All about fire. Fire is the beginning of all beginnings The concept of the legend eternal flames

Biological life on the planet, as is already known, originated in the waters of the World Ocean. But the program for the origin of biological life was introduced by the Fiery Spirit, who soared in the Universe and...

In those ancient, ancient centuries, when the beautiful planet,
The fog embraced me with its embrace,
This story happened
Her fire in the fireplace whispered in my ear.
So...
Then, over young Terra, strong winds rustled,
She slept under the light of the stars, not knowing warmth,
Having fallen asleep on a bed of rays of a woven cradle,
In deep sleep she wove earthly garments for herself.

The planet is young, like a bride of marriageable age,
She was beautiful in immaculate purity,
Like a pearl of great price shone in the universe,
And, immersed in her Light of the Soul, she waited for her beloved.

Well, in the meantime, in the Heavenly Radiant Temple,
The Great Spirit soared in the Fiery Space,
He saw the light of the pearl shining in glory,
And the image of Terra, the young Virgin, delighted him so much!

And at that very moment the Spirit hurried to the edge of the Universe,
And soared over the beautiful, sleeping Terra,
He touched her lips with his fiery breath,
And with a hot kiss he awakened the Feminine Essence in her.

And the Virgin found herself in his fiery embrace,
In her Soul, wonderful feelings, the ocean woke up,
Tears of happiness suddenly flowed from her eyes in a stream,
Filling the vast ocean with healing Amrita.

Since then the lovers have not parted,
They created a new world with their love,
She wove coverings from all the Elements and Kingdoms of Nature,
And He dissolved His Heavenly Fire in each particle.

This is how life began on the blue planet,
Here on earth Fire has manifested itself in various forms,
Like the Spirit, like the Light of all the Stars, Planets, Constellations,
Like the warmth of the Soul, like that fire that always gives life in the flame of a candle!
(Rhapsody)

MYTHS AND LEGENDS RELATED TO FIRE

Myths associated with fire belong to the earliest periods of mythological creativity.

Man became human only through the taming of the most dangerous and purest element, the possession of which provided him with the opportunity to survive in extreme weather conditions and protect himself from predatory animals.
The production and use of fire was the most obvious sign of the transformation of primitive man into homo sapiens. In the mythological consciousness of primitive man, fire was placed in a privileged position in relation to other elements, since the nature of its appearance remained unclear for a long time.

In the fire, ancient man clearly saw the embodiment of the deity, the will of heaven, the pointing finger of God, etc.

The settlement areas of the first wave of Indo-Europeans did not coincide with zones of increased volcanic activity, and therefore the fire had nowhere to come from except from a lightning strike.

Even modern people, armed with scientific and technical knowledge about the nature of electricity, treat lightning with reverence. One can only imagine what kind of sacred awe primitive people experienced at thunderclaps, lightning strikes and the sight of fire emerging from nowhere.

THE LEGEND OF PROMETHEUS

Once upon a time, people did not know fire, did not know crafts, lived in caves and ate raw meat. Then the world was ruled by the Gods who lived on high Olympus, strong and beautiful, omniscient and omnipotent. They had plenty of everything. They believed that all benefits should belong to them alone. And the Olympians had no rivals, except for the more ancient rulers - the titans generated by Earth and Heaven.

The messenger of peace between the gods and the titans who had not yet been defeated was young Prometheus, the son of the freedom-loving titan Iapetus (Iapetus). Prometheus was endowed with a sensitive heart and a brave soul. Prometheus looked with pity at people suffering from cold, disease and ignorance. And he decided to make their life easier, contrary to the will of the gods.

As a messenger of peace, Prometheus ascended Olympus with a rod in his hand. But one day he came with a hollow reed like a rod. Imperceptibly he put a smoldering coal from the hearth of the Gods into the dew bed. He gave fire to people and taught them how to use it: he taught them how to cook food, burn pots and smelt metal.

Zeus once looked at the earth and was surprised. People no longer roamed in herds, but lived as families in huts and houses, mastered the arts, and if not for death, against which they were powerless, they could have been mistaken for gods.
Kronid flew into a rage and summoned his servants Strength and Power. He understood who gave people fire and knowledge against his will and without his knowledge. And he ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock on the high Mount Ararat. Together with them he sent the forge god Hephaestus.

Hephaestus really didn’t want to carry out his assignment, but Strength and Power were inexorable and watched every move of the blacksmith god. With heavy sighs, Hephaestus chained his friend to the rock. But this was not enough. Zeus ordered Prometheus to be nailed to a rock with an indestructible iron stake. Hephaestus closed his eyes and, without looking, drove the point into Prometheus’s chest.

The titan trembled, but not a single groan escaped his lips. And only when the tormentors left did he cry out in pain and sorrow. But new torments awaited proud Prometheus. Zeus sent his Eagle to fly to the mountain every day to the chained captive and tear his body with his claws and peck his liver. Since Prometheus, like all the Titans, was immortal, the terrible wound healed overnight and the liver grew back. At dawn, the sound of giant wings was heard again over the mountains. The eagle descended on Prometheus, and his torment resumed.

Prometheus's suffering lasted for centuries. But people’s gratitude lasted just as long. Potters and people of other fiery professions revered him as a god. Poets of all times and generations glorified Prometheus in their works as a fighter against injustice and the liberator of humanity.

The proud titan Prometheus suffered for many centuries, but his torment did not last forever. The hour has come for his release along with the great hero of Hellas, Hercules. The Titan tells Hercules about his evil fate and what great feats the hero has to accomplish. He looks with horror at the torment of Prometheus, and compassion takes possession of him. Hercules listens to the titan, full of attention. But Hercules did not see all the suffering of Prometheus. In the distance you can hear the sound of mighty wings - it’s an eagle flying to its bloody feast. Hercules did not allow him to torment Prometheus. He shot a deadly arrow, and the eagle, pierced, fell into the stormy sea.

Hercules broke the chains of Prometheus with his heavy club and tore out the tip from his chest, with which the titan was nailed to the rock. The titan stood up, now he was free. His torment is over. Thus the prophecy that a mortal would free him was fulfilled.

ANCIENT CONCEPTS ABOUT THE FIRE ELEMENT

In ancient philosophy, fire was considered an omnipresent mysterious substance, the most mysterious of the four basic energy elements, first mentioned in the treatise of the ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles “On Nature” (5th century BC).

His idea was picked up and developed in the works of Anaxagoras, Plato and Aristotle, in the theories of the Pythagoreans and medieval alchemists. They all saw in fire the most important of the primary elements, the personification of the masculine principle in nature, but Heraclitus went further than other natural philosophers.

Heraclitus considered fire to be the fundamental principle of everything:
“Fire is the basic element, everything is a type of fire, and everything occurs through rarefaction and condensation.”

According to his dialectical teaching, fire is the universal embodiment of all transformations, since the other three elements (water, earth and air) arise from the primary fire and, changing according to the eternal laws of logos, return to fire.

Heraclitus believed that the world was, is and will be an eternally living fire, naturally igniting and naturally dying out.

According to Democritus, the Gods consisted of atoms and represented the Cosmic Mind. The totality of fiery atoms, spread throughout the entire Cosmos, animated EVERYTHING and gave everything and the entire Mind.

Democritus believed that the element of Fire symbolizes the life fire and the power of the growing seed, the energy of the Kundalini spirit, which directs the inner aspiration of the heart to Divine Wisdom, to the Cosmic Mind.

FIRE IN MODERN SCIENCE

The scientific term for combustion is combustion. There are many types of combustion known, but in most cases everything is very simple. Oxygen in the air reacts with any material that can burn, resulting in the release of heat.

If the process proceeds quickly, we observe a flame, well, for example, when wood or paper reacts with oxygen.

In modern science, Fire is interpreted as “plasma”. If we look into a popular encyclopedic dictionary, we will see the following definition.
“Plasma is an ionized gas in which the concentration of positive and negative charges is equal. Unlike neutral gases, plasma, in addition to collisions, is characterized by the collective interaction of particles through oscillations and waves.

With a slow burn, if the heat generated is not released into the air, the temperature can reach a level where combustion begins. This is called "spontaneous combustion."

Oxygen necessary for combustion is widespread in nature. The air around us contains approximately 21% oxygen. Oxygen is always ready to start the combustion process.

During combustion, two oxygen atoms from the surrounding air combine with one carbon atom of the fuel, resulting in carbon dioxide.

Science knows that the combustion process in our bodies, which is necessary to produce heat and energy, also produces carbon dioxide, which we exhale.

Fire is the engine of the world. The element of Fire plays the role of a driving force in relation to other elements, because it is as a result of thermal phenomena that movement and activity arise in the air, water, and earth. Here we can recall the mechanism of formation of winds, ocean currents, tectonic phenomena... Everywhere is based on an excess of heat in one place and a deficiency in another. It is the energy level that determines the transition of a substance from one state to another. If you take a solid substance (Earth element) and heat it (add Fire), it will melt and become a liquid (Water element). Let's heat it up some more and the substance will evaporate and become a gas (element of Air). We will continue to increase the energy level - the substance will eventually turn into plasma (element of Fire).

SYMBOLISM OF FIRE IN DIFFERENT CULTURES

Fire had different meanings in different cultures.

In Egyptian culture, Fire was associated with God Thoth - a symbol of Inspiration.
In Greco-Roman culture, fire personified all the volcanic blacksmith gods and thunder gods, such as Hephaestus (Vulcan), who personified the power of earthly fire; in addition, it is the emblem of the furnace goddess Vesta; associated with Hermes (Mercury) as inspiration.

The furnace goddess Hestia (Vesta) was the mistress of fire (Euripides). For the Jews, fire means divine revelation and the voice of God: “The Lord your God is a consuming fire.”
For Hindus, fire is transcendental light and knowledge, the vital energy of Wisdom. Fire was also identified with the forces of destruction, liberation and restoration, obedient to Shiva. The column of flame and billowing smoke of the Vedic Fire God Agni personified the axis mundi.

Being fire, Agni is associated both with the fertility of lightning, which brings rain, and with the home stove. The flame was depicted with Agni's golden teeth, a sharp tongue and shaggy hair; he rides a solar deer, holds an axe, a fan and blacksmith's bellows; born from a tree.

On the Vedic fire altar, three fires are lit in the South, East and West, personifying the Sun and Sky, the ether and winds, and the Earth.

The black, terrifying aspect of fire is symbolized by Kali (Durga), who is the all-consuming Time; usually depicted as a black or red figure with long fangs and tongues of fire, holding the attributes of her husband Shiva: a trident, a sword, a drum and a vessel of blood.

Kindling the fire is a reenactment of the act of creation, integration and reunification through sacrifice. The ring of flame around Shiva represents the cosmic cycle of creation and destruction.

Fire as a life flame is Krishna: I am fire placed in the bodies of all living ones (Bhagavad Gita).

In Iranian mythology, fire was the Sacred Center of the Persian temple, the seat of deity and the Divine Light in the human soul. This is also the power of the Sun, symbolized by Atar, the divine fire in the Heavens and in the tree. It is also associated with law and order.

In Zoroastrianism, fire is the main element. This is a sacred element, a manifestation of the highest justice. That is why fire is also a symbol of justice, a symbol of righteous anger that can punish the guilty, but also warm the needy.

In Zoroastrianism, the seed of man and bull has its source in fire, not water.

In Islam, fire and flame are light and heat, deity and the underworld.

The Pythagoreans associate fire with the tetrahedron, since it is the first element, and the tetrahedron is the first figure in geometry.

Fire is a symbol of the triumph of light and life over death and darkness. Symbol of purification and household wealth. A symbol of renewal and birth in a new incarnation.

Fire can be divided into two components - light and heat. If the first concept is responsible for intelligence and emotions, then the second is for warmth and comfort, well-being.

Fire is also the personification of Truth, Knowledge and Enlightenment. He does not hesitate to deal with lies, ignorance and other human vices.

The result of the interaction of Fire and the environment is ash. Ashes are no less symbolic than fire itself. So, in Scandinavian mythology, Tetleife, before setting off on his exploits, lay in the ashes in order to receive the power of fire, which formed him.

The expression “sprinkling ashes on your head” means irreversible and inconsolable grief. Here the comparison is made with the irreversibility of ash into the original structure of the object, before it comes into contact with fire.

Fire was also a symbol of power, a symbol of honor and victory. Warriors, going on a campaign, took with them a sacred fire, which was carried by a fire bearer.

In Scandinavian mythology, God Loki is not only the God of deceit, evil and cunning, but also the God of fire. From here we can immediately draw an analogy that although fire is fair and cleansing, on the other hand it symbolizes hard power that does not spare anyone or anything. Let us remember the same idea of ​​hell among many peoples - it is a fiery, punishing, merciless abyss. Fire here also symbolizes evil; terrible monsters are born from its inferno, as opposed to a cold, transparent paradise.

PHOENIX

The legendary phoenix bird is a representative of the fire element - the most striking symbol of rebirth, renewal, immortality and the eternity of time. In the mythology of every nation, this fantastic bird has its own name and looks.

The ancient Egyptians considered the phoenix to be a sacred gray heron with a crest on its head, associated with the cult of the god Benu; the Greek foynik looked more like an eagle, whose feathers are painted in red, gold and fiery tones; and among the Eastern Slavs, his role was played by a fabulous firebird with golden plumage, spreading a dazzling radiance around itself.

The Latin author Gaius Julius Solinus in his book “Collected Memorable Information” describes the wonderful phoenix bird as follows: “It is the size of an eagle, the head is decorated with an erect crest forming a cone. The phoenix has a beak with a crest, a collar of a golden hue around the neck, a purple body with the exception of the tail, the feathers of which are pink with an admixture of azure tint.”

There were also great disagreements about the lifespan of the phoenix, although everyone agreed on one thing: the “divine” bird lives an unusually long time. “The Father of History” Herodotus measured out 500 years of life for the phoenix; The Roman historian Tacitus believed that he lived much longer, namely, “the great Platonic year,” i.e. 12994; As for the fathers of Christianity, they even proclaimed the phoenix immortal. Early Christians saw the reason for the immortality of the wonderful bird in the fact that it refused to taste the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
The legend of the phoenix was invented by Egyptian sun-worshipping priests from the city of Heliopolis, but the phoenix owes its great fame to the first poet of Greece, Hesiod (8th century BC). According to Hesiod, the birthplace of the phoenix is ​​Arabia. There he spends his entire long life, but, sensing the approach of death, he flies to Phenicia, where he builds himself a nest-grave of fragrant herbs, and, having finished his work, sings a farewell song.

This song is so beautiful that even the sun, having listened to it, stops its run across the sky. The phoenix's nest bursts into flames, set on fire by its rays, and the wonderful bird dies in the flames, only to be reborn three days later to a new life. The phoenix, resurrected from the ashes, takes the mortal remains of its previous incarnation to the altar of the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, and then flies away to its homeland. Centuries pass, and everything repeats itself from the beginning. This is the legend about the wonderful phoenix - a symbol of rebirth and immortality.

Gaius Julius Solinus reports interesting information about the phoenix: “It has been proven that phoenixes live 540 years. They themselves build funeral pyres out of cinnamon, and erect them next to Panchaea in the city of the Sun (Heliopolis), piling cinnamon in a heap on the altar.

In 800 from the founding of Rome (47 AD), the captured phoenix was exhibited at the comitia by order of Princeps Augustus. This event, in addition to the records of the censors, was also recorded in the city annals.”

In the religions of the world, legends about the phoenix received further development. In Taoist legends, many saints flew through the sky on a phoenix, and women even had sexual intercourse with it in order to conceive outstanding sons.

In Christianity, the divine bird, foreseeing its death in advance and not trying to avoid it, and then being reborn to a new life, began to be identified with Jesus Christ. Images of the phoenix are already found on early Christian tombstones as a symbol of the rebirth of Christ and the embodiment of hope for the resurrection of mortals.

In allegorical scenes of the Renaissance, the phoenix, as a sexless and therefore chaste creature, was depicted on the shield of personified Chastity.

In alchemy, the miracle bird was extremely highly valued. Among the medieval Hermeticists, the phoenix symbolized purifying and transforming fire, the red color of the substance corresponding to the final stage of the Great Work, or the most desired result of alchemical research - the philosopher's stone.

CULT OF FIRE IN THE RELIGION OF ZARATUSHTRA

In Zoroastrianism, fire is given an exceptional role - it is considered the highest creation of Ahuramazda.

In the Rivayats, Zarathushtra asks Ahuramazda:

—What is more valuable, the corporeal world or Atar, the Fire of Ahuramazda?
“Fire,” answered Ahura. Atar, sacred fire element. It is more valuable than the physical world, for if there were no Fire, the world could not exist. I created fire from my own mind, and its radiance from the Infinite Light of Angraosh.

Fire is spread throughout the cosmos and resides in all its living creations, except for khrafstra - the creations of the evil Ahriman. All the peoples of the Indo-Iranian region have worshiped fire since ancient times. According to the ideas of the Indo-Iranians, fire embodied Truth-Asha and was its visible manifestation in the real world. Libation to the altar fire was an essential part of the daily religious ritual. It was believed that sacrificial libation to fire increases the power of truth and righteousness in the world, for truth is the spirit of fire.

CULT OF FIRE IN ZOROAASTRIANISM

Zoroastrians, continuing the tradition of the ancient Aryans, endowed fire with the qualities of a giver of blessings, good luck and happiness.

Zoroastrianism was already about two thousand years old when the first temple complex was erected to worship the unquenchable flame of the sacred fire of the Mazdayas. Instead of man-made statues, an altar of ever-burning fire was erected in the center of the Zoroastrian sanctuary, constantly maintained by the priests assigned to it.
The three main temple fires in the Zoroastrian tradition had a sacred meaning and at the same time symbolized the three classes of Iranian society - warriors, priests and community members - cattle breeders and farmers.

The fire, according to legend, lit by Kavi Vishtasp himself, Atar-Vishtasp was located in Media, in Iranian Azerbaijan in the Shiz region and was dedicated to the king and the military class.

The fire of Khvarna - divine grace Atar-Farnbag was dedicated to the priestly class and was located in the Persian city of Istakhr. The Fire of Mithra Atar-Burzin-Mihr - the third sacred fire of the Zoroastrian religion was a place of pilgrimage for ordinary people and was located in Khorasan (Parthia).

According to Muslim legend, this fire went out on the night of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
The judicial function of fire as the supreme restorer of justice also included the so-called fire ordeals.

In the history of Zoroastrianism, there are several cases when the high priests, to prove their own rightness, subjected themselves to ordeals: molten copper, the melting point of which reaches 800 ° C, was poured onto their chests, but they, nevertheless, remained safe and sound.

Such famous ascetics of Zoroastrianism include Adurbad and Mehr-Narse. To refute the views of the sectarians and prove the truth of the Zoroastrian faith, Adurbad voluntarily took upon himself an ordeal of molten copper, from which he emerged completely unharmed. The Persian Rivayats describe the heroic deed of the high priest as follows:

“Adurbad said: “Pour molten metal onto my chest. If it burns through me, you are telling the truth; if it does not burn through me, you must wash your heads from apostasy and leave all doubts about the good Mazdayasnian religion.”

The memory of this miraculous event was maintained as proof of the correctness of the views of Zoroastrian orthodoxy. King Shapur II declared that Adurbad's views were the only true ones.

CULT OF FIRE AND WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS IN THE SLAVIC TRADITION

The Aryan peoples were characterized by the idea of ​​fire as the protector of the family, the patron of the clan.

The ancient Romans always placed images of the penates - ancestors, benefactors and protectors of the clan at the hearth, and the ancient Persians also believed that the flame of the hearth was connected with the fravakhar - the vital energy of the clan.

Thus, the Zoroastrians believed that the soul of Zarathushtra descended from heaven onto the fire in the house of Spitama, and only from the flames of the hearth did it pass to Zarathushtra’s grandmother, the oldest woman in the family, and from her to her daughter, the mother of the future prophet.

The Belarusians, as one of the Aryan peoples, had similar ideas about “home” fire, and even retained them until recently.

As A.E. Bogdanovich, the father of the poet Maxim Bogdanovich, wrote in the ethnographic essay “Remnants of the ancient worldview among the Belarusians”:

“In the views of Belarusians, fire is one of the foundations of the family, a home, a healing and all-purifying principle. This is especially true in remote areas. There, every family tries to maintain their fire by carefully raking hot coals into the stove. It swells as needed. When moving from one home to another, during family division, they carry with them fire from the hearth.” In a carefully maintained fire, Belarusians saw a protector and healer, expelling all “infirmity,” a guardian of the home and a guardian of the family.

In the understanding of our ancestors, unquenchable fire symbolized vitality, the energy of procreation, grace and wealth.

In Polesie they called it that way - “bagatstse”.

They tried not to let fire from the home, especially during the holidays, because they believed that prosperity could leave the house along with the fire. Some peasants, for the same reason, on ordinary days were afraid to give hot coals from their hearth to strangers, and if they did, it was on condition that the same coals were returned, even if extinguished.

When the fire was transferred from the parents' house to the house built for the newlyweds, then along with this fire the grace of the ancestors and the patronage of the forefather Chur spread to the new house. Researcher of Slavic heritage A.E. Bogdanovich wrote:

“Fire, as an ancient ancestral penate, holds together various family unions. So the bride, having arrived at the groom’s house to “get comfortable” in it, bows to the hearth and touches it with her hands. The groom who goes to another family does the same.”

The cult of fire and the cult of ancestors occupy a central place in the microcosm of the Slav in the person of the single household deity Chur. “Eternally alive” and “forever young” Chur is abstract (no one has ever seen the first ancestor, like God), and therefore can be content with offerings containing universal energy - wood burning in a furnace.

“The Chur is a home penate, so every house, every family has its own Chur, the guardian of the hearth, who pursues and drives away the demons of darkness.” In the expressions “Church is mine!”, “Church together!”, “Church, I’m first!” The first ancestor Chur is a defender of property rights.

The cult of the deity Chura is in close connection with the cult of fire and the patron saint of the hearth or oven, Zapechnik, Dymovoy or Domovoy. Chur-Domova is considered alive as long as the clan is alive and the family nest is not destroyed.

Offerings to fire and offerings to Churu are the same thing - these are logs, churkas, logs. The smoke from burning wood rises to the sky, where the souls of deceased ancestors reside, bringing to them the prayers and requests of descendants living on earth. A similar method of “transferring” requests and wishes to heaven is widely known among Indo-European peoples from Greece to Scandinavia. The Greeks burned incense for this purpose, the Slavs threw fragrant thyme into the fire, the Celts burned juniper, and the Scandinavians burned moss.

In Christian churches, the smoke from incense not only drives away evil spirits, but also ensures the prayers of believers to reach heaven as quickly as possible.

CULT OF FIRE IN ANCIENT ROME

Hestia (Vesta) - Goddess of the hearth.

The cult of fire, embodied in Roman mythology in the image of the goddess Vesta, dates back to the most ancient Indo-European traditions. The ancient Romans saw in the fire of the sacred hearth of the city community and individual houses a deity they called Vesta.

According to ancient mythology, Vesta (fire) was the first child of Kronos (time) and Rhea (space).

Fire is the first element that emerged from the void at the birth of the world; it filled all subsequent creations with its life-giving energy and gave impetus to the evolutionary development of the universe.

Vesta, who embodied the idea of ​​luminosity and purity in the figurative worldview of the Romans, unlike other deities of the Greco-Roman pantheon, did not have any anthropological characteristics.

Ovid in the Fasti, praising the goddess, says: “Vesta is a burning and bright fire, and you will not see a body born of flame. Neither Vesta nor fire have an appearance. The curved roof of the Temple of Vesta did not contain a single image, not a single statue.” In the image of Vesta we see the most ancient features of a fiery deity, dating back to the times of the Indo-European community. In the worship of fire, the Romans retained the sublime purity and religious piety so characteristic of the religion of fire worshipers.

TEMPLE OF VESTA IN ROME

The followers of Zoroaster believed that fire was not subject to the influence of an evil spirit, but the Romans saw in the fire the image of the pure virgin Vesta, who refused the marriage proposals of Apollo and Mercury. Vesta swore an oath to remain a virgin forever, for which Jupiter awarded her privileges: for mortals she is the most revered goddess; she is worshiped in all temples and at the hearth, and of all the gods she is the first to be invoked.

When residents left their hometown, they took with them the fire taken from the altar of this goddess in order to light a fire in a new place. Vesta was considered one of the Penates (guardian spirits of Rome), and the magistrates, upon taking office, first of all made sacrifices to the Penates and Vesta directly. Of the earthly temples, the temples in Delphi, the city considered the center of the universe, and in Rome were the most revered.

The Vestal Virgins, the priestesses of Vesta, enjoyed no less privileges in society, maintaining the sacred fire, which symbolized the stability, prosperity and greatness of Rome and was never allowed to go out. The sacred fire was supported by six girls from the best families, carefully selected according to moral and external criteria corresponding to the image of a priestess of the great goddess. They performed their duties for 30 years: the first ten years were devoted to training, the next decade the priestesses celebrated the cult of Vesta, maintaining the sacred fire and performing related rituals, and the last ten years passed on their experience to the young Vestal Virgins. After 30 years of serving the goddess, the Vestals had the right to return to their families and even get married. Their moral purity and chastity became the reason for the enormous respect they enjoyed in society. It was believed that only virgin Vestals had the right to keep the sacred fire of the Roman state. Violation of the vow of chastity by the Vestals, according to public opinion, threatened disasters for Rome and was punishable by the death of the Vestal and her seducer.

The fire going out on the altar of Vesta was considered a bad omen for the Holy City. If this happened, then the fire was produced using a magnifying glass, or by rubbing one piece of wood against another, since any other fire, with the exception of heavenly fire, was considered unclean.

The fate of the state, in the understanding of the Romans, was connected with the sacred flame burning on the hearth of Vesta, and therefore the abolition of the school of the Vestal Virgins by the Christian emperor Theodosius and the final extinguishing of the sacred flame of the Roman Empire, which took place in 389 AD, was perceived as a sign of the imminent fall of Rome, which actually happened some time later. This is not surprising, since the very idea of ​​​​the statehood of Rome was directly related to the cult of Vesta, in whose temple palladium was kept - the guarantee of the power of Rome, brought by Aeneas from Troy.

CULT OF FIRE IN THE VEDIC TRADITION

In Vedic and Hindu mythology, Agni, the God of Fire, plays a significant role, performing a mediating function between people and gods. Performing a mediating function between gods and people, Agni lifts to the sky with tongues of flame the sacrificial offerings thrown into the fire by the priests, conveying to the gods the prayers and requests of people.
Agni has three hypostases, three lives, three powers, three heads, three tongues. He has three dwellings, is filled with triple radiance and even has a triple origin, since he was born in three worlds - in heaven, on earth and in the waters. The triplicity of Agni testifies to the involvement of the cult of this deity in the ancient religious ideas of the Indo-Europeans, who divided the universe into three parts: the upper world of gods, the middle world of people and the lower world of demons.
God Agni fills the entire universe with his life-giving energy, connecting the upper, middle and lower worlds.

The zodiac circle has three fire signs, symbolizing three manifestations, three hypostases of fire: the blazing fire of war (Aries), the stable, majestic fire of power (Leo) and the ritual fire of sacred rites (Sagittarius).

The uncontrollable, destructive fire of wars and fires, reminiscent of the flames of hell, is the lowest, demonic hypostasis of fire.

The fire that warms the home, uniting the family around the flame of the hearth is the middle, earthly hypostasis of fire, closest to man. Sacred fire, used for rituals and obtained only by rubbing dry wood, or taken from a fire formed as a result of a lightning strike, was considered the most valuable and endowed with special properties. The prosperity of society and peace in the state depended on the stability of the burning of such a fire.

The Vedic Aryans believed that Agni strengthens heaven and earth, gives birth to both worlds, knows all the paths, has all the wisdom in the world, he knows all the secrets of gods and people, he watches everything that happens, since he is present in all creations. Agni (fire) structures the cosmos and establishes a hierarchy in society, enforcing laws and religious rituals. He brings the gods to sacrifices, helps people's prayers reach heaven. “May Agni, extolled by ancient and modern oracles, bring the gods here” - this is how the Hindu priests cry, throwing sacrificial offerings into the fire.

But Agni not only burns and shines in a flaming tree, he is present among people and fills them with inner light. Agni is friendly to people, he unites spouses, endows people with wealth, encourages singers, musicians and artists.

MAGICAL PROPERTIES OF FIRE

Since ancient times, Fire was considered a life-giving element; people turned to it for help in rituals designed to ensure the fertility of people and livestock. Kupala bonfires symbolize not only the cleansing nature of the fire element, but also the power of fire as the focus of cosmic and sexual energy.

Joint jumping over the fire on the night of love, throwing Kupala wreaths (pagan symbols of marriage) through the fire, floating a wreath with a lit candle on the water towards fate in search of the betrothed - these and many other rituals indicate that the Slavs saw in the fire a deity that promotes finding love and procreation.

The magical function of fire and its role in procreation is manifested in many wedding rituals and primitive rites of love magic, preserved in the ritual part of pagan festivals and in the languages ​​of ritual bonfires one could see the dance of the Fire Salamanders.

SPIRITS OF FIRE. SALAMANDER

Salamanders are spirits of fire, living in rarefied etheric fire. Material fire cannot exist without the help of a salamander, which has the shape of a fire lizard writhing in the fire. A person is unable to see them, so magicians specially selected herbs and smells, manipulated various types of incense in order to see these elemental fiery spirits.

Salamanders are the strongest and most powerful elemental spirits. The salamanders are in possession of volcanoes, magma forces, explosions, and lightning. Salamanders evoke powerful emotional currents in the human body. They also stir up sparks of spiritual idealism and perception in us.

Like fire, in its manifestation the salamander can be both destructive and creative.

AGNI YOGA ABOUT SPATIAL FIRE

Recently, planet Earth and the entire solar system have been under the influence of special energies, which are called Spatial Fire. Almost all spiritual teachings, starting with the most ancient, Vedic ones, speak about Fire as the primary energy.

“Agni means Fire. The whole space is filled with this fire. As it is said that Cosmos is a fiery ship rushing into Infinity. Fire, in the form of primary energy, imparts life to everything (and therefore consciousness), and the highest manifestation of this fiery energy will be high psychic energy. All energies, all elements come from a single primary energy, or from a single element of FIRE, which is why it is said about the UNITY of everything, about the ONE BEGINNING from which the UNIVERSE arose. Fire lies at the foundation of every creation. God is Fire. People must learn that “matter is also spirit, and each manifestation of them is only a manifestation of the same primary energy.” (Letters of Helena Roerich, vol. 2)

The most complete and clear talk about Fire is in the modern Teaching - Agni Yoga. In a concise, almost telegraphic style, the Teaching conveys to us – Fire is at the threshold! – and the qualities and properties of Spatial Fire and methods of its assimilation, that is, adaptation to it, are described. And immediately such concepts as Transmutation, Fiery Transformation and the imminent onset of a new period in the development of mankind are given.
Yes, we are standing on the threshold of the Age of Fire and we cannot escape its fiery influence. Therefore, the faster and deeper we realize this, the fewer cataclysms we will face in our lives.

In Agni Yoga it is said: “The approaching Fiery waves are very terrible if you do not know about them and do not accept them with your heart fires.”

What is Spatial Fire?

The difficulty of knowing Spatial Fire lies in the fact that it belongs simultaneously to both the Dense and Subtle Worlds and permeates everything that exists, having different degrees of gradation. This is what Agni Yoga says about fire and its levels and about the Fiery Worlds.

THE TEACHING NAMES FIVE TYPES OF FIRE

1. Physical fire. It is well known to everyone, we use it in everyday life and can observe it with our normal vision. These are the densest particles of Fire.

2. Subtle Fire. It has vibrations of a higher frequency and resides in the earth's atmosphere. As a rule, it is not visible with normal vision. Elementals - subtle natural entities - salamanders are made of this Fire.

3. Materia Lucida. This fire exists on higher planes of the Universe in the form of Light with vibrations of an even higher frequency. From this radiant light matter our bodies will be woven in the process of Transmutation - the light, airy luminous bodies of the Sixth Planetary Race. This Light Matter can be observed by a person whose energy centers, called chakras, have opened in the process of spiritual development.

4. Fohat. It is a building material for High Essences of the Cosmos, possessing a powerful, superhuman mind and enormous creative potential. This invisible World of Fire of the highest degrees is truly divine and full of Grace. This is the bright future of humanity that we need to strive for. But to assimilate the subtlest fohatic energy you need to be a “giant of spirit.” A weak spirit is not capable of merging with the Fiery World; the power of an aspiring yogi is needed, one must go through the preparatory stages of fiery phenomena. This level of Spiritual Matter is still hidden for the common person, because touching it to an unprepared organism can cause a painful fiery death
5. Matter Matrix, or Primary Matter. It all sounds and shines, this is the House of the Father-Mother who gave birth to us, this is AUM itself, this is Thought-Light-Mystery.

From this level of Fire a Cosmic Ray descends, carrying within itself the impulse for the beginning of Transmutation. Such a cosmic ray has already been sent down to Earth. And this ray of new energy is transmitted from level to level, because the process of complete assimilation of the Cosmic Ray is possible at a sufficiently high level of spiritual development, otherwise human nature will be incinerated. That is why Cosmos is forced to lower Fire to Earth, so far in reduced, gentle training doses.

Today, man faces a particularly important task. He must, through physical effort and spiritual asceticism, be able to develop his inner fiery potential so much that connection with the Higher Fire becomes possible.
But for such a merging of two potentials to occur, a person must develop and ignite his internal fiery centers - chakras.
The first quality of Spatial Fire is omnipresence. You can’t hide from Him anywhere, you can’t hide, neither in a tank, nor in a bunker, although He Himself is as invisible as air. Therefore, now the Fire element is elected as the Supreme Court.

Friendliness and humanity, non-violence and gentleness, constancy and majesty, observation, joy and courage to live - these are the main Fiery qualities that work in people. This is how Cosmic Fire manifests itself in us. Now, under its influence, which is increasing year by year, Transmutation occurs in human bodies.

This is a process of qualitative change in human energies. Today humanity has approached the most difficult test of survival.

This time, external conditions in the form of Heavenly Fire required man to uncompromisingly change his inner nature. And the one who does not change his inner nature will suffer for a long time before he collapses. For him, Spatial Fire will be “Consuming Fire.”

But even for prepared people, Transmutation, as the disintegration of their personality and integration at a higher level, can be very painful due to the high tension of Heavenly Fire and short deadlines. The person will experience colossal overloads. Therefore, we must prepare in advance in the most serious way, since in the final phase of the Fiery Transfiguration no one will be able to help us and we will only have to rely on the Almighty. How to prepare for this grand event? You need to do this in several directions at the same time.

To prepare the earth's body so that our biomass can withstand the onslaught of high vibrations without destruction.

To prepare the spiritual heart by maintaining in it a sincere aspiration for knowledge of the Higher Worlds.

MANIFESTATION OF FIRE IN MAN

In a human being, the Element of Fire finds manifestation at different levels.

On the Spiritual plane, the Element of Fire represents a Spark of Divine Light, which is a Blueprint of the Spirit, revitalizing the Human Soul.

At the mental level, the Element of Fire endows a person with the ability for fiery thought, the desire to create fiery plans for the deification of the surrounding World.

At a subtle level, the Element of Fire manifests itself as the radiation of spiritual warmth, as the ability to convey to another person the impulse of the best sensory experiences. It is the Fiery energy of human Souls that can inspire artists, poets, singers to creative self-expression. It is the fiery energy captured in the paintings and sculptures of the Great Masters that can awaken sublime feelings in a person.

It is no coincidence that the vital energy that is inside every person has its embodiment in the form of “fiery plasma”, which burns the old, unnecessary and renews a person, reincarnates him. The image of fire underlies all creative processes, at the source of any activity (it’s not for nothing that they say “it burns at work”).
The extinction of Cosmic Fire in a person is associated with the weakening of his flesh: he begins to get sick more often and seriously, he is threatened with death, as his survival rate decreases. In spiritual terms, this is associated with weakness of spirit, the possible influence of “dark forces,” and service to evil.

The extinction of the Living Fire is a manifestation of the hidden death of an individual in whom there is nothing left to awaken, and he can become a toy in the hands of representatives of dark forces.

HUMAN ENERGY BODY

The human energy body is formed by the Element and element of Fire.

The Fiery energy emanating from the Spirit, along a silver thread, fills the human energy body, 12 main energy centers, all channels and highways through which the organs and systems of the human body are nourished.

The ethereal mesh veil protects the biochemical organism from the penetration of foreign energy.

At the physical level, the Element of Fire is responsible for the flow of metabolic and biochemical processes in all cells and systems of the human body.
Fiery energy is always present in the human physical body. This is confirmed by body temperature, which is usually higher than the ambient temperature.

In our biochemical body there are organs and systems, the health of which directly depends on the amount of fiery energy in them: such as the heart, diaphragm, small intestine, immune, endocrine system. For the division and growth of cells of organs and systems of the physical body, fiery energy is needed.

For life, a person also needs another type of fiery energy, such as sunlight. Without sunlight and warmth, life on earth is impossible, so a person always wants to bask in the sun’s rays and be saturated with its energy.
A person’s life itself cannot exist without fire, and the quality of a person’s life depends on how filled it is with fire, either it smolders like a dying ember and brings a person closer to death, or it is filled to the brim with the aspiration for creation and creative self-expression and is aimed at Eternity. Fire makes a person proactive and active.

The energy of Fire manifests itself differently in a woman and a man.

MANIFESTATION OF FIRE ENERGY IN A WOMAN

In a woman, Fire manifests itself in the desire to reveal her sphere of straight-knowledge.
Women's creative energy and sensuality are the driving force of life.

Women's fire is a spark, without which not a single fire in the world, especially a man's, can ignite. Without it there is no warmth, light, joy, the sparkle of diamonds and the sparkle of eyes.

A woman who controls fiery energy acquires feminine strength and the ability to inspire her man to great things.

A woman who wisely and harmoniously controls the Element of Fire becomes an Inspiring Muse, when communicating with whom men literally grow wings, they feel REAL, smart, talented. The Inspiring Muse knows how to bring the beauty of sensory experiences into all manifestations of life. She, like no one else, knows how to feel and be in the flow of living Creativity.
If a woman is spiritualized, engaged in self-improvement, she feels the surrounding space, because she is connected to her Divine nature and knows how to manifest it in the outside world.

The energy of Inspiration is very subtle, it has a divine nature and it generates a powerful flow of sensory experiences that takes a person to the Higher Worlds and he wants to sing, dance, create!

The muse draws inspiration from everything that surrounds it. This Divine Joy can be given to her by a drop of rain on a flower petal, or a moon reflection on the calm surface of the sea, the scent of jasmine or rose, or the spring trills of a nightingale….

MANIFESTATION OF FIRE ENERGY IN A MAN

In men, fiery energy manifests itself as the ability to take decisive action, as an active life position, as the ability to make decisions and take responsibility for the obligations undertaken. This is a man’s ability to create fiery plans and implement them, despite the circumstances. This fiery ring of strength and protection that he creates around his beloved is the ability of a man to love and elevate a woman.

Fire is the element of strength, power and authority. Of course, this is the element of those who are persistent, courageous and not afraid to face their own imperfections. In any case, fire is an indomitable desire to win, to achieve one’s goal, to persistently overcome any obstacles.

In society, representatives of the element of Fire play the role of a driving force, a source of energy. They give vitality to all affairs and processes, turning into each other, creating development.

TEACHING OF THE GOLDEN AGE ABOUT THE ELEMENT OF FIRE

According to the Teachings of the Golden Age, the Fire Element has 4 hypostases:

1. Agni. This is the Fire of the Spirit, the Fire of Being, it has the property of All-Creation, that is, it is present everywhere.
2. Surya. This is starlight (sunlight). It originates inside the Sun and then falls to Earth in the form of photons.
3. Jaya. That hypostasis of fire that is inside nature and living organisms. For example, human body temperature.
4. Ram. The fire that is formed during combustion is the fire that is familiar to us - the flame of a candle, fire, etc.

There is a mantra that activates all forms of Fire:

Aum (Om) – Sri – Agni – Surya – Jaya – Ram.

Aum – Golden Light of Existence;
Sri is already a division into yin - yang, i.e. from the Primordial Light there is a division into male and female.
Next, the 4 hypostases of fire are pronounced:

Agni-Surya-Jaya-Ram.

To consider the effect of the mantra in practice, you need to light a candle. The candle flame is the fire of Ram.

Then say the mantra and watch how a golden glow, a kind of halo, appears around the candle flame. Fire in this case acquires all 4 forms. The fire will have this property as long as the candle burns.

SPIRITS OF THE ELEMENT AND ELEMENTS

Elemental and elemental evolutions represent God-created beings of Infinity, developing in the aspect of the Great Mother.

The Elements and Elements are God-real forms of life, formed by the trinity of forces: spirit, soul and body, and located at the base of the Hierarchy of the entire elemental lifestream.

Spirits of Element and Element are of medium height, the golden glow emanating from within revives the perfect and harmonious forms of their body.

Spirits of the Element and Elements lack individual feelings. The meaning of a lifestream’s life is service to the Highest. Like all other representatives of the Elemental and Elemental Realms, they are ruthless executors of the Supreme Decrees.

When the Spirits of Fire fill space, the space is revived; the human Soul feels the fullness and joy of being.

Over the eons of their Evolution, they became the owners of the experience of pyrokinesis (igniting Fire) and telekinesis (moving objects).

The Elements and Elements of Fire form the energy body of our planet, which is formed from the totality of the energy bodies of all life streams: people, angels, elementals.

The human energetic body provides protection for the biochemical organism and ensures energy exchange with the Source. The etheric mesh is the energetic framework of the human body, along which the Elemental Spirit builds physical primary elements, connecting them into atoms and molecules, endowing them with growth programs in the required direction.

The Divine Rulers of the Element and Element of Fire are:

Princes of the Elements - Prince Oromasis and Eloi Diana;

Rulers of Elemental Power - Archangel Samuel and Salamander Phoenix;

The directors of Element are Elohim Hades and Eloi Pele.

The Spirits of the Element and Element of Fire are salamanders, efreets, phoenixes, pyrrhas and parries, fireworts.

The Divine Lifestream Managers strive to gain the experience of sensory perception of the world, which is currently absent in their evolution and which representatives of planetary humanity have. In the present, they are not given the ability to feel and recognize taste, smell, color, and this means that they are deprived of access to many spiritual treasures of the Universe, which they revive by the will of the Omnipresent Creator. They are eager to learn how to be friends.

ADDRESS BY LORD DIANA AND PELLE

The elemental and elemental spirits of Fire are the legionnaires of the beloved Nemesis - the Goddess of the Supreme Balance, who embodies the will of the Senders and Fulfillers of Karma. She directs them to those centers of Being that require immediate and effective cleansing of space. They go, led by the High Will, in order to absorb energies and living beings who, in their evolution, have not reached that level of perfection, which is determined by the Law of the Standard at the moment “here and now.” And in the present, these beautiful, holy beings are the punishing hand for many evolutions, and that is why their hearts are so eager to break the chain of causes and effects in order to free themselves from the immutability manifested by this.

And Hades rebelled - he longs for the right to choose, strives to know the essence of mercy and discrimination, and not to become a punitive force of the universe, but an inspiring and blessing one in the eons of the coming years.

We are sending our call for help to you today. Grant the experience of discrimination, choice and mercy that humanity has to the lifestreams of Light and Fire for the sake of evolution and prosperity of the same Being for all streams of life.

LOSSES DIANA AND PELLE

We strive to gain the experience of discrimination, choice and mercy.

ANGELS OF LIGHT

In the lifestream, which represents the evolutions of spatial Fire, radiant beings develop - enlightened entities called angels of Light.

In the new world reality - one, as has been repeatedly stated earlier, for all evolutionary streams of life - representatives of planetary humanity will be able to recognize them by a golden glow, emanating as if from within and reviving the perfect and harmonious forms of the manifested body. At the same time, the glow emitted by the angels of Light has sapphire-silver radiation.

Angels of Light have experience in manipulating energies and converting potential energy into kinetic energy.

Until now, the following model of relationships between representatives of the two Great Principles has been formed within the stream: they unite into pairs - families - in the name of realizing the Divine plans of their Higher Hierarchs. The basis of such a connection is cooperation, service to the Highest. The consequence of this model is the absence of individual feelings and permanent couples, because men and women of this stream separate at the moment of completion of the hierarchical program embodied with their participation.

Lifting the veil of the sacrament, exposing the Innermost of other evolutions, we should also talk about the problem of the angels of Light. These beautiful radiant beings were born to give, to serve other streams of life, and this deprives them of the right to choose, deprives them of the experience of recognition.

ADDRESS BY THE LORD OF THE DIAMOND

Angels of Light are creatures who, in their evolution and on the hierarchical ladder of Infinity, stand above the Law, above Time and above Space. Their abode is the Spiritual Heart of the Universe. They have the ability to descend to the boundaries of the Standard, which separates the worlds of Divine Order from the worlds of Unmanifested Chaos, into the lowest vibrational spheres of our Universe. And even the shadow of illusion will not touch their mind, and temptation will not touch their heart, for the divine essence of the angels of Light is unconditionality and sacrifice. They are the manifested embodiment of these highest states of Love, which is the hidden and true essence of God.

The Angels of Light are infinitely kind, inquisitive and ready to give their life energy to everyone who is hungry for it.

For all their kindness, love and curiosity, they do not have the experience of discrimination, which is born at the moment of choice - to take or give.

However, the immediate reality is that it is impossible to evolve only by giving, i.e. emanating their qualities and states into space, for there is a time to scatter stones, and there is a time to collect them. There is a time to give your Light to space - and there is a time to receive the Light of space into the Innermost.

At the moment, the beings of Light who represent this lifestream do not have the experience that would allow them to take energy from space. As a result of the above, not possessing the gift of discrimination and freedom of expression, they equally faithfully serve both the Divine Forces and the opposing Forces, endowing both with the energy of life, emanated from the spiritual Heart of the Universe by the Great Breath, in response to the call sounded in the spheres One.

Being the Spoken Light of the Lord, in the name of the evolution of all worlds and spheres of the One Existence of the Universe, by birthright, I appeal to the enlightened spirit-bearers of the planetary race with a request to grant the angels of the lifestream directed by me a unique experience of recognition, free will and sensory perception manifested by the Spiritual Light of the world.

With Fiery love for you,
Masters of the Flame Magnificat, Osiris and Rhapsody

45 years ago, on May 8, 1967, the Eternal Flame was lit at the Kremlin wall at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in memory of the heroes who fell during the Great Patriotic War.

The tradition of maintaining an eternal flame in special burners at monuments, memorial complexes, cemeteries, and graves dates back to the ancient cult of Vesta. Every year on March 1, the great priest lit a sacred fire in her temple at the main Roman Forum, which the Vestal priestesses had to maintain around the clock throughout the year.

In recent history, the eternal flame was first lit in Paris at the Arc de Triomphe at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in which the remains of a French soldier who died in the battles of the First World War were buried. The fire in the memorial appeared two years after its opening. In 1921, the French sculptor Grégoire Calvet put forward a proposal: to equip the monument with a special gas burner, which would allow illumination of the tomb at night. This idea was actively supported by journalist Gabriel Boissy in October 1923.

On November 11, 1923 at 18.00, French Minister of War Andre Maginot in a solemn ceremony lit the flame of the memorial flame for the first time. From this day on, the flame at the memorial is lit every day at 18.30, and veterans of the Second World War participate in the ceremony.

The tradition was adopted by many states, which created national and city monuments in memory of the soldiers who died in the First World War. The eternal flame was lit in Belgium, Portugal, Romania, and the Czech Republic in the 1930s and 1940s.

The first country to perpetuate the memory of those killed in World War II with a memorial fire was Poland. On May 8, 1946, the eternal flame was lit in Warsaw on Marshal Józef Pilsudski Square, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, restored after the Nazi occupation. The honor of conducting this ceremony was given to the division general, the mayor of Warsaw, Marian Spychalski. A guard of honor from the Representative Battalion of the Polish Army was posted near the memorial.

In the German capital Berlin, an eternal flame burned for 20 years in the building of the former Neue Wache guardhouse. In 1969, on the 20th anniversary of the formation of the GDR, in the center of the hall of the “Memorial to the Victims of Militarism and Fascism” opened there, a glass prism with an eternal flame was installed, which was lit over the remains of an unknown victim of the concentration camps of the Second World War and an unknown German soldier. In 1991, the monument was transformed into the “Central Memorial to the Victims of Tyranny and War of the Federal Republic of Germany”, the eternal flame was dismantled, and an enlarged copy of the statue “Mother with a Dead Child” by Käthe Kollwitz was installed in its place.

The eternal flame in memory of those killed in World War II was lit in many countries in Europe, Asia, as well as in Canada and the USA.

In May 1975, in Rostov-on-Don, the eternal flame was lit at the Memorial to the Victims of Fascism, the largest burial site for Holocaust victims in modern Russia.

The tradition of lighting an eternal flame has also become widespread on the African continent. One of the oldest and most famous monuments, the “Pioneer Monument” (Voortrekker) in Pretoria was lit in 1938, it symbolizes the memory of the mass migration of Africans into the interior of the continent in 1835-1854, called the Great Trek (“Die Groot Trek”).

On August 1, 1964, the eternal flame was lit in Japan in Hiroshima at the Flame of Peace Monument in the Peace Memorial Park. According to the idea of ​​the park's creators, this fire will burn until the complete destruction of nuclear weapons on the planet.

On September 14, 1984, with a torch lit from the flames of the Hiroshima memorial, Pope John Paul II opened the eternal flame, symbolizing humanity's hope for peace, in the Peace Garden in Toronto, Canada.

The first fire dedicated to the memory of a specific historical figure was lit in the United States in Dallas at Arlington Cemetery at the grave of US President John F. Kennedy at the request of his widow Jacqueline Kennedy on November 25, 1963.

One of the five eternal flames of Latin America is also lit in honor of a historical figure. In the capital of Nicaragua, Managua, on Revolution Square, a flame burns at the grave of Carlos Fonseca Amador, one of the founders and leaders of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (SFNL).

On July 7, 1989, Queen Elizabeth II lit the Fire of Hope at Frederick Banting Square in Ontario, Canada. This eternal flame, on the one hand, is a tribute to the memory of the Canadian physiologist who first received insulin, on the other hand, symbolizes the hope of humanity to defeat diabetes mellitus. The creators of the monument plan to extinguish the flame as soon as a cure for diabetes is invented.

In the countries formed after the collapse of the USSR, the eternal flame was extinguished at many monuments due to economic or political considerations.

In 1994, the eternal flame went out near the Monument to the Soldier-Liberator of Tallinn from the Nazi invaders (since 1995 - the Monument to the Fallen in World War II) in the capital of Estonia.

In many Russian cities, the eternal flame is lit irregularly - on days of remembrance and military holidays - May 9, June 22, days of remembrance of significant military operations.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Despite the fact that spontaneous fires would seem to be a rare natural phenomenon, in fact they are quite common both underground and on its surface. They are usually fueled by underground deposits of coal, gas, or oil seeping to the surface. Some of these “eternal flames” have been burning continuously for many centuries and still remain very mysterious.

10. Chestnut Ridge Park

A strange natural flame is located behind a curtain at Shale Creek Preserve, south of Chestnut Ridge Park in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The natural flame becomes even more beautiful and strange due to the falling water from the waterfall, which gives it a mysterious flicker. According to legend, this flame was first lit by the Indians, thousands of years ago.

While we know how the Chestnut Ridge fire is fueled (ethane and propane), scientists don't know where it came from or how natural gas gets into the rock where it burns. A recent study determined that the rock on which the flame burns is not hot enough to ignite the gas and sustain the fire. In addition, there is no deposit of underground shale in the rocks beneath the fire that would be capable of feeding and maintaining the flame. So how does the natural fire burn in Chestnut Ridge Park? To answer this question, further research is necessary, but for now, the flame remains a beautiful and mysterious phenomenon.

9. Mount Chimaera


Olympos Mountain, located near the city of Antalya, Turkey, is where the gas comes to the surface, where fires burn all year round, which could be the reason for the myth of the Chimera. It may also be a volcanic region, described by Pliny the Elder as a place where "the flames do not go out day or night."

These lights have been burning for at least 2,000 years, and their light once helped ancient sailors avoid crashing into rocky shores. The source of fuel for the eternal flame is thought to be methane seeping through ophiolite, a rock commonly found on the seafloor that has been uplifted and pushed onto land by plate movement.

8. Jharia Coalfield


The Indian city of Jharia is home to one of the largest burning coal mines in the world. Currently, at least 70 different coal mine fires burn as one blaze, releasing thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. India is the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, and burning coal mines are a major source of this pollution.

Coal mining in Jharia dates back to the late 1800s, and the first fire was recorded in 1920. However, the problem actually began in 1970, when coal mining companies switched from underground to aboveground coal mining, which leaves the coal exposed to oxygen if not properly sealed and can easily ignite. Bituminous coal can even spontaneously explode at temperatures as low as 40° Celsius. Once a coal mine fire has started, it is virtually impossible to extinguish it (and because there is no financial benefit for mining companies in keeping an eye on it, little effort is made to prevent such fires). As they grow, fires destroy the soil, causing entire houses and even sections of railroads to fall underground: in 1995, an underground fire caused a river bank to cave in, causing a coal mine to flood. and 78 people died.

7. Burning Mountain


The underground coal combustion that created the so-called "Burning Mountain" (Mount Wingen) near the village of Wingen, New South Wales, Australia, was most likely caused by a lightning strike or spontaneous explosion. At least this explanation is the most plausible at the moment - no one knows for sure, because the fire on this mountain has been going on for at least 6,000 years. Scientists believe it may be the oldest known continuous coal fire in the world.

Every year the flame moves south at a speed of about 1 meter. This may not sound scary, but given its age, simple math tells us that the coal fire has traveled at least 6 kilometers since the initial ignition. At this rate, the fire will reach Sydney, Australia, some 280 kilometers away, in the next 255,000 years or so.

6. Smoking Hills


In 1850, Captain Robert McClure sailed his ship Investigator into the Arctic in search of the Franklin Expedition, which disappeared while trying to find the Northwest Passage. He never found Franklin's crew (nor did anyone else), but he did rediscover something else: massive fires on the rocky shores and peaks of Cape Bathurst. McClure theorized that the fires had been started by local Eskimos to attract their attention, so he sent a reconnaissance party to see what was happening and learn about the fate of Franklin's crew. The reconnaissance group returned to the ship without any information, but they brought with them a really interesting piece of rock. When they placed it on the captain's desk, which was made of mahogany, it burned a hole right through the wood. So they rediscovered the Smoking Hills.

Franklin himself discovered and named the Smoking Hills in 1826 during his voyage in hopes of finding the Northwest Passage. He recorded the presence of strange smoke from fires in the mountains, smoke that was visible from the sea, and fires that burned where there was little or no vegetation. The Eskimos called this area "the land of sour water" because the burning of underground oil shale left highly acidic water laden with heavy metals.

5. Water And Fire Cave


Taiwan is home to some of the most fantastic mud volcanoes and natural springs in the world. Thanks to local geology, these mud volcanoes produce methane. Near the Biyun Temple there is a place where burning gas was called the Cave of Water and Fire. However, this is not a cave at all, but a rock with a natural spring and a small pool of water where methane bursts to the surface. The methane bubbles fuel the eternal fire, giving the appearance of flames burning from stone and water.

Even though the flames have shrunk from their once three-metre height, they still look impressive. According to local history, the site was discovered by a monk in 1701, meaning the flames have been burning continuously for over 300 years.

4. Mrapen


There is a legend in Indonesian folklore that begins with Sunan Kalijaga (one of the "Nine Saints of Islam") and his followers becoming tired at the end of a long journey. They stopped to rest and spend the night in the village of Mrapen, but they were cold. Kalijaga stuck his stick into the ground, pulled it out, and a flame appeared from the hole, which warmed them. In Javanese culture, this flame is considered sacred, and was used to light the "eternal flame torches" for Indonesian sports tournaments.

First noted in the 15th century as “the flame (that) never goes out, even in rain or wind,” it burns to this day, fueled by natural gas seeping deep from the depths of the earth.

3. Burning Mountain (Brennender Berg)


The burning coal seam on Burning Mountain, located in Saarland, Germany, caught fire back in 1688 and continues to burn to this day. No one knows exactly how the fire started (possibly from spontaneous combustion), but legend has it that a shepherd lit a fire near a stump, and it traveled through the roots of the stump and reached the coal seam. What is certain is that the famous poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited the Burning Mountain in 1770 and wrote about his travels and meeting with the Burning Mountain: “Thick steam poured out of the cracks, and we felt the hot earth even through the thick soles our shoes." This place even has a memorial plaque erected in honor of Johann's visit to the Burning Mountain.

Although the intensity of coal fires has decreased since 1800, visitors can still see smoke rising from the rocks and even hot steam escaping from cracks and holes. Before the intensity of the fire subsided, schoolchildren were taken on field trips to see Burning Mountain and steamed eggs in these holes.

2. Eternal Flame in Baba Gurgur


The eternal flame of Baba Gurgur is located in the center of a huge oil field in Iraq. It is fueled by natural gas that seeps through the rocks. Local legend has it that shepherds used the fire to warm their sheep during the colder months of the year. Legend also says that pregnant women visited the flame if they wanted to give birth to a boy. This natural flame may be the source of the biblical account of the "fiery furnace" into which King Nebuchadnezzar threw three Jews for refusing to worship a golden idol.

For thousands of years, indigenous people have used natural asphalt from Baba Gurgur for their homes, roads, and other things. The flames can be seen from many kilometers away, and people visiting the Iraqi city of Kirkuk can admire them directly from the city. The fire also releases deadly hydrogen sulfide, which is why warning signs have been placed around the eternal flame advising visitors to avoid the wind carrying smoke from the direction of the fire.

1. Jwalamukhi Temple


There are many legends about how natural fires started, but none of them is as cruel as the Hindu legend of the Eternal Flame of the Jwalamukhi Temple. It tells how Prajapati Daksha humiliated his daughter Sati during a festival, upsetting the princess so much that she set herself on fire to avoid shame. In revenge, her lover God Shiva (aka the God of Death) cut off Daksha's head and wandered the universe, cradling the charred body of his dead love. Eventually, God Vishnu cut Sati's body and scattered its pieces across the Earth. Her tongue fell into the Jvalamukhi temple and instantly opened its center of energy, which manifested itself in the form of a flame.

Therefore, the Jvalamukhi temple is dedicated to the Goddess of Light. The temple, located about 50 kilometers from the city of Dharamshala, features blue eternal flames fueled by natural gas emanating from the temple's stone sanctum. There is no idol in the temple - since the monks worship the flame itself, which for them is a deity. Every year, thousands of people make a pilgrimage to the temple, bringing gifts such as sweets, fruits and milk.

The Greeks have a myth about Prometheus.