PaganSquare.com - WitchesAndPagans.com

“Can you roast marshmallows over a sacred fire?”

Young Fiona's plaintive question was no idle one.

We'd kindled our Fire of Meeting in the sacred grove on Friday night. All weekend, it had burned continuously, receiving prayers and offerings each morning. Then rain threatened to extinguish it.

(In the end, it didn't, but there was no knowing that at the time.)

So we added a burning log from the sacred Fire to the (non-sacred) fire that burns in the pavilion where people gather when weather's wet, thus (by "contagion") rendering it sacred, thus prompting Fiona's profoundly theological question.

To generalize: may sacral Fire be used for practical purposes as well?

All Fire is sacred, but—by the nature of things—we have to use it for practical purposes, too.

In the face of this paradox, the ancestors cut a deal with the Powers that Be: we maintain sacred Fires to embody, to epitomize, the sanctity of Holy Fire. These we treat with the utmost regard, as honored guests. No waste may be burned in them, only offerings.

Only by virtue of this, is it given to us to make practical use of fire as well.

(We need only look around us in the culture at large to see the dire results of the violation of this primal agreement.)

So: when sacred Fire is the only Fire available—as in this situation—is it permissible to use it for practical purposes—cooking, say—as well?

I heartily approve of the Danish tradition of hygge which is a lovely form of self-care togetherness. The Scandinavians integrate hearth fires into this custom so we’ll take it one step further by adding sacred herbs on top of the wood for a cleansing, purifying and therapeutic twist to hygge home fires. You can either bundle the herbs together with string or lay them on top of the unlit wood. I do both and speak this spell before lighting the fire in your fireplace or firepot.

 Warmth and love, heart and heat,

Yes, it's a barbecue smoker lid. Yes, I really do light sacred fires in it. Because cooking for a ritual feast is a sacred act, and so is cooking for ordinary purposes when I'm intending to share some of it with the gods, so if I were cooking in my kitchen the gas flame on the range top would be a sacred fire, because that's how that works. The hearth fire through which Loki brings energy to us or from us to the gods does not have to be a replica of the hearth in a Viking longhouse or other historical type of building. I think I might draw the line at an electrical cooker or microwave, because those aren't really fire, but the wood and charcoal fire in the barbecue is just as much a traditional wood fire as anything our ancestors made.

So how did this shiny golden circular shape get here? I'm glad you asked. The story went like this. It was the full moon of Friday the 13th, which occurred in September this year (2019.) Now, Friday the 13th doesn't mean anything in heathenry-- in historical heathen calendar systems, it doesn't even exist-- but in modern American culture it's considered unlucky, which is the reason that some members of the witchy community consider it to be especially lucky for witches, along with black cats and broken mirror pieces.

The primary source of heat in our home is our wood stove, and is an important part of my spiritual practice during the cold months of the year. This winter about half of the wood that we are using comes from our land and the rest has been purchased from someone in our county. The fuel we use is local and from the soil of our bioregion. I have a good sense of how long it took for the trees to grow, and the weather and water that fed their growth.  Relying upon the wood stove focuses my awareness, gratitude, and mindfulness in many ways. We do have a modern heating system as a backup plan, but its biggest purpose is to keep the house warm when we are all away on a trip.

Continuing with my first post’s examination of the significance of the hearth in a home, we’ll look at the lore regarding the healing and protective powers of the hearth, its fire, and an important hearth implement, the chimney hook. Unless cited otherwise, the information below comes from Claude Lecouteux’s excellent book on household lore, The Tradition of Household Spirits.

Before we can appreciate ancient and medieval European traditions of healing, it’s important to understand what ancient and medieval Europeans believed about the nature of illness. In Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: the Middle Ages, it’s stated that:

Huchi-Fuchi, by Kris Waldherr

First thing every morning throughout five or six months of the year, I build and light a fire in my fireplace. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to stay in bed past my husband so that he can warm the house before I crawl out from underneath my cozy flannel sheets and down comforter, but most mornings my duty is the fire.

When the routine starts in November, I do it begrudgingly. I dislike getting up and fumbling in the dark for my fleece sweatshirt and thermal socks only to walk out into the arctic living room and kneel on the frigid tile in front of the fireplace. This winter I got clever and talked my husband into bringing wood in for the morning before he goes to bed each night. At least now I don’t have to go out in sub-zero temperatures in my pajamas anymore. That seemed really insane.