A nice day for a witch wedding

Followers of white witchcraft, also known as Wicca, have hailed the ceremony as a major breakthrough for their faith which is set to trigger dozens of other similar requests from couples.

But while the wedding has been welcomed by the General Register Office for Scotland, senior churchmen have expressed concern.

The couple will both jump over a broomstick and have their hands bound together with a red cord during the 30-minute ceremony at the Temple of the Source Coven of the Blue Dragon in Niddry Street on September 21.

George Cameron, known as The Hermit, a Wicca witch and grand master of the Source Coven who will conduct the ceremony, said: "This is the most important event since the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in 1951.

"I am delighted because I have been trying to make this happen for many years. It is the biggest thing to hit pagan witchcraft for years.

"This is very significant as the ceremony is classed as a religious ceremony, which gives credence to the craft and recognises it as a religious faith."

Mr Cameron, 53, said the ceremony - which will take place in a nine-foot circle lined with flowers - would be a blend of the traditional hand-fastening ceremony and a conventional wedding.

At the end of the ceremony, a high priestess will pick up the broomstick and ritually sweep the circle clear of all evil influences. The cake will then be cut with a ritual sword.

The only tell-tale sign of most Wicca followers is the pentagram jewellery they wear, which is often hidden beneath their clothes. They practise spells, foresight, exorcisms and pranic healing - using power channelled through the hands. Wicca followers believe the white magic they practise can be a powerful force for good.

Mr Cameron has practised witchcraft for 30 years and gave up his day job as a car mechanic more than a decade ago.

The happy couple themselves are not actually involved with the practice. Miss Schedler, who works as a singer in Ontario, said they had chosen the ceremony because of its old-world beauty.

She said; "Paul had a friend who followed Wicca and we saw descriptions of the binding ceremony and it just seemed so beautiful.

All our friends had been saying Scotland was incredibly beautiful so we contacted George and arranged the ceremony.

"When we found out it hadn’t been performed before we thought it would be really difficult to arrange, but the registrar were really helpful."

A spokeswoman for the General Register Office for Scotland said: "It is the first Wicca wedding to be authorised in Scotland. It is a recommended form of religion. The Registrar General for Scotland attaches great importance to the principle of marriage."

But Bill Wallace, a former convener of the Church of Scotland’s board of social responsibility and a minister in Wick, said

: "I think this illustrates people’s desperate need for some spiritual dimension in their lives and their willingness to go to any wild extreme.

"It would be a sad reflection on the state of our country [if more weddings like this took place]. It emphasises all the more need for Christian affirmations."

And Lothians MSP Lord James Douglas-Hamilton said: "

Many centuries ago, witches were burnt in Scotland and this was an intolerant way of dealing with dissident women who disagreed with official policies.

"Happily, we live in a tolerant society today, but the state has to be very careful before endorsing practices which may be seen at least as bizarre."