OATHING STONE CEREMONY
Throughout history humans have marked important occasions with ritual and ceremony, within these rituals symbolic objects have often played a key part. Oathing stones are one such object!
The oathing stone ceremony is an old Celtic tradition. It can be incorporated into your wedding ceremony with the couple both having their hands on a chosen stone while they say their wedding vows. This ritual is said to come from a Celtic tradition of ‘setting your oath in stone’ in a time when rings weren’t exchanged.
Any stone or stones can be used for this. You might like to collect one from a significant location. You can then wash it and oil it, paint it together, have it engraved - get creative!
Find a heart shaped stone…even better!
If you are having an outdoor wedding you could even include the finding of your oathing stone as part of your ceremony - something your guests could be involved in. You can then put the stone back to where you found it, tossing it into a lake or back onto a cairn - forever binding your words back to the land. Or you might choose to keep it, putting it in your own garden or living room.
Oathing stones can be used in other ways. Everyone invited to the ceremony could be asked to bring a small stone and hold it during the ceremony to put their well wishes on it, and then give it to the couple to keep. Alternatively one large stone can be passed around the guests before it is used by the couple during the wedding ceremony (as with a ring warming).
Picture the scene…. in the weeks leading up to the big day you went on a walk to your favourite beach and took the time together to select The Perfect Stone, just the right shape and texture. As we get to the part of your ceremony where you will exchange your vows or promises, your best friend/daughter/mum brings your chosen Oathing stone to the front. I will hold the stone a moment, while we take a few moments and words to mark the significance of the vows and commitment you are about to make. Then I will ask you both to hold the stone in your hands while you speak your vows. You can keep this stone, on the shelf or in the garden, and maybe one day (your first, second or tenth anniversary) you might go back to your favourite beach and return your stone back to nature.
