The Sacred Space

Since the dawn of time, humankind has performed ceremonies. In order for a ceremony to feel binding and consequential, we have created a space in which to perform them. In this realm, a normal environment becomes meaningful. An event takes on significance. Something ordinary becomes sacred. 

We only need to look at Stonehenge and other stone circles throughout Europe for one of the earliest pagan examples of this. We can only imagine the spectacular ceremonies that occurred as the sun passed through these ancient monoliths. Bronze Age priests celebrated astronomical events, worshippers marked the passing of seasons, and civilisations buried their leaders.

More recently, these spaces took on a religious meaning, with huge stone cathedrals built to reflect divine beauty. Their vaulted ceilings and gilded frescos remind congregations of the gods they worship and ask to bless our ceremonies. The minarets and domes of mosques were established to worship Allah but also to unite couples in the Nikah ceremony.

If you are having a non-religious ceremony, it doesn´t mean we cannot create a ‘sacred’ space which we can give significance. Giving an everyday space such as a beach, restaurant or pergola a special aura is the job of the celebrant.

For a wedding, the ritual begins when the wedding party enters. What once was ordinary now becomes a sacred space. The bride and groom, who are about to make solemn vows, arrive in a joyful procession. It is often the case in wedding venues that a table or arch takes the place of an altar. Altar literally means ‘high place’; often, the bride and groom are elevated from the congregation to give them significance.

I like to begin the ceremony by inviting the bride and groom to imagine that they have entered an imaginary sacred space. I ask the couple to visualise a symbolic circle of their love for each other. Then I ask them to bring into this sacred space all the love, good wishes and blessings which are being sent to them from family and friends both near and afar. This creates a sense of momentousness. We are no longer in a wedding venue. We are stood in our symbolic stone circle, embalmed with tradition, meaning and solemnity.

If couples choose, we can actually mark this space physically. It worked beautifully for Gary and Maria. I acted as a celebrant for their vow renewal held on their 30th wedding anniversary. It was just the three of us on the edge of the river in Vilamoura, with the crystal blue water flowing past us into the ocean. I marked a circle with 30 shells, each shell representing a year of their marriage. At the end of the ceremony, we put the shells in a bag and I asked them to add another shell on their anniversary for each year of their marriage to come. It created a beautiful and symbolic element to the ceremony.

So while we might not be standing in an ancient monument or have the theatre of a spectacular church, this is how we create the magic and give ceremonies and vows the essence of the sacred space.