Fire

Fire is the element of action, reaction, passion, movement, and light. Fire is represented by the wand or staff, the wooden stick, the catalyst of reaction, the focus of action.

Fire establishes our priorities. It applies to the basest of our instincts. The earliest of humans feared fire because they saw it only for its destructive force. Fire is by far the most reactive of elements, since it is in fact a chemical reaction. Fire is the very essence of action. It roars, it whispers, it cracks and sparks and flies, brings light to the farthest corners of any darkness.

Fire holds many sacred places in our lives. Fire is held as the element of Summer, and the full daylight. The heat of the sun bears down and warms the earth so that everything can grow and bear fruit. It is held in the South, where (according to the traditions of the Northern European pagans) the sun is warmest, toward the equator. We must always remember that the stars burn with the same ferocity of our own sun.

Fire is as destructive as it is a tool to create. Fire, like passion and anger, must be controlled or it will spiral into a destructive force like so other. Fire shows us the consequences of our actions. It shows us, without mercy, that every action has a reaction, and if we are to act, we must always understand what affect we will have on others, on our world, on ourselves. We, as living beings, have more power than any scientist can extrapolate, though quantum physics is slowly catching up. It takes more energy to excite molecules than it does to cool them, to slow them down. It takes more humanity, more energy, and more life to act than it does to stand still. Stillness has it's place, stillness is necessary  but that's the reason why Earth, the element of balance and stillness, is the opposite of Fire. Fire must be balanced, or the forest of life will go up.

Fire is the very essence of motion, and inspires not only dance but art of every kind. It led mankind out of our caves, giving us warmth and light to find out way in the unknown darkness. The fires of the forge gave us tools, broadened our understanding of matter, and led to the further exploration of our world through horseshoes and wagon wheels, cars and planes, and eventually, the space shuttles that ferry us to space and home again. The light of a single candle can help create the works of Shakespeare, or it can be the bonfire that lightens the feet of tribal dancers across the globe. On the end of a stick, it can bring light and warmth to one family after another. On the end of a string, spun high and low, round and round, it can bring wonder to even the more rigid of hearts.

But again, it’s not all dancing and spinning. To be stuck in fire is to be wholly reactionary, without balance or focus, the opposite of earth. And a lack of fire means a lack of heat, and therefore a lack of life.

Fire is a masculine element, along with Air. The feminine elements are Water and Earth.