Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Third Degree of Separation.
I started off the mundane New Year with a wedding, one I wrote (channeled?) and conducted. Yes, my first ever as a High Priestess.
It was also the most unusual wedding I’ve ever been to. Probably because most weddings don’t include a blood ritual, but hey, that’s what the bride and groom wanted.
The couple didn’t want a regular wedding. They wanted a spiritual blending, a binding of their souls to one another, not just for this lifetime but forevermore. Not until death-do-us- part, but for all lifetimes to come.
I had serious reservations about a binding of this sort and their motivations, but after much prayer, I was told, “Give them what they’ve asked for.” I was told to stay neutral, told not to judge, told to make it so for them. And then leave immediately. I made certain they understood the ramifications and the seriousness of their vows and gave them three chances to back out. They said they understood; they didn’t back out. Me, I felt totally Zenned out the whole time.
I don’t think I’ve felt such a strong and persistent level of Spirit present since my Third Degree Elevation. The guests were wrapped in blankets, but my hair was damp with perspiration from the energy surge. Almost three solid hours of energy zapping through me, from the time I arrived and started creating sacred space until I pronounced the binding done.
The ritual itself was somewhere between a handfasting and an initiation, with the two of them taking their vows to be bound not to the Gods but to each other. I’m not sure I would have the guts to do that—I’d have to be damned sure I loved a man unconditionally before making that kind of vow because it’s far more serious than a legal marriage. And yes, I know full well that it is indeed better to rush upon the blade than to enter such a union with fear or doubt in the heart but rather in perfect love and perfect trust.
As for the blood oaths they took to each other, I’m thinking that all weddings should include them. Really! I’ve been to wedding receptions where the bride and groom crammed wedding cake in each other’s mouths and smeared icing on each other’s faces in what sometimes seemed rather mean-spirited. But give a couple a sharp instrument? Woohoo! Let the fun begin!
It was very telling. And also, rather amusing for the audience who couldn’t stop giggling rather inappropriately! They would have to draw each other’s blood to continue with the blood oath. They wanted to know, would I, as the facilitator of this ritual, make the cuts for them? Nope. They had to be willing to do it themselves. The bride went first, pleading forgiveness and offering up kisses and then stabbing the hell out of his finger.
He took at least 15 minutes to work on her finger. He squirmed for so long about doing anything that might hurt her that she asked if she could prick her own. No. They had to be willing to do each other. He finally made a shallow enough dip into her finger that he finally got a tiny pink dot under the skin and squeezed it until he got a single drop of blood to the surface. Finally!
But it was good to know how far he would go to keep from causing her pain and how much it hurt him to do anything that might hurt her. I think it’s a good indicator of things to come.
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