SSU Pagan Awareness Club Ties the Knot with Handfasting
by Sarina Alley
Salem, Mass., Feb. 18, 2017 — Salem State University’s Pagan Awareness Club (PAC) met on Friday to discuss the tradition of handfasting and healthy relationships of all kinds. PAC’s president, Emily Pike, a practicing wiccan for three years, discussed the importance of communication in a relationship, along with how to work around interfaith relationships, and the pagan ceremony of handfasting.
“Healthy relationships are respectful, accepting, and loving. If your partner does respect, accept, and love you, that’s not a relationship; it’s abuse,” said Pike at Friday’s meeting. “This includes respecting and accepting your faith, even if you follow different paths.”
Pike led the discussion about how it being in an interfaith relationship has the possibility to be challenging for both parties, especially if their forms of worship and communication with their god(s) are different between the partners.
“If you’re wiccan or a witch, your partner needs to respect not just you, but your alter as well. Remember, ‘respect’ doesn’t mean ‘tolerate,’” Pike added.
For many members of PAC, including Daniel Hyde, Nikolai Friedman, and Pike herself, it is a personal rule to let potential partners know about their faith before the relationship even starts.
“A lot of people have issues with [witchcraft], so it’s important to make sure they know early on so if they don’t like it you can move on,” Hyde said, pulling his pentacle from inside of his shirt.
Many members of PAC are practicing witches, some falling under the category of Wiccan or Druid. Tthose who practice often wear symbols from their faith as jewelry.
With interfaith relationships come the discussion of marriage, and the ceremony of handfasting.
“Handfasting is one of the oldest traditions among pagan communities. The ceremony symbolizes the tying of each person together, and allowing two people to become one,” said Pike. Although handfasting is not viewed as legally binding in most states, it is spiritually binding.
Although the club did take up the hour slot given to them, the discussion about relationships and all that comes with them did not take up the full time.
“It went well. I think [Pike] overestimated how long her topic would take though,” Nikolai Friedman, a practicing Druid, said after the meeting.
PAC meets every Friday (bar school being cancelled or vacations starting) at 4 p.m., usually in the Ellison Underground.
Full disclosure: The author of this article is an active member of PAC.
