Yar — Primary Fire

In our discussion of Magical Primary Elements we noted that many myths liken the original creative energy to fire.

This idea matters both theoretically and practically.

First, it is important to understand that, in accounts of the Primary Fire and of angels or djinn being formed from it, mythological systems distinguish this “Fire that burns” from the elemental manifestation of the active principle. In other words, when myths speak of ministering spirits being created from Fire, they do not mean the element fire, but the Primary Fire of creation.

The Primary Fire expresses the presence of the Creative forces (described as light) within the created world (described as the vessel); it is the form the creative impulse takes as it penetrates the cosmic medium (which is then called the Primary Waters). This union produces the first substance of creation — Shamaim — the “flowing Fire.”

The same idea appears in Slavic myths of the birth of Semargl — the Fire of Svarozhich — before creation began, in the power of Yar, as an expression of creative activity, and in Norse conceptions of the driving force of Muspell, which melted the ice and set the worlds in motion.

Eastern religions, and later modern Theosophists, call this primordial fire substance “fohat” — the universal moving power.

Let us stress again that all these myths describe precisely the Primary Fire and should not be taken literally, since “earthly” fire was understood merely as a faint reflection of “heavenly” fire.

Nevertheless, the protective and purifying properties of “earthly” elemental fire were understood as manifestations of the Primordial fire, the pure substance of creation.

Among pagan Slavs, the cross was also a symbol of fire. Fire, in pagan belief, was a purifying, healing principle capable of driving off unclean forces.

Therefore a second consequence of such notions about the Creative fire lies in using earthly fire as an intermediary between the lower and higher worlds, and spiritual fire as a purifying force that liberates the mind.

It is no accident that all Kola of the Magical Tradition begin with Fire — a symbol of liberation.

The idea of the purity of fire persists today among adherents of “fire-worshipping” religions — Zoroastrians (Persians) and Yazidis. Archaeology shows that “temples of fire” existed in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus. The most characteristic ancient example of the cult of fire is the veneration of the goddess Vesta in Rome. A temple was built in her honor; on its hearth (the altar) an unextinguished fire burned — a symbol of the Roman state’s strength. The sacred fire was tended by priestesses — girls or young women who took vows of chastity and celibacy (violations were punished by death). The Vestal Virgins (and especially their chief Vestal) enjoyed a number of privileges. One of these was the right to free condemned persons from execution. The Fire of Vesta was renewed at the start of each calendar year.

Tabiti — the great goddess of the Scythians — was likewise the pure mistress of fire.

But antiquity also recognised another aspect of fire — wild and destructive. It was personified by Ares and Hephaestus in Greece and by Vulcan in Rome. In these personifications other traits emerge: Ares — god of cruel, annihilating war; Hephaestus — god of smithcraft, the forger of weapons; Vulcan — a deity not only of fire’s destructive principle but also a protector against its conflagrations.

The Primary Fire, unformed and unordered, is not only the primary substance of creation but also a source of destruction and rebirth.

Thus, magical interaction with the Primary Fire, while a necessary part of initiatory ritual, must be grounded in a clear understanding of this primal substance: active, creative, yet also destructive and capable of causing harm.