The Five-Fold Kiss is an element of Wiccan ritual which involves blessing five sacred parts of the body. With each bestowed blessing the area of the body is sealed with a kiss. Wiccan tradition practises differ, but the Five-Fold Kiss is first and foremost a blessing bestowed upon the High Priestess by the High Priest or by the High Priestess upon the High Priest. The ritual symbolises the act of honoring the person as a vessel of the female or male version of Deity.
Each kiss given is accompanied by a blessing:
- Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways
- Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar
- Blessed be thy [womb/phallus], without which we would not be
- Blessed be thy breasts/chest, formed in [beauty/strength]
- Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names.
This is the form of the blessing used by most Gardnerian and Alexandrian covens.[1]
In other Wiccan Traditions, the blessing is as follows:
- Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways
- Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar
- Blessed be thy [womb/phallus], without which we would not be
- Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names
- Blessed be thy third eye, that sees all.
The Five-Fold Kiss can be performed during Wiccan rites and ceremonies, such as handfasting or the Drawing Down the Moon Rite.
It may be the origin of the term blessed be, a well-known Neopagan greeting, also used as a general expression of blessing during ritual.
References
- ^ Farrar, Janet; Farrar, Stewart (1984). A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook. Custer, WA: Phoenix. ISBN 0-919345-92-1.