Ritual for Protection from Fire
Aromatic Wood Fires
Yule Log
Fireplaces, like doorways, are especially sacred places. Once upon a time, to not have fire was to die, and the fire served as the central fixture of the home. Nowadays, the fireplace is generally off in a room, used only for special occasions or when the power goes off.
When you first move into a home with a fireplace, make sure you spend tme cleaning it of all residue from previous tenants. Dispose of the ashes in the garden (roses love it! and scrub it down with salt. If you can't get to it right away, lay a broom (any broom will do, not just your sacred tool) across the hearth until you can get to it. This will deter negative energies from entering and positive ones from leaving.
Your first fire should be a sacred fire.
~Lady Ma'at's Book of Shadows
Ritual for Protection from Fire
First psychically cleanse your house by walking clockwise around each room sprinkling a little blessed salt in each corner. To bless the salt, hold it in one hand and place the other hand over it. Ask the blessings of the Gods that your home may be made spiritually clean.
Light a red candle and lay beside it a hammer. You probably have
a little hammer in your kitchen tool kit; this will do just fine.
Face the South, the direction of the Fire Elementals. Stamp three
times on the floor and hold your hands down toward the Earth. The
Greeks called all Underworld gods in this manner.
Say:
VULCAN, GOD OF FORGE AND FLAME,
HEAR ME WHEN iI CALL YOUR NAME.
HOLD BACK THE FIRE DESTRUCTION.
KEEP ME SAFE FROM THIS DISRUPTION.
Pick up the hammer and strike it sharply three times on the table. You
might want to put a block of wood or a cutting board on the table to avoid
damaging the surface.
Say:
ELEMENTALS OF THE SOUTH,
LITTLE ONES OF FLAME AND FIRE.
TREAT THIS HOUSE KINDLY, I DO ASK.
FRIENDSHIP IS MY DESIRE.
Take the hammer and strike the air three times to the East.
Say:
BEGONE, ALL THOSE WHO CAUSE FIRE TROUBLE.
IF HUMAN, BE CAUGHT BY THE POLICE.
IF SUPERNATURAL ENTITY, VULCAN TAKE THEM AWAY!
Repeat this to the South, the West, and the North. Strike the
table with the hammer three times.
Say:
VULCAN OF THE FLAMING HAMMER.
LET THERE BE PEACE AND HARMONY BETWEEN US.
I HONOR YOUR LIFE GIVING FIRE.
BUT I DO NOT WANT ITS DESTRUCTIVE ASPECT IN MY HOME.
HONOR TO THE GOD VULCAN! (Strike with the hammer three times.)
Leave the candle in a safe place to burn out completely.
Taken from the book "MOON MAGICK" By D.J. Conway
Aromatic Wood Fires
Add one drop of essential oil to a fireplace log (real wood).
Let sit for at least 1/2 hour before using. Remember essential
oils are flammable. Logs may be prepared ahead of time and will retain
the smell for a long time. Try using Cypress, Frankincense, Sandalwood,
Pine or Cedar wood. Use one scented log per fire.
~from Lady Ma'at's Book of Shadows
Perhaps one of the oldest of all Pagan Yuletide
traditions is the burning of the Yule log. At this, the coldest & darkest
time of
the year, the burning of the Yule log, expressed in the simplest magickal
terms what was needed most: warmth & light. The
power of the Yule log gave its strength to the new born Sun when another
solar year was born. Today not everyone has a
fireplace in which to burn the Yule lot, but the ancient ritual can
still be performed.
Small logs, particularly of birch, have been
especially prepared & decorated and called Yule logs. To prepare such
a log,
obtain a length of natural log with the bark left on. The log will
then need to be split so that it can rest on the flat side, or
flattened just enouth on one side to keep it from rolling. A third
method is to nail two flat strips of wood to the base. Once the
log is steady and secure, drill two or three 3/4 inch holes in the
top of the log to receive candles. (Sometimes a florist will sell
them with the holes drilled in).
Prior to your Sabbat Ritual, add the candles
to the log (red or white anointed with Yule type of oil), and decorate
with fresh
holly, fir, pine & yew. At the appropriate point in the Ritual,
light the candles and say your prayer.
~from Lady Ma'at's Book of Shadows