Liber ab Matrimonium (Book of Marriage)^119
The exchange of that promise is the central focus of the rite. As such, making a
present of an almost blank Book of Shadows to the initiate is most appropriate. If that
is done, perhaps the very first page should be the initiate’s varar itself, that page fol-
lowed by each member’s varar, symbolic of a new start and that new start being sup-
ported by the pledge of each member.
Earlier I mentioned that many folk would object to the varar as a sort of prenuptial
agreement. It is true that we want to be taken at our word. However, spoken words are
often forgotten—not for baneful cause, but because the way we remember things tends
to change with time. Not long ago, there was a rash of folk on the TV talk shows who all
reported to having participated in the most monstrous of rites. Reportedly, they had
given birth to and sacrificed children for Satan. Sometimes they reported eating those
children and the world wondered by the FBI or some other organization did not act on
those reports. Some of the most paranoid viewers even went so far as to say the FBI
was involved in the great satanic conspiracy along with the US government, the Royal
Family of England, and anyone who did not go along with the paranoid delusion that
satanic cults were taking over the world.
The FBI did investigate those allegations and found they were mostly fabrics of
delusion. Not illusion or lie, but of delusion. Most of the claims were honestly believed
by the folk who reported them. They had gone to a therapist for one reason or another,
with hypnotism and a little help from the science of chemistry, presto-chango, a victim of
a satanic conspiracy was created. Chances are even the therapist thought he or she was
uncovering legitimate suppressed memory, but instead what was found was ‘false memory
syndrome.’ If our memory is faulty (it is), then you can see the reason for agreements to
be written down. So important is the written language that the development or recep-
tion of it has been recorded in the lore of our gods and goddesses.Written Language as Sacred
Although there is nothing that states the varar must be written, we have a wealth of
knowledge that shows the ancient Pagan folk on which our modern religion is based
had a clear belief that written language is sacred.Cherokee alphabet—Per North American lore, the inventor of the written language is
Sequoya, also called Sint Holo.Druid Runic alphabet—Remember, the term ‘Celtic’ is far sweeping. So when I tell
you that Ogmios is the inventor of the runic language of the Druids, please do not get
too upset. Certainly matters such as the written language were exchanged and built
upon. One can easily see this by looking at the alphabets side by side. But what is im-
portant here is that those alphabets, whatever their historic origin, were all thought so
sacred that it was said to have been invented by a god. The word rune denotes a poem
or a piece of a poem, usually Finnish in origin. Incidentally, it might be the root for the
word tune which is probably why The Wiccan Rede in its many incarnations alternates
between the two words.o WB Chap 07.p65 119 7/11/2003, 5:52 PM