Thursday 14 July 2011

Our handfasting

This weekend past was Danny and my 1st wedding anniversary and on Monday we also had our third wedding ceremony. Confused? Let me explain.

Two years ago we had a handfasting in Ards forest in Donegal, overseen by my good friend Tasha who turned priestess for the day. (click here to read more about handfastings)
The pre-Christian marriage tradition of the handfasting  lasted for one year and one day, ending on our 'real' wedding day last year. 

Here are some pictures of that first ceremony. It was in no way legally binding but none the less a marriage to a very special man.



We collected reeds and flowers that morning from near our house and I made this St.Brigid's cross and Dan and I made my flower head dress together.

The site was an ancient mound in the forest that had a huge altar-like stone in its centre that may well have acted as a mass rock during penal times. The mound has a ring of large stones around its rim and is surrounded on two sides by a tidal bay.


Priestess Natasha on the beach and an amazing holed stone in another part of the forest.
We put our still bound hands through the hole in the stone and Natasha untied the cords, completing the binding ceremony.


Photos by Maria O'Hara and Tomas Bamford.

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