Playing with Matches

Last month, Llewellyn author, Raven Grimassi, posted an eloquently-worded call for Pagans, Witches and Wiccans of all stripes to participate in a synchronized ritual this October to restore "the freedom and the courage that has long been the hallmark of this [American] Nation." He uses stirring language about the non-conformist spirit of pagans, a collective spirit that could be harnessed to undermine those who would make us sheep in our own land. I read on, interested in what he would ultimately propose, how he would suggest we take the historic concept of the Needfire and make it fit our modern, American needs. I guess I should have seen it coming. Actually, I guessed where he might go with the ritual/spell itself, but I was trying to be optimistic.

Grimassi suggests that pagans "join as a people and raise a Needfire for the Nation." Alrighty, I am with him so far. Collective force toward a common goal, executed in our own towns and homes all over the land we seek to effect. Check. Sounds like a reasonable start.

Grimassi goes on to explain, "the ancient Needfire was kindled by friction and then fed with logs of birch, elm, hazel, holly, oak, pine, rowan, willow and yew."

Okay, I admit, I've only done my research on Needfires on the net over the last 30 minutes. That said, all information I can find on the historical concept of the Needfire and similar rites make clear that the tradition has been found all over the world and that each culture had their own ways and reasons for enacting the rite, as well as their own ideas on which specific woods must be used for this rite. Nowhere did I find this specific list of trees, and it was definitely not in any of the factual texts I found on Needfires in antiquity. The list of trees provided by Grimassi doesn't seem to come from any historical text and is quiet clearly Euro-centric. But, hey, okay, he makes it sound like these are the sacred trees used in all ancient Needfires and that isn't really quite accurate, but his intentions are good. And maybe, cross your fingers, he doesn't really intend to suggest we use these specific European woods for an American ritual to draw up the spirit of the American land and the spirit of the multi-cultural American people. Let's be optimistic and read on.

"Torches were then lighted from the bonfire and carried to each home to relight the hearth fire. In this way the renewed spirit of the land passed into each home within the Kingdom."

Hmm. I hate to be knit-picky, but the U.S. is not a kingdom. Some of us might argue that the man chosen by our Supreme Court to sit in the White House right now often acts like he thinks he's the king (or dictator) of our country and that that is a good part of the problem with the last four years he's held office. I'd let this point go, but then Grimassi goes on to say the following:

"In Arthurian legend we find the theme that the land and the King are one. The well- being of the King is reflected in the well-being of the Kingdom. If the King fails then the Kingdom perishes. This covenant is essential to the fire that gives vitality to the spirit of the land."

In the next paragraph, the very next line goes on to say:

"When we look at our Kingdom today we find it in great peril and in economic strife."

Whoa. When did we become a kingdom over here? Did I miss it because I don't watch television and rarely read 'mainstream' news? Nah, I don't think so. Grimassi is trying to draw a parallel between Arthurian myth cycles and our modern day country - one a monarchy of ancient legend, one a troubled democracy very much of the here and now. I don't question that Grimassi realizes this is a democratic country and not a monarchy, or that he intended to imply otherwise. What I question is this - what is he doing evoking the idea of our land as a Kingdom, with Bush as its failing King, as the conceptual basis of a working to make contact with the spirit of this democratic Land? Grimassi asks us to work with him to call forth a spirit of strong and revitalized democracy - by putting the idea of sacred monarchy in our heads? I'd have to argue that this is a very flawed myth to basis such a working on.

But let's get back to the ritual at hand, shall we? Let's hear out Grimassi's idea for how to adapt the ancient ritual of the Needfire to suit our modern lives so that all may participate, whether they have a nice private grove to start a fire in or not.

"I suggest replacing the nine logs with nine pieces of paper upon which the names of the trees are written. Beneath each name can then be written a desired quality. Using a metal bowl or cauldron the papers can be fed to the flame in a symbolic passing of each specific nature. These natures will then reside within the Needfire. To create the Needfire we can use a wooden match, which will honor the ancient custom of employing friction to ignite the Needfire"

Seems I was too optimistic. There are so many problems with this ritual design, the description of which begins with the above paragraph, it's hard to know where to begin. Grimassi does decide to suggest that we use his aforementioned list of European sacred trees and, after this quote, goes on to give a one word meaning for each of the trees.

"The following is a suggested list of correspondences: Birch - Forthright; Elm - Enduring; Hazel - Wise; Holly - Tenacious; Oak - Truthful; Pine - Visionary; Rowan - Courageous; Willow - Honoring; Yew - Intuitive"

"The basic idea is to pass these traits into the Needfire, which in turn passes them to the spirit of the land. The full moon in October precedes the presidential election, and so the spirit of the land resonates at the core of the process. Like the legendary sword Excalibur that drew King Arthur, so too is the role of the spirit of the land."

Throughout the written call, Grimassi has used references to northwest European myth, specifically, Arthurian myth. The list of trees we are encouraged to use here are a list of British Isle natives that figure prominently in the sacred text of that Land. Granted, eight of the nine types of trees listed here can be found in some native form in America, albeit some are native to only very limited regions of our country and one, Rowan, exists in no native form in the States.

One of the distressing issues behind the choice of these trees is that it is very, very likely they were chosen for their 'sacred' status in northern European lore and Grimassi is striving here to gather us to work together to "re-boot" the sprit of the American Land, while summoning up inspiration from northern European king myths. This not only makes for ritual where the energies will likely be inappropriate to the goal and ineffective, it highlights the more troubling undercurrent of a Eurocentrism so often entrenched in mainstream neo-paganism as to be almost constantly present, but unnoticed and in the majority of cases, un-remarked upon.

Grimassi suggests that there, indeed, is a unified American spirit of the Land to call on. If there is such a spirit of the Land that is aligned with the young and turbulent democracy that has sat upon it for such a brief time, wouldn't it make sense to honor it by calling it with its own sacred trees and using myths born of its spirit? If so, why did Grimassi use these ideas and images as the basis of his suggested a ritual? I greatly doubt that the author meant to disrespect any other culture, but by focusing on the Needfire rite, a spiritual tradition that has been found in numerous cultures and forms throughout the world, as a British Isles tradition and by claiming the trees used in sacred Needfires are the ones he lists above, he displays a discomforting Euro-centrism.

So here we are, trying to revitalize or "re-boot", as Grimassi refers to it at one point in his call, the spirit of the land with European trees, Arthurian myth playing through our minds and, now, some little slips of paper and a cauldron or metal bowl. We are asked to write the names of the nine trees on nine pieces of paper and remember that these tree names, which many of us have no deep connection to in the first place seeing as they play an important role in a very small minority of American lives, represent concepts Grimassi outlines. Got that? Write names of trees on scraps of paper which will then symbolically stand in for the actual wood of the trees and these tree names are actually symbols for nine broad and vague principals that we are going to then set on fire so they are part of the Needfire which we are calling to revitalize the land or to chose the next president or some such. Grimassi's claim that, "Like the legendary sword Excalibur that drew King Arthur, so too is the role of the spirit of the land," makes it a little unclear if we are calling the spirit of the Land or if we are asking the Land to influence the next "King" election in November.

Whew. Now we'll just light a black candle to symbolize the "afflicted spirit of the land", put it out, then "to create the Needfire we can use a wooden match, which will honor the ancient custom of employing friction to ignite the Needfire" and with this we'll light the pieces of paper on fire to release the principles into the flame and then light a larger, white candle "to capture the joined essence of the indwelling spirit."

And there you have it, using slips of paper, two candles and a match, we have recreated the very powerful, and used only in times of great need, ritual of our ancestors, the Needfire. I am struggling not to use a caustic tone when I say that I have doubts that this ritual will in any way recreate the power of the ritual of our ancestors.

Grimassi's call has all the signs of the very best intentions but it's not clear, in the end, what exactly he intends his community ritual to do. Grimassi ends with, "naturally you can modify what I've suggested or even create your own ritual." That is accommodating of him and kind of covers his butt - hey, he didn't tell us that we had to do the ritual his way to participate - and while that is true, I personally expect a more cohesive base for all those who want to participate to work around with clear goals from someone who is an experienced ritualist and who puts himself forward as a leader within pagan community. Eloquent writing aside, Grimassi fails to provide an effective ritual.

Personally, I'll be doing my ritual for a healthier America by showing up at the polls in November and by putting my energy into volunteering for and donating to the fights to right this country that I believe in.


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