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Come On Vestal Virgin, Light My Fire
Good thing modern man has advanced way beyond the primitive
fire-worshiping ways of our ancestors. In the enlightened modern world
we shun silly superstitions like the divinity of fire and put our minds
to better use. Except when we light candles to remember someone. Or
burn the Olympic torch and run it through cities. Or practice
cremation. Or tell ghost stories around a camp fire. Or buy candle-esque
electrical decorations for the Holidays. Or burn incense at religious
ceremonies. Or burn effigies/bras at political rallies. Is it possible
we are still simple, primitive fire worshipers just like our ancestors?
The
primitive times were much longer than the enlightened ones. For all
intents and purposes we have been worshiping since the dawn of
civilization. Zoroastrians were the first (that we know of). They
equated fire with their "good" god because is symbolized purity and
could burn the bad stuff out. This tradition of revering fire in the
Middle East continues today in the Sadeh and Chaharshanbe Suri
festivals. Ancient Hinduism worshiped fire too. Fire acts as a gateway
between the worshiper and the gods and was often used to reach divinity
whether it be through ritual or sacrifice.
It
wasn't just the Easterners. Jewish history is rich with divine fire.
God manifests as a burning bush, prophets leave Earth in flaming
chariots. Evil cities are blown up with fire (and brimstone). Many Jews
also believe the Torah was written by God with fire. Christianity has
it share of divine fire, also (in addition to the already mentioned Old
Testament stuff). One of the more dramatic representations of the
spirit of God were the "tongues of fire" that mysteriously appeared
over the apostles. Perhaps most well known are the Vestal Virgins of
Rome, who kept an enduring flame in the temple revering Vesta. The
Greeks did this too, except they revered Hestia. They also revered the
forge fire - a completely different type of fire worship.
It's
easy to say this pagan idolatry of an earthly element has gone away
with the advent of modern society. We still latch onto it most
religious traditions, though, and perhaps just as ritualistically as
our ancient predecessors. Christianity invokes the "light of Christ"
usually symbolized by using candles while Orthodoxy use candles in
rituals to symbolize Christ. Jews use candles to mark the Sabbath and
also throughout the annual Hanukkah celebration. Candles are used in
Buddhism to represent Enlightenment and lamps in Hinduism to represent
the same. Neopagans also use candles to represent the primal element of
fire and for use in magical rituals.
There
are many religious traditions that have not endured the test of time.
We no longer stone people for wearing mixed fiber clothing and we
generally tolerate the consumption of dairy and meat at the same
sitting. Why is it that the rituals around fire have maintained
themselves throughout all of these centuries and in some cases,
millennium? Is it just because it is shiny? Are we afraid of its
destructive power? Are we thrown back to primitive times by looking at
it?
There are some things in common with
these rituals and how fire is perceived in the modern world. Fire
generally represent purification. It also often represents life and
more specifically human life. Is it possible that the burning flame
reminds us of our spiritual selves? That perhaps when contained we are
beautiful and alive but could easily spread into a destructive
uncontainable force? There could be other reasons that we revere this
chemical reaction in the way we do and further analyzing it will get is
no closer to understanding the human condition. Whether or not we
understand it, embracing fire's symbolism is important to us as a
society. It teaches us that with light comes consequences and unless
enlightenment is carefully tended to it could be quenched or the power
enlightenment brings can spread dangerously out of control.
This work by Mark Havenner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user mharrsch. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0.
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