They stood together, a man and a woman, holding hands within the circle of wild oaks and sabal palms. A warm wind swept the sweet spring air around them into a gentle, loving force that tantalized their senses.
The light of a full moon, big and white against the night, cast long shadows that stretched from the base of the trees to the bare feet of the two people who stood at the center of this place. The shadows connected them to everything, like the spokes of a great wheel connect the center hub to the great circle of the rim. Above them, wrapped all around them, was a blanket of night and glistening stars.
insertsm1 He told her that he would honor and respect her, and that he would support her on this journey. He held out a strand of deep red silk, and tied his wrist to hers.
In this sacred time when they talked of their union, he acknowledged to her his shortcomings. At times he had been selfish, sometimes impatient. He thanked her for the patience she had shown, and for the patience she would need.
Then he looked into her eyes, so deeply that she could see into his heart, and he promised to her his love for as long as he could breathe. Then he kissed her hand.
These words did not spring from a shallow pool, but from a place deep within his spirit being. The words helped him to bring into clearer form what he knew to be true. He knew it in the way the Sun knows its own heat, in the way the eagle knows the wind, in the way the body knows the soul.
He knew it would take his lifetime to show her the full meaning of his promise. He said these things to her while the trees listened, while the moon watched, and while the evening star witnessed.
She too expressed her love for him there, in the little circle of oaks and palms within the greater circles of the earth and the galaxy and the night. She too acknowledged her weaknesses, and she thanked him for the strength she felt she could draw from the love he gave to her.
Her life has more meaning now, she told him, now that he would share in it, in her hopes and dreams, in her joys and even the sorrows that would come. She was delighted that this man would accompany her along the way. He was her companion.
She told him that she too would honor him and respect him and that, for as long as they shared this journey, she would give her trust to him.
"You are my heart," she whispered, while the trees listened, while the moon could see, and while the evening star witnessed.
And so, it was done.
She slowly untied the strand of deep red silk fastened to their wrists and gently kissed his lips. Their journey together had begun.
This article was excerpted with permission from the book:
The Book of Ceremonies
by Gabriel Horn. (White Deer of Autumn ©2000).
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, New World Library, Novato, CA 94949. www.newworldlibrary.com
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About The Author
Gabriel Horn is a writer and associate professor who teaches writing, literature, and Native American philosophy. He is the author of The Book of Ceremonies, Native Heart, Ceremony in the Circle of Life, The Great Change, Contemplations of a Primal Mind, and editor of Wisdomkeepers.
