Polytheistic/Pagan Ceremony: Celebrating Creation and Love

Polytheistic Ceremony was also presented as a Pagan Ceremony. It focuses on the power and awe of creation, the place of humankind, and the connection of two souls within the universe. In place of religion it contemplates universal laws. So if you want to make a more serious statement in your ceremony, this might be for you. It relies on ideas and words which can be integrated with the legal wording of marriage. So add to this the sections required of the marriage act and your words could be like this:

Introduction

“We have come here in celebration of the joining together of _______________ and ________________ in marriage. There are many things to say about marriage – much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls has come our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained, and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two who stand before us, we can hope to leave them with the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that come with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing. Love gives birth to life, and goes beyond death. It is the initiator of creation and its exponent on earth. If we learn no more in life, let it be this.

Presentation of Bride

At this point other rites would ask who gives the Bride in Marriage, but as a woman is not property to be bought and sold, given and taken, I ask simply if she comes of her own will and if she has her family’s blessing?
With whom do you come and whose blessings accompany you?
( “She comes with us, her family, and is accompanied by all her family’s blessings”)

Dedication and Exchange of Rings

Please join hands with your betrothed and listen to that which I am about to say. Above you are the stars, below you are the stones, as time doth pass remember, like a stone should your love be firm; like a star should your love be constant. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage, let the strength of your wills bind you together. Let the power of love and desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable. Be close, but not too close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience with one another, the storms will come, but they will pass quickly.
Be free in giving of affection and warmth. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for your partner is with you always.

To groom and bride in turn:
______________, I have not the right to bind you to _____________ : only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in her hand.

Answer : “ It is my wish”

As it is your wish, place the ring on her/his finger.

Vows

I, ________________, in the name of the spirit that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee ___________ to my hand, my heart and my spirit to be my wife. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for none can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in this life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways, as I respect myself.

Declaration

________________ and ___________________, may your love so endure that its flame remains a guiding light . With pleasure I solemnise your union and pronounce you to be husband and wife.”