Blessing the Flames

Blessing the flames is our third spell, our third set of instructions on this inward map through the cracks. 

We began at the place where the sky meets the ground. We moved toward kindness for all that is haunting us. Now, we find ourselves in the act of blessing. 

When we use the word blessing we do not mean it in a Christian-normative context—as in “bless you” when someone sneezes, shortened from “may god bless you.” For us, blessing is a way of  being with the daily miracles of our lives. We do this not by stepping outside of the pain and imperfection of the world but by stepping into a state of mind where we can acknowledge and appreciate all that is sacred.

Think of Allen Ginsburg’s Footnote to Howl, which holds blessings for skyscrapers and genitals and cities and “mysterious rivers of tears under the streets.” Blessing the flames, in this spell, operates according to a similar spiritual logic. 

May we bless the flames of candles used for ritual and mourning and prayer

May we bless the flames of resistance to genocide and oppressive state power

May we bless the flames of love burning in our hearts for each other, for everyone we’ve ever loved even if briefly, even if only known through a story or a chance encounter

May we bless the flames of our Sun, source of life and renderer of colors and shadows

May we bless the flames of vitality and renewal that spring up within us at this time of year as the sap flows upward into heavy, cold tree limbs and makes them flower

May we bless even the flames of wildfires moving across this world and heralding a time of ecological transition, telling us the time is now to act and to also change

May we bless the flames of change that are a portal we step through, this year and this day, this time and all times