Of the four great elements of nature – air, earth, water, and fire - fire seems the most mutable, taking a thousand forms and shapes, spawning hundreds of legends, reaching across time and space. There is the fire of sunlight - our source of life - and of starlight, a source of beauty and the earliest tool of navigation. The fire of candles, an ancient source of illumination, extended humanity’s reach beyond the darkness brought by the setting sun. The fire of burning wood or other fuel offered a source of warmth, comfort, cooked food.

Fire permeates our lives and spiritual traditions. The fire of passion, ranging from the romantic allure of Eros to a passion for ideas, ravishes us. The birth canal’s ring of fire ushers us into this world, and in many cultures the fire of a funeral pyre or cremation consumes our physical bodies at death. The cleansing fire and smoke of the Native American sweat lodge renews our spirits. The yogic tradition teaches the breath of fire and reveres kundalini, symbolized by the fiery snake that sits at the bottom of the spine.
Gods and goddesses of fire connect us to stories of burning bushes, flaming volcanoes, bonfires, and flickering lights. We savor the fiery imagination of the writer, the philosopher, the artist, the dreamer – what the ancient Celts referred to as “fire in the head.”

Fire is also dangerous and is something we fear. Fire can wipe out our homes, our land, and our families. It can sweep through a thousand acres of prime development or a thousand acres of virgin timber without discrimination. Its capacity to destroy as well as to bring life makes it the most potent element in many spiritual traditions.

Yet even in its destruction, fire can bring gifts of renewal to the discerning eye and gifts of wisdom to the discerning soul. Those who experience fire know how it can melt powerful metals, and from that melting, forge new creations of strength and beauty.
In this book, you will find amazing and heartwarming and, yes, passionate stories that speak of how fire in its many forms has burned its way into our lives. From fiery love stories to stories of forest fires that destroyed whole ecosystems to stories of firewalking, campfires, Olympic torches, candlelight rituals, and volcanic miracles – the element of fire speaks to the soul and has much to tell. It speaks sometimes in a whisper, sometimes in a roar, and has even been known to speak in tongues of flame. We need only to listen, to receive its magic and mystery, to allow ourselves to see the many gifts of fire and be transformed by them.

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