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    handfasting cords

    so what are some cool ideas to make handfasting cords?? ive read you can put beads and charms on them, and also write things on the ribbons and such, but just wantin some ideas

    #2
    Re: handfasting cords

    I've heard of people braiding them, embroidering them, weaving them or braiding them out of various things... Charms and writing things on the ribbons sounds cool.

    Of course, you could always be like the Doctor and handfast with a bowtie ( I mean, they are cool)
    hey look, I have a book! And look I have a second one too!

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      #3
      Re: handfasting cords

      Can someone please explain to me what hand fasting is? I don't really understand it.

      Do different knots mean different things? ect.

      Thanks!

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        #4
        Re: handfasting cords

        Originally posted by LadyDorothy View Post
        Can someone please explain to me what hand fasting is? I don't really understand it.

        Do different knots mean different things? ect.

        Thanks!
        A handfasting is a Pagan wedding ceremony. The "handfast" is in the cord - the couple has their hands bound together in the culmination of the ceremony, symbolizing their bond. The couple will presumably keep the knotted cord in their home until there comes a time, if any, that they decide to split up, at which time the knot would be untied and the cord disposed of.

        Knots are used in cord magic, wherein the energy from the spell is infused into the cord while knots are tied. This can be used in binding spells or for attraction spells, depending upon the intention. As mentioned, the knot in a handfasting cord indicates the wedded couple's loving bond and commitment. Different knots surely have different uses in the minds of different paths and individuals. This is hardly my area of expertise, but Celtic knot work comes to mind.
        Children love and want to be loved and they very much prefer the joy of accomplishment to the triumph of hateful failure. Do not mistake a child for his symptom.
        -Erik Erikson

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          #5
          Re: handfasting cords

          Originally posted by nymphetflower View Post
          so what are some cool ideas to make handfasting cords?? ive read you can put beads and charms on them, and also write things on the ribbons and such, but just wantin some ideas
          My husband and I integrated a modified handfasting into our wedding. I must admit that our cord was relatively simple and I didn't make it with any particular symbolism. The symbolism was the cord and the handfasting itself.

          Ours was a 3ply commercial cord in the colour scheme of the wedding. I attached gold tassels to either end wrapped with ribbon to make it all neat and pretty. I made it long enough so that when we had my parents tie one end around each of our wrists we had 3 feet or so of cord between us. We stayed bound like that all the rest of the day until we went to bed. The significance to us was that I made it myself and that I designed it for us to be bound in the ceremony and stay that way (bound together as husband and wife) the rest of the day.

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            #6
            Re: handfasting cords

            Awwwwww!

            I really need to incorporate that into my wedding!

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              #7
              Re: handfasting cords

              good ideas!!

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                #8
                Re: handfasting cords

                I've been handfasted twice. The first time we used a strip of fabric from his kilt. When we had a handparting, we cut the tie that we had used to bind us. In my second handfasting we made a rope with three ribbons; red, black, and white; they were not only the colors of the wedding, but also the triple goddess, we thought it was pretty sneaky.

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                  #9
                  Re: handfasting cords

                  My husband and I incorporated a handfasting into our christan wedding ceremony (yup, he's very christan and I'm very pagan). We had 3 long ribbons, in the colours of the wedding (white, green and brown). The night before we invited people to pizza at the pub and had everyone do some braiding of the 3, to add their love and good intentions for us. Then in the Christian ceremony the minister read out a bit I'd prepared about it and the ribbon was tied around our wrists (though there was a bit of mistaking things and the knot undid nearly straight away! My mum did it a bit better after,but that also died.....). At the reception our vows were threaded on the ribbon and draped over the gift table. We also found a bible verse about "3 strands becoming one" so that was included too. We have the ribbon now, but our house is a mess and its on the floor with all our other wedding stuff, but it will have a home soon!
                  ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

                  RIP

                  I have never been across the way
                  Seen the desert and the birds
                  You cut your hair short
                  Like a shush to an insult
                  The world had been yelling
                  Since the day you were born
                  Revolting with anger
                  While it smiled like it was cute
                  That everything was shit.

                  - J. Wylder

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                    #10
                    Re: handfasting cords

                    Originally posted by Heka View Post
                    My husband and I incorporated a handfasting into our christan wedding ceremony (yup, he's very christan and I'm very pagan). We had 3 long ribbons, in the colours of the wedding (white, green and brown). The night before we invited people to pizza at the pub and had everyone do some braiding of the 3, to add their love and good intentions for us. Then in the Christian ceremony the minister read out a bit I'd prepared about it and the ribbon was tied around our wrists (though there was a bit of mistaking things and the knot undid nearly straight away! My mum did it a bit better after,but that also died.....). At the reception our vows were threaded on the ribbon and draped over the gift table. We also found a bible verse about "3 strands becoming one" so that was included too. We have the ribbon now, but our house is a mess and its on the floor with all our other wedding stuff, but it will have a home soon!
                    That is super cool. I am tucking this away for (hopefully) years down the line.
                    Also, this gives me some general hope in my own life ^_^. Belated congrats on your wedding!
                    hey look, I have a book! And look I have a second one too!

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                      #11
                      Re: handfasting cords

                      Originally posted by Malflick View Post
                      That is super cool. I am tucking this away for (hopefully) years down the line.
                      Also, this gives me some general hope in my own life ^_^. Belated congrats on your wedding!
                      Im glad to be of assistance! I'm just wondering, what do you mean by "hope". Do you have a rather Christian partner or something? Apologies if I'm prying! And thanks!

                      oops, just realised you're the Christian! Haha. Another key thing about our whole shindig was the minister. We've known him for a while and he knows I'm pagan (though his wife was shocked and uncomfortable!) He was open to the handfasting idea as symbolism and cos we traced it to the celts and he had a minister mate who had writen a book involving it. He was also really good about taking excessive god references out for me, and keeping the mother in law out of the whole thing.
                      Last edited by Heka; 10 Jun 2013, 03:30. Reason: Read your description...
                      ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

                      RIP

                      I have never been across the way
                      Seen the desert and the birds
                      You cut your hair short
                      Like a shush to an insult
                      The world had been yelling
                      Since the day you were born
                      Revolting with anger
                      While it smiled like it was cute
                      That everything was shit.

                      - J. Wylder

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: handfasting cords

                        I know this threads week or two old, but i wanted to share too!

                        My husband and I had a mostly secular wedding(actually i did sneak a TON of symbolism in, but most people thought it was pretty secular) because our families are both very Christian, he is very Atheist, and I am very all over the road

                        We included a hand-fasting into our ceremony, though, because they were super important to me.

                        Our hand-fasting cord was made of ribbon, and was braided in a 7-cord braid (which is a lot easier than it sounds!)

                        We sent out a survey type card (instead of a menu card) with our RSVP's and requested that each person invited select a colour, corresponding to what they hoped for our future.
                        For example (this was more detailed on my cards, but i don't have the information with me at the moment to be exact)

                        red: passion
                        orange: joy
                        ect.

                        I then took the RSVP's and my husband and I spent an evening a few nights before our wedding tying beads into the ribbons. We took our time, reading who had sent what well-wish, and thanking them (spiritually) as we added them to their ribbons.
                        Then we braided the ribbons together to create our hand-fasting cord.

                        During our ceremony we explained that our hand-fasting cord was binding us together, not physically, but spiritually, that the cord was filled with our own hopes and dreams for our future, but also with everyone who loved us' hopes and dreams as well.
                        Our officiant tied our cord four times around our wrists while speaking, and when she was done speaking it slipped easily from our hands. We placed it in our "Love Box" which was basically a time capsule of our wedding day. (My dad custom built it with a hinged, glass lid, so we could put the cord in it, but still be able to see and get to it, if we wanted, without opening the rest of the box.

                        /takes a deep breath

                        ya. that's what we did

                        p.s. It's funny though, we've received so many compliments about how intimate and beautiful the hand-fasting part of our ceremony was, if they had been told it was "pagan" I wonder if they would have said the same...

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                          #13
                          Re: handfasting cords

                          In our handfasting we both chose a selection of ribbons, twines and threads (mostly from Hobbycraft) that we liked and then set about collecting tokens that were important to use along with items that would enhance its traits. It took us ages to assemble it and was about six feet long in the end.
                          Before it was used in the ceremony( while the officiants were sealing the circle) we had each of the guests reflect over the cord , imbuing it with their wishes, love and advice.
                          Before it was passed to the officiants and used to binds us both

                          Tokens we used were simple things, flowers, bells, mirrors, orthopaedic fracture repair plates.
                          The cord is in our disaster box of things to get out the house in emergencies

                          In our ceremony the cord was used to focus in the wishes and love of our family/friends at the end of the ceremony, a blessing on our oaths to each other.
                          The main part of the spiritual binding was done earlier via rings.
                          Last edited by Optimistic discord; 16 Jul 2013, 13:45.

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