Handfasting (noun)from Old English handfæsten and Old Norse handfesta "to pledge, betroth; strike a bargain by shaking hands                                          1) a Witch oPagan wedding not involving a traditional minister
2) an irregular or probationary marriage contracted by joining hands and agreeing to live together as man and wife

___________________________________________

Handfasting is an ancient Celtic wedding ritual in which the hands are tied together to symbolize the binding of two lives. It is primarily a part of Wiccan or Pagan ceremonies in which the entire wedding ceremony is known as hand-fasting. Of late the binding of the  the couples' hands has become more mainstream and pops up in both religious and secular vows. The Hollywood movie The Doors with Val Kilmer had a much-cut-down scene in which Kilmer and his Wiccan lady get hand-fasted.

      Some may find it ironical or amusing that Pagans have made a formal religious ritual for hand-fasting, when originally it was a custom practiced in the absence, or due to the absence church or clergy -- existing somewhere between betrothal and common-law marriage.

     "When we are hand-fasted, as we term it, we are man and wife for a year and a day; that space gone by, each may choose another mate, or, at their pleasure, may call the priest to marry them for life, and this we call hand-fasting."

                  -- Sir Walter Scott, -The Monastery-(1820),

      "This custom of hand-fasting actually prevailed in the upland days. It arose partly from the want of priests. While the convents subsisted, monks were detached on regular circuits through the wilder districts, to marry those who had lived in this species of connexion."-- Andrew Lang noted in his edition of The Monastery

       Hand-fasting remained legal in Scotland until 1939. As of 1987 common-law marriage in general is still legally recognized in several of the United States: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and even in Washington DC.

     Generally, a hand-fasting rite is not performed. Each individual acknowledges that they are man and wife, and conduct yourselves accordingly. No particular ceremony needed. The laws concerning this may vary considerably from state to state.

      This allows a man and woman in a deserted place with no-one else around to marry -- and later have it be found to be legitimate, legal and binding.

      A complete outline of a hand-fasting ceremony can be found in Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft.