When we explore wind and sea, we can savor the delightful sensuality and the familiar sensations contained in these elements. The stories of sylphs and undines stimulate our emotional life even as they call forth balance and harmony. The songs in water and air are of freedom, gentleness, and empathy. The gnomes also are not so distant from us. They are the intelligence and the consciousness in the rocks upon which we sit or the mountains we climb.
But fire is different. Here we enter a domain of pure power and will. Volcanoes exploding, raging forest fires, lava flows--these exhibitions within nature strike a different cord as they resonate within our souls.
Fire is expansive and uninhibited. We know what it is to feel exuberance, excitement, and exhilaration. We have all been thrilled and enthralled. In such feelings, there is a amplification and intensification of our energy. And, at times, there is an explosion of vitality combined with zeal.
On the other hand, being obsessed, infatuated, or spellbound--these emotional states result in part from a weakness of the fire element within ourselves. We have failed to master the sources of power which animate our souls. Consequently, there are times when we may find ourselves attracted to experiences or people who are unfamiliar and yet strangely appealing. Captivating images may come to us in dreams or we may encounter ideals which bedazzle our imaginations.
Another person may bring into our lives a vision of happiness and joy we have never known. A dream may re- mind us of the love we once shared. An ideal may seize us, asking us to make a commitment or to live on a higher level. A religion or a new set of beliefs may insist we make peace with ourselves.
However, we must be wise as we approach such radiant sources of inspiration. They may seem to offer us feel- ings of being more alive and energized. They may appear to offer direction and purpose. But if we are unable to find the light and power shining in these images within our own being, we risk becoming dependent on something external. This need for external stimulation is typical in drug addiction.
Those, for example, with an addiction to amphetamine have the greatest difficulty living without the rush, the push, and drive which the drug generates within their nervous system. Drugs may induce temporary but height- ened states of fearlessness and aggression as adrenalin is released into the bloodstream. The sympathetic ner- vous system takes over.
The rate, force, and amplitude of heartbeat increase along with blood pressure. Blood vessels throughout the body constrict. The bronchii of the lungs dilate in- creasing the body's ability to engage in vigorous mus- cular activity. The liver releases more glucose into the bloodstream. The processing of glycogen to lactic acid in the muscles increases. Muscles go taut, the mind hypervigilent.
The lower brain takes control. Our sense percep- tions seem more acute. Our pupils dilate. The sympa- thetic nervous system increases our instinct for survival and, at times, our capacity to take charge of our lives. Yet the price the drug addict pays is also very great. Their bodies and brains become exhausted. The fire, rather than illuminating and healing, burns up their health and devours their souls.
When we work with fire, we are working with will and power. Fire is more wild and uninhibited compared to the other elements. To that extent, therefore, we must always be conscious of the purposes which we are pursuing. Since fire increases our influence and our options, we must be careful about the choices we make as its power is amplified within us.
Traditional symbols handed down for many millennia have honored and paid tribute to this power and the wis- dom within the fire element. Fire has symbolized a means for understanding how we shape our destinies. Such sym- bols still speak to us. They remind us that fire is at the roots of our deepest motivations and sources of in- spiration.
For example, the ancients decorated the night sky with their mythologies. Astronomy and astrology were one and the same. Consequently, cosmology and human destiny were not separate. Human will and Divine will worked together in the unfolding the universe. Is this such a quaint notion when we now know that the choices we make as a species will maintain or destroy the biosphere?
Consider that profession of disrepute known as alch- emy. Its practitioners, in part, sought to transmute one metal into another. But we now create conditions in our laboratories in which atoms melt together. Losing their separate identities, they form "superatoms", matter which no longer even exists in nature. The human race is ex- perimenting with the powers which gave birth to the stars. Scientists are attempting to track down what happened in the first instant in which the universe was created.
As we unravel one secret of nature after another, it is easy to lose our sense of priorities in the excite- ment to apply what we have discovered. It is easy to deny our responsibilities. At the last moment, when we witness the work of our hands, we may suddenly find our- selves turning, like Robert Oppenheimer, to mythology to comprehend our orbit of action--
As Oppenheimer witnessed the result of the Manhattan project which he directed--at the first nuclear explo- sion--Oppenheimer quoted Sri Krishna from the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita. Oppenheimer said, "I am become Death, the shatterer of worlds."
Let us not forget that from the deepest visions of the heart and soul we shape our own destinies. The founda- tions of society derive from our values and the pattern of life which we seek to uphold. Not necessity but our greatest sources of inspiration empower our lives.
As we turn to fire, let us consider the voice with which mythology speaks to us through the ancient system of astrology. Let us consider the way fire bears on human will. In astrology, we have three fire signs. The first of these is Aries.
Aries, the ram, is the one who forges by his will the sacred weapons he needs to defeat all enemies and to surmount all barriers. Aries, alone and without support, is empowered to cross through the unknown wilderness of the soul and spirit. He defies the darkness and all that opposes. His very nature is courage. He takes every- thing that confronts him as a challenge which he will master. He moves without fear and none may defeat him when his will is aligned with the universe.
There exist many traditions which insist we discover the great spiritual truths of life within the core of our being. Belief may contain the seed we seek to bring to fruition. But a path of growth within the soul requires that we confront the actual powers which lie dormant and asleep within us.
For example, in some mystery religions, fire con- tains a magic which relates to the strengthening of will power. Concentration on the sensations associated with fire amplify this will. Fire meditations can be used to build resolution. The property of heat, for example, to expand indefinitely relates to will. As concentration on the intensity in heat increases so does the feeling of being able to overcome obstacles with courage and without fear.
The second fire sign in the zodiac is Leo. Leo, the lion, shines like the sun and his confidence and leader- ship is such that others find it easy to follow him. Aries, though the dimmest of the twelve constellations, has a fire which burns hotter than any other. Aries can, then, intensify his will in order to destroy all obstacles. In Leo, by contrast, fire illuminates the world. Leo offers a center of inspiration and guidance around which our actions may be directed. Leo fashions and sustains a community by his will.
A second aspect of the magic of fire also relates to the sign of Leo. This is the ability to condense and to contain energy. Fire expands outward illuminating space. By will, we learn how to draw energy into a small place and to control it. In this way, we transform energy into light. Rather than crushing or else allowing passions to burn wild and destructive, we learn to tame their powers for the purposes of love.
Fire, under the control of will, is directed so that it animates and nurtures the world. The fire is con- tained so that it is not a threat or a danger. Simil- arly, leadership offers a center of power and will around which others may be nourished and their lives fulfilled.
The power to rule, in part, derives from mastery of oneself. Controlling great pressures and intensities within ourselves, we can direct desires to useful ends. We are also able to guide others' motivations in the same way we work with the drives and hungers within ourselves.
The third fire sign in the zodiac is Sagittarius, the archer. Sagittarius seeks to find and proclaim those ideals and principles which illuminate our minds. This sign seeks justice, wisdom, and the transformation of the world. There is a purity in the Sagittarian vision which inspires the will to commitment and the heart to devo- tion. Sagittarians are the explorers who search for the truth. They are tenacious and dauntless when it comes to fulfilling a quest.
A third magic within fire is a concentration Sagit- tarians possess. Fire captures and focuses our atten- tion. It sharpens our ability to remain calm and centered within ourselves. Fire contains the intensity which leads to inner illumination. When we discover this source of power within ourselves, nothing disturbs or distracts us--our concentration is unassailable.
Because this energy is so dynamic and yet directed by our will, there is no need for diversions or external stimulation and excitement. We measure and gauge the tasks we choose to fulfill in the world by the light illuminating us from within. We set our priorities in accordance with how we wish to reshape the world. Our movements are in accord with our inner being.
Fire takes the fuel it needs from its environment. It is not hesitant nor shy. Its will is ferocious and wild. But when fire is guided and controlled by a greater will, its power to transform, transmute, and refine is clear and unmistakable.
Fire is the sword of spirit which cuts through all obstacles. Its warmth heals and regenerates. Its light opens the pathways which lead out of darkness. By its might are the worlds created. Time and space unfold according to the plans concealed within it.
Fire is part of the symbol of Divine Providence, of the One Light which holds the universe within its palm. Those who would be born of the spirit, who would enter the mysteries, those who would accomplish their work on earth--they seek to master the sacred fires which burn within their bodies and at the center of their hearts.