate the passing of the seasons, the Wheel of the Year and who need a Rite of Passage for different times in their life. These rituals are spiritual, at the same time non-religious in the general accepted term. They can be adapted and used in different parts of the world and with different deity, with a little work or simply used exactly as written."

The book is very practical and easy to use, with step-by-step guides on what to do and even basic lists of all the items needed to take along to a ritual site in order to perform the ceremonies, including things like mobile phones and torches.

The rituals themselves are also nice and simple - and not too long - so even relatively inexperienced pagans should have no trouble using them. If you prefer slightly longer rituals, they could be easily added to or adapted as required. They are intended to be put on by largish groups of people, but could be adapted for small groups if necessary.

Author Siusaidh Ceanadach is a recognised Legal Celebrant with The Pagan Federation in Scotland and conducts handfastings, baby naming and funeral ceremonies. You can find out more about this on her website www.paganhandfastingscotland.co.uk

Links
A Ceremony for Every Occasion: The Pagan Wheel of the Year and Rites of Passage
http://www.o-books.net/
http://www.moon-books.net/
www.paganhandfastingscotland.co.uk

Review: The Folklore and Traditions of Marriage

With the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton taking place this Friday, books about weddings are filling bookshop windows. One that took my eye was Discovering the Folklore and Traditions of Marriageby folklorist George Monger.

The book is a fascinating look at the customs that have surrounded weddings in the past, some of which are still observed today. It begins with love and courtship - including divinations to find out who one will marry and the kinds of gifts given as tokens of betrothal. Engagement rings only became common in the 19th century, before that all sorts of presents could be exchanged as part of the espousal period, including gloves, shoes, coins, handkerchiefs and even knitting needles or lacemaking bobbins.

Preparations for the big day have a huge amount of superstition attached, including picking the right day and the right month. It might be a good thing that Will and Kate are marrying after Easter but at the end of April, because an old saying goes, "Marry in Lent, you'll live to repent" and "Marry in May, you'll rue the day".

The big day itself has taken on many forms in the past. Publisher Shire says on its website: "In Britain today the celebration of a marriage in the ‘traditional’ manner is a mixture of something old, something new and something borrowed from other traditions. It is bound up with church and secular legislation, and with custom and superstition. Discovering the Folklore and Traditions of Marriage looks at the ways that marriages are celebrated in multicultural Britain and how the practices of the past are observed, and sometimes altered, for contemporary times."

One of the forms of marriage George Monger looks at is the Besom Wedding, in which the bride and groom jump over a besom broom - a besom being the traditional witch's broom made of twigs bound to the end of a stick. Jumping over a broom seems to have formed at least part of the wedding ceremony in many different parts of the country in different forms.

In some villages a Besom Wedding was regarded as an unofficial trial marriage - sometimes lasting a year and a day. In Romany culture, however, the couple would hold hands and jump over a besom in front of witnesses as part of a binding and permanent marriage.

However, I was a bit disappointed that Discovering the Folklore and Traditions of Marriagedoesn't mention handfasting ceremonies - pagan weddings which usually also include the couple jumping over the besom broom. In Scotland, handfastings are allowed as part of a wedding ceremony and they have also been made legal in Ireland. Pagans believe that jumping over a besom symbolises a new start in life as well as the first hurdle the couple must face together.

But this is a small omission in an otherwise excellent book.

George Monger continues with a look at celebrations following the wedding ceremony, the honeymoon and life after the wedding day. I wonder if Will and Kate will attempt to claim the Dunmow Flitch - a side of bacon awarded to any couple who have been married for a year and a day, who can honestly say they have had no arguments or regrets.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.shirebooks.co.uk/store/Discovering-the-Folklore-and-Traditions-of-Marriage_9780747808190
Discovering the Folklore and Traditions of Marriage (Shire Discovering)
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/03/news-pagan-weddings-legal-in-ireland.html
http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/
http://paganhandfastingscotland.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=1
http://www.dunmowflitchtrials.co.uk/

News: Pagan weddings legal in Ireland

Pagan weddings - often called handfastings - are now recognised as legal in Ireland.

According to the pagan website Pagan Magic, couples can now be legally married in Ireland after a ceremony that concludes with jumping over a broomstick to mark crossing over from an old life to a new one. In another part of the wedding rite, the couples' wrists are bound together with a rope to symbolise their union, which is where the term handfasting originates.

The Pagan Federation Ireland campaigned for five years for the change in the law, which took effect in February this year. Before this, Irish couples wanting to get married at a stone circle or other outdoor location by a druid or wiccan priest and priestess had to also have a civil service at a register office.

That is still the case in England, as far as I know, although hopefully this will change soon. If you know any more about this situation, do leave a comment below.

Pagan weddings have been legal in Scotland for some time.

Links
http://info-wars.org/2010/02/21/pagan-weddings-now-allowed-in-ireland/
http://www.co-me.net/faqs/pagan-blessing.php
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/rites/weddings.shtml
http://www.legalpaganweddings.com/page3.htm
http://www.paganweddingguide.com/legal.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article7035084.ece
http://www.pagan-magic.co.uk/shop/newsdesk_info.php/pagan-weddings-allowed-ireland-n-476?osCsid=4ac7a4580075b6bde760fae3426d6df9?ad=badwitch
http://www.freewebs.com/paganfederationireland/