Blood-bound Handfasting

[Shahaku]

Have any of you ever done a blood binding as part of your marriage vows/ handfasting? How do you feel about it in general? Do you feel differently about whether it's for this life only, or for eternity? (Also, I know we've had blood magic discussions before. I don't want to see this devolve off-topic. We are talking specifically a blood binding between two or more willing, loving adults as part of a joining ceremony.)

[MaskedOne]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

Have any of you ever done a blood binding as part of your marriage vows/ handfasting? How do you feel about it in general? Do you feel differently about whether it's for this life only, or for eternity?

No
No opinion
No. Blood may be with you through this life but it's intrinsically part of your current mortal shell and formed of said current mortal shell. Power anchored to things of your current shell has no guarantee of surviving past it. Also, "until death do us part" makes for a decent closing clause on the oath. Is it possible to use blood to carry an oath further? Err maybe but I doubt it can be done by accident. You have to be trying to do so and other factors (like say, omitting "until death do us part") will matter at least as much if not more. Like almost all mortal acts of craftwork, the physical props are secondary to emotion, energy and will. Blood is a very, very good prop but it's still a prop at the end of the day.

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

I suspect blood binding is often more important to one party than another. As a way of tying one to another, even when love has flown out of the window, it sucks. Use blood by all means, but it doesn't really strengthen anything in the long term.

[Azvanna]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

Do you feel differently about whether it's for this life only, or for eternity?

I don't know much about blood binding so let me ask: wouldn't it be more like a covenant between bloodlines? So, in my point of view, the blood belongs to more than just myself, it belongs to my family as well. So to mix my blood with another's, that would include my life force but also the life force of my relatives. So the covenant extends beyond the two individuals and indirectly includes relatives.

[anunitu]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

Blood has always had this "Magical" image,think of the Vampire myth,and blood being a needed liquid to sustain the vampire. Blood is said to contain the life(Life blood)
In ritual it is often described as the blood(in the form of wine) consuming the blood of a deity,and the body(So in a way a ritual cannibalism) There were primitive groups that consumed the bodies of dead members of their tribe in order to keep the spirit of the dead within the tribe.

I am no expert on blood rituals,but a google search should find a lot of information.

- - - Updated - - -

The Wari also practiced endocannibalism, specifically mortuary cannibalism. Endocannibalism is the consumption of members of one's own group. This was done as a form of utmost respect to those who had died.[

Site. here.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

I don't know much about blood binding so let me ask: wouldn't it be more like a covenant between bloodlines? So, in my point of view, the blood belongs to more than just myself, it belongs to my family as well. So to mix my blood with another's, that would include my life force but also the life force of my relatives. So the covenant extends beyond the two individuals and indirectly includes relatives.

My roots have a belief that one curses bloodlines so blood bindings are things not to be entered in lightly. Yet inversely there is also the belief, abet old, that a few drops of menstrual blood, will bind a man to a woman and act as a fertility type thing. Sort of tying the two lines together via their children which again binds two blood lines together. Don't think either is really practiced to much anymore but then again I am male and in my heritage the menstrual stuff would be passed via the women's mysteries and blood curses, well those aren't taken lightly.

But I figure blood memory is supposed to be from generation to generation. Figure blood oath's are supposed to be from generation to generation and cause all sorts of issues, even in the modern world and not just in so called 3rd world areas.

[DragonsFriend]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

In my tradition, the joining of two individuals joins their families as well and we don't use blood to do it.

[Chessa]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

Although personally, I am not above using blood for something incredibly personal and sacred, weddings of all faiths and practices usually involve the mixing of...other...bodily fluids. Which means the joining of the two lines is fully realized into the world as a baby.

[Shahaku]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

So we're looking at this as a poly ritual, joining our three souls together. When it comes to bloodlines being joined via children, that works for the hubby and me, and the gf and the hubby, but not for the gf and me. Not in the same way. Azvanna, tying in our relatives through our blood isn't actually a thought that had occurred to me. It's something I'll have to consider.

It was a thought that seemed to click, and we've had several discussions since. We're all more or less in agreement, after much negotiation on wording. Just getting some opinions and maybe ideas here.

Thanks for the responses all.

[habbalah]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

When Angela Jolie wa married to Billy Bob Thorton, she wore a necklace with a vial of his blood. A lot of people thought it was weird, but I thought it was a wonderful idea, because you literally have a part of them wherever you are.

[Heka]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

... that a few drops of menstrual blood, will bind a man to a woman and act as a fertility type thing...

I don't see any fertility in menstrual blood. Menstrual blood is almost the opposite of fertility. I mean yes it generally means your reproductive system is working, but literally means you failed at fertility that month. Children as a sign of lines bonding yes, but not menstrual blood. Any who that's OT


Blood to symbolize the sacrifice you make in that relationship maybe Shahaku? If it seems like the right thing to both of you, do it. That tends to be my outlook. If it feels right, chances are it is.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

I don't see any fertility in menstrual blood. Menstrual blood is almost the opposite of fertility. I mean yes it generally means your reproductive system is working, but literally means you failed at fertility that month. Children as a sign of lines bonding yes, but not menstrual blood. Any who that's OT


Blood to symbolize the sacrifice you make in that relationship maybe Shahaku? If it seems like the right thing to both of you, do it. That tends to be my outlook. If it feels right, chances are it is.

Still off topic

Menstrual blood ties back into the blood issue of feeding blood to the ground and producing crops and fertility as a sacrifice for a good harvest. It also ties into the idea of a women being most fertile during or shortly after the menstrual cycle and by placing her blood into his drink promising her fertile ground as a place for his seed and fertilization of her egg. Which ties into the idea of the egg and unrealized potential for life. Which ties back to the menstrual blood and offering of her egg to him. Got to remember it had a lot to do with folk magics and folk beliefs.

[Heka]

Still off topic

Menstrual blood ties back into the blood issue of feeding blood to the ground and producing crops and fertility as a sacrifice for a good harvest. It also ties into the idea of a women being most fertile during or shortly after the menstrual cycle and by placing her blood into his drink promising her fertile ground as a place for his seed and fertilization of her egg. Which ties into the idea of the egg and unrealized potential for life. Which ties back to the menstrual blood and offering of her egg to him. Got to remember it had a lot to do with folk magics and folk beliefs.

Still OT

Which is all valid. But it isn't logical to me to use dead blood for fertility. Of any kind.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

Still OT

Which is all valid. But it isn't logical to me to use dead blood for fertility. Of any kind.

To continue to OT

I guess it begs the question is menstrual blood actually dead blood? Yes the content within it might be perceived as waste or potentially unwanted but is it, ie the blood, dead? Even potentially how long must the content carried from the body be outside the body before it is considered as "Dead"? Figure "Sperm" can last for a limited amount of time outside the body before it dies yet still perform it's biological function if it penetrates and gains contact with an egg.

It's a sticking point for certain and from what I recall the "Drink" would have to be consumed quickly from the time the menstrual blood was taken and added to it to ensure it was active and potent. You couldn't take blood and let it sit for any amount of time and use it later, so it had to be "Body temperature" more or less. But as I said above the males were not to informed in that type of practice as it was passed down to our sisters by our mothers, grandmothers and aunts. We were just warned not to drink things or eat certain things. Well unless the women in the family said it was ok according to my older relatives but that was changing when I hit my teens. Though some of the older aunts and such still warned us about drinking any thing offered to us boys.

[Heka]

Re: Blood-bound Handfasting

How long it's dead is a good question. But I don't think you'll get an easy answer. I've never thought about it before myself. As someone trying to get pregnant, the moment that blood exits my body it's of no use to me. I guess currently I consider it dead as soon as menstruation starts.

If I was avoiding pregnancy on the other hand, menstruation would be a cause for celebration haha.