The Nature Wedding
Wendi: OK, so I have never in my life been to a Wiccan wedding, and I want to know exactly what goes down?
Rachel: OK, a Wiccan wedding, unlike other weddings, it's about their religion but it's more about celebrating the love of the couple and then they just kind of bring in the forces of nature: earth, wind, fire and whatever the other one is and, yeah, basically it was really a celebration of their love, and the bridesmaids and the groomsmen stood around the couple in a circle and kind of had to send positive energy. It was a very hippie kind of love-fest wedding, and unlike traditional flowers there was leaves.
Wendi: Oh, that sounds so beautiful. On the floor kind of thing?
Rachel: On the floor, yeah, and it was in the autumn so they were all different colors.
Wendi: Wow, that sounds beautiful.
Rachel: Yeah.
Wendi: Was it outside or inside?
Rachel: It was inside but then the reception was outside.
Wendi: Wow, so it held in a church?
Rachel: I t was, no, it was not held in a church because there is no real church for Wiccan people. They just kind of, if anything, meet in small groups and talk about nature and things like that.
Wendi: Cool. That sounds really interesting.
Rachel: Yeah, but it did have kind of like and archbishop for Wiccan, people come in a very brightly colored cloak
Wendi: Right.
Rachel: And he was waving around a kind of staff.
Wendi: Yeah. Weird.
Rachel: Yeah. And they actually had to jump a witches broom at the end of it.
Wendi: Ah, I've seen that before, I think in the Southern U.S. that's kind of a custom or something like that. Have you seen that custom anywhere else?
Rachel: No, just at the Wiccan wedding.
Wendi: I've heard of that jumping over the broom before. I'm not sure. I'm not sure where I've seen that before, but yeah, that's interesting. Tell me a little about what the man and woman getting married were wearing?
Rachel: Um, regular traditional outfits. It was more the man who was conducting the wedding the ceremony that had something strange on. The bride wore a regular white gown with a veil and the groom wore a tuxedo with a tie.
Wendi: Right.
Rachel: All the bridesmaids had the same dress on picked out by the bride. Maybe instead though the jewelry was much more gothic style. Crosses and things like that. But yeah, everybody looked like a regular wedding except for hippie looking guy.
Wendi: Wow. Sounds like a really awesome event.
Wiccan
I have never in my life been to a Wiccan wedding.
'Wicca' is a form of witchcraft that uses practices having to do with nature to make good things happen. Notice the following:
- They actually practice Wicca.
- She is a member of the local Wiccan community.
forces of nature
In a Wiccan wedding, the couple just kind of bring in the
forces of nature.
'Forces of nature' include earth, wind, fire and water. These are the natural powers that exist in nature. Notice the following:
- Ancient people had a lot of respect for the forces of
nature.
- Their attraction to each other was a like a force of
nature.
positive energy
The bridesmaids and the groomsmen stand around the couple
to send positive energy.
'Positive energy' is like optimistic thoughts or good wishes. When you send someone positive energy, you are thinking of him and wanting him to succeed. Notice the following:
- This stone is supposed to give you positive energy.
- I am sending your lots of positive energy for your
interview today.
love-fest
The Wiccan wedding is a very hippie kind of love-fest
wedding.
A 'love-fest' would be like a party where everyone loves each other and is happy, smiling and having a good time. Notice the following:
- Most of the time those hippie love-fests involve music,
dancing and drugs.
- The music festival was like a big love-fest.
archbishop
But it also has like an archbishop for Wiccan people who
come in a cloak.
An 'archbishop' is a bishop, who is an important figure in a church, that has the highest power within that particular church. Notice the following:
- The archbishop traveled to my city today, and I was able
to meet him.
- The archbishop makes many important decisions for the
Catholic Church.
Vocabulary Quiz
love-fests • archbishop