In honor of WORLD OUTLANDER DAY,

let’s go back to where this love story really cemented itself in the hearts of Outlander fans, especially Jamie and Claire fans and book fans in particular.  Since the first announcement of plans to adapt the book series to television, book fans had long anticipated the wedding episode.  It has become the single most iconic scene of the TV series to date and one of the most beloved of Diana Gabaldon’s book series.

The magic in the story is usually subtle, but potent, and not the main focus, but the magic associated with the wedding vow deserves some attention.  Blood is a powerful symbolism, and sometimes even has mystical powers.  The blood oath makes use of this to make a commitment that cannot be broken.

Blood spilling is a potent force in the working of magic, and in some mythologies certain types of blood are deemed more powerful than others.  Some consider the blood of royalty, the blood of a special line (Fraser, the Fraser Prophesy, which book readers will recall), the caster’s own blood (Jamie and Claire), and virgin’s blood (Jamie) to be most powerful.

In many ways their wedding ceremony represents the traditions of their time, but their blood vow may be described as something between a binding traditional handfasting and an initiation.  It is a blood bond, a spiritual blending, a binding of their souls, not just to God but to one another, and not just for this lifetime, but forevermore.  Not until death-do-us-part, but for all lifetimes to come.  Jamie knew what he was doing and knew its significance, but Claire did not.

Would Claire have agreed to the marriage if she had known about the blood vow?  Probably.  Although she had just gone through the stones at Craig Na Dun and had been mysteriously transported back in time 200 years, she was hesitant to embrace the faery mythology generally accepted by the Highlanders at the time.  Looking back, Claire confesses that she wouldn’t have changed a thing.  That, my friends, is a commitment.

As Outlander fans, we agree with Claire.  We wouldn’t change a thing.