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Light and the Shaman’s Fire Ceremony

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SHAMAN’S FIRE CEREMONY

As we have come to learn, ceremony and ritual are incredibly important to healing, as well as growth and development. To a shaman, the fire ceremony is incredibly sacred. Fire is a wild energy and helpful ally, if we properly respect it. Not only does it represent the rapid illumination we go through in becoming a shaman, it recycles energy! We burn items that represent different issues in our life, to transmute the energy of our issue, into the energy of light and heat, that we may take in and use to nourish ourselves, and our LEF. In indigenous societies, the elders carry on the tradition of gathering around a fire when the moon is full and dreaming of a world that they want their grandchildren to inherit. On that evening, they quietly arrive in a circle of dreamers, knowing that what they have to offer is just a tiny piece of the larger puzzle, and that it’s important that they show up with love and intent and participate in the dreaming process.

At serpent (at the physical level), they know that they need to sit by the fire. At jaguar (at the emotional level), they realize that they must bring with them their love and curiosity and connection with al beings, including every other shaman gathered around the fire wherever they may be on the earth. At hummingbird (at the mythic level) they offer their vision without comprehending how it fits into the collective dream. At eagle (at the level of Spirit), they see the larger picture before them and understand the totality of the dream without being able to express it or define it. They feel the power and wonder of Spirit. They become the moon and the stars, fire and the smoke, each other and themselves, no one and everyone.

HOW TO PERFORM A FIRE CEREMONY

The fire ceremony is done on the full moon of each month.

  • Before coming to the fire circle, prepare Spirit Arrow or Death Arrow, a stick that represents an issue or something you want to let go of. Blow the issue into the stick.
  • Choose a stick to circulate at the fire as an offering for the healing of the Earth, the Pachamama stick (this stick is thicker and more substantial than a personal offering stick).
  • The Pachamama stick is passed around the circle for all to offer their blessing.
  • Open Sacred Space.
  • Prepare the fire.
  • Start the fire. One person should care-take the fire for the evening.
  • Begin the chant to call upon the Spirit of the Waters beneath the Earth There is a two-week period following a fire ceremony in which “instances of opportunity” appear. These “instances” provide the opportunity to translate your intent for healing into reality. You are advised to think of the fire ceremony not as an instantaneous magical change, but rather the start of a healing process or journey.

When was the last time you seized the opportunity to change your behavior in the real world and then let the universe take care of the details?