Elements Of Magic – Becoming Fire, Magic, Heat

Elements Of Magic – Becoming Fire, Magic, Heat March 28, 2017

Fire. Just saying the word gets me all tingly and I feel my temperature rising. I’m instantly transported to rituals around a fire. Rituals with witches and gatherings with friends. Fires inspire dancing and drumming, sitting and talkin, sweating and staying warm. Staying connected to the Element of fire, in all it’s forms, is one of the core pieces of magic I teach in the Reclaiming Tradition. I revisit this work every so often as a teacher and as a student. In my last post, I talked about my Explorations with Air. Now I’m moving into Fire. Strike the match, let’s go…

The Spark Of Life

The temperature in the forest dropped to a cool 48F/9C degrees. The tops of the giant trees are swallowed by an eerie fog and gravid drops of night-time dew are falling on the duff below. The heavy, deliberate “whooshing” of raven wings patrolling through the redwoods has been replaced with the frantic fluttering of smaller, more delicate creatures – bats, hundreds of bats. The darkness is beginning to play its tricks on my mind as shadows turn into the Fey, or is it the other way around? Heavy drums beckon me to ritual. Soon I’ll be dancing around a great bonfire.

An orange-red tongue licks the edges of the kindling. Hiss! Crack! And the fire comes to life. Transfixed, I stand watching the curls of flame as they begin wrapping themselves around every log. The fire is growing, now taller than the top of the woodpile, now spreading out around the base. Each piece of wood becomes engulfed in blue, green, red and white flame and I shout, “Welcome Fire!”

Fire. Passion. Heat  Courtesy of Pixabay. CCO Domain.
                                                                           Fire. Passion. Heat
                                                             Courtesy of Pixabay. CCO Domain.

 

The Sultry Hot Dance

Heat. Passion. Sex. Flame. Action. Heat. Passion. Sex. Flame. Action. Heat. Passion. Sex. Flame. Action.

A delicious mantra. A fierce call. Heat. Passion. Sex. Flame. Action – Each drum beat, each step I take fans my inner fire and calls me to dance.

I am one of a hundred witches circling, dancing, running and writhing around the fire. Some hold the edges, watching the spaces between lightness and darkness. Others circle their way around the incandescent blaze singing, stomping, losing themselves in the rhythm and the heat. The fire inside of me grows just like the bonfire and my clothes have long since vanished. I’m dripping from head to toe with sweat and intention. My throat is dry and parched from singing and from inhaling fire smoke and I imagine myself a half-mad Gofannon at his forge. The heat of the fire is so intense here. Another step closer and I’ll surely burst into flames myself but like the moth to the candle, I’m drawn ever closer. I can’t leave. I could stay here forever.

I am lost and I am found.

I am red velvet passion and I am scorching heat.

I am burning anger and I am white-hot love.

I am a source of light and I am a terrible conflagration.

Invoking Fire – (Gwion Raven)

 

The Heat From The Embers

Several hours later, the flames have transformed into an ordinary camp fire. A few musicians are strumming guitars. A handful of people are tucked into their camp chairs with blankets wrapped around their shoulders, staring at the embers, perhaps divining, perhaps dreaming. The heat of the great fire is evident on my skin and in my body. It was a raucous, rough session and the the sting of the flame is well worth any temporary discomfort.

All fires are this Fire to me. Sitting here now, I reach back and feel this fire, this spark, this energy. I know that I carry it with me always. At any given time I could transform into a welcoming fire full or warmth and light. With the addition of fuel, I can leap up into the night and be a beacon. I know that my fire can turn quickly and rage uncontrollably if I don’t tend it well. My fire can be embers, waiting to start another fire, another wild dance.

Each time I turn on a light, each time I ignite the gas burner on my stove top, each time I light a candle I remember that I contain a spark within me. This spark, this inner fire is what compels me to action, to teaching, to writing, to fiercely and relentlessly supporting those I call beloved. This Fire is part of my daily life and part of my daily practice. Fire, I honour you.

 

 

 

 

 


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