October 13, 2025 • 36 mins
Fire can burn a forest—or ignite a life. We explore how to partner with this element as a teacher and gatekeeper, harnessing its power for clarity, creativity, and compassionate strength without courting harm. From the first safety rule to the last spark of inspiration, we ground big ideas in simple, repeatable practices you can start today.
We trace living fire traditions across cultures: African ceremonies that attune through dance and chant; North American peace pipe rituals that convert the power to fight into the choice to reconcile; Celtic shapeshifting and the transformative hearth; South American song circles that turn voices into a circuit of energy over coals; Australian Dreaming work entered through didgeridoo trance; and Siberian sweat lodges where drumming opens the spirit world. Rather than imitation, the lesson is reverence—honor lineage, seek guidance when needed, and build an ethical, personal relationship with flame.
Practical tools fill the second half. Learn candle gazing to sync breath and attention with a safe flame. Try fire scrying with a clear intention and a respectful offering, then read symbols with your own intuition. Use full-moon burn rituals to release what’s complete, and new-moon fire ceremonies to call in what you’re ready to create. Offer your art—sketches, songs, dances—to invite momentum into your work, and carry the metaphor into daily life by remembering that every small spark mirrors the one in you.
If this conversation gave you a new way to think about fire—safer, deeper, more creative—tap follow, share it with a friend who needs a spark, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find these practices. What will you release or ignite this week?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:20):
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to Rainbows Rising,
where we ascend together.
I'm your host, Rainbow Raja,Shamanic bodywork therapist and
life coach.
Thank you so much for joining ustoday.
We are going to be diving alittle deeper this week into
working with the fire element.
(00:41):
So, fire is one of thoseelements.
It is the most powerful and yetalso the most dangerous,
challenging element to workwith.
There is a higher risk ofunpredictability as well as
possible harm.
So, as a disclaimer when workingwith the fire element, please
(01:04):
never leave any flames orbonfires or candles unattended.
Please be sure that if youdecide to work with the fire
element, that you do so withyour own discernment and that
you're very careful aboutworking with this elemental
(01:27):
spirit, it deserves a lot ofrespect because fire, fire is
powerful, but it also can burndown a house.
So please be very, very mindfuland very very careful when
(01:48):
working with the spirit of fire.
You can do so safely, and youcan do so without even having to
light a fire.
But working with fire can bringso much into your life.
The element of fire helps teachhumans all about death and
(02:10):
rebirth, transmutation, beingable to transform and
transfigure yourself and otherobjects into new forms.
It's about shape shifting, it'sabout warmth, protection,
providing community connectionabout your passion, about your
(02:33):
drive, about tempering yourextremes, tempering your anger
with your compassion for others,as well as fire can really put
some pep in your step to getthings done.
It can help you learn focus, itcan help you learn drive.
(02:57):
Fire is the fuel for allcreative projects.
Whenever we are creatingsomething, whether it's art or
music, whether it's acting, evenif it's just a craft that you're
doing on a Sunday afternoon,fire is always behind that
(03:20):
craft, that creation.
Because fire, once again, is theteacher of death and rebirth,
but fire is also the gatekeeperfor the information and the
ideas that come from the ether,from the void, from the beyond,
(03:40):
from the unseen, and allows itto enter into our reality and
become manifest.
Fire is that gatekeeper, whichis also why fire, when we work
with it, it is so important tohave so much respect and
reverence for this element.
Fire has been misunderstood.
(04:00):
It is usually considered to bethis destructive force that
takes fire, it takes out homes,it takes out forests, that I'm
so afraid of fire because Imight get burned.
Why do you think peopleassociate fear and power and war
(04:26):
all behind this element?
It is because this element doeshold so much ability to launch
you forward or to completelydecimate the progress that
you've made.
Fire is what fuels our weaponsin this day and age.
(04:48):
Fire is what fuels our jets andour cars.
It is propulsion.
It is the spark that gets usmoving forward.
Fire has so much to offer us.
And if you learn how to tap intofire, it can actually lend you
(05:11):
its wisdom, its gifts, itsambition, and its inspiration.
Fire has been used all acrossthe world in many, many shamanic
cultures.
In the African shamanic culture,they being the different African
shamanic tribes, they have thesebig fire ceremonies, these big
(05:36):
fire rituals where the entirecommunity gathers around a large
bonfire and they dance and theychant and they sing.
And the shaman will dance withthe flames in order to get
attuned to the fire.
They become one with the fire.
(05:57):
And once they are attuned to thefire, they can sit in the center
of the bonfire without beingburned, without being harmed,
without being charred.
They will connect with thespirit of fire and get the
initiation, get the honor, getthe privilege of being welcomed
(06:20):
by fire.
Fire will then accept them andbless them with, you know, not
harming them.
There are other traditions whereinstead of taking on the
attributes of fire and not beingharmed by fire by attuning
themselves, they might want toextract power from fire.
(06:44):
So during that ritual whereeveryone is chanting and
singing, they might ask fire,please, fire, bless me with a
gift.
Please give me the power to doamazing things.
And they will enter in a staticstate through dancing, through
chanting, through singing.
And in this time, fire will befunneling this power into the
(07:08):
shaman to the point where theywill be seen levitating, where
they will be seen to be able tomanipulate the flames themselves
and control the fire itself, tobe able to predict the different
wisps of the flame.
(07:30):
This is obviously a very, veryhigh level of attunement and
honoring of fire.
And this, I'm sure, has beenpassed down for many, many, many
generations in their culture.
So I don't recommend that you goand commune with your fire in
the backyard and decide to siton it.
(07:52):
Please use your own discernmentand be very careful.
If you decide to explore that, Ihighly recommend that you go and
find a practitioner from thatbackground and you learn from
them and that you actually havesomeone who can guide you
through the specific process youwould need to be welcomed by the
(08:16):
fire.
If you are interested in doingthat kind of deep fire work,
some smaller practices that youcan try would be candle gazing,
where you have a candle, youlight this candle and you set it
in front of you.
And your goal is to breathe withthe flame.
(08:36):
Not breathe on the flame.
You want to put the candle farenough away where your breath
won't be affecting its flame,but you breathe.
And your goal is to get as closeto that flame, to like become
the flame, to to envisionyourself as you are in that
(08:57):
flame.
You are that flame.
You are breathing with thatflame.
You're clearing your mindcompletely.
There is no push.
You are just being as you arebreathing with the flame.
Eventually, that candle willstart to mirror your breathing.
(09:18):
It will expand, it will gettaller and skinnier, it will get
small and fat.
It will get tall and skinnierand small and fat.
With each and every singlebreath, you're becoming more
attuned to the flame.
And over time, you can start,you know, as you have become
attuned, you can start tomanipulate that flame by using
(09:42):
your energy to pull at the flameor to move it back and forth, to
make it small, to make it big,to play around with that little
tiny flame.
And the more that you work withfire and you're very gentle and
you're loving, remember, fire,it is coming from this very,
(10:09):
very powerful, you know, forwardmovement.
So when you are working withfire, it's not a push.
You really want to allow thefire to have the power in the
dynamic.
You allow fire to lead, and thenyou become a mirror or a
(10:31):
reflection of fire, an extensionof fire.
And when you're able to respectfire in that way, um, it is a
lot more accommodating to workwith you because it doesn't feel
that there is a power dynamicissue, it doesn't feel
disrespected, it recognizes thatyou understand that it is the
(10:55):
more powerful of the two of youand that you are honoring its
power and its ability to dothings.
So if you're interested inlearning how to work with fire
where you won't get burned,start with a candle.
Don't leave that candleunattended.
But you can start with a candleand use your breath and your
(11:20):
energy to play with the flame,to make it small and tall and
get it, you know, thin and tallor small and fat, and allow it
to mirror your breath work, oreven you can dance next to the
candle very slow, like you arefire.
(11:43):
And over time, as long as youare really pushing your not
pushing, but you're allowingyour energy to connect with
fire, and you are just meetingfire where it is, and you're not
pushing onto it, or you'retrying, don't have a push energy
with fire.
You want to just reflect and bebe on the same playing field
(12:07):
with fire.
Fire will then start to dancewith you.
You can have a dance back andforth with fire.
If you have a bonfire outside,you can do this too.
Fire scrying is also a very goodway of connecting with fire.
First, you would offer somethingto the fire, and you would out
(12:28):
loud tell it what you'd like toreceive scrying for, what you'd
like to receive visions for.
You set an intention.
Here is some pretty flowers Ifound in my garden, some
tobacco, some sage, somerosemary from my kitchen,
(12:48):
cupboard, wherever you got itfrom.
I would like to give you thisoffering to keep your fire
burning hot and to connect withyou.
I ask that you help me seevisions of my future business,
visions of my future love.
(13:09):
Help me receive the informationI need to know what steps to
take this week at work.
Help me understand what steps Ineed to take when dealing with
this difficult problem with mychildren or in my life.
Help me, help me understand howto break through our artist
(13:35):
block, writer's block.
Give me some, give me someinspiration, please and thank
you, blah, blah, blah.
And you toss your offering intothe fire, and then you sit and
you gaze into the flames.
And when you see something thatlooks like a symbol or it looks
like a person or an object or ascene, you take note of it.
(13:57):
You don't immediately dismiss itbecause it only was there for
two seconds.
No, you take note of it.
You go, look, there's a guyholding a spear and it's gone.
And then it's gone.
And it's like, okay, well, whatnext?
Guy holding a spear.
That looks like kind of a moonover a lake.
Okay.
I don't know what that meansyet.
Okay, guy holding a spear, moonover a lake.
(14:20):
That looked like an elephant.
All right.
So we've got elephant, guyholding a spear, and moon over
the lake.
What that actually might mean isthis week you really have to be
aggressive with your approach toyour job or with your approach
with this person, or maybe,well, that person that I was
(14:42):
asking my question about, theydon't mean you well because
they've got the spear.
They're coming at you, right?
You have to go with your owninstincts, your own intuition.
If you need clarification, youcan ask fire to clarify through
more symbols and scrying.
That's just a good, easybeginner's practice to start
(15:03):
playing with fire and to startbuilding a rapport with fire so
that you guys can have ahealthy, beneficial mutual
relationship.
So, besides African culture andtheir fire dancing, Native
American cultures all across theNorth American continent, they
(15:24):
all actually utilize fire a lotin different ways.
One of the ways that theyutilize and respect fire is
through the peace pipe, beingable to take in the power of
fire as, and then still choosingto resolve conflict, that is
(15:47):
seen as a large strength.
So a peace pipe is usuallysmoked with the either someone
that the tribe is trying toreconcile with, create a treaty
with, do a trade deal with, theywould offer the peace pipe to
(16:08):
this other tribe or to thepeople in the area that they
want to trade with.
And it opens up a space of eventhough we have the power to
fight you, even though, youknow, we might be able to take
you, you know, by force, we arechoosing to take in that power
(16:30):
and to choose peace andconnection and compassion.
Because once again, fire doesteach compassion, understanding,
love, and connection.
And I believe that the NativeAmerican people really saw that
taking in fire through the peacepipe is also a really
(16:51):
complimentary way of saying, youknow, we are connecting through
this element.
We are connecting.
Our breath is bringing in thisflame and that we are, we are
resolving our differencesthrough peace by sharing this
(17:13):
flame together.
Another way that the NativeAmerican cultures celebrated
fire is, of course, they'd havebig bonfires like the African
culture does, and they woulddance and they would cook their
meals that they had just huntedon their hunting parties over
the fire, and they would danceand they would play music, and
(17:34):
it would be verycommunity-based.
Once again, fire brings in thiscommunity, this connection, this
network of bringing peopletogether into a warm space.
So I believe that the firecircles they would have, where
(17:55):
they would dance and sing,helped once again bring in this
energy and distribute it amongthe tribe.
Some other ways that NativeAmerican cultures would utilize
the spirit of fire is throughdifferent artistic practices,
such as carving.
(18:16):
Carving is considered connectedto fire because you are
creating, because you are takinga piece of wood, and like fire
would do, you are completelytransforming it.
And as the creator, where youare carving and you are the one
changing the shape of the wood,that you are essentially
(18:38):
becoming the fire in thiscreation that you are you are
transmuting it.
And once again, fire isconnected with creativity.
Another way Native Americantribes connect with the element
of fire is they have their sweatlodges, which is a place for
healing, purging, and going intothe dark to get inspiration and
(19:02):
wisdom and power and come outreborn, reborn.
Just like fire is rebirth.
You are going into this darkhut, you are having to face your
fears, you are having to faceyour challenges, and then you
have to come out reborn freshand new.
(19:23):
So those are the ways that Ifeel best represent the way
Native Americans across thenation work with the spirit of
fire.
So the Celtic shamans, theyworked with fire as well.
They would work with fire withdoing spell work such as
(19:50):
shape-shifting practices.
From what I've read onshape-shifting practices in the
Celtic shamanic culture and thedruid culture, it would be they
would create a large fire.
They would go and hunt for theanimal that they would like to
assume the form of.
(21:02):
And people do rain dances fordays, right?
So dance is very, very, veryconnected with the element of
fire.
And how the uh shamanic, theCeltic shamans would then,
they'd offer this animal to thefire, and the fire would then
(21:23):
imbue them with the power aswell as the form of the animal
that they offered.
So, in a way, the animal is likea homunculus, like a vessel that
tells the fire what shape theshaman wants to assume.
(21:44):
And through specific spells andchants, they would then assume
that form.
And it was fire that wouldbestow that gift on them.
(22:12):
So I believe having this bighearth and this big cauldron and
being able to brew thesemedicines in the in this
wonderful vessel, that was alsoa way that Celtic shamans would
connect with the spirit of fire.
In South American shamanism, uh,South American people would once
(22:38):
again gather around a fire as alarge group, and they would
dance and they'd sing and they'dall create music.
They'd create music throughthrough callbacks.
So even if they didn't haveinstruments, they would use
their voices to create thisalmost resonance chamber over
the fire, and they're pouringtheir energy into the fire so
(23:01):
that the fire can then recycleit back into the community.
It is always used as aconnection point, as a
connection point.
So in South American shamancultures, they're always
utilizing the fire as this placewhere they are dancing, where
(23:21):
they are singing, where there'sreverie and joy and sharing in a
communal setting.
Australian shamanic culture,they would utilize instruments
such as the didgeridoo.
The didri do is associated withfire because it is considered a
(23:45):
masculine instrument.
And in the Australian tradition,only males may utilize the
didgeridoo.
It is not, it is not traditionfor women to use the didgeridoo.
Even if they are medicinepeople, they are not allowed to
use the didgeridoo.
(24:06):
Um and the reason for that beingis it is a large phallic object
that is seen to be this likefire action oriented.
And I I just believe that it isagainst their value system in
their tradition to allow womento utilize the dejrido for
(24:31):
trances and for shamanic work.
So when you play the dejrido,you are you are actually
creating um a trance-like state.
And the shamans would then gointo these little burrows after
they've created their trancestate.
And they would come out of theburrow after a long spirit or
(24:55):
vision quest.
And their goal with working withthe Didrijdo is actually to
either reimagine the dream, andtheir version of the dream is
what they perceive as reality.
So whatever we are allco-creating together as reality,
the Aboriginal Australianshamans consider reality as this
(25:18):
dream that you can change basedon how connected you are with
the spirit world.
So the Aboriginal shamans wouldutilize the didredo in order to
create these trance states wherethey could enter the dream and
make changes and adjustments toreality and to the world and to
(25:42):
actually manifest things thatthey would hope to bring into
the world.
And last but not least, we havethe Siberian shamans.
And like I said, like with thethe Native Americans, the
Siberian shamans utilize sweatlodges, would go into this space
(26:05):
and would enter trance stateswith drumming or rattles in a
very small cave-like environmentwhere they are then traversing
the astral plane, the spiritrealm, the dream world in order
to manifest, to heal, to battle,to change their reality.
(26:29):
And once they come out, theyhave done that transmutation,
that transfiguration, thewarrior work.
So now that we kind ofunderstand how different
cultures have tapped into thepower of fire and utilized the
power of fire across many, many,many centuries, I would like to
(26:52):
encourage you to build your ownpractice with the element of
fire and to be able to tap intoits gifts and its abilities and
to see what you can do foryourself.
What can you draw as power fromfire?
And also what can you cultivatewith fire as a partner?
(27:15):
So a good way to start with thatis to first explore your
relationship with fire.
Shh, cute.
First explore your relationshipto fire.
So you might recognize thatmaybe you're a little hesitant
around fire, maybe you're afraidof fire, maybe you're a
(27:38):
pyromaniac and you love fire andyou love blowing things up.
So really you have to sit withwhat is my relationship with
fire?
How do I feel when I see orinteract with fire?
What are my first impressions?
So, do you see fire in apositive way and a negative way?
(27:59):
Are you afraid of it?
Are you neutral towards it?
You haven't really dealt with itmuch.
You know, it's really importantto first analyze where do you
currently stand with fire?
Depending on your relationshipwith fire, you can enhance your
relationship by doing certainpractices like candle gazing or
(28:23):
doing a fire ceremony.
And that would look like if it'sa full moon, you would be
writing on a piece of paper allthe things you would like to
release.
And you can do a bunch ofdifferent little pieces of
paper, or you can just do onelarge sheet, and you would then
(28:44):
uh talk to the spirit of fire,ask for its incredible ability
to end things, to burn away theold, to be the catalyst for
rebirth.
And you would speak to theflames as if it's a friend, as
if it's a colleague, as if it'ssomeone you're asking for help
(29:06):
from.
And you would write all of thethings you want to release
during the full moon on a sheetof paper, and you would then
cast it into the fire as anoffering to the fire.
And you say, Hey, fire, I givethese burdens to you.
Thank you so much for helpingextinguish them from my life.
And on the new moon, you woulddo the same practice, but
(29:28):
instead you would do things thatyou want to draw into your life,
the things you'd like tomanifest for yourself.
And in that ceremony, you'd wantto talk to fire as if it's, you
know, gifting you things.
Like, thank you so much, fire,for all these wonderful gifts
that you're going to help bringinto my life, help me manifest.
I'm so grateful.
(29:49):
And you cast that paper or thosepapers into the fire on a new
moon.
Fire ceremonies are really,really cathartic because.
You can write letters to peoplewho have wronged you, and you
can cast that letter and justask that fire helps you cut any
and all chords away from thatperson or from that situation.
(30:12):
You can write several pagesworth of a circumstance that
you're in the middle of that youwould like to no longer have the
burdens of.
You can ask fire to cut any andall ties to that circumstance,
cut away your connection tothose people, to that uh to the
events that had occurred to helpburn away any and all burdens.
(30:34):
So these are some things thatyou can do to start building
your relationship or to foster adeeper relationship with fire.
When we are giving our deepestdesires or our deepest fears to
fire, you're essentially showingfire that you trust it.
You are giving trust over tofire to help you take care of
(30:59):
really big problems in yourlife.
And as long as you're taking thetime to show respect and that
you understand what fire isdoing for you, that you are able
to, you know, respect that fireis trying to help you in this
endeavor that you are asking itto help you with.
(31:20):
Fire is going to be verysupportive.
That you gotta have thatwarmness and that gratitude, and
you gotta make sure that you arecoming from the heart.
Don't use some generic, youknow, script that you find
online or through Chat GPT.
I really encourage you to bevery heartfelt and to connect
(31:40):
with fire as you would a friendor a relative.
Some other, some other practicesI encourage you to try would be
to dance with fire.
So that would be like going outand like actually dancing beside
the bonfire and like like reallycreating this this back and
(32:01):
forth, this like, you know, weare partners in this beautiful
sacred dance together.
I would encourage you to startto utilize fire as a as an
inspiration point for yourcreative endeavors.
(32:23):
So before you go and, I don'tknow, write your book or before
you work on your big canvas thatyou're going to paint and sell.
Make a tribute to fire byactually drawing or painting or
singing or playing aninstrument, you know, like do
the creative thing.
It doesn't have to be like superde duper, you know, finalized,
(32:46):
but do a creative thing just forfire.
Draw a sketch for fire, sing asong to the fire, dance a
specific dance just for fire.
Make a creative offering tofire, and fire will then bless
your creative pursuits movingforward because it's almost like
it's like going on, so you thinkyou got talent, and you're
(33:11):
you're going to fire and you'relike, hey, fire, what do you
think of my talent?
And then fire can be like, Oh,yeah, I think your town's super
good.
Here's a bunch of energy tocomplete your projects.
And you know what?
I know some friends across theworld who also connect with me,
fire.
I know everyone.
(33:32):
And I'm gonna send them all overto you.
Fire's got connections.
It literally is the element ofconnection.
So I highly recommend you givefire some offerings.
You can throw a sketch into thefire, you can dance, you can
sing.
If you're an actor, read yourmonologue to fire.
Fire is not gonna give you anycriticism.
(33:54):
So these are some ways you canstart to cultivate that
healthier relationship withfire.
Having candles in your home, orlighting incense, lighting sage.
And every single time you dorecognizing that anytime you
light that little bic lighter,or you use matchbox, every time
(34:18):
that you are igniting a flame,it is the same spirit that has
always connected with you asfire.
And that you have that samespark within you, that sometimes
you just need that little spark,that little start, just like
fire does.
(34:38):
So these are just some thingsthat you can consider doing in
your practice.
There are a lot of things thatwe're going to cover next week.
I would love to cover somecrystals and some animals and
some specific practices, such asfire breathing, that will help
(34:59):
you deepen your connection withfire and how you can utilize
fire without actually needing afire around.
I hope you guys enjoyed today'sepisode.
I am so grateful for all of yoursupport.
If you haven't already, pleasefollow the show and write a
review if these practices helpyou, help guide you, help
(35:21):
inspire you.
You can find all of my socialmedia connections in the
description below or in thedescription wherever this is.
And I really would love toconnect with more of my
listeners on a regular basis andbe able to support you guys in
your journey ascending together.
I hope you guys have a wonderfulday.
(35:42):
Bye.
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to Rainbows Rising,
where we ascend together.
I'm your host, Rainbow Raja,Shamanic bodywork therapist and
life coach.
Thank you so much for joining ustoday.
We are going to be diving alittle deeper this week into
working with the fire element.
(00:41):
So, fire is one of thoseelements.
It is the most powerful and yetalso the most dangerous,
challenging element to workwith.
There is a higher risk ofunpredictability as well as
possible harm.
So, as a disclaimer when workingwith the fire element, please
(01:04):
never leave any flames orbonfires or candles unattended.
Please be sure that if youdecide to work with the fire
element, that you do so withyour own discernment and that
you're very careful aboutworking with this elemental
(01:27):
spirit, it deserves a lot ofrespect because fire, fire is
powerful, but it also can burndown a house.
So please be very, very mindfuland very very careful when
(01:48):
working with the spirit of fire.
You can do so safely, and youcan do so without even having to
light a fire.
But working with fire can bringso much into your life.
The element of fire helps teachhumans all about death and
(02:10):
rebirth, transmutation, beingable to transform and
transfigure yourself and otherobjects into new forms.
It's about shape shifting, it'sabout warmth, protection,
providing community connectionabout your passion, about your
(02:33):
drive, about tempering yourextremes, tempering your anger
with your compassion for others,as well as fire can really put
some pep in your step to getthings done.
It can help you learn focus, itcan help you learn drive.
(02:57):
Fire is the fuel for allcreative projects.
Whenever we are creatingsomething, whether it's art or
music, whether it's acting, evenif it's just a craft that you're
doing on a Sunday afternoon,fire is always behind that
(03:20):
craft, that creation.
Because fire, once again, is theteacher of death and rebirth,
but fire is also the gatekeeperfor the information and the
ideas that come from the ether,from the void, from the beyond,
(03:40):
from the unseen, and allows itto enter into our reality and
become manifest.
Fire is that gatekeeper, whichis also why fire, when we work
with it, it is so important tohave so much respect and
reverence for this element.
Fire has been misunderstood.
(04:00):
It is usually considered to bethis destructive force that
takes fire, it takes out homes,it takes out forests, that I'm
so afraid of fire because Imight get burned.
Why do you think peopleassociate fear and power and war
(04:26):
all behind this element?
It is because this element doeshold so much ability to launch
you forward or to completelydecimate the progress that
you've made.
Fire is what fuels our weaponsin this day and age.
(04:48):
Fire is what fuels our jets andour cars.
It is propulsion.
It is the spark that gets usmoving forward.
Fire has so much to offer us.
And if you learn how to tap intofire, it can actually lend you
(05:11):
its wisdom, its gifts, itsambition, and its inspiration.
Fire has been used all acrossthe world in many, many shamanic
cultures.
In the African shamanic culture,they being the different African
shamanic tribes, they have thesebig fire ceremonies, these big
(05:36):
fire rituals where the entirecommunity gathers around a large
bonfire and they dance and theychant and they sing.
And the shaman will dance withthe flames in order to get
attuned to the fire.
They become one with the fire.
(05:57):
And once they are attuned to thefire, they can sit in the center
of the bonfire without beingburned, without being harmed,
without being charred.
They will connect with thespirit of fire and get the
initiation, get the honor, getthe privilege of being welcomed
(06:20):
by fire.
Fire will then accept them andbless them with, you know, not
harming them.
There are other traditions whereinstead of taking on the
attributes of fire and not beingharmed by fire by attuning
themselves, they might want toextract power from fire.
(06:44):
So during that ritual whereeveryone is chanting and
singing, they might ask fire,please, fire, bless me with a
gift.
Please give me the power to doamazing things.
And they will enter in a staticstate through dancing, through
chanting, through singing.
And in this time, fire will befunneling this power into the
(07:08):
shaman to the point where theywill be seen levitating, where
they will be seen to be able tomanipulate the flames themselves
and control the fire itself, tobe able to predict the different
wisps of the flame.
(07:30):
This is obviously a very, veryhigh level of attunement and
honoring of fire.
And this, I'm sure, has beenpassed down for many, many, many
generations in their culture.
So I don't recommend that you goand commune with your fire in
the backyard and decide to siton it.
(07:52):
Please use your own discernmentand be very careful.
If you decide to explore that, Ihighly recommend that you go and
find a practitioner from thatbackground and you learn from
them and that you actually havesomeone who can guide you
through the specific process youwould need to be welcomed by the
(08:16):
fire.
If you are interested in doingthat kind of deep fire work,
some smaller practices that youcan try would be candle gazing,
where you have a candle, youlight this candle and you set it
in front of you.
And your goal is to breathe withthe flame.
(08:36):
Not breathe on the flame.
You want to put the candle farenough away where your breath
won't be affecting its flame,but you breathe.
And your goal is to get as closeto that flame, to like become
the flame, to to envisionyourself as you are in that
(08:57):
flame.
You are that flame.
You are breathing with thatflame.
You're clearing your mindcompletely.
There is no push.
You are just being as you arebreathing with the flame.
Eventually, that candle willstart to mirror your breathing.
(09:18):
It will expand, it will gettaller and skinnier, it will get
small and fat.
It will get tall and skinnierand small and fat.
With each and every singlebreath, you're becoming more
attuned to the flame.
And over time, you can start,you know, as you have become
attuned, you can start tomanipulate that flame by using
(09:42):
your energy to pull at the flameor to move it back and forth, to
make it small, to make it big,to play around with that little
tiny flame.
And the more that you work withfire and you're very gentle and
you're loving, remember, fire,it is coming from this very,
(10:09):
very powerful, you know, forwardmovement.
So when you are working withfire, it's not a push.
You really want to allow thefire to have the power in the
dynamic.
You allow fire to lead, and thenyou become a mirror or a
(10:31):
reflection of fire, an extensionof fire.
And when you're able to respectfire in that way, um, it is a
lot more accommodating to workwith you because it doesn't feel
that there is a power dynamicissue, it doesn't feel
disrespected, it recognizes thatyou understand that it is the
(10:55):
more powerful of the two of youand that you are honoring its
power and its ability to dothings.
So if you're interested inlearning how to work with fire
where you won't get burned,start with a candle.
Don't leave that candleunattended.
But you can start with a candleand use your breath and your
(11:20):
energy to play with the flame,to make it small and tall and
get it, you know, thin and tallor small and fat, and allow it
to mirror your breath work, oreven you can dance next to the
candle very slow, like you arefire.
(11:43):
And over time, as long as youare really pushing your not
pushing, but you're allowingyour energy to connect with
fire, and you are just meetingfire where it is, and you're not
pushing onto it, or you'retrying, don't have a push energy
with fire.
You want to just reflect and bebe on the same playing field
(12:07):
with fire.
Fire will then start to dancewith you.
You can have a dance back andforth with fire.
If you have a bonfire outside,you can do this too.
Fire scrying is also a very goodway of connecting with fire.
First, you would offer somethingto the fire, and you would out
(12:28):
loud tell it what you'd like toreceive scrying for, what you'd
like to receive visions for.
You set an intention.
Here is some pretty flowers Ifound in my garden, some
tobacco, some sage, somerosemary from my kitchen,
(12:48):
cupboard, wherever you got itfrom.
I would like to give you thisoffering to keep your fire
burning hot and to connect withyou.
I ask that you help me seevisions of my future business,
visions of my future love.
(13:09):
Help me receive the informationI need to know what steps to
take this week at work.
Help me understand what steps Ineed to take when dealing with
this difficult problem with mychildren or in my life.
Help me, help me understand howto break through our artist
(13:35):
block, writer's block.
Give me some, give me someinspiration, please and thank
you, blah, blah, blah.
And you toss your offering intothe fire, and then you sit and
you gaze into the flames.
And when you see something thatlooks like a symbol or it looks
like a person or an object or ascene, you take note of it.
(13:57):
You don't immediately dismiss itbecause it only was there for
two seconds.
No, you take note of it.
You go, look, there's a guyholding a spear and it's gone.
And then it's gone.
And it's like, okay, well, whatnext?
Guy holding a spear.
That looks like kind of a moonover a lake.
Okay.
I don't know what that meansyet.
Okay, guy holding a spear, moonover a lake.
(14:20):
That looked like an elephant.
All right.
So we've got elephant, guyholding a spear, and moon over
the lake.
What that actually might mean isthis week you really have to be
aggressive with your approach toyour job or with your approach
with this person, or maybe,well, that person that I was
(14:42):
asking my question about, theydon't mean you well because
they've got the spear.
They're coming at you, right?
You have to go with your owninstincts, your own intuition.
If you need clarification, youcan ask fire to clarify through
more symbols and scrying.
That's just a good, easybeginner's practice to start
(15:03):
playing with fire and to startbuilding a rapport with fire so
that you guys can have ahealthy, beneficial mutual
relationship.
So, besides African culture andtheir fire dancing, Native
American cultures all across theNorth American continent, they
(15:24):
all actually utilize fire a lotin different ways.
One of the ways that theyutilize and respect fire is
through the peace pipe, beingable to take in the power of
fire as, and then still choosingto resolve conflict, that is
(15:47):
seen as a large strength.
So a peace pipe is usuallysmoked with the either someone
that the tribe is trying toreconcile with, create a treaty
with, do a trade deal with, theywould offer the peace pipe to
(16:08):
this other tribe or to thepeople in the area that they
want to trade with.
And it opens up a space of eventhough we have the power to
fight you, even though, youknow, we might be able to take
you, you know, by force, we arechoosing to take in that power
(16:30):
and to choose peace andconnection and compassion.
Because once again, fire doesteach compassion, understanding,
love, and connection.
And I believe that the NativeAmerican people really saw that
taking in fire through the peacepipe is also a really
(16:51):
complimentary way of saying, youknow, we are connecting through
this element.
We are connecting.
Our breath is bringing in thisflame and that we are, we are
resolving our differencesthrough peace by sharing this
(17:13):
flame together.
Another way that the NativeAmerican cultures celebrated
fire is, of course, they'd havebig bonfires like the African
culture does, and they woulddance and they would cook their
meals that they had just huntedon their hunting parties over
the fire, and they would danceand they would play music, and
(17:34):
it would be verycommunity-based.
Once again, fire brings in thiscommunity, this connection, this
network of bringing peopletogether into a warm space.
So I believe that the firecircles they would have, where
(17:55):
they would dance and sing,helped once again bring in this
energy and distribute it amongthe tribe.
Some other ways that NativeAmerican cultures would utilize
the spirit of fire is throughdifferent artistic practices,
such as carving.
(18:16):
Carving is considered connectedto fire because you are
creating, because you are takinga piece of wood, and like fire
would do, you are completelytransforming it.
And as the creator, where youare carving and you are the one
changing the shape of the wood,that you are essentially
(18:38):
becoming the fire in thiscreation that you are you are
transmuting it.
And once again, fire isconnected with creativity.
Another way Native Americantribes connect with the element
of fire is they have their sweatlodges, which is a place for
healing, purging, and going intothe dark to get inspiration and
(19:02):
wisdom and power and come outreborn, reborn.
Just like fire is rebirth.
You are going into this darkhut, you are having to face your
fears, you are having to faceyour challenges, and then you
have to come out reborn freshand new.
(19:23):
So those are the ways that Ifeel best represent the way
Native Americans across thenation work with the spirit of
fire.
So the Celtic shamans, theyworked with fire as well.
They would work with fire withdoing spell work such as
(19:50):
shape-shifting practices.
From what I've read onshape-shifting practices in the
Celtic shamanic culture and thedruid culture, it would be they
would create a large fire.
They would go and hunt for theanimal that they would like to
assume the form of.
(21:02):
And people do rain dances fordays, right?
So dance is very, very, veryconnected with the element of
fire.
And how the uh shamanic, theCeltic shamans would then,
they'd offer this animal to thefire, and the fire would then
(21:23):
imbue them with the power aswell as the form of the animal
that they offered.
So, in a way, the animal is likea homunculus, like a vessel that
tells the fire what shape theshaman wants to assume.
(21:44):
And through specific spells andchants, they would then assume
that form.
And it was fire that wouldbestow that gift on them.
(22:12):
So I believe having this bighearth and this big cauldron and
being able to brew thesemedicines in the in this
wonderful vessel, that was alsoa way that Celtic shamans would
connect with the spirit of fire.
In South American shamanism, uh,South American people would once
(22:38):
again gather around a fire as alarge group, and they would
dance and they'd sing and they'dall create music.
They'd create music throughthrough callbacks.
So even if they didn't haveinstruments, they would use
their voices to create thisalmost resonance chamber over
the fire, and they're pouringtheir energy into the fire so
(23:01):
that the fire can then recycleit back into the community.
It is always used as aconnection point, as a
connection point.
So in South American shamancultures, they're always
utilizing the fire as this placewhere they are dancing, where
(23:21):
they are singing, where there'sreverie and joy and sharing in a
communal setting.
Australian shamanic culture,they would utilize instruments
such as the didgeridoo.
The didri do is associated withfire because it is considered a
(23:45):
masculine instrument.
And in the Australian tradition,only males may utilize the
didgeridoo.
It is not, it is not traditionfor women to use the didgeridoo.
Even if they are medicinepeople, they are not allowed to
use the didgeridoo.
(24:06):
Um and the reason for that beingis it is a large phallic object
that is seen to be this likefire action oriented.
And I I just believe that it isagainst their value system in
their tradition to allow womento utilize the dejrido for
(24:31):
trances and for shamanic work.
So when you play the dejrido,you are you are actually
creating um a trance-like state.
And the shamans would then gointo these little burrows after
they've created their trancestate.
And they would come out of theburrow after a long spirit or
(24:55):
vision quest.
And their goal with working withthe Didrijdo is actually to
either reimagine the dream, andtheir version of the dream is
what they perceive as reality.
So whatever we are allco-creating together as reality,
the Aboriginal Australianshamans consider reality as this
(25:18):
dream that you can change basedon how connected you are with
the spirit world.
So the Aboriginal shamans wouldutilize the didredo in order to
create these trance states wherethey could enter the dream and
make changes and adjustments toreality and to the world and to
(25:42):
actually manifest things thatthey would hope to bring into
the world.
And last but not least, we havethe Siberian shamans.
And like I said, like with thethe Native Americans, the
Siberian shamans utilize sweatlodges, would go into this space
(26:05):
and would enter trance stateswith drumming or rattles in a
very small cave-like environmentwhere they are then traversing
the astral plane, the spiritrealm, the dream world in order
to manifest, to heal, to battle,to change their reality.
(26:29):
And once they come out, theyhave done that transmutation,
that transfiguration, thewarrior work.
So now that we kind ofunderstand how different
cultures have tapped into thepower of fire and utilized the
power of fire across many, many,many centuries, I would like to
(26:52):
encourage you to build your ownpractice with the element of
fire and to be able to tap intoits gifts and its abilities and
to see what you can do foryourself.
What can you draw as power fromfire?
And also what can you cultivatewith fire as a partner?
(27:15):
So a good way to start with thatis to first explore your
relationship with fire.
Shh, cute.
First explore your relationshipto fire.
So you might recognize thatmaybe you're a little hesitant
around fire, maybe you're afraidof fire, maybe you're a
(27:38):
pyromaniac and you love fire andyou love blowing things up.
So really you have to sit withwhat is my relationship with
fire?
How do I feel when I see orinteract with fire?
What are my first impressions?
So, do you see fire in apositive way and a negative way?
(27:59):
Are you afraid of it?
Are you neutral towards it?
You haven't really dealt with itmuch.
You know, it's really importantto first analyze where do you
currently stand with fire?
Depending on your relationshipwith fire, you can enhance your
relationship by doing certainpractices like candle gazing or
(28:23):
doing a fire ceremony.
And that would look like if it'sa full moon, you would be
writing on a piece of paper allthe things you would like to
release.
And you can do a bunch ofdifferent little pieces of
paper, or you can just do onelarge sheet, and you would then
(28:44):
uh talk to the spirit of fire,ask for its incredible ability
to end things, to burn away theold, to be the catalyst for
rebirth.
And you would speak to theflames as if it's a friend, as
if it's a colleague, as if it'ssomeone you're asking for help
(29:06):
from.
And you would write all of thethings you want to release
during the full moon on a sheetof paper, and you would then
cast it into the fire as anoffering to the fire.
And you say, Hey, fire, I givethese burdens to you.
Thank you so much for helpingextinguish them from my life.
And on the new moon, you woulddo the same practice, but
(29:28):
instead you would do things thatyou want to draw into your life,
the things you'd like tomanifest for yourself.
And in that ceremony, you'd wantto talk to fire as if it's, you
know, gifting you things.
Like, thank you so much, fire,for all these wonderful gifts
that you're going to help bringinto my life, help me manifest.
I'm so grateful.
(29:49):
And you cast that paper or thosepapers into the fire on a new
moon.
Fire ceremonies are really,really cathartic because.
You can write letters to peoplewho have wronged you, and you
can cast that letter and justask that fire helps you cut any
and all chords away from thatperson or from that situation.
(30:12):
You can write several pagesworth of a circumstance that
you're in the middle of that youwould like to no longer have the
burdens of.
You can ask fire to cut any andall ties to that circumstance,
cut away your connection tothose people, to that uh to the
events that had occurred to helpburn away any and all burdens.
(30:34):
So these are some things thatyou can do to start building
your relationship or to foster adeeper relationship with fire.
When we are giving our deepestdesires or our deepest fears to
fire, you're essentially showingfire that you trust it.
You are giving trust over tofire to help you take care of
(30:59):
really big problems in yourlife.
And as long as you're taking thetime to show respect and that
you understand what fire isdoing for you, that you are able
to, you know, respect that fireis trying to help you in this
endeavor that you are asking itto help you with.
(31:20):
Fire is going to be verysupportive.
That you gotta have thatwarmness and that gratitude, and
you gotta make sure that you arecoming from the heart.
Don't use some generic, youknow, script that you find
online or through Chat GPT.
I really encourage you to bevery heartfelt and to connect
(31:40):
with fire as you would a friendor a relative.
Some other, some other practicesI encourage you to try would be
to dance with fire.
So that would be like going outand like actually dancing beside
the bonfire and like like reallycreating this this back and
(32:01):
forth, this like, you know, weare partners in this beautiful
sacred dance together.
I would encourage you to startto utilize fire as a as an
inspiration point for yourcreative endeavors.
(32:23):
So before you go and, I don'tknow, write your book or before
you work on your big canvas thatyou're going to paint and sell.
Make a tribute to fire byactually drawing or painting or
singing or playing aninstrument, you know, like do
the creative thing.
It doesn't have to be like superde duper, you know, finalized,
(32:46):
but do a creative thing just forfire.
Draw a sketch for fire, sing asong to the fire, dance a
specific dance just for fire.
Make a creative offering tofire, and fire will then bless
your creative pursuits movingforward because it's almost like
it's like going on, so you thinkyou got talent, and you're
(33:11):
you're going to fire and you'relike, hey, fire, what do you
think of my talent?
And then fire can be like, Oh,yeah, I think your town's super
good.
Here's a bunch of energy tocomplete your projects.
And you know what?
I know some friends across theworld who also connect with me,
fire.
I know everyone.
(33:32):
And I'm gonna send them all overto you.
Fire's got connections.
It literally is the element ofconnection.
So I highly recommend you givefire some offerings.
You can throw a sketch into thefire, you can dance, you can
sing.
If you're an actor, read yourmonologue to fire.
Fire is not gonna give you anycriticism.
(33:54):
So these are some ways you canstart to cultivate that
healthier relationship withfire.
Having candles in your home, orlighting incense, lighting sage.
And every single time you dorecognizing that anytime you
light that little bic lighter,or you use matchbox, every time
(34:18):
that you are igniting a flame,it is the same spirit that has
always connected with you asfire.
And that you have that samespark within you, that sometimes
you just need that little spark,that little start, just like
fire does.
(34:38):
So these are just some thingsthat you can consider doing in
your practice.
There are a lot of things thatwe're going to cover next week.
I would love to cover somecrystals and some animals and
some specific practices, such asfire breathing, that will help
(34:59):
you deepen your connection withfire and how you can utilize
fire without actually needing afire around.
I hope you guys enjoyed today'sepisode.
I am so grateful for all of yoursupport.
If you haven't already, pleasefollow the show and write a
review if these practices helpyou, help guide you, help
(35:21):
inspire you.
You can find all of my socialmedia connections in the
description below or in thedescription wherever this is.
And I really would love toconnect with more of my
listeners on a regular basis andbe able to support you guys in
your journey ascending together.
I hope you guys have a wonderfulday.
(35:42):
Bye.
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