A Fire Divination Rite
This is excerpted from the Black Rose Witchcraft course and edited for a public audience. For more information, or to sign up, visit www.BlackRoseWitchcraft.com
and use the discount code YELLOWBIRD to get your first month FREE!
This is a rite of scrying; of receiving oracular knowledge through a gaze-induced trance. Often scrying involves gazing at a shiny object, most commonly a crystal ball. Running water, “Indian” ink, black mirrors, and fire are also traditionally used for this effect. For this rite, we will be using fire to give a visionary experience that will shed some light on a particular area of life or study.
You will need the following items:
A piece of paper
A pen
A recording device (optional)
A fire extinguisher (Safety first, witches!)
If you are fortunate enough to possess a fireplace then so much the better. If not, then you will need the following additional items:
Rock salt.
70% (or higher) isopropyl alcohol.
A cauldron. It should be of cast-iron and be of sufficient size to accommodate a small fire. It should have a lid.
Please observe fire safety precautions appropriate to your chosen method.
Place the cauldron on a heat-resistant surface as the fire will cause it to become quite hot and you will not want to damage any furniture. A trivet works quite well, though in a pinch a good solid brick will do.
Fill the cauldron about 1/6 of the way with rock salt and then about 1/3 of the way
(however no more than the volume of one cup) with the alcohol. This will provide a mixture that will produce a manageable indoor fire when lit.
THE RITE
Gather all of your materials and prepare your working area. If you are using a fireplace then go ahead and light a fire using whatever materials you normally use.
Ground and Center. Cast a circle or otherwise set your ritual space as your tradition or practice dictates.
If you have a “place of power” or another astral temple, then journey to that space now. Otherwise, imagine yourself in a space between the words and see a ruby-red gateway before you as an entry point into the elemental realm of fire. Imagine breathing into it and will it to open, revealing a ruby-red road stretching out and into a vast desert.
In Black Rose, we associate fire with the South, with Summer, and with noontime. The totemic beast that we call for this element is the Red Lion, imagined to be larger than life, and containing all the power and potency of the element.
Call to the Lion. You may use whatever invocation you wish, or the following:
The noontide gate, an open door
Hark the thunderous Lion’s roar!
Image courtesy Envato Elements.
Imagine the Lion emerging from the gateway and stepping into your astral space (and thus also your working area). In your own words ask the Lion to help you to create a spell paper, the subject of which is your question or chosen area of interest.
The paper can be any form that you wish, such as writing out a question, or listing of affirmations, or drawing of signs and sigils, etc. As you are creating the paper you will focus intently on the subject of the vision you seek. Allow yourself to feel any emotions attached to this subject. Allow them to empower your inner sight as you write or draw on the paper. Anoint with magical oils that you deem appropriate for the working, such as those for psychic visioning, such as rue, wormwood, or mugwort. Fold it in half toward yourself, imagining the vision coming closer to your sight.
Light the cauldron by striking a match and tossing it in from a safe distance. Under no circumstances should you add more alcohol or other fluids once the fire has been lit. To do so could ignite anything being added and cause an uncontrolled and potentially threatening fire.
As the fire comes into its fullness, begin recording (if desired) and hold the folded paper in your hands and up to your third eye. Imagine this as an actual eye that is set vertically in the center of your forehead and is now slowly opening as if from a long sleep. Chant the following incantation several times, allowing each repetition to further call a trance upon yourself. I would suggest doing it for at least a few minutes, but you might try a minimum of seven times to see some effect:
Dancing fire, burning bright
From the desert and noontide’s might
Reveal a secret, shed your light
Upon the darkness and give me sight.
Image from DepositPhotos
Toss the paper into the fire and watch it burn. Allow your eyes to become unfocused as your gaze glides over the flames… swooping and soaring on the turbulent ocean of burning light. Notice any shapes that seem to emerge from the fire. The experience is similar to watching clouds take on forms. Try not to judge what you are seeing. As you witness shapes or signs, speak them aloud along with any emotional or mental impressions that emerge. You may even find yourself speaking lines of poetry or making statements that could be relevant to the subject of the work. Whatever symbols arise, consider them in the same way in which you would a symbol in a dream. If in doubt, ask yourself how you feel about a particular sign or symbol. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers here. Continue to gaze at the flame at least until the paper is finished burning, but especially if you are using a cauldron consider ending the rite only when the fire has burned down. When you are finished, stop your recording and take a moment to thank the Lion for acting as a guide in this work.
Imagine a connecting link of elemental fire energy between the Lion and yourself that emerges from a space beneath your navel. With a heartfelt prayer of thanks, take a deep breath, and with your exhale imagine releasing that link in much the same way as you would let go of the string of a balloon.
Place the lid on the cauldron and close your circle. It is done.
Important! Make sure that all fires are completely extinguished before you leave your working area unattended.
You may wish to repeat this rite several times in order to maximize the effect as well as your skills.
Black Rose Witchcraft is a 13-month online course written by Chas Bogan, Storm Faerywolf, and Devin Hunter. $35 per month or $350 for the whole course. For more information, or to sign up, visit www.BlackRoseWitchcraft.com and use the discount code YELLOWBIRD to get the first month free.
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