maddiviner:

Fire Scrying Basics

Candles are a very common magical tool, and candle magick is often the first technique for practical spellcasting that a witch learns. While some of us do find ourselves ensconced in dormitory rooms or otherwise unable to burn candles due to unsympathetic landlords, most witches have, at least once in their life, experimented with candles and the power of raw fire. And, why wouldn’t we? The books, websites, and other sources that publicly teach witchery these days reiterate over and over the beauty and usefulness of fire in the form of the simple candle.

I think it goes deeper than a mere candle fad in popular magick, though. Many authors regard fire as the “highest” of the elements. This is visible in Crowley’s Book of Thoth and the Thoth Tarot itself, which is, today, printed with the Wands (signifying fire) as the first suit, directly following the Major Arcana (which are aligned with the element of Spirit). Many seem to intimate the fire, while not necessarily the most important element (all are equally necessary constituents of reality), is perhaps the first to descend from the expanse of spirit into materialization at the moment of creation. While theologians and essentialists of all sorts would argue about this and attempt to prove or disprove it, I believe it to be a useful metaphor for the nature of fire and its place in humanity’s ascent, regardless of its relationship to more subtle phenomena.

Though humans have always interacted with all the elements to some degree, the taming of fire was, perhaps, humanity’s earliest jump forward into the throes of our modern evolution. How it happened is immaterial – through some mechanism, we as a species taught ourselves to kindle this first, most powerful and most potent element. Nothing has been the same since, and it is via our control of fire that we were able to connect with and control the other elements on a deeper level. Think about it – the discovery of fire allowed humans to reach a new plateau in terms of survival. Suddenly capable of driving away the darkness and the predators lurking therein, we as a race soon conquered new frontiers, the oceans through travel, the land through agriculture, and, ultimately, the air through flight.

It is no wonder, then, that fire deities and godforms associated with this powerful force have been worshiped in many cultures for millennia. While each culture understands fire in a different context and has a separate set of associations for it, its ubiquitous role in religion is a testament to its universal power and symbiotic relationship with humanity. That fire has always played a role in magick is a given, but it is likely true, as well, that humanity’s earliest occult experiences with this element were probably of a divinatory nature.

It is natural and quite easy for us as conscious being to gaze into the face of a roaring fire (or even a tiny flame!) and seek to discern meaningful patterns in its popping and hissing as the fire devours its fuel. This practice continues to this day, even among established religious traditions such as Catholicism and other large belief systems. The next step from this was surely full-on scrying via the fire. Insofar as fire was already something utterly inexplicable to early humans, simply being in its presence was likely enough to send our ancestors into the liminal state necessary for scrying. Approaching the element with a mixture of fear, gratitude and sheer awe, there is little doubt our early ancestors found visions waiting for them within their small campfires.

Later civilizations, such as the Egyptians and Babylonians, refined the art of scrying the flames with elaborate rituals and procedures to enhance the experience and provide extra insight. By this point in our history, urban and quasi-urban-dwelling humans had dispensed with the necessity of the campfire, and instead scried using oil lamps. The Egyptians were keenly aware of fire’s ability to ignite the visual faculty in humanity and drew a strong connection between the eyes and the flames themselves, often adorning their eyes prior to a divinatory session. Though we needn’t follow precisely in their footprints, Donald Tyson’s excellent book, Scrying for Beginners gives fairly detailed instructions for emulating and adapting the oil lamp scrying procedures of the ancients.

Prior to further discussion fire scrying methods, though, it is likely good to pause and consider the practice from the perspective of ancient peoples. Though few cultural practices can be universalized, a healthy respect for, and tacit fear of, fire seems endemic to all peoples. In today’s world, it’s most nearly child’s play to kindle a small flame, and quite safe, but in ancient times, fire could very well be the scryer’s undoing if he or she was not cautious. Thus, fear and trepidation, risk for great reward, was often part of the package when scrying with fire. Fortunately or unfortunately, (depending on whom you ask), this particular aspect of the experience is not readily reproducible by us today, though most of us still hold a universally human atavistic respect for fire and a sense of what’s safe and what isn’t.

Choosing Your Flame

If you want to scry with fire, you must first find a form of fire to use! It would be wonderful if all witches were able to kindle giant balefires into which we’d scry, but sadly, most of us cannot regularly have this experience. Like the urban-dwelling Egyptians, we must bring a small part of the flame into our homes if we wish to scry with it. Candles, though, are a much better choice for most of us than the oil lamps of ancient Egypt, which required complicated tending.

Size remains an issue, though – scrying of any sort requires a medium big enough for us to reliably fix our gaze upon,. While a single tiny tealight candle will work in a pinch, a large, bright candle or group of small candles (like several tealights resting closely together, so that their flames seem to mingle in your eyes) work best. Particularly useful are those not-uncommon pillar candles with multiple wicks. They’re a far cry from the brightness of a balefire or even an Egyptian lamp, but can simulate part of fire’s powerful vastness, something many of us forget.

In her book Scrying the Secrets of the Future, Cassandra Eason recommends candles tucked into jars or designed in such a way as to burn into the center of a large wax pillar, allowing the light to filter through the glass or wax and diffuse in a way that makes scrying easier for the beginner. Everyone differs, though, and would-be fire scryers should experiment with as many different types of flame as possible in order to find a medium that works well for them.

Tips for the Process

It’s a bit difficult to describe the process of scrying a flame or fire. Most suggestions for scrying with a crystal sphere, magic mirror, or even a vessel of water apply. I’ve gotten good results focusing and unfocusing my eyes until the muscles grow slightly weary and naturally relax, but with fire, this must be done very lightly. The Egyptian texts say one must fix one’s eyes on the flame without fear and not look away. This may be true, and is a path to results, but to gaze too deeply into fire and with too much concentration will just cause your eyes to become over-exhausted.

Perhaps the best method is to gaze, but softly, at the brightest part of the flame. Immerse yourself in its heat and light, and soon, images will appear to you. This does not happen as easily as with air scrying, mostly due to the flame being a small thing, but, with diligent practice, it will happen. The images themselves (in my experience) begin small, within the flame, then slowly expand into the less-bright parts of your vision and often into the shadows around you.

As is the case with many types of scrying, it requires a great deal of practice (or perhaps luck) to easily perceive full images, and you’re much more likely to merely see shapes and colors at first. Unlike with a crystal scrying sphere, water vessel, or mirror, though, colors won’t be as apparent initially – those tend to come later in fire scrying, owing to fire’s natural brilliant color superseding the hues of any visionary images you might receive.

You may wonder whether a particular shape that you see in the flames is really part of a vision rather than merely being a “trick of the light” or the product of tired eyes. Don’t worry about this too much – just take the impressions as they come and if they have a personal or useful meaning for you, it will rapidly become apparent. The importance of record-keeping should not be underestimated. You may see something in the flames that ultimately has a very important meaning for you, but which you will only realize at a later date and after some thought. Thus, it’s good practice to write down your impressions, no matter how vague, either at the end of every session, or pausing briefly every so often during the process.

Fire scrying, due to the brilliance of the element at hand, tends to result in eye strain and exhaustion much more easily than other elemental scrying forms. For this reason, I do recommend frequent breaks, or, at very least, pausing often to refocus your gaze. And blink often! Naturally, as well, practice proper fire safety procedures and never lean too close to the flame, no matter how riveting your visions might be. If you can physically feel the candle flame’s heat on your face, you’re likely too close!

I do hope you found this article informative or entertaining! If there’s something you’d like me to write about, do please to send me a message or ask, but please read my FAQ and master page beforehand to see if your question has already been answered. And finally, if you enjoy the content I produce, please consider donating to fund further endeavors. Thanks for reading!