by Michelle Lea McCann

How does one pay homage to the most dynamic of elements? 

“FIRE!!”, “You’re fired!” “Fire it up!” “It’s so hot, I’m on fire” Clearly we fear and respect the word even before we know its story. 

 Let’s light up the fire signs for a moment.  We’ll refer to the element to understand the signs, and the signs in turn will help us understand the element. 

 Each of the three fire signs holds a unique, fiery energy. Aries (a cardinal sign) is the first fire sign on the wheel, ruled by Mars, the “fiery planet”. 
'Leo, the second (fixed) fire sign, is ruled by the Sun, our fiery centre, our source—we all benefit from this luminary, whether we have our sun position in Leo or not.  Sagittarius (a mutable sign), ruled by benevolent Jupiter, is the last of the fire signs on the astrological wheel.

 If you remember someone you know who is an Aries, Leo or Sagittarius you may be having some revelations here. A great many innovative actors, entertainers, and inventors are born under one of these three signs. They’re, well, metaphorically on fire; so sometimes, taming the flame may be an issue; a person could be consumed by any of these passionate creatures. Aries is an explosive but innocent fire, quick to heat, but also quick to cool.  Leo is a magnanimous though self-centered fire. Sagittarius is a complex fire: they’ll argue this, but Sagittarius can be the most dangerous.  Their self-aware fire has its eyes on the horizon. Noam Chomsky is a perfect example of Sagittarian grace under fire. Look him up.

In many ways, with the fire signs, as with fire itself, one must manipulate and even capitulate to get what one needs. Just as with fire, the cost of disrespect can be extreme.

 Capitulate: to surrender, especially under agreed conditions.

  And so it is with Fire, the great teacher. First, humanity had to discover it, and that took a hell of a long time—or did it?  Perhaps we needed to reach a certain level of consciousness before we could even recognise its existence. Maybe the humans were not even then ready for the power of fire—consider our atom-splitting experiments, for example. (Whoops!) After becoming aware of this magical force, humans have wisely kindled a symbiotic relationship.  Fire teaches us to be mindful, in a constant state of respect for that which keeps us comfortable. Whether we nurture it like a baby or bomb it with airplanes, the love of fire is the fire of love.  It rules our rules. In the beaten-to-death quote of Paris Hilton, “It’s hot.”