Using Your Fire Dish
A fire dish is ideal for any seasonal or personal rite of passage for which traditionally a bonfire was lit. Sometimes you can have a bonfire or remove turf and make a fire pit with bricks, but this is not always possible, especially near sacred ground.
A fire dish is wonderful for unifying those sharing a rite, whether a coven, friends or family.
When you are not travelling, keep your fire dish to the south of the outdoor altar as a powerful representation of the fire element and to attract fire spirits and faeries. You can cover it when not in use or during inclement weather.
Sprinkle incense or herbs directly on to the burning wood to make personal empowerments and to raise or release power during a spell.
Burn wishes scratched on the inside of bark with a small knife or burn dead leaves and twigs to represent banishing what is redundant in your life.
Use your fire dish as a focus for chanting and dancing and as an added bonus for supplying light and warmth during a ritual.
Make sure the fire dish is not too full to avoid the danger of tipping over or getting too hot. Keep water nearby to extinguish an over-zealous fire.
Some woods like juniper and cedar spit; ash and pine are excellent as is oak although some people will not burn the latter. Sandalwood smells fabulous if you can get it; you can sometimes buy small sandalwood logs in bags from a hardware store. You can mix the woods.
Practice before your first ritual with your fire dish so you know how to light a good but not ferocious fire. When everyone had an open fire in the living room, this was daily practice. Nowadays, unless you were a Scout or Girl Guide or belong to a coven, you may not have been taught the art. Follow the instructions on a pack of firelighters or ask an older relative for a lesson.
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