Love Knots - A Wedding Ritual

Ritual Recipes

Long ago, when sailors navigated by the stars, when seabirds carried the spirits of sailors lost at sea, and when everyone knew that the bust of a naked woman on the bow of a ship would calm rough waters, a sailor would carry a cord with three knots. Bound in each was the wind itself.

Inspired by the ancient lore of knots, I created the ritual "Love Knots" using the arbor knot, the lovers' knot, and the Celtic marriage knot, with possible additions of the double fisherman's knot, and the sailor's breastplate knot. The ritual can easily be adapted for two people entering a partnership of any kind.

See the website RitualRecipes.net for a picture of the three knots used in the wedding ceremony.

For couples who have had to postpone their wedding, please read the blog post by my Life-Cycle Celebrant colleague Karla Combres about how and why to mark your original wedding date with ritual. You can find it at The Celebrant Foundation and Institute's blog.