Element of Fire

Today I thought I would look at the element of fire. I have been drawn to this element since booking to go to the Invoking the Goddess Retreat which took place a couple of days ago. I was inspired to create a fire quilt to take to the weekend and took part in the closing ceremony with the element of fire.

The fire of the Gypsy Retreat I attended in April this year.

This is the element which gives us fire in our belly's to go forth and create in our own special way, it gives life to everything, mine is through the vehicle of craft and the written word. Others have expressions through song, dance, drumming - music making etc. We are all individuals and we all express differently which creates for us a very diverse community to live and grow. 

The greek philosopher Empepedocles of Sicily formed the idea that everything was made up of the four element of antiquity earth, water, air, and fire. In the field of Mysticism these elements are still important today, to illustrate the oneness of all. Air feeds fire, fire dies by water, water is contained by earth, and earth creates the air. The cycle is meant to show the interconnection of all things, and the cycle of birth, life, change and transition. The ancient alchemist's symbol for fire is the triangle. Fire has two elements needed to create the flame to burn our fires, that being heat and light or flame and air. Fire transforms food into energy. It creates the impulses of nervous reactions, our feeling, and even our thought processes. Fire is considered a form without substance.

Photo Source http://www.kheper.net

Fire is also an impulsive and a dangerous element, that can smoulder and suddenly burst. Fire can give wings of courage, compassion and devotion. Fire is obstinate and heady and absolutely not subtle. It is seen as the force burning inside us, giving us an iron willpower to go for our goals, bestowing upon us the passion to do it with all of ourself, resulting in the honour and freedom to do it without backstabbing and with an open face.

Fire stands for unbridled emotions, hatred and anger, but also love and happiness. Fire is the thing burning in your soul, moving you to fight for the things you believe in. Even if there is just a tiny chance to survive. Fire represents a dream, a virtue, a belief, and never means your commitment only, but its realization. If the Fire has caught something, it fights for it until it has consumed it or has burned it down, destroyed it. It extinguishes by itself or is extinguished. Fire doesn't know fear or doubt. But it doesn't know mercy or shame either. If it wants something, it will get over everything on its path to get it. Fire also stands for inspiration, compassion, love, longing and lust. 

The commencement of the Fire Quilt

http://www.5elements.com speaks of tending our fire in summer.
We experience Fire, one of the elemental powers, most fully in the season of summer, the time when young energy that arose in the spring expands to its maximum potential. When nature’s energy flourishes and blossoms in the summer, it is time to enjoy the fruit from the seeds we have planted and the visions and plans we have made. Summer's special gift - the energy of Fire - allows us to give and receive warmth. By giving and sharing, we build our own Fire, open our own flower, and bring more of the summer sun to the world.

According to Chinese traditional medicine, the Fire element manifests in our body through the heart, small intestine, pericardium, and the function known as the triple heater,which regulates internal body temperature.
On a deeper level, the Fire element expresses itself as joy and manifests within us as love, laughter, and enthusiasm. During summer, the season of maximum expansion, we can become aware of ourselves at our fullest. Drawing on the expansive warmth of Fire we can reach out and relate to the world like a flower opening. Summer holds the power of maturity: In summer, the buds of spring mature into full flowers and now are able to share their pollen to make more flowers. With us, it is the same: Only in the fullness of maturity do we have the inner abundance and self-sufficiency to truly share with others.

Know that in summer the energy of Fire supports you in enriching your enjoyment of life, your relationships, getting closer, opening outward, being receptive to others. By giving and sharing we build our own Fire, open our own flower, and bring more of the summer sun to the world.

Adding the stitches to the flames & goddess.

http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk offers their thoughts on the element of fire.

The element of Fire is both creative and destructive, its qualities are Brightness, Thinness and Motion and its mode is Active. It is fire that we and our ancestors used to warm our homes, we use it to cook our food, we sit around it to ward of the darkness of night, and it fuels our passions. Fire, unlike the other elements, does not exist in a natural state. Its physical form can only take place by consuming some other element. Fire is the transformer, converting the energy of other objects into other forms: heat, light, ash, and smoke.

As you gaze into the transformational flame of a candle, immerse yourself in the energy of Fire. Fire is the natural element of animals and mankind, and they "have, in their natures, a most fiery force, and also spring from celestial sources."

In order to gain benefit from the energy of this element, we need to control Fire's destructive aspect. When we light a candle, we are not only calling upon the energy of Fire, we are also limiting its power. This destructive aspect should not be seen as negative, forest fires, actually help, clearing away under brush and encouraging seeds lying dormant within the Earth to burst forth into new life.

Fire is a masculine element, its aspects being change, passion, creativity, motivation, will power, drive and sensuality. It is sexuality, both physical and spiritual. Fire is used in spells, rituals and candle magick for healing, purification, sex, breaking bad habits or destroying illness and disease. Fire is the element of authority and leadership.

The finished quilt, spirals the ancient goddess worship symbol,
central goddess, flames, felted embers of the flames.

CORRESPONDENCES - Everything has a signature that connects it to symbols and meanings. Therefore it makes sense that some things work together, in a similar manner, in a supportive direction, for a common purpose. This is a list of things relating to fire.

DIRECTION: North (Southern Hemisphere) - the place of heat.

TYPE OF ENERGY: Projective.
BASIC NATURE: Purifying, destructive, cleansing, energetic, sexual, forceful. Heat is a manifestation of this element.
COLOUR: Red, Orange and Yellow - from the colour of flames.
PLACES: Deserts, hot springs, volcanoes, ovens, fireplaces, bedrooms (for sex), weight rooms, locker rooms, saunas, athletic fields.
RITUALS: Protection, courage, sex, energy, strength, authority, banishing negativity.
RITUAL FORMS: Burning or smouldering; heating.
HERBS: Stinging, thorny or hot, as thistles, chilli peppers and bougainvillea desert-dwelling, as cacti; stimulating, as coffee beans; generally seeds.
STONES: Red or fiery, as in jasper; volcanic, as in lava; clear, as in quartz crystal.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT: Guitar, all stringed instruments, music of a drum, which can give a man courage by letting his blood flow faster through his veins, which helps him in his search for the truth.

CREATURES: Snake, cricket, lizard, praying mantis, ladybug, bee, scorpion, shark. The symbolic animal of Fire is the phoenix, the "Bird of Flames", a legendary immortal beast, which rises again and again from its own ashes, whose eternal flame can never be extinguished.
SEASON: Summer - the time of heat.
TIME: Noon.
MAGICAL TOOL: Knife/Athame.
SENSE: Sight.
NATURAL SYMBOLS: Flame, sun, lava, a heated object.
TYPES OF MAGIC RULES: Candle, storm, time and star.
GODDESSES: Brigit, Pele, Vesta.
GODS: Agni, Hepaetus, Horus, Promtheus, Vulcan.