It’s September, the month of harvest and home, of returning to the rhythm of work or school, after the excursions of summer, and of preparing the hearth and the family for Winter months. This year, all of that may look different than in previous seasons. Work and school may be online, at least in part. Northern California is still tense, with wildfires that came early and burn on, creating a lot of devastation, and the dark smoke that comes and goes in our skies. Many hearts are heavy with loss of home, of sacred forests, or even of loved ones, as tragedies unfold. It becomes more and more clear that a sense of normalcy is not exactly around the corner.
How do we find our resilience when facing this uncomfortable time? Perhaps seeing danger and loss around us can also activate a sense of gratitude for the security and connections that we do have, in the midst of so much uncertainty. Now is a good time to give attention to home and hearth, to tending whatever sanctuary we are afforded.
Grayish days spent inside, when the air was not healthy enough for outings, may have stirred inklings of what cold or rainy weather days, during shelter in place, will feel like. For anyone pondering the potentially difficult dynamic of one’s household when stuck indoors together, or looking for a way to make home life feel more nurturing, warm, and harmonious, whether you live alone or with others, now may be a good time to work with the magic of the feminine fire.
Fire, in its feminine aspect, is not about destruction, but that which transforms the element of earth into nourishment and medicine. It is that which warms, protects, and creates the hearth for a home or community. It can also be the transformative force of healing, of love, and of creativity, embodied in many goddesses and sacred rites.
Of course, even to consider working with fire to create harmony may feel counterintuitive during wildfire season, with its threat of annihilation to our beloved wild places and homes. However, to connect with the Divine Feminine forces, in fire or otherwise, one needs to disrupt ideas of the all good or all bad polarity that has been ingrained within us from Christianity’s influence, and to embrace the older worldview of duality. That is to say, we may need to appreciate the darkness in light and light in darkness that is the nature of the Goddess, as both mother creator and destroyer, complete.
Looking out the window this week and witnessing the surreal orange light and daytime darkness, created by the heavy smoke drifting above the fog belt, can actually help in this regard. The sight of this odd light can act as a visual reminder of the sanctity of earth’s cycles, even when they are hard to endure. The sky is strange and beautiful, even magical, in the wake of the fire’s destruction. The light that normally counts the days and seasons for us is held in an in between state, like suspended twilight. And twilight is a time when the veils are thin, and subtle, elemental magic is magnified.
This waiting time, when our normal lives remain disrupted, can also be a kind of twilight, and similarly fertile. Unable to move forward with the usual pace, hardships will certainly be presented, but so may be gifts, like the quality of time and attention given to loved ones, to neglected soul needs, and to creative longings. Perhaps this is a good time to bring enchantment back into daily life as well, infusing the mundane actions of caring for home, relationships, work, and nourishment with magic and intention. This month’s theme is invoking the feminine fire of nourishment, healing, harmony, and creativity into the rituals of everyday life.
In the tradition of Indigenous Mexico, there are four fires. When a fire is lit, any one of them may arrive, unless they are specifically called. The one we see around us, that expands quickly and destroys relentlessly is the young fire. One of the ways to balance its force is to temper it by invoking the feminine fire instead. The specific name for the feminine fire, in Nahuatl, is Chantico, though perhaps there are many names by which you can know her. This is the fire that can be called into a cooking flame, a candle for a ceremony, or a woodstove or fireplace, to transform the everyday needs and gatherings of the home into a spell for increasing health, harmony, nurturing and love.
The process is simple. It begins with an offering of your breath and intention four times, giving the best energy of your dreams, the best energy of your emotions, the best energy of your thoughts, and the best energy of your actions. Then call her name and say “xihualhui” or “come” four times. This is done just before lighting the flame, to ensure that the fire that arrives is the one aligned with your intention. Once the feminine fire is present, your intention can be articulated and directed as you work with it. This simple practice can change the essence of the warmth, food, and interaction created with the fire used in your home in a positive way, amplifying health and harmony. May it be an easy way to empower that which you are harvesting and preparing to carry you into the Fall and Winter months, and may the fires in your life be safe and nourishing ones.
And what are you harvesting? On the 22nd of the month it will be the Fall Equinox, the pagan holiday of Mabon, when it’s appropriate to acknowledge the gifts of your personal harvest, to give thanks, and to seek nourishment and blessing for the coming seasons. We invite you to draw an oracle card, or engage the form of divination and reflection you love best, to ask the questions: What is your personal harvest from these strange months of Summer? And, what do you need in order to prepare for the shift into Fall?
Please feel free to share your insights and reflections below. Stay safe and nourished, both physically and mentally. For those who have faced this danger personally, our hearts reach out to you.
With love,
the eleventh house
-This blog was written by Melusina Gomez. You can find out more about her work and healing practices at www.metzmecatl.com