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Willow Firesong's
Here you will find our beliefs, our myths, our holidays and their meanings, all of the foundations for our religion. Our ethics and our actions all arise from our basic beliefs about the nature of the world.
Marriage is a sacred contract between two or more consenting adults, to share their lives and selves with each other, and raise together any children of the household. It should be entered into with a clear understanding among all parties involved as to exactly what is being promised, and for how long. Some prefer to marry forever, others until parted by death, others until love ends. Some prefer monogamy, others other forms of fidelity, while others have no preference. Some want children, others don't, while others don't care. What is important is that everyone understands what is being agreed upon, and is comfortable and happy with it. What is even more important is providing for any children of the union; children deserve stability and love.
Just as I believe in gravity, whether it's convenient or enjoyable, so too, I believe in divorce. It exists as a necessary means of undoing mistakes, or acknowledging change that has caused those in the marriage to grow apart. However, it is not a primary solution, but rather a last-ditch solution when all else has failed. If all parties enter into a union with a clear understanding of what is wanted, expected, and commited to, it is unlikely that divorce will be a necessary option. When people grow from a place where they are truly together, they rarely grow apart. This is why it is important that all parties be honest with each other, and make sure they know each other well from the start.
We have no objection to interfaith marriages, per se, as long as the couple remain compatible enough to be happy together, and have come to a comfortable decision regard which tradition to raise the child or children of the union, if any. It is likely to be necessary that the other faith be one that we consider to be positive, as it's hard to imagine a comfortable union between people who are disturbed by one another's beliefs.
Until such time as a non-human wants to marry with a human being, and can clearly demonstrate and attest to that fact, and the human is willing, I do not believe there will be such a thing as an interracial marriage. People of all colors and heritage can be happy together; the only requirements are that they be people, and follow similar social rules.
We believe that people should know each other well, and in all seasons, before committing to something as serious as marriage, whether to an individual, or to a community. The best way we have found to ensure this is a handfasting, a commitment to make a commitment, if all are suited to it. The people involved are essentially engaged, and the commitment is binding and serious, but on a trial basis, to make sure all are truly suited before committing to what cannot be undone. Genes cannot be unmixed once a child is engendered, and marriage should recognize that. A handfasting can be for any length of time, in various traditions, but in ours we prefer the common year and a day - this ensures that all parties see each other in all moods and seasons. Summer love is very different under the bleak light of a February or November sky.
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