Waterford Weddings: 'There’s magic in the land', an interview with a Priestess
Sarah Fox with Jennifer Van Uffelen and Joseph Roche at their handfasting ceremony. Photo: Anna Przybylo
Sarah Fox describes herself as “a priestess of the sacred land, meaning a woman who is dedicated to mediating the energy of the land of Ireland.” Her work involves performing rituals and ceremonies based on the Celtic festivals in the sacred sites of Ireland.
“Looking after the Earth is the most important thing. We have to look after her before we do anything else.”
Sarah has also been performing pagan marriage ceremonies called handfasting ceremonies since 2022. She sat down with the Waterford News & Star to tell us all about this type of wedding, which has grown in popularity over the last number of years.
Sarah belongs to the neo-paganism movement. It is a movement that is trying to rekindle ancient Irish pagan practices.
Sarah said, “Ireland has so much history and spirituality but it’s a broken lineage because it was an oral tradition.”
She explained that when Ireland became Christianised, the monks wrote down the mythologies and stories of those gone before them. For Sarah, it is a somewhat double-edged sword. For her, it's wondrous to have records about Ireland in the 9th century but because they were written by monks, they often have a monotheistic lens, which is not accurate for early Irish pagan beliefs.
Sarah is enthused by the rising popularity of pagan celebrations in Ireland.
She said, “It’s in our DNA.”
Speaking about the many dolmans and standing stones in the south of Ireland, she said, “I think people love to visit these places because they feel something. Like there’s magic in the land.”
Handfasting is an ancient tradition that has been performed in Ireland for a thousand years. In pagan times in Ireland, handfasting was not reserved solely for marriage, but was also a way of taking any sacred oath. There are many stones around Ireland with a hole through them; these were used in the past for pagan marriage ceremonies. The couple would put their hands into the hole and make the sacred vow. The stone was a kind of “spiritual solicitor”, according to Sarah.
The handfasting itself is “a dedication”. For our ancestors that oath would last for a year and a day.
Sometimes people ask Sarah to be bound together for many lifetimes.
“The integrity of that, I can’t commit to that, as a Priestess.”
She prefers the phrases “as long as it's right for the couple’s soul path.”
Or, “As long as the love should last.”
“That might mean they’re together for 29 lifetimes or 29 years. It’s honouring the fact that these are two individuals, and their life path might go in different ways.”
She explained that handfasting “isn’t just a pretty thing to do at the end of a legal ceremony. It is a sacred bond that you’re making between two people”.
“I take it very seriously and the couples I work with take it very seriously.”
Unlike other religious ceremonies, you do not have to be pagan to have a handfasting marriage ceremony, if you have a deep connection to nature and earth-honouring practices.
But Sarah doesn’t want to over-emphasise the difference between a Pagan and a Catholic Wedding.
“It’s still a sacred vow.”
During the ceremony, Sarah "calls the quarters", which means calling the elements from the four corners of Ireland. Air from the east, fire from the south, water in the west and earth from the north.
She also calls upon, “The great sky above and the great earth below.”
“That itself is a powerful thing for people to witness.”
When the sacred space is open, the couple is called forward and their love story is told.
Then the challenges happen. Sarah will ask the couple questions based on the elements of earth, fire, air and water.
People can choose to do this part privately before the ceremony or else as part of the ceremony.
Sarah said, “It’s a really beautiful thing because you don’t know what the questions are going to be. You’re speaking directly to your partner, witnessed by your community, witnessed by the land. It’s a really powerful thing.”
If you’re interested in a handfasting ceremony for your wedding, Sarah emphasised that the consultation process is really important. She said, “Firstly, it’s an alignment call. We also speak about the family, if someone is deeply Christian. Often, we will ask that person to step forward and say a prayer or bring something into the space.”
She continued, “It’s not that other religions or belief systems aren’t part of it, we bring it all together.”
If you would like to get in touch with Sarah you can do so by emailing her at hello@sarahfox.ie.
