A Sacred Ritual to Seal a Contract

Marriage is a contract , albeit, a sacred one. Vows are taken to love one another. Promises are made to honor and cherish each other, forsaking all others until death parts us. 

Negotiations and agreements in ancient times were rounded off with the sharing of salt, as a sign of an agreement that could not be broken. When hesitant about agreeing to a contract with someone , it might be said that the person is “not worth his salt.”

Salt is an important ritual element in many cultures as it symbolizes spiritual nourishment. The covenant of salt in the Bible (2 Chronicles 13:5) denotes a covenant which God cannot break. In this context, salt denotes incorruptibility, as well as permanence in relationships, contracts or friendships. 

Marriage is all of these. 

In China, salt is used as a symbol of permanence in weddings, confirming the perpetuity of the Union. 

In the Roman rite of confarreatio , the sharing of a cake of flour and salt magically transformed them into blood kin, unable to harm one another. 

As with all my ceremonies, I customize the service to the hearts and souls of the participants. Here, I am standing in a gazebo surrounded by nature and the Irish angels that the bride and groom asked for . I am performing a blessing, on the altar before me ,of holy water, Celtic sea salt and a sprig of rosemary . 

I sprinkled the salt water on the hands of the bride and groom using a sprig of rosemary to consecrate their vows, purify them and confer peace of mind . 

There is an ancient Celtic saying:

From every human being there rises a light that goes straight to heaven. And when two souls are destined for each other and find each other, their streams of light flow together and a single light goes forth from their United being. 

And so it was. The single light, the essence of Love, and, yes, the Irish angels were sweetly singing . 

And they lived happily ever after .