Fuoco non fatuo I

("Will-o-the-wisp" in Italian is called "fatuos/foolish fire"; here the title is "unfoolish fire").





Last flames of a bonfire... 🔥

                          

Fire has always been regarded as a sacred, spiritual element.

Our ancestors used to meditate and reach other states of conscience with the help of fire: the tradition of Native Americans is probably the most famous in this sense, but Celts, Germans and other peoples did the same.

Feasts and spiritual ceremonies, like rites of passage, could not be celebrated without the presence of fire.

Still today, it is common to say "to have the fire inside yourself/in your heart"... that is the fire remains one of the main symbols of life itself.

(Let's think of how important fire was for prehistoric men, not only for cooking foods and sending away wild animals, but as a sacred symbol, see the myth of Prometheus.)

In the present chaotic times (Kali-Yuga, the "Obscure Age", "without spiritual knowledge"), having forgotten our tradition, we live without even knowing who we are.

Unlike us, ancient cultures tried to harmonize with nature.

For example, for the Celts new year's day was what we now call Halloween 🎃, at that time "Samhain"- feast of the obscurity in its positive sense: from the black earth will come the flower in spring, from the black sky come out the stars, from death resurrects life.

Around this period they would light fires on the hills and mountains, as a symbol both of the sacred nature of time and of the cohesion of the human community. 🌝



If you like my work, leave a comment!



*My art is NOT stock. Do NOT use it without my written permission. Doing so is an infringment of copyright laws.