This is a profound essay expressed through visual poetry that will take you along the chapters of my journey with the Fireflakes which transformed my perception immensely.
Read along If you feel the calling to access sourced human nature as we reconnect to the power in rituals and the portals that open with every rising flame.
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I / XXIII
The purpose
An awaken dream conceived through timeless moments under many cycling moons, where I had the opportunity to exchange wisdom with the Fireβs spirit.
This essay is a testimony of lessons from the eyes of my perception as a disciple of this mentor.
The way I would communicate with his wisdom in a plane of no words, was through fractal visions. So inspired in water's frozen microscopical sacred geometry known as snowflakes, I perceived this hieroglyphic symbols as fire revealing his own microcosmos.
Fireflakes.
The recollection of tales from each of those ritual night encounters are alchemised into jewellery and art pieces that dance with letters and desert captures to tell their stories. Passing this torch of knowledge to those who feel called to honour the ritual of an element who renders magic through transformation and rises our prayers from the earth into the cosmos
The Fire himself
A rough masterpiece that embraces masculine power from within.
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II / XXIII
The remembrance
Starting from the source, Fire is the most ancient technology in human history, over one million years ago our ancestors discovered and mastered this element that was not just a magnificent visual and a catalyst for their evolution in terms of survival, protection and nourishment, but also a spirit that became their connection to source.
For some wise hearts the fire is still respected as a divine elder, yet as time passes and humanity evolves so far away from its roots, the respect for this spirit is vanishing. In fact, for the era we live in Fire is part of our every day life, and as familiarity breeds contempt we forgot the ritualistic honour to this mentor that makes everything possible for life as we know it.
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III / XXIII
Grounding
The initiation of a fire ritual begins with a reverence to the roots, opening the space in the land that we walk along this majestic human experience. We must ask permission to the earthly and cosmic guardians of the coordinates that will hold space for the fire, and give sincere gratitude to all sentient beings who walked before us. This is how we open the space, by grounding the seeds of our purpose, as it all must ground in order to grow.
And once the land responds in a welcoming frequency, you must encapsulate an intention by creating a radius starting from the center point which will be the source of the first flame, creating a field of protection that marks the territory of the fire spirit that will burn.
This is the lesson of understanding how the energy you put into everything is what truly builds the magic, a process with success is not about the outcome but the journey of craft itself.
A flame that envelopes your finger with the virtues of the sun.
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IV / XXIII
Wind block
The earth is prayed for and the space is open, now the wind block must be lifted. Rock by rock in perfect balance with each other, we create a filter for the fire to be contained. Condensing the memory of earth with bare hands, as we fill every space between the petrified wisdom of the rocks, to strengthen the barrier of protection.
This projects the importance of boundaries of harmony in our life, understanding they are not the same as limitations, they donβt block us from growth but simply guard our own energetic field.
We must lift a statement of self-honour to keep away what distracts us from our divine truth. Just like a fire needs to stay under a container, so shall we be free to rise yet always with a barrier to protect us from a world driven by Illusion.
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V / XXIII
The foundation
We now solidify the fragments of earth that will hold the weightless fire.
A structure in order to expand from within must always begin with strong foundations. Just like a tree expands her branches above so her roots below, so we give roots to our dreams to consolidate their possibilities to grow.
With strong foundations, we rise high, building pillars to hold the materialisation of our visions to extend limitlessly, yet never forgetting where our feet are walking.
Just like fire and all natureβs elements: our growth is vertical, rising towards the light, expanding from within: From the earth into the sky, from strong roots to light wings, from the matter to the ether.
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VI / XXIII
The sweat as a currency
When building a fire, the physical investment is challenging, it is a big commitment to prepare and hold space for the burning mentor and it will require strength and endurance.
Yet in the planes of ether there is a mysterious exchange with fires spirit where he takes our sweat as a symbolic currency, and as he alchemizes the power of his fire with our sacred water, the energetic circuit opens. In exchange of this skin dewdrop he will give us wisdom and teach us that all processes of success require profound determination and unconditional resiliency.
Sweat is hard work translated into salty drops of sweet bliss. It is the result of our vessel turning profound dedication into a liquid offering once we light our inner fire.
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VII / XXIII
Through self creation we honour existence
The ritual of a fire is the most profound way to go back to our primal instincts, itβs an opportunity to explode the potential that our vessels have in co-creation to our intelligence. Teaching us to work with the synergy of strength and strategy as the balance of mind and spirit.
In the process of creating a strong foundation with bare hands, we realise: The human body is the most majestic machinery ever known to our comprehension. It is the container of the soul and the instrument that we walk, talk and feel through.
Our vessel is sourced in creation, and the biggest honour of gratitude to higher power is using the gifts that live imprinted in our remembrance, in our roots, the same gifts that make every cell of our body, work in coordination and turn ourselves into creators.
A surreal bracelet that embraces your hand to remind you fearless navigation.
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VIII / XXIII
Honouring the power of craft
In the wisdom of an alchemist lives a profound recognition to the hands that worked hard to conceive authentic art expression.
The element fire is extraordinary craft from universal source and the most profound way we honour his presence is by also embracing the human craft involved in the ritual.
In ancestral traditions every single element around the fire capsule embodies art expression, this is what turned a survival human action into a mystic spirit ritual, not just honouring the fire itself but the craft of every element and soul present surrounding him. To honour craft is one of the biggest qualities of a true artist.
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IX / XXIII
Before the flame burns we must light our inner fire
The moment for the fire to ignite is getting closer, which brings us into the contemplation of a journey to self first. To light up a fire, in presence, we must first light the fire within.
This happens by a conscious activation of the solar plexus, our energetic center that when balanced will hold an ethereal fire of power, motivation, strength and creativity, all virtues necessary for one who embraces the role of a guardian.
It takes but some breaths while looking behind the eyelid curtain of the windows of our soul, to find the true will and guidance that makes our inner sun shine deep from within.
A symbol of the rising fire into geometrical enlightenment.
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X / XXIII
How you feed the fire with intention
Through the mysticism of endless cultures weβve learnt how the power of our intentions and words are constantly synchronised in manifestation to the universe.
An intention is a prayer that births from the soul with no expectations, it is a solemn vow from our inner voice, that gives vibration to a thought with a purpose to its action.
The spirit of fire is fed by our intentions, he is a transmuter of energy that receives our offerings and metamorphoses them into cosmic dust, that rise into the realm of the invisible.
Every ceremony from a sacred expression is held with intentionality and we must truly honour this ancestral element and his guardians through evolution, respecting the fire as the master of ceremony and the bridge to the cosmos.
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XI / XXIII
Transcendence
We now understand the intentions are what hold the spirit of the fire, yet the quality and spectrum of his flames is determined by its fuel.
The fuel of a fire is found knowing nature and her elements, it is embodied by the barks of ancient trees and dry leaves that have passed. Hand chopped wood must be the fires earthly soul mate as their love is so profound once reunited they choose to merge into an eternal dance of vanishing surrender.
When a fire is ritualistic, whatever we offer into his perimeter must be there with no attachments, as each and every element once inside the capsule of flames is consciously there to transcend. Which arises an interesting contemplation to choose wisely what we are ready to let go for transmutation, and what still deserves a room in the housing of our vessel so we can protect from the heat and explore in more depth.
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XII / XXIII
The structures hierarchy
The structure of the fuel to burn must be placed as an altar that honours the hierarchy of natureβs elements. So we must be strategic to expand a delicate nucleus that escalates into a solid layer of contention deeply rooted to the ground that will function as a birth canal for the force of the flames that are about to birth.
Spiralling inwards the structure is created, til it holds its own weight in the virtues of sacred geometry. Yet the most profound lesson arrives once the structure is complete and we know in a glimpse it will vanish, teaching us we must embrace impermanence since the first blink of an eye and til the last breath we take.
We wonder how to we keep our self structure solid, the wisdom of the fire came to me with a message to understand: it is through the balance of discipline and surrender, and the mastery to know when is time for each.
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XIII / XXIII
Sun oβclock
Fire reveals the illusion of time, teaching us to return the sun his legacy to lead our navigation with his rhythmic orbits. In a ritual of fire the sun melts in the horizon letting us know Itβs soon time for the flames to shine and protect the moon in his absence.
This is a lesson to also allow all nature elements to guide our way in their own timing. We try so hard to fit into measurable frames, in the desire to be part of something bigger. And along the way we ignore the integration of patience we must have for all natural processes of growth and transformation.
Just like the fire takes patience to rise and the moon cycles between light and shadow, and just like a seed waits patiently to bloom and a leaf turns from green to ice in a graceful surrender. We humans shall find alignment with the universe once we embrace the curvy ecosystems we belong to, instead of feeding linear systems that feel separate from our essence.
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XIV / XXIII
The birth
The first flame rises from the deep core of this wood altar, and through an earth canal the spirit of fire crowns to become visible in our human spectrum.
Yet the energetic investment is not done it is in fact just beginning, as now we become the guardians for this portal of connection and we must embrace his strength with respect, and use our own breath to add a blow of wind into this elemental alchemy.
His magic begins to shine in a majestic ascension as long as we stay in full presence. Not just presence with alertness but with aliveness, presence is the meeting point of our heart, mind a body, it is where all life happens in the coordinates of here and now, and the only real plane of existence, the rest are memories and projections. Giving presence to this spirit is the key to open his portals.
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XV / XXIII
The reverence of humbleness
Once the fire is awake and burning, the first virtue he teaches us is humility.
We know his flaming force can be the most powerful tool of creation, yet also the deepest mean of destruction, and there is such a thin line between both polarities that is in fact traced and sustained by our absolute reverence of respect.
If we see ourselves as vessels seeking to rise, we must let go the weight of heavy overfed egos in a pointless quest of power that in fact is universal and we all carry within.
To be humble is to have nothing to prove, to learn the difference between lifting our chin up when we are looking to climb towards a dream, yet vow down to divine forces in expression of our gratitude. To stay humble is not just the biggest quality of a human, but also the highest path to success with integrity.
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XVI / XXIII
The ritual
Many can build a fire, few can make his spirit ignite.
It is not a matter of hierarchy or strength. The spirit of fire will rise once we tune into authentic connection to source, learn how to prepare the space in sacredness and embrace the ritual.
Humans, weβve evolved into limitless access to technology and along the way grew very far away from our tree of source. The hope for our ascension is not to growing more and more in the same path we actually need to find our way back to the wisdom of the roots and find a balance between technology and traditions.
It is the power in rituals that grants us access to spirit. Rituals are not linked into any specific religion or cultural belief, they are universal, becoming the space of honor that we create for the endless expression of divinity that we witness and experience in every rising sun.
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XVII / XXIII
The ritual
Our energetic fields magnetise vibrations that are in tune to our frequency. This means when we are in a high vibration of bliss and flow we attract this light inwards, yet when we are in a vibration of fear, or when the mind is leading the way we also become magnets of impurities. Specially in the space of a power element such as fire we need to show up in the purest version of ourselves to ensure the channel of manifestation is being streamed from the source of a clean heart and not a polluted mind.
No matter how conscious we are in this human experience, we are always exposed to this lower frequencies and we must do constant practices of purification to cleanse and release what is not for our highest good.
There are many elements on earth that have been used ancestrally to clear and harmonise lightness into a ceremony, such as palo santo, sage, copal, amongst many other plant spirits that grant us with their healing smoke in a subtle whisper.
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XVIII / XXIII
Magic
Magic is the hallway to infinity, It is what erases the limitations to the eternal freedom of our spirit. If we donβt believe in it is because of false beliefs that create a limited βrealityβ behind a network of illusion.
We wonder what is real between our world of flesh and bones, the dreams, and our Imagination⦠the truth is universal: There is not one reality, all that we can see or perceive in the totality of this wild planes of existence is in parallel spirals following timeless universal rhythms. So in fact what we consider real is just another hologram of spiritual pathways.
We are magical beings by nature. When you gaze a burning fire and see his performance of gradient colours that dye the particles in the air, and the motion of each flame merging into the world of beyond, and when you witness the fractals of woods becoming weightless as they rise into a cosmos of stardust. This is magic. Eyes are the windows of the soul, open or closed Itβs still the same source.
Itβs all about perception.
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XIX / XXIII
Dynamic force
The universe is in constant movement: Contract, Release, Breath out breath in, blink. We see the sun in its orbit and the moon in her cycles, the motion in the ocean, and most importantly our life.
If we capture the flames of a burning fire a thousand times in a minute, not one picture would be identical, as even in the stillness of his wisdom there is a dynamic force of transmutation. This is another clear projection of our constant shedding skins, we are inevitably growing in body, yet still have free will to grow in spirit and It is a self choice.
Everything is always changing and although we must still work hard everyday on solidifying our structure to live under the light of a conscious flame, we must surrender to the fact that transcendence still arrives in her own rhythm and always in alignment to a divine orchestration.
One moment we are here, on earth yet the next one we might not. Which leaves the bliss of life in one single plane of existence: Presence, breath out, breath in.
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XX / XXIII
Divine creation
The divine feminine renders beauty into wild creatures of creation that carry the womb of source that sources life.
The fireβs virtue of transformation is also a branch of the feminine power navigating the curves of the moon in her cycles, and using magic to metamorphose with every drop of blood that pours from the cosmic portal. The potential to transform pleasure into a beating heart and earthly soul and the magic that turns seeds into fruits and dreams into reality.
Creation happens in the synergy of polarities. In a fire ritual the masculine dances in harmony with the feminine, til they infuse into oneness and open the threshold for intuition to emerge and become the source of manifestation through the orgasmic flame of their union.
The synergy of lines and curves that honours the magic in feminine divinity.
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XXI / XXIII
The eye gaze
When we eye gaze the fire we are not looking at him, we are looking through him and he is looking through us. So once the flames are contained and consistent and have their own symphony, It is the moment of wisdom exchange and channeling.
This is when we can become disciples of the silence, and just seat up with courage and a respectful distance and let his portals reveal what we are carrying within.
I am, because we areβ¦
Life is a labyrinth of mirrors.
We can understand this by a simple question.
What do we see in an Eye gaze? Ourselves.
Everything we witness is a reflection, and this does not means the evil in others belongs to us, but it does mean it is a part of us and we are a part of it because we are all ONE source. It is all connected to one nucleus, a higher force, an energetic presence that we are fragments of.
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XXII / XXIII
Cosmic roots
We seek in the skies the truth of our existence, while still embracing a flesh and bone vessel that walks on earth. Itβs time to put our knees on the ground and vow to the elements that are guardians of our human journey. The earth will provide all that we need to stay rooted into her wisdom and bring fertility to our dreams when theyβre pure. The wind will remind us the invisible forces that move the universal rhythms in constant purification, reminding us to let go of what no longer serves.
The waters will flow like the endless currents of abundance we swim through, and even in her wildest turbulence of adjustment, it will always bring peace in our surrender.
The fire will burn, to protect us, sometimes from others yet most time from ourselves, it will ignite as a portal of transformation, reminding us the eternal dance of ascension.
We are in this planet for a reason. Itβs time to begin searching within what we think is without. Earth as our body, water as our blood, air as our breath, and fire as our spirit.
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XXIII / XXIII
The spirit toolbox for the human experience
We unquestionably land in this human experience with full uncertainty about the physical plane til our last breath... yet we also land with a wide access to an ethereal toolbox, a path of hidden breadcrumbs to find our way back to source.
The spirit of Fire taught me enough lessons to remember where I come from and where Iβm going, which brings me to:
His spirit inherited a language in my visions that I now bring to life through the alchemy of my bare hands and endless dedication into alchemised art pieces that are meant to be wore as totems of protection. Each one crafted with the intentionality to those who feel called to awaken their inspiration through the wisdom of this spirit.
We are entering a portal of new pathways for humanity, and our self purpose is to create with our hands and hearts in alignment to truth and universal values, and most importantly to live inspired
One single flame can light up the entire world.
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A reverence of gratitude to you for investing your presence and energy in my visions.
This essay marks the beginning of a lifetime in dedication to a channeled wisdom from the fire alchemised into art pieces, thank you for being in the other end of this co-creation. stay tuned to this craft as more magic unfolds.
Photography by Diogo Barroso
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