Fire is a potent ally for releasing old patterns or traumas, burning away obstructions, and energizing new ideas seeking to manifest. The element of Fire can help activate our passion, creativity, and drive.

If you need to let go of something that no longer serves you, or energize your creative spark, try creating a fire ceremony! Facing a bonfire with its dancing flames naturally stirs something deep within us. It reconnects us to our elemental roots, and seems to also excite some primordial aspect of our psyche or soul. Working with fire feels like it supercharges our intentions, whatever they may be.

Four Steps for a Powerful Fire Ceremony

Fire ceremonies are done in many different ways around the globe, but they often have four steps in common that create a powerful experience:

  1. Create the right conditions for the fire to flourish. Whether you are using a wood burning stove or firepit or building a fire on the beach, create a welcoming space where participants can ideally form a full circle or a semi-circle around the fire. You’ll want to have a safe and protected space for the fire to burn strongly, but not grow or blow out of control. Make sure you have all the fuel and starters you need to feed the fire, and water to calm it down if needed. Note that some people do fire ceremonies with just a candle, but I find them to be much more powerful with a full fire and brilliant flames.
  2. Burn a physical representation of what you wish to release. It is quite satisfying to watch something burn to ashes before your eyes, particularly if there is a powerful association between the item and what you seek to release. For example you can burn old photos or letters, clothing, or pages that articulate what you’ve decided to say goodbye to. In group ceremonies we usually choose items from nature (like branches, pine cones, grasses, etc,) into which you can blow those things you want to release. Before throwing your item(s) into the fire, check in with your body. Can you locate the place where you’re carrying old blockages, pain, anger, or imprints of trauma? If so, use your breath and visualization to move it from your body into the item you’re about to burn. When ready, throw it to the fire and speak aloud a declaration of what you’re releasing. Then watch your item burn until it disappears.
  3. Clearly state what you now wish to energize. Each time we clear something out of our energy field, we create an opening for something else to come in. So it’s important to intentionally fill that space with something positive. What would really help shift things for you? What positive intentions can you call in? For example if you’ve released pain and disempowerment, you might want to bring in a new sense of strength and calm. Or perhaps you just want to move your life in a new direction and ask for help energizing your creative spark to show you the way. Visualize the positive coming into your body, and hold it within you. Ask the fire to energize it and help it grow. Holding your intention clearly, watch the movement of the flames and call in their warmth to ignite it.
  4. Honor the fire and give thanks. Once you’ve finished with the previous steps, take a few minutes to offer your gratitude to the fire. Thank it for combusting and burning away the old stuff. And for helping energize the new and more positive influences in your life. Thank the element of Fire in a broader sense for all it has done for humanity. You may also honor the fire with some sort of offering, like dry juniper branches, sage, resins, or remaining bits of palo santo sticks. They create lovely aromas when given over to the fire. Then I recommend sitting with the fire until it burns out. As the flames eventually disappear and become quiet, a renewed sense of peace and mental clarity replace them.

If you can return to the site of your fire the next day, you’ll find the ashes of what you’ve burned away. They carry the energy of transformation and can act as a fertilizer for what’s to come, in the same way that the fallen leaves mulch the ground for new life. You might want to take a handful of ashes to spread on your garden or a sacred spot outside, or even rub on your body– whatever would best support your new direction in life.

Leave a comment