Since the dawn of humanity when the divine double agent Prometheus angered the Gods by giving humanity the gift of fire, this element has been perceived as being as dangerous, powerful, and as hypnotic as the Devil’s own silver tongue. Fire was domesticated about one million years ago, and we’ve been learning to harness it responsibly ever since. It destroys, yes. It creates, yes? Well, it creates warmth, light, power, and propulsion via it’s living act of combustion. One could say that what fire does to a flammable earth element is equal to what humans do to the...
Since fire was first domesticated about one million years ago, humans have attempted to harness its power in any way possible, often with disastrous consequences. Fire is simultaneously transformative, destructive, fearsome, beautiful, and hypnotic. It is no wonder that its awesome presence has been a central component of worship since time immemorial. Fire and candle worship are ubiquitous in world religions, both ancient and modern. In the fifth century BCE, the Athenians would hold a procession to the sanctuary of the goddess Artemis Mounichia, and offer her round cakes with a candle in the middle- which some have hypothesized is the origin