Gay witches marry in Pagan first

Two male witches have tied the knot in the UK’s first pagan same-sex marriage.

Tom Lanting and Iain Robertson

Tom Lanting, 34, and Iain Robertson, 39, who have been together for 12 years, were married in a ceremony in the 16th-century vaulted cellars of Marlin’s Wynd in Blair Street.

The couple, who live in the Capital, are both described as being hedge witches, who use herbal remedies to deal with medical and spiritual ailments.

The ceremony encompassed a number of pagan traditions, including handfasting, where their hands were bound together, the sharing of mead and jumping the broom.

After Sunday’s wedding, the couple said: “As hedge witches we always wanted to have a pagan marriage ceremony in line with our beliefs and it was really important to us to be able to share this ceremony with our friends and family.”

Scotland is the only part of the UK that allows pagans, and other minority and religious belief bodies, to solemnise legal weddings.

Louise Park, the presiding officer for the Pagan Federation (Scotland), conducted the ceremony. She said: “Equality for people of all faiths is something that is very dear to the vast majority of pagans.”