Hearth-Fire; part two

part one / part two / part three

ack to our fire.
As I said above, one point that seems traditional is the manner in which the sacred blaze is lit. Always by rubbing, though the method employed varied from region to region, and would have been modified through the ages. Starting a fire from "scratch" as it were, is a central feature of the custom. According to folklore studies, there were several ways of doing this. The simplest was by twirling a pointed stick into a hole carved in a flat stick which was laid on the ground. More complex methods involved wheels on axles, ropes and several people to pull back and forth till a spark became a flame to light the assembled wood.
What about the wood? After all this labor starting the blaze, just any old stick lying around wouldn't do. Some traditions say nine types of wood were used. However many, they each would have had a specific significance and role to play according to tribal or clan custom. It's also likely that the choice of trees would have been determined by need.
Though it only names eight trees, an old Scottish Highland rhyme gives us some indication of the reasoning behind the choices;

"Choose the Willow of the streams

Choose the Hazel of the rocks

Choose the Alder of the marshes

Choose the Birch of the waterfalls

Choose the Ash of the shade

Choose the Yew of resilience

Choose the Elm of the brae

Choose the Oak of the sun"

(From The Silver Bough by F. Marian McNeill.)

By using the Ogham system of tree-lore, though it wasn't in use in Ireland for more than a couple of centuries, we find that in this bon-fire we have symbolic representations and energies of: inspiration, wisdom and/or nurturing, wealth, potential, frustration or patience, transition, transformation, magic and/or protection. An interesting formula even with just the eight, the sequence is also interesting, but that is a topic for another day.
What other choices could we make for different circumstances? How would using Aspen, Furze or Holly affect the energies we drew from the flames? If we were working on healing, would we include Rowan for healing and Hawthorn for purging? Would that depend on the nature of the illness and the condition of the patient? And just what would we do with this healing blaze once we had it? These are questions to which only experimentation can give satisfying answers for the modern practitioner. The ancient practices that must surely have existed are long forgotten or transformed beyond recognition through the effect of cultural change and time.

part one / part two / part three