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The smell of baking bread is incredibly seductive. Try it and you’ll soon see.

Makes one large or two regular loaves.

Nowadays, weddings are a big business and can be huge productions that take no less than a year of planning. Weddings are one of our most beloved rituals, and while they often cost a pretty penny, they are usually deeply meaningful for every person in attendance. My friend, the esteemed author Daphne Rose Kingma, wrote a lovely collection of ceremonies called Weddings from the Heart that run the gamut from traditional to highly alternative. This book is a great resource for engaged couples celebrating the journey of love.

I have had the good fortune to officiate at two weddings and have created a variation of the classic handfasting which I will share with you here. These are two very happy couples, so it seems that this particular variation of this ritual is effective.

The important thing to remember in the engagement process is to make sure you share similar ideas about the path of life. Being engaged is a time to make sure you are compatible on many levels as you enjoy the romance. You will need to have frank discussions on career, home, health, children, sex, and the expectations you have for yourself and your partner in all these areas. Sometimes when we are in love, we expect people to simply “know” what we want. Magical people expect that even more, feeling that their partner is so intuitive that they should be able to anticipate each other’s actions and opinions on these aspects of life. Though it would be ideal, that’s not realistic thinking. Sometimes it can be hardest to read the person we are closest to. A good relationship requires good communication. This formalized engagement ritual involves dream sharing and should only be done after such frank discussions so that nothing comes as a shock. Performing this ritual is a good way to initiate such talks. It can be done right after the acceptance or at any point later in the engagement process. Just make sure you are both aware of each other’s ideas of the future before you begin your life together.

When you are ready to move forward and begin the ritual, first go someplace comfortable where you will not be disturbed. This ritual can be done in your home or even at a quiet restaurant or coffee shop. Perhaps you’ll want to take your love to the place where you first dated.

Using ritual to create sacred space in your life puts you between the worlds. You are on the threshold where all things are possible. The magic circle is a boundary, separating the sacred and the magical from the mundane. Out of all the rituals marking the passage of life, engagement is unique in that it is a threshold between stages in life. You are no longer single, but you are not quite married, either. As courtship turns into engagement, the relationship has deepened, yet the foundation is not quite solid. You are still in the process of building, exploring, and discovering. Engagement is the marker, the boundary, separating your old life from the new path you will walk with your betrothed.

Surely one of the main reasons for clearing space in your home and bedroom is to make room for a happy love life. Before you attempt to enhance your prospects for love, you need to improve the flow of chi, or life energy, in the environment where you express your love. Try any of all of the following to help you improve the chi:

Remove all pictures of yourself where you are alone. Remove all empty cups, jars, vases, and bottles.

To prepare for new relationships and deepen the expression of feeling and intensity to your love life, create a center from which to renew your romantic spirit. Here you can concentrate your energy, clarify your intentions and make wishes come true. If you already have an altar, incorporate some special elements, such as red candles or red crystals, or anything associated with Venus, like copper or a seashell to enhance your sex life. Your altar can sit on a low table, a big box, or any flat surface dedicated to magic. One friend of mine has her sex altar at the head or her bed. Begin by purifying the space with a sage smudge stick—a bundle of sage that you burn as your pass it through the space. Then cover your altar with a large red silk or silk-like fabric. Place two red candles at the center of your altar and place a soul mate crystal—two crystals naturally fused together—at the far right corner of the altar. These are widely available at metaphysical stores. Anoint your candles with jasmine and neroli oil. Also keep the incense you think is sexiest on your altar. Place fresh Casablanca lilies in a vase and change them the minute they begin to fade. Lilies are heralded as exotic and erotic flowers, prized for their seductive scent.

Many crystal shops and New Age stores now feature heart-shaped rocks. The next time you see heart-shaped amethyst crystals, buy two right away and give one to your true love. The gift of an amethyst heart will ensure a happy life together and good fortune shared. Sweet!