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fire ritual, performed 2/3/02

 

cast circle

invocations/calling the elements

 

fire is the element of transformation. it symbolizes the process by which we move from life into death and thence into rebirth. but this process is not unconscious or uncontrolled; fire is also the element of the will, the burning force that motivates all we do and that gives us the power to direct our own self-change. without it, the other elements lack intensity, force, passion; air meanders aimlessly, water spills out between the cracks and is lost, or simply does not flow at all; earth becomes not just stable, but inert. but to possess fire, to let ourselves be purified and transformed, carries a price. fire demands sacrifice – the sacrifice of the things we no longer need, but may well cling to as if they were our life itself. but we are more than our personalities. we are more than what we think of as our identities. and there is much in us that needs to be given to the fire.

 

[light fire]

 

my sacrifice is _____. burn it out of me and leave nothing in its place, so that the new may arise.

 

[begin rhythm: 1-1-333]

 

i call thee, fire, to move among us!

i call thee as hestia, light of the hearth,

the flame at the center of the self.

i call thee as prometheus, bringer of fire,

who stole the gods’ power for humanity’s sake.

i call thee as pele, passion of the volcano,

the lover with the flaming touch.

i call thee as mars, god of wrath,

the warrior whose victory is assured.

i call thee as the phoenix, who is burned alive

but eternally rises again from the ashes.

i call thee as christ, rebel and liberator,

who said:

i have cast fire on the world, and look, i guard it till it blazes;

those who are near me are near to the fire”!

o voice of the fire, o eternal flame,

we summon thee,

burn with us!

 

[noisy dance. fire-leaping. raise noise to cacophony, then cut it off. ground if necessary.]

 

we thank thee, o sister fire. though i douse your physical form, may you burn forever in our souls. blessed be. [douse fire]

 

open circle