Fire Ceremony

What to Expect

The Fire Ceremony is essential in many medicine traditions. Generally, fire ceremonies are held around the New and Full Moon each month:

• New Moon energy is one of planting seeds, new growth, beginnings.

• Full Moon energy is about harvesting, completion, letting go.

The four-Season Changes – Solstices and Equinoxes - and four Cross Quarter days (the days halfway between the season changes) are also a common time for fire ceremonies to mark the changing energy. The following includes the Celtic names of these days: Winter Solstice (Yule, around December 21); Brigit/Candlemas (February 2); Spring Equinox (Eostar, around March 21); Beltane (May 1); Summer Solstice (Litha, around June 21); Lughnasad/Lammas (August 1); Fall Equinox (Mabon, around September 21); and Samhain/Hallowmas (October 31).

In the tradition of the Paquo, the Medicine People of Peru, Fire Ceremony is used to honour and heal the planet through our own personal healing and transformation. Especially on the night of a Full Moon, when we are participating in a Fire Ceremony, we are joining medicine men and women in an ancient tradition that is occurring all over the world.

It is believed that there is a two-week period following a Fire Ceremony when “instances of opportunity” appear, to translate your intentions and prayers into reality. The Fire Ceremony is not so much an instantaneous magical change but an opening to heal and shift distinctive habits and patterns—to manifest a different dream. You want to recognize this “opening” and seize the opportunity to create change in your behaviour in the real world—then let the universe take care of the details.

Before the Fire

We gather outdoors around a fire circle. Before the ceremony begins, each person chooses one or two small sticks. These sticks are called “spirit arrows” and are used to either release or manifest something energetically.

• To release something: consider something that needs to be honoured so that you can let it go. You connect inside yourself with this issue and then using your breath, blow it into the stick. This is done from the place of “I honour the lessons and gifts of this issue; I release you.” versus “I can’t stand this thing; good riddance!”

• To manifest something: consider something you want to bring into your life. From the place of the heart, envision what you’d like—keeping it broad versus specific allows Spirit more space to provide what you want, or even more than you may think is possible. Blow this into the stick with gratitude.

In both cases, you can blow this intention, or prayer, into the stick several times. In addition to blowing into the stick, if you feel that you are holding this issue somewhere in your energy field or in a chakra, you can also clear this energy into the stick by moving it over the affected areas. If it’s a physical problem, sweep the stick over the affected body part. Again, this is done from a place of honouring the problem, and gratitude for the opportunity of releasing it.

The Fire

Those holding space for the Fire Ceremony, will begin by placing two sticks, in the form of the Southern Cross, in the center of the fire circle. The Southern Cross represents a point of navigation from this fire to Spirit. The kindling and wood are then arranged over top of this.

Opening Sacred Space

As a group, Sacred Space is opened around the fire circle. Before each direction is called in, the group uses rattles and those holding space for the Fire Ceremony, whistle, then blow a blessing of spirit water to honour the spirits of that direction. The rattling then stops while a prayer is spoken. In this tradition, Sacred Space is called in first from the South, followed by the West, the North, the East, the Earth (Pachamama) then the Sun (Inti Taitai), Moon (Mama Quilla) and Stars (Chaskas). By using the Sacred Space Prayer, we are invoking a sacred container for our ceremony.

Anyone can Invoke Sacred Space

Face each direction as you invite the energy of the direction into the room or space. You are energetically creating four walls, floor and roof of Sacred Space around yourself. You can open Sacred Space in the morning, and close it at the end of the day, or at the start and end of a week. To close Sacred Space, repeat the prayer. This tradition is from the medicine men and women of the Andes Mountains, Peru. To learn more about Satchamama, Otorongo, Sera Kinte and Apuchin, go to our Archetypes page. The Prayer text can be found on the Resources page.

Chanting

As the fire is lit and tended by those holding space for the ceremony, the group continues to rattle and begins a Chant. 

The Chant text can be found on the Resources page.

Offering

The shamans will make three offerings of oil to make the fire “friendly”. The first offering is made to the Four Directions then some oil is sprinkled on the fire. Next, the Heavens and Earth are honoured, followed by more oil sprinkled on the fire. Finally, all who are present around the fire are honoured, both seen and unseen, then a third time, oil is sprinkled on the fire.

Your Place at the Fire

After the fire is “friendly”, those holding space for the Fire Ceremony will take their turn at the fire to place their "arrows", after which they will invite all others present to take their turn. At our fire circle, there is a flat stone placed at each of the four directions. When you feel ready, go forward in silence and kneel on one of these stones. Take time to focus inward. You may wish to blow into your sticks again and then place them in the fire with gratitude and honouring. The fire will transform your offering and prayers back to light, releasing them to spirit. It‘s beautiful to realize that the energy of the sunlight that is embodied in the stick as it grew, is now released, wrapped with your prayers which flow back to Spirit.

As your spirit arrow burns, reach forward to the fire three times, to draw its energy into your three main centers: the belly, the heart, and the forehead. This gesture is to nourish and support your transformation. You can then return to your place around the fire, continuing to chant as others take their turn.

As each person steps forward to the fire, another person in the circle will take a place standing behind them. When standing behind someone, be close to their back and spread your arms out—your intention is to hold a safe and sacred space behind them, preventing anything that they've released into the fire to come back around to them.

Pachamama Stick

After the fire is lit, another offering is passed around the fire circle. This is the Pachamama or “Mother Earth” stick. As this stick is passed to you, blow in your prayers for the earth. You’re encouraged to blow in a prayer of a healed earth versus one of an earth needing healing, for example, breathe in a vision of an earth with clean air and water, not one of a polluted sky and dirty oceans needing cleaning.

After everyone has blown their prayers into the Pachamama stick, it is offered to the fire.

As this is burning, those holding space for the Fire Ceremony, will invite all the Spirits of the Land to join us at the fire, for healing, for passing over, for warming, for honouring.

Closing Sacred Space

Finally, Sacred Space is closed. Those holding space for the Fire Ceremony and anyone who wishes, stay by the fire until all the spirit arrows and the Pachamama stick is burned, to ensure all the prayers are transformed. The fire is then allowed to burn to embers. It is never put out with water.

Despacho Fire

A slightly different format is followed when we do a Despacho fire. Once the Pachamama stick is offered to the fire, and the Spirits of the Land have been invited to the fire, those holding space for the Fire Ceremony place the Despacho on the fire, its burning nourishes Mother Earth, Pachamama, and the smoke releases our intentions and prayers contained in the Despacho to Spirit. We all turn our backs to the fire as the Despacho burns. This demonstrates non-attachment to the outcome of our intentions.