Relax and get comfortable

Close your eyes and take three deep breaths

You have traveled far, through land and air, to search for the realm of fire.
Now you find yourself standing on a dusty road and you see, up ahead, a copse
of trees, tall and dark.  It is near midnight and there is little light from
the waning moon overhead.

The path leads to the grove.  The night is warm and the gentle breeze carries
the lingering heat of the day.

The trees are mingled oak and cedar and alder.  Here and there a rowan hangs
heavy with berries and holly peeks out of the corners.  As you enter the
forest, a strange tingle runs up and down your arms and you feel suddenly
drowsy, all of your senses are alert, yet it feels as if something's taken
hold of your conscious mind and it is lulling you into a hazy, drifting fog.
But you feel no sense of fear, no sense of danger, only a sense of a great
power watching you.

~~Long Pause~~

You pass through the wood, quietly now, drifting along the path.  Every sound
seems heightened, every movement catches your attention.  It is as if you are
supersensitive and you realize you could pass through this wood blindfolded
now, if you had to.

As you continue, you see a deer flit into the undergrowth, and an owl swoops
down and passes you overhead.  And then, you feel someone following you and
you stop and turn around.  Behind you, you see a ball of light, glowing with
green energy the color of peridot, floating gently in mid-air.

~~Long Pause~~

"I am to be your guide in this part of the realm of fire."  The voice echoes
inside your head and you know it's from the globe of light.  "I am a will-o-
the-wisp, and I belong to the realm of faerie fire, through which you must
first pass.  Follow me then, to the grotto ahead, and do not tarry, for the
realm of faerie is quick to catch the unwary and the foolish in its snares
and
weavings."

You follow the will-o-the-wisp as it leads the way through the forest.

~~Long Pause~~

Now you begin to notice a shimmering on the trees, their auras glowing and
sparkling bright.  "This has always been, you can only now perceive it, "
says
the globe.  "Your first stop is over to your left."

Just up ahead, to your left, you see a darkened patch in the foliage.  As you
near it, a shiver runs through your body and your mind quakes, for there is a
stirring of power around you and you know something very ancient, very
primal,
is there.  You creep forward and turn to gaze in the dark space between the
trees.

~~Long pause~~

The blackness is so dark you know it must be supernatural, for it's the dark
of the void and the abyss that you are gazing into, and it holds you
hypnotically.  Then, just as you think you can't stand gazing into the
emptiness any longer, you begin to see a swirl of sparkling color, a spiral,
and the spiral forms itself into two glowing red eyes that pierce the abyss
far better than any lantern or torch.

The gaze of the red eyes strip away your outer facades and masks, delving
into
the inner self you keep hidden away.  It is not malevolent, but strong and
male and watchful.

~~Long Pause~~

"The red eyes in the forest at midnight," whispers the globe of light.  "The
Hunter, the Heart of the Forest, and He exists in the realm of faerie fire.
Watch your step and mind your actions when crossing the woods at night,
for He
will be there watching you. "

Quietly, you may ask the Hunter what He has to teach you about fire, and
listen well for his reply.

~~Long Pause~~

"Now, follow me, "  says the will-o-the-wisp, and you pass through the
forest,
listening to the calls of the birds.  You come to a place where the path
diverges to the right.  The will-o-the-wisp floats down that fork and you
follow.  The ground slopes steeply, and you see that it leads to a beach down
below.  When you hasve walked and slid your way down to the sand, you see a
small bay that kisses the shore.  The water is shimmering with lights, green
and blue and pink and yellow.

You are overcome with a rush of joy and you dash forward, drawn in by the
glittering lights.  With every step sparks fly from the sand and you stop to
press your hands on the ground.  When you lift them, they are covered with
sparkles.  Suddenly light hearted, laughing and unable to speak, for the joy
in your heart is overwhelming any words you might have to say, you dance on
the sand and watch the sparks fly.  If you like, you can wade into the water,
and it seems like your wading among the stars.

~~long pause~~

Finally the will-o-the-wisp speaks and it says, "You see, faerie fire is an
uneplainable feeling.  There are few words for this happiness, this
intoxication, but it exists and is real.  Now come, back to the path, for I
have one more stop to show you and then you will go forward without me."

As you return to the path, you find your clothes are dry but the
phosphorescent sparkles of faerie fire still exist within your heart and
memory.  The will-o-the-wisp guides you along the path until, up ahead, you
see a purple fire dancing across the road.  You must pass through it to
continue your journey.

"Go now," the globe says, "and when you pass through the fire of the phoenix,
you will find a fine layer of ash covering your body.  The wind will blow it
away, and with it will go pain and anger and old bonds that chain you.  The
purple rays of the phoenix are hotter than flame, hotter than fire, and they
will burn through to the core and leave you purified and new, ready for the
next stage of your journey.  After you have passed through it, you will find
yourself at the end of the forest, and a green fire covers that part of the
road.  It is the purest essence of faerie fire and you will pass through it
and out to the next leg of the journey.  Good luck and good-bye."  And the
will-o-the-wisp fades into the forest.

You approach the flickering purple flame and the heat is so strong that you
can only feel it as waves, not as actual warmth.  Take a moment, think of
what
you would have burned away from you, what you are tired of carrying around,
and then pass through the flame, bathe in it, and come out the other side.

~~Long Pause~~

When you emerge from the phoenix flame, you fine that, indeed, a fine
layer of
ash covers your body.  The breeze sweeps up and blows it away.  Underneath,
your skin is new and clear, and your heart is lighter.

The forest comes to an end up ahead, and there you see the green flame
waiting.  You take one last look behind you and then pass into the flame of
the faerie fire, the green fire in the forest at midnight, the green fire of
Midsummers's Eve.

It crackles around you, sparkling and magnetic.  It resonates within you and
you feel your aura shift and change.  You body moves with more grace in the
fire, and you feel it slide up your arms and legs, seep into your
belly...sensuous, it leaves you breathless and waiting.

~~Long Pause~~

And then...you find you can shape your aura, you can change and alter it to
your liking.  Do you want to appear taller?  Thinner?  More voluptuous?  Do
you want to radiate confidence and strength?  All you have to do is use the
faerie fire to shape your will.  When you have thought and done your working,
step through to the other side and look at yourself again to see what changes
you have made in your energy.

~~Long pause~~

Now you have stepped out of the forest.  Look around you.  You find you
are in
an open plain.  The grass is thick here, but grows sparser up ahead and you
see the light of dawn rising to the East.  There are no trees after then line
of the forest, and the path leads a gentle graded slope upwards.  Follow
the path and continue your journey as the morning light grows and the stars
fade from the sky.

It looks like the morning is going to be hot.  There are no clouds in the sky
and the forest has become a distant memory.  You walk along the path, and up
ahead you see a well.  There is a sign on it that says, "Last water for many
miles."  There are many canteens here, and you might want to fill one, for
the
journey is sure to be hot and thirsty.

~~Long Pause~~

The grass is sparse now, the dirt faded and compacted.  You start to see
cracks in the ground as you go along; no rain has fallen here for a long
time.
The sun has now risen above the horizon and you are already starting to
sweat.

You wipe your forehead and look around.  To all directions, it seems there is
only the desert, with occasional outcroppings of stone.  As you continue your
journey, your feet become hot and weary.  You sit on a rock to rest.  While
you are sitting there, you hear a rustle and look down to the side of the
rock.

A large lizard is sitting there, patiently watching you.

~~Long Pause~~

It is red, with stripes of orange, and golden eyes stare up at you.  Its long
tongue forks out and it says in a wheezing, whistling voice, "I'm your guide
for this part of the journey.  I am the Salamander Flametongue.  I will guide
you to your destination in this part of the realm of fire.  You will need a
walking stick.  Look under that rock over there."  It waves its tongue
towards
a low, long rock near you and you find a walking stick that's just the right
height for you underneath it.

~~Long Pause~~

"Well, then, "  flametongue says, "it's time we were off.  Come now, follow
me."  The salamander leads you along the path, which is now a steeper grade.
You pass through the barren land, and when you reach the top, you see a
mountain ahead.  It is dark, with streaks of rust-colored rocks trailing down
its side, flowing over blackened lava that covered the land long ago.

The black lava lies in waves, pillows of rock, thick and glistening with
volcanic glass.  Strange configurations, some look almost human, stand frozen
over the land, and the flow goes on for miles and miles, so vast and immense
you can only imagine what it must have looked like when it first covered the
land

~~Long pause~~

As you start forward you find the path no longer exists.  You must cross the
hardened lava, and so, using your walking stick to steady yourself you forge
ahead, slowly working your way around the twisted rock.  You must be careful
here, for the lava is sharp and full of rough edges. IF you fall, you could
hurt yourself.

Flametongue leads you along the surface of the jagged rock.  Your feet slide
along the smooth obsidian rock.  It is difficult to keep your balance here.
At one point, your stick breaks through the lava and you see the end of it
smoke as it touches still cooling rock.  You pull it out quickly, and beat
out
the flicker of flames that starts on its tip.

~~Long Pause~~

The salamander leads you a wide berth around that area and you find yourself
having to really concentrate to keep your footing as you realize how
dangerous
this realm can be.

Now the grade is rough, and you are breathing heavily.  The taste of sulfur
fills your mouth and you must stop and pour a little water on your
handkerchief and tie it around your face so the bitter, acidic fumes don't
overwhelm you.

You are climbing higher and higher up the side of the mountain, and you see
stream rising from cracks in the lava around you.  Flametounge turns and
says,
"This is a place of massive destruction.  But out of that destruction, new
land is born, nutrients will weather down and feed the soil and plants will
grow again."

You curve around the side of the mountain and when you look over the edge of
the roughly worn path, you see a long drop, two hundred feet down, into a
lake
of lava.  It boils and turns, twisting red tongues of flame dance on its
surface.  At once terrifying and mesmerizing, it churns constantly as you
watch.

~~Long Pause~~

"Come," says the salamander, "we shouldn't linger here.  The Queen of Fire
awaits you and she's not one to be made angry."

The path twists away from the lake of magma and back around the blackened
mountain.  You pass into what once was a forest.  The trees are now black;
hardened charcoal and ash cover the land.  The salamander leads you off the
dark lava and you are sifting through the ash, into the desolate forest,
where
you hear ghostly voices traveling on the hot wind.

"The flame consumes, "  says flametongue. "It can burn brightly and drive you
onward, or it can consume and destroy, leaving only the ash behind."

Now you find your throat parched and dry, and you stop to take another drink
from your canteen.  Your skin is cracking from the heat and you desperately
wish for a cool bath, somewhere far away.

~~Long pause~~

"We are almost there"  says the salamander.  "You are nearing the home of the
Queen of Fire."

Ahead you see it.  A great fountain made from blocks of frozen lava, sitting
in a clearing full of ash.  It's a fountain of flame, and in the center of
the
flame, you see a woman bathing.  She is crimson and vermillion, and her eyes
are the brightness of the so that you cannot look directly at them.  She
motions you near.

~~Long Pause~~

As you approach, the heat intensifies until it feels like your skin is just
about to burn.  She holds up her hand for you and in a voice low and
crackling, throaty with passion, she says, "Come no farther or you will hurt
yourself.  I am the Queen of Fire.  Welcome to my realm."

She is sensuous, her body ever shifting shapes in the flames, and you feel
the
passion that throbs just below the surface of the energy here.  She speaks
again.  "Hold out your hand, so that you may feel my power. "  You hold out
your hand.

At first you feel a warm glow, the warmth of spring mornings, the warmth of a
breezy day when you're in the garden.  Then, the warmth increases, and it's
the heat of the woodstove, warming you on crisp autumn evenings...and then
the
heat changes again, and its the crackle of bonfires and the smell of burning
wood...then once again, and the heat is the sweltering heat of noon on a
summer's day, and sweat pours down your face.

~~Long pause~~

She speaks again.  "I am the drive of passion, and I am the creative force
that refuses to be squelched.  Try to repress me and I will rise up and burn
you to ashes.  Embrace me, use me with foresight and I am an ally you cannot
afford to lose. I heal with my golden rays and I destroy to make way for new
creation with the rivers of molten rock that pour from within the earth.
Now,
what would you have me do for you?  What do you wish to create?  Tell me, and
then listen and I will give you advice."

Think now for a moment, then answer and listen for her to reply.

~~Long Pause~~

When she has spoken, the Queen of Fire bids you leave.  "This is not a place
where mortals may stay for long.  The heat will burn you ragged.  Go now,
there is a path beyond this fountain.  Follow it and it will lead you home."

You follow the path and it leads you down a slope.  The sun is now a bit
lower
in the sky and the salamander waves good-bye.  The walking becomes a little
easier, the ash thins out as you go and you see less and less of the stunted
trees.

As you proceed down the hill, you begin to see wips of grass, growing through
the soil now free from ash.  You follow the open path by a low cliff, and
looking over, you see the path leads to the shore below.

~~Long pause~~

You twist and turn, going down, and find the walking easy and pleasant after
you sojourn in the realm of fire.  When you reach the shoreline, there is a
horse waiting and saddled.

You climb on its back, exhausted, and as it moves out, following its sense of
internal direction, you find you can rest.  The spray from the water cools
your dry skin and there is a fresh canteen hanging from the saddle.

You ride for what seems like hours, and the horse takes a fork that leads
away
from the water and you find yourself traveling through late evening on a path
that is gradually going uphill.  At the top of the slope, just before
twilight, the horse stops and you climb off.  You see, ten steps in front of
you, the place where you started your journey.  The horse has brought you
back.

~~Long Pause~~

Now, take those ten steps and each one will bring you closer towards waking
consciousness......  Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two
one.
 
 

from _Trancing the Witch's Wheel_
by Yasmine Galenorn
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