A Wisdom Archive on Promise Ring

Wedding ring - Pre-wedding customs. According to some customs, the wedding ring forms the last in a series of gifts, which also may include the engagement ring, traditionally given as a betrothal present, and the promise ring, often given when serious courting begins. Other more recent traditions, and the jewelry trade, seek to expand the idea of a series of ring-gifts with an eternity ring, which symbolizes the renewal or ongoing nature of a lasting marriage, sometimes given after the birth of a first chi ...

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The inception of the engagement ring itself can be tied to the Fourth Lateran Council presided over by Pope Innocent III in 1215. Innocent declared a longer waiting period between betrothal and marriage; plain rings of gold, silver or iron were used earliest. Gems were more than baubles; they were important and reassuring status symbols to the aristocracy. Laws were passed to preserve a visible division of social rank, ensuring only the privileged wore florid jewels. As time passed and laws relaxed, diamonds and other ...

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"Until death do us part." —common ending words of a Christian wedding vow "With this ring I thee wed." —from the traditional Church of England marriage-ceremony formula "With this ring, you are consecrated to me according to the law of Moses and Israel." —translated from the Hebrew words said at a Jewish wedding "N., take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." —f ...

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The plain gold band is the most popular pattern. Medical personnel commonly wear it because it can be kept very clean. Women usually wear narrow bands, while men wear broader bands. In France and French-speaking countries, a common pattern consists of three interwoven rings. They stand for "faith, hope and love", where "love" equates to that particular type of perfect disinterested love indicated by the ancient Greek word agape. Provocatively, this pattern sl ...

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Most religious marital ceremonies accept a band of any material to symbolize the taking of marriage vows, with unusual substitutions permitted in marriages under unusual circumstances. When people cannot obtain or adjust a metal ring of appropriate size, substitutions such as rubber bands may be used. To make wedding rings, jewellers most commonly use a precious yellow alloy of gold, hardened with copper, tin and bismuth. Platinum and white alloys of gold, equivalent to or superior than gold, are also used. Titanium has recently becom ...

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Women traditionally refuse offers of marriage by refusing to take the offered engagement ring. A woman who accepts an engagement ring, and then does not marry the man but keeps the ring, is considered grasping and dishonest in some cases, although an alternative argument is that the ring was a gift to which the woman is entitled; because an engagement is also a period for evaluating one's commitment to the relationship, it is not uncommon for either the man or the woman to break off the engagement. It is generally held that if the betrothal fails because the man pursues other women or himself breaks off the eng ...

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Designs of such rings have varied greatly over the years. It traditionally is a precious band, and mounts a diamond or other gem. Current fashions for engagement rings are for a gold, platinum, or silver band with a single diamond. This trend dates from advertising campaigns in the 1940s by de Beers, the world's leading diamond producer. An engagement ring is often intentionally expensive as a sign of a man's permanency. The argument for a diamond is that it is the most enduring, beautiful, and expensive gem. Many women, however, pref ...

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In the United Kingdom and the United States in past generations, women wore wedding bands much more commonly than men did. Today, both partners often wear wedding rings, but where occupations or professions forbid or discourage the wearing of jewelry (as in the cases of actors, police, military pilots and electrical workers), either marriage partner may not wear a ring. In addition, people often remove wedding rings for comfort or safety. Others may object to the idea of precious metals, or dislike the idea of declaring their legal status th ...

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Báb - He Whom God Shall Make Manifest. The Báb left a great deal of writings alluding to a Promised One, most commonly referred to as "He whom God shall make manifest", and that he himself was "but a ring upon the hand of Him Whom God shall make manifest." Within 20 years of the Báb's death, over 25 people claimed to be the Promised One, most significantly Bahá'u'lláh. Báb - Will and Testament of the Báb. Before the Báb's death, he sent a letter addressed to Subh-i-Azal, which is c ...

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Consensus was used among certain Native American/First Nations peoples from before the first contact with Europeans. For example, the Haudenosaunee (commonly called "Iroquois") required unanimity in decisions of the Confederacy. Decision-making arrived at by finding a "spiritual consensus," rather than voting, was developed by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) early in the 17th century and is in use to the present day. Anarchist groups in the Spanish civil war and revolution (including the anarchist militias) used consensus decision mak ...

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Drona was born a brahmin, son of sage Bharadwaja. He spent his youth in poverty, but studied religion and military arts together with the then prince of Panchala, Drupada. Drupada and Drona became close friends and Drupada,in his childish playfullness, promised to give Drona half his kingdom on ascending the throne of Panchala. Drona - Drona and Drupada. Drona married Kripi, the sister of Kripa, the royal teacher of the princes of Hastinapura. Kripi and Drona had Ashwathama as as son. For the sake of his w ...

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BELLS: Often used as ritual tools. They can be used to invoke directional energies, to ring in the sunrise on a Sabbat, or to frighten away faeries and baneful spirits.

 
(See also: BELLS, Paganism, Pagan, Pagan Dictionary )