Fire

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire,
a human cannot live withut a spiritual life.
Buddha

​Fire.  Just the word conjures imagery in every culture.  When you see, say, or hear the word, what images come up for you?  Do you see the campfire, chasing the shadows of the night?  Do you see the hearth warming body and spirit?  Do you see the Alchemists fire, transforming and transmuting?  Do you see the wild fire scouring everything in its path?  Fire is all of these and more.  Fire has always been with us and is an element that we believe that we can control only to find in the end that control is an illusion.

So what is the essence of fire?  On a symbolic and energetic level, fire is one of the core energies of the universe.  It is transformation, purification, and cleansing.  Fire is passion, power, and authority.  It is the drive of the intellect seeking knowledge and the drive of the body seeking gratification.  It is the divine energy, the spirit, and eternity.  Fire can be the power that wipes the slate clean, allowing a fresh clean burst of fertile creative energy.

Fire rituals can be found in every culture ad stretch well beyond the mists of history.  In ancient China, fire was clarity, independence, and vision.  In ancient Tibet, they spoke of the sword of flames of power and influence.  For the Mayan's, the hand of fire was the initiation into magic and the unification of the body and psyche.  The Greeks stole fire from the gods.  For the Alchemist, fire is the force that consumes and transforms all material beyond its limitations.  For many Native Americans, fire is a life giving energy that cleanses and connects one to the divine.

They are all an attempt to harness the power of the force that has been both our savior and our destroyer.

Today, in our tamed and domesticated world, we tend to dismiss the power of fire with a casualness and complacency that borders on disrespect and lack of mindfulness for consequences.  The pilot light lights our furnace fire and the stove.  The power plant lights out dark homes.  A tiny contained explosion of fire propels us from place to place.  With casualness and disrespect, we miss and forget the true power of fire and the ceremonies that were so important to our ancestors.

As we misuse and disrespect fire, it is beginning to remind us that there are consequences for its misuse.  As tragedies unfold and fingers are pointed, fire is screaming: "Respect, Balance, Mindfulness, Courage, Change".

So, yes, I work with fire, and so should you, with mindfulness and respect.  I use the alchemist's free to transform hard grain and indigestible vegetables into delicious nutrition.  I light a candle on the long nights for prayer, intention, and peace.  I set my prayers into the smoke of ceremonial fire to transform my heart and spread the intention for balance and peace.  When the fire is burning, I respect the fire and honor it by sitting with it until it is done showing me its colors and telling me its stories.  And I always remember that fire is the untameable flow of energy that can be directed but never truly contained.