A TEENAGER plans to marry a schoolgirl in a pagan ceremony next month with the bride’s mother officiating.
Using a simple length of rope, Alex Stewart-Pole and Jenni Birch will become partners for “a year and a day” through the ancient ritual. A handfasting can then be renewed for the same or a longer period.
Aside from the lashing of hands, the couple will jump over a fire, chant and recite vows.
A design student at the Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE’s Mt Gravatt campus, Mr Stewart-Pole, 19, said: “We’re planning to one day go to Northampton in England, which is like the pagan capital of the world, to do our ‘10 years and a day’ handfasting.”
Holland Park High School student Jenni, 16, said of the handfasting: “We’ll just see how it goes.”
Jenni’s mother and pagan high priestess Sue Birch, of Lawnton, will perform the ceremony.
Paganism takes in a range of spiritual beliefs including Druidism, Wicca and modern witchcraft, and is based on the worship of nature and its cycle of birth, growth, death and renewal.
At the last Census, 3355 Queenslanders said they were pagan.
The Pagan Awareness Network believes the figure is closer to 13,000.
Eileen Harlow, one of three people in southeast Queensland licensed to conduct legally-binding handfasting ceremonies, said: “Unfortunately peoples’ picture of paganism can be very superficial and a little bit Hollywood.”
``It can appear very dramatic but, to the people involved, paganism is a heart-felt, nature-based faith that centres around health and healing and a holistic approach to life.’’
Pagan marriage is not recognised under Australian law, which stipulates those marrying must be 18 years or older.
Christian Democrat Party leader and anti-pagan campaigner Reverend Fred Nile said: ``(Handfasting) can’t be in any way acknowledged by the state and should not be listed as a genuine wedding.
Our party will do what it can to stop pagan weddings and witchcraft or Wicca activities.’’