The Charge of the God and the Goddess

In my wedding I have chosen to have 'The Charge of the God' and 'The Charge of the Goddess' read by a man and women. The prose poems, written by Mark Ventimiglia, invoke the God and Goddess. By invoke, I simply mean that they let those present know that the God and Goddess are also present.

I have chosen to have a man read the Charge of the God, because hearing it in a male voice lends to the aspect of God saying these words. I have a female read the Charge of the Goddess for the same reason.

These prose poems are written in first person as if the God and Goddess are actually saying them. This helps to remind us that they God and Goddess are actually present. It can be a very inspiring or reverent event.

As a word of caution, the Charge of the God can be viewed as negative. He talks of death, stating that God is constant and death is also. The reason for this is that in Wicca, (Mr. Ventimiglia is Wiccan, I am not.) the God dies annually, representing the cycle of life. He is reborn in the spring, dying in winter each year. (For Christians, it is good to remember that Jesus is also represented as dying annually, being born at Christmas and dying at Easter.) The Charge of the God is not meant to be negative, although it sounds such, it is meant to be a reminder of life ever changing. While life is brief, it is because of this brevity that we cherish it.